GODSPEED | HARRY STYLES

THREE.

"Yo, my grandma made macaroni and cheese with bacon bits! Want some?"

In order to keep myself from drinking half to death, I went to Kush's. He was more than excited to be my source of comfort. I was just glad his grandma let me into the house since I almost blew up their microwave last time I was here.

"I'll pass." I call back.

A bunch of bottles clink and a few dishes clash while I sink further into the couch. I chew on my nails like they're a damn chicken wing, doing anything to rid of the desperation for just a drop of that sweet nectar. I know better now.

Just because things are hard, doesn't mean I have to get plastered.

"I rolled some blunts for you. Just in case I'm not there and you need something." Kush tells me as he enters the living room with a bowl of steaming food and a ziplock bag.

The bag is full of pre wrapped blunts and a new lighter.

How'd he know I lost mine?

"Thanks, Kush. Really." I exhale, taking the bag and holding it close.

"No problem. You always got me, I always got you. It's the way it works."

Since the third grade, Kush was always the most consistent thing in my life. Friends would come and go, but he was the only one who actually stayed. Even when he saw me at my lowest. I think he's seen me at my worst more than my own family and Talia combined. And yet, he never made me feel weak for it.

His life had always been messy as well. He may not have been an alcoholic with a coke addiction, but he knew enough about it based on his own father's mistakes. For the majority of his childhood, he was always taking care of his younger sister and protecting her from any harm his father caused.

Up until the day she died.

It was during our sophomore year of high school. She was only 12. Their father hit her over the head with a full bottle of whiskey and she fell into their pool and drowned.

Yeah, pretty fucking dark.

Kush was the one who found her, too. Then he beat the shit out of his father and ended up in jail for five nights. His mother didn't have the money to pay his bail and she was totally freaking out. So, I decided to suck Hunter Morrissey's dick so he would pay his bail.

I think after that, Kush and I grew closer. He was a lot more protective over me, like a big brother despite us being the same age. And he hated the things I did.

Trust me, I hated them too.

He was there with me the night before I decided to get sober. And he's the only person that knows. If we weren't close enough, we had gotten even closer.

When I decided to leave San Francisco with Talia, he had to come with me. So with the help of my parents, they managed to pay for a cute little apartment in Brooklyn just a few blocks from the record shop. I think they only helped because they knew Kush was like my sponsor in a way and I was still super fragile at the time, so they wanted him with me.

Not that he minded.

"Bruh, I remember Noah. He was so fucking weird. Homie would cry after sex. Least that's what I heard." Kush snickers, shaking his head.

"Talia might've met her match then."

"I always thought she was sus."

I laugh, "You say that about everyone."

"Does it make you feel better?" He raises his brows.

"Kinda."

Smirking, Kush stuffs an excessive amount of mac and cheese into his mouth. I cringe at the sound of the way his lips smack with the gooey substance.