Coke and Crabs

BOXER is having a party.

Hmmm…Pomona tonight?

Nights that involved Kristen usually ended with drama or violence so she needed an escape plan.

She ran through her mental rolodex of Pomona people and decided to go. She knew better but went anyway.

Another Saturday night with Kristen. They were 16.

Kristen was fucking Bobby (20). She said he was an up and coming boxer in San Bernardino. Semi-pro boxer. Whatever, Kristen. Kristen had a history of lying.

On this occasion, Kristen was telling the truth. Bobby was a legit boxer in San Bernardino County. She didn’t ask how they met. She didn’t care. Kristen fucked anything.

We are with Bobby the boxer at his gym. He’s having a party at his place. But before we can go, he has to make a stop. Kristen wants to know why and how long it’s going to take. She has her eyes on Bobby’s black fanny pack . Kristen asks if there is something in the bag for her. Bobby says maybe.

She is already regretting the night and it has not begun. She looks out the car window as Bobby and Kristen make out next to her in the back seat. Bobby tells his friend where to take him.

She knows Kristen wants what’s in Bobby’s bag. Bobby is keeping that bag carefully protected from Kristen’s hands.

Bobby’s friend drives them to a house.

She recognizes the neighborhood. It isn’t good and it will get worse if they don’t leave soon.

Bobby is pulling himself together as he gets out of the car. She can see the bag is unzipped and so are his pants.

That’s a lot of coke.

Coke. Kristen’s favorite.

15 minutes…fuck let’s go. She is getting nervous. 20 minutes.

Bobby comes running out of the house. She can see he has a lot of cash.

Bobby must be doing well. He is 20 and lives in a decent condo. She is relieved it’s clean.

There are about 10 people in his house. They are older as in adults. This is not her scene. It’s uncomfortable.

She tells Kristen she wants to leave as this was not the plan she agreed to. Kristen hands her a joint and tells her to relax.

She hits it.

Waiting.

Nothing.

Inhales again.

Feeling something.

Again. No relaxation happening.

Anxiety is creeping in as the room crowds. It felt like the air was sucked out of the room. She finds temporary peace in Bobby’s bathroom.

She can hear everyone outside. She can’t understand what they are saying. Her mind isn’t making sense and her heart is racing. Something is wrong.

Panic sets in because she can’t think. Everything is off. She wants out of the bathroom. Out of this fucking condo. She needs out and her brain is confused.

She can’t get out of the bathroom. Her mind is so fucked up that she can’t open an UNlocked door.

It feels like she is going to have a heart attack.

After what seems like forever, she gets the door open. She finds Kristen and tells her she is fucked up.

Kristen laughs and dismisses her with “it’s just the coke.”

Wait, what? No one told her the weed was laced. She never wanted coke. Coke is apparently what her weed got.

Fucking Kristen. Bitch.

She doesn’t know how she got home but she did. Her mind was not done torturing her.

It’s almost 3:00am. No one is home. She is so relieved to be there but is still fucked up.

As she is about to get in the shower, she THINKS she saw a bug run below her belly button.

Paranoid, she starts inspecting her skin. She sees bugs. That’s it! She has completely lost her shit now. CRABS! Where did she get CRABS? She had not been with anyone recently but she is convinced she has CRABS.

One of her biggest fears is right there crawling all over her. She believes she is infested. She is going to kill every one of those mother fuckers.

She grabs a new razor. She shaves off all the hair on her body. There are little cuts on her hairless skin. She almost shaved herself raw. She searches underneath the bathroom sink for chemicals. 70% alcohol. Nice.

She frantically opens the bottle. She pours the entire bottle of alcohol on her crotch. After a 2 second delay, it feels like she is on fire. She wants to scream.

She is pretty sure she killed off anything living on her skin. She was hairless and burning all because she thought she saw a bug.

Later in the day, when her head cleared, she realized she never had CRABS. She was just out of her mind for a few hours.

It would hurt to move for another day but at least she didn’t have CRABS.