Covered In Ink

Chapter 33|Why am I not wearing a shirt?

"So, do you want to talk about the real reason you fought a guy above your weight division," he opened his mouth. I already knew what he was going to say so I cut him off. "And don't say for the money, or I will smack you. Black eye or not." I warned.

"When did you get so bossy, sunshine?" He teased, nudging my shoulder.

"When did you get so good at avoiding my questions?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wasn't lying when I said I did it for the money."

"You're serious? You're willing to get yourself killed in the ring for money? I didn't realise you were money driven." I picked at the semi dead grass next to my legs.

"I'm not money driven," he paused, thinking. He was there, sitting next to me, but he wasn't there. I swear he had done that at least three times since this conversation had started.

What if he wanted money for drugs, and that's why he was zoning out all the time.

"Are you on drugs?" I asked outright. No point sugar coating it right?

He blinked slowly. "Huh?"

Not a good start.

"Are you on drugs?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"What kind of drugs you're referring to."

"The bad kind. The stuff that you would change your name and move to Mexico if you ever got caught with it."

"Oh, well no, I guess not then," he reached into his pocket. "I've got these thought."

He threw a small white bottle in my general direction. I didn't catch it. Obviously. I'm uncoordinated as hell. Instead I made grabby hands, played hot potato for several seconds, then the bottle fell to its death. Well, to the ground.

I picked it up, dusting the dirt off it so I could read the label. I squinted to read the small font.

"Eszopiclone," I read aloud. I chucked the bottle back at him. "What are they?"

"Sleeping pills."

"Sleeping pills? Why do you need sleeping pills?"

"Insomnia."

I had a light bulb moment. "That time when you practically fell asleep in every class?"

"Yeah, if you take one and then don't get at least seven hours of sleep then they tend to make you drowsy and a little disorientated."

I sat there for a moment, processing the new information. The others had gone suspiciously quiet. They had been sitting a few feet away from us, while Ryan and I sat with our backs against the tree trunk. I looked in their direction, and the conversation automatically started again. Eavesdroppers.

"Do you have really crazy dreams with dragons and shit in them?" I asked. I was curious. I had heard that sleeping pills made you have really weird dreams that were almost like hallucinations.

He shook his head, chuckling. "You're full of surprises aren't you?"

I grinned. "Well, life would be boring if there were any surprises."

"Touché, and no, my dreams are pretty run of the mill."

"So no purple elephants or glitter sneezing dragons?" I asked. I was still hopeful.

"Sorry to disappoint."

~*~*~*~

"Why do you need to keep training?" I asked as we walked through the back door of the gym, I had to jog to catch up with Ryan. The place was pretty empty, excluding Hamish and a couple of other guys who looked like they were about to fall on the ground and go into cardiac arrest. "Shouldn't you take it easy for a while?"