Alex

Alex was... odd. But that was just him.
Black hair falling over his eyes, grey piercing pupils that you could drown in. Tall, strong, arms that seemed made to hold you. He was yours. The guy of your dreams. He could be a little naive, sometimes too straightforward, but behind this simplicity there was real devotion. He bought you everything you asked for. He woke you up in the morning with a kiss, during the day he wrote: "dress warmer", and at night he could cover you up if you fell asleep on the couch.

But there was one thing you didn't know.

Alex... he was not like everyone else.

When he was under a lot of stress, he took drugs. Because he couldn't hold back any longer. Not in huge quantities. But enough to get him high, so that he could even... want more.

He didn't tell you about it. He was afraid.

The day started off calmly. You spent it with Philip, your best friend. You reminisced about your childhood, laughed at old jokes, talked about everything and nothing. He suggested going to that abandoned building. You used to go there a lot during your school years. Sometimes you ran away from homeless people. Sometimes you met drug addicts. From whom you ran together. Now that place was completely abandoned and quiet.

You went.
Dust. Broken windows. The sound of footsteps that make your ears go empty.

And suddenly - a figure.
A lonely man, crouched against a wall. His back was hunched. In his hand was a small packet. Something white. Powder. He was about to inhale it.

You were about to leave... but you recognized him.

— …Alex?.. — you blurted out almost in a whisper.

He turned around.
The bag slipped from his fingers and fell onto the concrete.
He was silent. There was fear, guilt, and dread in his eyes. Like a child caught doing something forbidden. But these weren't candies. These were something much scarier.

Philip froze behind you.
You stepped closer. Alex opened his mouth, but no words came out. Only trembling lips. Then, barely audible:

• Sun... listen... you got it all wrong...

He looked down at the floor, where the damned little bag now lay. His face fell.

— I... I just lost it... I didn't mean to..