Bette sat silently looking down at her hands. Then she thought…hell why not tell her every thing. The sooner she knows the sooner I can leave this place and never see her again.

“I began using the first week you left. I went on a binge and have no memory of that time in my life for three weeks. When I came to myself I was in the bed with some woman whose name I did not know. She told me she had been there for three days. That was just the first time. Shit I lost my job over that one.

But I continued on frequenting the bars and parties until my behavior got so out of control that the invitations stopped coming. My friends got tired of bailing me out so they stopped coming around or answering my calls too.

Some where along the way I begin selling things and liquidating assets to support my habits and before you knew it I was broke and living on the streets. I know your next question is going to be why I didn’t go to our friends. What friends Tina. After the affair and you taking off I didn’t have any friends left. So I made some new ones. At least I thought they were until the money ran out.”

“Bette did you continue to use when you were living on the streets?”

“Yes daily. You see Tina I just don’t care any more. I have done what was necessary to get drugs and alcohol to make me forget. You see it makes me feel good even if it is only for a little while.”

“I remember bits and pieces of this one time when Shane found me and took me to her home but I left the next morning before she got up. I had sex with 2 guys and a girl at the same time for money to get drugs with but when it was over they refused to pay. I got angry and they beat me up pretty bad. They put me in their car and took me to a place I didn’t know and threw me out. I found my way to a park and passed out on a bench. The next thing I remember Shane was there and like I said she took me home.”