January 8, 2011 by Mark Lidstone

Georgia

“My wife and I went through a hard time”, I hissed through my teeth, “We experimented on a lot of heavy drugs. Cocaine, heroin, meth and a lot of small time stuff.”

“And who’s fault was that?” he asked.

“Mine”. I glared at him. “I was doing it for a long time. I started before I had even met her. I forced her into it. She was very vulnerable and I threatened to leave her if she didn’t do it. She became dependant on it. She hated what she had become and she blamed me for it.”

“Why would you force that kind of life on someone you loved?” the smoke billowed from his cigarette.

“I didn’t love her – that was the problem”, it pained me to remember. “At the time I didn’t love anyone, I was in a very dark place. I used her. For money, sex, whatever I could get. She needed me, loved me, and I took her for all she had”.

“Isn’t that sweet”, his expression was unchanged. He looked at me in disgust. That stung, especially considering who he was. I wrapped both of my hands around the cool glass and pulled it closer to me. Most of the ice had melted. My throat was getting dryer but still, I did not drink.

“Like I said, I was in a dark place”.

“So then what?” he folded his hands and grinned like a child waiting for his birthday present.