Work in Progress

Chapter 39: Encounter

*SAM'S POV*

We're stopped at a gas station to refill the tank. We were all hanging out by the car to stretch our legs while Eli went to use the restrooms. As I see her exit and walk back to us, I watch as a blonde approaches her. I've sort of gotten used to random girls approaching Eli and flirting with her but I don't worry so much since Eli just brushes them off. But I'm surprised this time when the blonde hugs her and Eli hugs back.

"Who the fuck is that?" I say, making the others look where I'm staring.

"Probably just a friend," Kate says.

"Just a friend or a friend?" Jane asks, making me look at the two more closely. Eli definitely acted differently. She was laughing but she also stood straight and looked a bit stiff. The blonde pointed to a car where a couple of other people were waving at Eli. They looked a bit rough if you asked me. After hugging again, she walked back to us.

"Who was that?" I ask not wasting any second. Eli doesn't answer me and gets in the car. I ask again when I get in.

"My drug dealer." She says nonchalantly and I had to blink twice to make sure she was serious.

"I'm sorry. What?" I ask, shocked.

"My drug dealer." She says again as if that was completely normal.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time." She looks at me confused.

Jane laughs from the driver's seat. "Dude, did you just seriously set up a rendezvous?"

Eli, finally realizing how not normal this was, laughs. "No, that was just a coincidence. They were heading to the coast also. But she did offer..." She trails off with a slight smirk and my eyes widen. "Relax... I'm just kidding."

"Dude." Jane and Kate say at the same time with smirks on their faces. I on the other hand wasn't that amused.

"I thought you were done with that?" I knew about Eli's past or at least had an idea of it and how serious it was so I guess I just assumed when she mentioned taking a year to recover that she was done with all that.

"I am. It's just that it takes time to get it out of my system. I can't completely cut myself off or else my body will go into shock. But don't worry. I get mine from legit sources now."

"Does that mean you've been high all this time?" Kate jokes.

"I don't take that much anymore... most of the time."

I slap Eli's arm. "You don't have to worry. I'm not addicted or anything. I never was. My motivation really was more of a self-destructive nature."

"How is that even possible?" I ask knowing that she wasn't just a casual druggy.

"It's the same with alcohol. I wasn't addicted to it. I was addicted to its effects. Saying that now I guess it's sort of the same—."

"Yeah, no shit," Jane interrupts her.

"But there's no reason for me to want its effects anymore and I'm past the point of craving it just because."

I grimace, still worried. Eli takes my hand and squeezes it, trying to reassure me. "It's only just weed now. I smoke more cigarettes in a week than weed."

"Why don't you smell like weed or smoke?" I ask, recalling the times Eli would put her face close to mine.

"Yeah, your apartment smells like peppermint." Kate chimes in.

"I'm a big fan of diffusers and essential oils." Eli laughs. "Plus, I brush thoroughly."

A/N:

Ok this was short. But that's because the next part is long. And before you get into that, I should warn you it's a bit heavy. There will be mentions of drugs, sex, and violence. So proceed with caution.

On a different note: Yes, Eli's actually been smoking weed this whole time and only mentions it now. I figured it was such a normal thing for her that it wasn't really noteworthy (like her morning exercises). Plus, I only realized recently that if she was in deep shit, a year wouldn't be enough to recover from that so... yeah. I got too lazy to add any reference to that into the previous chapters. Also, I wanted to keep things light since I know dealing with addiction is difficult and it might be triggering. [I've beaten myself up about this but I found a way to make peace with my OCD-ness]

ALSO, check out my other story Not That Simple :)

ALSO ALSO, thanks for reading this far and for voting! It means a lot to me <3