Josie's Journey

Ethan The Tweaker

Josie was sitting on the couch with her boyfriend Ethan leaned up against her. She was rubbing his shoulder in comfort. Her laptop was propped open on her lap.

When Josie was stressed, she turned to research. Right now she had several tabs open, searching Ethan's symptoms. Every few minutes she'd look away from the screen to see if he was still okay.

Ever since the incident earlier that day, Ethan's anxiety had been unrelenting. His thoughts were racing but his memory was still. "How do I tell her that I actually think her weird uncle sold me spiked weed?!?" Ethan thought.

Josie lost herself in her research (and in a few videos of cute puppies). She looked out the window and realized it was dark. Where has the time gone? She looked down at Ethan.

"Hey, Ethan, are you okay?" Josie asked. He was trembling while he slept. She gently shook him awake by the shoulder. "Ethan! What's wrong?"

He woke up and blinked slowly. "I-I... what?" He looked down and held his hands out; they were shaking furiously.
He started panicking, unable to control his thoughts. His thoughts were racing, his mind was spinning - then it went quiet.

Josie stared at him and frowned. "Is everything okay?" she asked gently, then tenderly brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You seem like you're not doing so well."

Ethan blinked a few times after he sat up. He seemed like he was going to pass out.

"I'm... fine," he said. "I think I'm going to lay down though... I'm not feeling so great." He stumbled over to the bed and flopped down.

Josie followed behind him. "Babe, let me take your temperature..." she said. She laid her hand on his forehead. "You feel really warm! Why didn't you tell me you felt bad? You could be sick."

"I didn't think I was," he muttered.

She just shook her head. Josie found a thermometer in her bag of medical supplies and disinfected it before taking his temperature. "Just as I suspected - you have a fever! It's 102.4," she told him and stroked his hair in comfort.

He sighed and shook his head. "I feel fine..." he replied, paused for a moment. "Okay, maybe not." Ethan went to sit up but groaned instead and pressed a hand against his head where a dull ache was beginning to spread.

"How did I not know I was sick?" he asked himself quietly. He sighed, pushing away thoughts of his family. 'No thank you,' he thought, 'I don't need even more of a headache...'

Josie continued stroking his hair. "Just lay down and relax, I'll get you some medicine." She gently pushed him back down onto the bed. "You're running a fever. You need to relax and stay hydrated, but more importantly, just rest. I love you," she said with a smile and kissed his hand.

He smiled at her and sighed. "I love you more. I'm so glad we're together..." he said. He regretted his behavior, even though he didn't remember it exactly. All he knew was that he was cruel to Josie, the girl he loved and that she didn't deserve it. Josie just blamed the fever for his erratic behavior.

They didn't know that the future is yet to unfold. They didn't know the truths which would come to light. Josie didn't know...that Ethan does meth. They're really in for a doozy.