Prescient

Chapter 21

Curled up on her bed, Maggie looked around at the room that hadn't changed since the day she left it.

The only real difference was that it was tidy.

Her mum must have done that.

There was the jewellery box she got for her fourteenth birthday sitting on the duchess she had painted black with red knobs. Years' worth of cheap necklaces, bracelets, and big hoop earrings still inside it. Nothing of real value was left in there. Just costume jewellery. Anything of actual gold or silver she sold long ago, to pay for cigarettes or weed.

She rolled over on her bed and stared at the back of her door.

Hundreds of scribbled words, signatures, and immature, inappropriate drawings looked back at her and she was somewhat surprised it was still there; that her folks hadn't painted over it. Her mum had flipped her lid when she discovered Maggie and her friends had been drawing all over the back of the door, but her tenacious daughter kept at it anyway.

They were memories, she said.

There was one particular memory Maggie stared at now. A large heart with 'Kaylah' written up one side and 'Maggie' up the other. Inside the heart was written, "Sisters 4eva. BBF 4eva.'

It had taken a bit of convincing to get Kaylah to sign the back of her door. Always the cautious, well-behaved little angel. Weary of breaking a single rule.

Eventually, she caved and that was what she drew.

Sisters forever.

Best, best friends forever.

That was meant to be the deal, but Maggie had screwed it all up back then and now she had screwed it all up even more. She was suddenly racked with sobs again, her insides writhing. The pain of her withdrawals and the pain of losing her sister all twisting into one huge conglomerate tumour inside her.

Intensifying.

Feeding on her guilt.

She had to get out of there and get herself a fix. She needed to go see Lyle.

Sliding off her bed, she headed for the door, wrapped her hand around the doorknob, and... She looked back down at that heart again and then took her hand from the knob. She knew she shouldn't, but then again, just one more time wouldn't hurt, would it?

Her addiction battled with her guilt.

Her guilt battled with her addiction.

The pain from both ate away at her and she couldn't stop herself from caving. She opened the door and ran into the hallway. She made her way from room to room, calling out to her mother and Michael but no one answered and they were nowhere to be seen.

She entered the kitchen, wondering where her mum might have put some cash –she must have gone somewhere and she'd have her wallet with her, but surely there was a stash around here somewhere. Tanya used to always have a rainy day jar. Maggie had pinched money from it before and she needed to do so just one more time so she could score.

She dragged a chair around the kitchen, checking each cupboard for a decoy box or tin that looked like food but secretly held cash within in. As she got down after searching the last cupboard, her sights fell on the picture of those two pretty, young girls, stuck to the fridge.

One was her beautiful sister, recently lost.

One was a girl she no longer knew, lost so many years ago.

Growling in frustration, Maggie tore the picture from the fridge and ran back up to her room. She grabbed the cordless phone as she passed it.

She needed to make a call to her dealer.