Everything to Nothing

by Mark Henthorne

  ‘I would! Give me some.’

  Peter shook his head resigned to the fact that she did have him over a barrel. He had been so, so careful over the last few months to keep his actions secret and now he was stunned at his own stupidity. Personally, he did not touch the stuff. He had tried it, out of professional curiosity, but he knew the damage a cocaine habit could do both physically and mentally. ‘Okay then. We will use that bag while you have mauled it. It will need extra cutting. I’ll be back in a minute.’

  He left Sarah still holding the bag and went back upstairs. He returned a few moments later with a razor blade in one hand and a mirror in the other. He was amused to see that she was still naked and then remembered so was he. For a moment he paused in the kitchen doorway, admiring her as she was bent over the kitchen sideboard. He then approached and took the bag out of her hand.

  He ripped open one corner of the bag and carefully tapped the powder onto the mirror. Peter then started to chop the cocaine with the razor blade, removing any lumps and making the powder finer and finer. He cut away a small portion of the coke and then continued to cut this portion, slowly working it into a thin line. When he was satisfied he reached for the wad of money and peeled off a five pound note. He rolled it into a tube and gave it to Sarah.

  ‘Place one end of the note at one end of the line. Place the other end of the note up your nose, not too far though. Then snort it up, just like on the movies.’

  Sarah did exactly as she was instructed. She sucked the line up with her nose in one quick movement and was amazed as the feelings hit her near enough straight away. The drowsiness that she felt before taking the coke seemed to fade away into the night. Peter watched as her pupils instantly dilated and Sarah was pleased to note that after a minute or two she seemed to be getting incredibly sexually aroused.

  There were beads of moisture where there was none before and she pressed her thighs together. They slid against each other and she could not remember a time when she had felt as aroused as she did right then. ‘Wow! Now that feels good! Why don’t you take some?’

  ‘I had some just before you came in.’

  ‘Well in that case why is it not having the same effect on you as it is on me?’

  At the end of these words she grabbed his hand and placed it in between her legs. He was totally stunned at how aroused she was. The wetness was everywhere; it almost seemed to him that it reached down to her knees. This feeling did have an effect on him and his penis automatically sprang to attention. She lifted her bottom onto the kitchen sideboard and hooked her legs around his waist, pulling him to her. She grabbed the base of him and lined him up and with a thrust of hips he again slid into her.

  As he was enveloped in wetness he did not believe was possible he thought to himself that this was a kind of payment he could get used to.

  *

  Simon still had hold of Michelle’s hand which he released as he retrieved the key to the entrance door of his brother’s apartment block which allowed entry into the glass fronted hall way. He opened the glass door and let Michelle enter first and he followed her closing the door gently behind him. He lightly took her hand and led her up to the second floor of the block and with another key opened the apartment door.

  Simon flicked the light switch next to the door and four spotlights lit the room, all of them directed onto a feature of the room; the first Michelle noticed was focused onto an elaborate rug, the second a huge tropical fish tank, the next a large stereo system and the fourth was trained upon a bar. ‘Nice place.’

  ‘Yeah, it is. He is a pilot.’

  ‘A pilot?’

  ‘Yep, he got the brains and I got the nothing!’

  ‘I don’t think that is exactly true Simon.’

  Simon did not reply but he made his way further into the apartment. He opened another door and flicked another light switch. This light illuminated a large kitchen with a view through the window over the river.

  ‘It gets better! A river view. You’ll have to introduce me to your brother!’

  Simon almost looked hurt by Michelle’s intended joke and she definitely saw a brief cloud pass across his face. ‘Materialistic are we?’

  ‘Only joking with you,’ and she lightly punched his arm.

  ‘If I end up with a place as half as nice as this I’ll be happy.’

  ‘I’m sure you will.’

  ‘You got any brothers or sisters Michelle?’

  ‘One younger brother. He is a nuisance, but quite cute sometimes.’

  ‘Well be thankful he is not older than you, or even worse an older sister. Be thankful you never have to live in their shadow and have your successes continually compared to an older brother or sister.’

  Simon was talking as he was walking round the kitchen preparing items for the coffees. He slammed the coffee pot down and turned quickly around to face Michelle. ‘Be thankful that your every single fucking move you make, your every decision is not compared to someone else. It seriously pisses you off!’

  He turned away again and carried making the coffees. Michelle noticed that his hands were shaking. She moved over to him and placed an arm round his shoulders. Simon did not move but stopped preparing the coffee, he leaned onto the sideboard with his hands and his head slumped down. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have gone off like that. The pressure that I am under sometimes is immense. I mean, I love him to bits, but my parents, my parents; they put so much god damn pressure on me at times.’

  Michelle started to stroke and occasionally patted his shoulder doing her best to comfort him. He turned towards her and she was surprised to see that tears were welling up in his eyes. She did not know what to do, whether to move her hands away or to take a step back because their bodies were pressing against each other.

  ‘I’ve never spoken about this to anyone before. I don’t know why I do so now. Guess it’s the beer talking a bit.’

  ‘It is okay. You can talk to me about anything. It won’t go any further than me.’

  ‘I suppose my mind thought that, subconsciously, and it all just came out in a flood. For the last ten years, ever since I didn’t get picked to be captain of the cricket club at the same age as him, I have noticed this pressure, this ongoing comparison. Gets me down some times.’

  ‘It’s okay. Talk if you need to.’

  ‘Anyway, coffee.’

  Their eyes locked together, their bodies still very close together. He tried to turn round, but she stopped him, tensing the arm that was still around shoulder, and she leaned slowly towards him, offering her lips to his. Simon pulled his head away and Michelle took a step back, obviously annoyed that her offered kiss was refused.

  ‘No, I’m not kissing you Michelle. I’m not going to let the physical side of things destroy what has been a good night. Kisses lead to gropes, gropes lead to removal of clothes etcetera, etcetera.’

  She took the step back towards him and placed her arms back around him. ‘Trust me when I say that it would not destroy a good night, it would make it more perfecter.’

  ‘Perfecter?’

  ‘Perfecter. And also trust me when I say that it will not lead to gropes and it certainly will not lead to removal of clothes etcetera, etcetera. I want to be kissed, I want to kiss you. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned Simon.’

  ‘Funny, it is not the first time tonight I have heard those words.’

  She looked at him puzzled but this expression soon quickly changed as he leaned towards her with his eyes closed. Their lips touched and the gentle kiss soon turned into one of more passion. The kiss existed for a few more moments, Simon briefly exploring Michelle’s mouth with his tongue until she gently pulled away and smiled a beautiful smile at him. He smiled back and slowly turned away from her to continue to make the coffee.

  When he had finished making the coffee he handed a cup to Michelle and led her into the apartment’s living area. He sat down on a sofa and she sat next to him, curling her feet up underneath her and leaned against Simon’s should
er.

  He was slightly surprised at this show of affection but he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and slowly, gently stroked her hair. Her eyes slowly closed as she soaked up his smell and touch, his smell masculine with a faint touch of his aftershave still lingering on his body. As he ran his fingers across her head and through her hair, he could not help noticing how clean and shiny it was, how well looked after. He then could not help himself scrutinizing the rest of her. He liked her face, pretty but not strikingly gorgeous like other women he had dated.

  Sometimes when dating such women he got annoyed when other men kept on looking at them and even more annoyed when he caught his date looking at the other men. Simon thought that he would not have the problem with Michelle and even if a man did look at her in that way he did not think she would be rude enough to acknowledge it while in Simon’s presence.

  His eyes traced downwards to her amazing chest. Large, full breasts and he knew they would also be firm and not bounce around her knees when released from the constraints of her bra. Then his eyes reached the most important part of a woman’s body to him; stomach, hips, waist and bum, the true signs of a good figure and whether the woman looks after herself. Her stomach, in this curled up position anyway, bulged a little, but he did not mind that at all. Also, her hips, waist and bum were in nice proportions, not stick thin like some of the girls he had dated, a figure that he had since grown to detest. Michelle was full, voluptuous and womanly. His eyes reached her legs which were also lovely, just what he looked for in a woman nowadays, full, long and smooth.

  As his eyes reached the tips of her toes he noticed that she was very lightly snoring, more like purring almost than snoring. Simon was slightly amazed that even though she was asleep she was still holding onto the cup of coffee although it was at an angle that suggested it was going to be dropped at any second.

  Carefully he removed the cup from her hand and placed onto a table. He then moved away from her and took her head in his hands and slowly lowered her body so she lay down on the sofa and her head rested on a cushion. Simon stood over her for a moment looking at her sleeping form. Her skirt in the process of her being lowered had hitched itself very high and he could not help looking at the dark triangle that lay in between her legs.

  His eyes lingered there for a few more moments and then he cursed himself and called himself a filthy pervert. He quickly made his way into one of the bedrooms and removed a duvet off the bed which he then placed over Michelle. He lent down and kissed her on her cheek and then went into another of the bedrooms and undressed down to his underwear. He crawled under the blankets and thought about the night and how much he had enjoyed it. Slowly, sleep descended upon him and he feel into a deep slumber and his dreams were full of Michelle.

  Chapter 11

  When they were through in the kitchen Peter took Sarah upstairs and they spent the rest of the night together experimenting with each other’s bodies. Peter could not believe how good Sarah was in bed and Sarah thought the same about Peter.

  When the first line of cocaine started to wear off she asked for another line which he dutifully prepared for her, happy with her style of paying for the drug. After she had taken this in the early hours of the morning they continued with their activities deep into Saturday morning until eventually exhaustion took a hold of them both and they fell into a deep sleep.

  When Sarah woke on Saturday afternoon she felt terrible. Peter was still fast asleep and Sarah thought that she had had a bit more to drink last night than she thought, hence why she was feeling so ill. She lay back down hoping to get some more sleep and sleep through the hangover, but for some reason she felt incredibly restless and she kept on tossing and turning unable to sleep. She sat up again and the sudden movement made her feel dizzy and nauseous. The waves of nausea grew until she could contain them no more and she leaped off the bed and dashed out onto the landing frantically throwing open doors until she located the bathroom. She collapsed onto her knees in front of the toilet and hung her head over it.

  Eventually the waves of nausea subsided and she slowly stood up. She reached for a glass and filled it with water. As she lifted her head to drink she kept an eye on her face in a mirror and instantly noticed how red the inside of her nose looked. She placed the glass down and leaned closer into the mirror tilting her head so she could look up her nostrils. She slowly placed a finger up her nose and was surprised that when she pulled it out it had blood on it. She shook her head in slight bewilderment, washed her hand and returned to bed. Peter was still asleep, lightly snoring.

  She lay back down next to him and closed her eyes, desperately wanting to go to sleep, but her mind was racing and again she felt restless. She was tempted to wake Peter up but did not think that he would appreciate it.

  As she was looking over at him her eyes caught the bag of cocaine that was resting on the bedside table. As she noticed it she felt a rush in her body and she was surprised to find a longing in her body that usually only happened when she wanted sex. She shook her head and lay back down but almost instantly the waves of nausea descended upon her again and she could not keep still. She closed her eyes, but all she could see when they were closed was the bag. She quickly opened her eyes again and leaned up onto one elbow and looked at the bag again.

  Everything was there that she needed to make herself a line and she remembered how she felt last night after taking some. She carefully stood up and slowly made her way to Peter’s side of the bed and picked up the bag. The mirror and the razor blade were also there. She took them all out of the bedroom and into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She carefully placed the bag on the cistern and scraped some of the coke onto the mirror and prepared herself a line as she had seen Peter do.

  However, her small line was in fact a large line as she misjudged how much coke she was scraping onto the mirror. She realized as the line was prepared that she had nothing to snort with so she just shrugged her shoulders and leaned over the cistern and snorted the coke straight up into her nose.

  It was more than the delicate blood vessels in her nose could take. She straightened up after taking the drug and she instantly felt a warm trickle of something wet dripping onto her breasts. She looked over at the mirror and pouring out of the nostril, into which she had snorted the line, was blood. She panicked and started to scream and shout Peter’s name.

  Peter woke from a dream in which he was being chased down a road by a carrot with a gun to the sounds of shouts and screams coming from the bathroom. He instantly rolled over and saw that Sarah was not there and as he quickly sprang to his feet his eyes rested on the bedside table which had nothing on it. ‘Oh! The stupid bitch!’

  He quickly trotted round the bed and reached the bathroom door. The noise from inside had subsided and he pressed his ear against the door. All he could hear was what sounded like sobs. He took a deep breath and composed himself. He tapped lightly on the door and asked if she was alright.

  ‘Yes, yes, I am fine. There was, erm, a big spider. I hate them.’

  ‘A spider? Sarah, where’s the coke?’

  ‘I don’t know, you had it last.’

  ‘It was on the bedside table. Is it in there with you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Can I come in?’

  ‘No! Don't come in.’

  ‘Let me in Sarah. I need to know you are alright.’

  ‘I am alright! Just give me a minute.’

  Peter shook his head and looked down at the door handle. He could unlock the door from the outside but he needed something to turn the lock. He quickly returned to the bedroom and got a coin out of his copper jar and then returned to the bathroom door. Using the coin he turned the lock and slowly, quietly opened the door.

  Sarah was stood at the sink with her head tilted far back. Peter, in the reflection of the mirror, saw that she has splatters of blood on her chest and that her nose was still bleeding. He watched her for a few more moments until Sarah caught his reflection in the mirror.<
br />
  ‘I told you not to come in!’

  ‘Sorry, I had to see that you are okay.’

  ‘I told you I am!’

  ‘Yeah, you look it.’

  He took the few steps to her and gently placed his hand on the back of head. He tilted her head forward and instantly the blood started to flow out of her nose, down and into the sink.

  ‘I thought you were meant to tilt your head back for a nosebleed?’

  ‘You’ll end up choking yourself. Stay like that and let the blood flow. It will start to stop soon.’

  Sure enough, after a few minutes it did, and when it had Sarah started to clean herself up. She pushed Peter away when the bleeding finally stopped and sat down on the lid of the toilet seat. ‘What the hell happened to me?’

  ‘Welcome to the world of drug taking. Everything comes at a price, Sarah.’

  ‘I thought I was dying.’

  ‘No, nothing that quite dramatic babe. Your nose isn’t used to it. How much did you take?’

  Not knowing the difference between large and small she said, ‘A small line.’

  ‘On top of the two last night?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘No wonder then.’

  ‘Why didn’t you warn me?’

  ‘How could I when I was asleep? There is no way I would have let you take another line.’

  ‘Worried about the impact on profit?’

  ‘No, worried about the impact on your health. Why did you take another?’

  ‘Couldn’t sleep, felt sick. I have got the world’s worst hangover going on.’

  ‘And how do you feel now?’

  ‘Now that the nosebleed has stopped top of the world actually.’

  ‘See how you feel once that line wears off.’

  ‘I think I need to go home now. What time is it?’

  ‘I think you should. About three.’

  ‘Oh! So late. Where are my clothes?’

  ‘I think they are scattered all round the house. I’ll find them while you finish tidying yourself up.’