Harper felt like she was going to be sick. She was terrified… But she knew what she had to do. She felt like she’d go crazy if she didn’t. Plus, Erik was counting on her, wasn’t he?

Don’t be a pussy… Just do it! Her eyes darted back and forth for a few moments, searching. But there was no one else in sight… The back corner of the store was seemingly deserted.

But what if there’s a camera…? She turned her gaze upward, searching as the pounding in her chest grew and grew. And though she saw no sign of a security camera, Harper could not seem to shake the feeling of dread that had washed over her. Shit. I can’t. I can’t!

Harper left the small pile of CDs behind on the shelf and headed for the exit, still cursing herself.

I can’t keep wussing out like this! Her landlord was expecting them to pay their rent next week, but even with Harper’s most recent paycheck, she didn’t have enough to cover it. And she hadn’t managed to sell even one copy of one of her e-books in weeks.

Erik had all but drained his savings account dry to pay back his dealer. Simon had been charging Erik extra ever since his relapse… Because the bastard knew he was more desperate than ever before.

Until Erik found another job, they were totally screwed.

Fuck. What are we gonna do?

It had been so disheartening when Erik had fallen off the wagon again… But lately, Harper had found herself wishing that she could too.

The past few months without stealing had been torturous, but she was simply too afraid of getting caught again. Too terrified that next time, she’d have to deal with more than just a fine…

Still, it was Hell not being able to get a fix. Harper had had it easier than Erik had, of course. She didn’t have to deal with any physical withdrawal symptoms. But it was still so hard to give it up… Only recently had she finally started to feel like she didn’t need to steal anymore. Not as much as she used to, at least.

But it wasn’t about what she needed anymore. It was about Erik. And what he needed right now was money.

At first, she’d hoped she could convince her father to help her out, but that idea had been a total bust…

“We’ve talked about this, Harper… I can’t make an exception for you. I love you, honey. But you’re an employee, just like everyone else.”

“But Papa, we NEED the money… Can you just do, like, a TINY advance?”

“Uh-huh… How ‘tiny’ are we talking?”

“A couple hundred, maybe? And I’ll work whatever hours you want next week. I promise!”

Zayne was silent for a few moments before replying. “I know why you need all this money all of a sudden… It’s so Erik can start shooting up again.”

“Papa!”

“That’s it, isn’t it? He’s gone back to that shit, and now he owes his dealer again… Harper, he’s gonna have another overdose if you don’t get him to stop again — for good!”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s got NOTHING to do with any of that! It’s RENT money, okay?”

“I wish I could believe that, honey.”

“So you think I’m LYING to you?!”

Her father’s voice was pained. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“You’re so unbelievable… Fuck you, Papa. I don’t need your stupid money.”

“Harper!”

Without her parents help, Harper knew of only one other way to come up with the money… And it wouldn’t have been the first time she’d done it either.

Back before Erik’s overdose, she’d started selling some of the things she’d stolen online. She’d tried to hide it from Erik as much as she could, but she had a feeling he’d figured out where the extra money was coming from. But they were so desperate, he never really questioned it.

Heroin wasn’t quite as expensive as the cocaine had been… But he needed so much of it. It all started adding up so quickly.

And now that he was out of work, things were tighter than ever before.

I can’t believe I let him down… Fuck! Harper still couldn’t believe she’d chickened out. Maybe she wouldn’t have gotten too much for those CDs, but these days, every little bit helped.

I’ll go back tomorrow. Harper told herself firmly. And this time, I won’t back down.

Bzzzzz! Bzzzzz!

Harper jumped at the sudden feeling of several rapid buzzes in her pocket, calling her back to the present. She slowed her pace slightly as she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone.

For a moment, Harper felt a rush of warmth in her chest at the sight of the messages. It had been months since she, Rylie, and Devin had gotten together. In fact, Harper hadn’t seen either of her friends since…

And the last Rylie and Devin had heard, things were getting better. They were going so well. Erik was clean. He still had his job. Harper had paid her fine and gave up shoplifting for good. They were happy. And her friends were so proud of both of them.

Too bad none of those things were true anymore.

How the hell could she face either of them now? How would they react if they knew how terribly she and Erik had failed? How was she supposed to pretend everything was okay? How could she tell them how horribly everything had started falling apart?

With a shake of her head, Harper returned her phone to her pocket and headed up the front steps of the apartment building.

“Baby?” Harper called as she glanced around for a few moments. “How’d the interview go?”

She’d expected to find Erik at the computer, filling out more job applications. That was where he’d been spending most of his time lately.

Instead, he was slumped on the edge of the couch, his eyes closed. Her heart sank at the sight.

Guess that answers that question…

Harper crossed over into the living room, finally noticing that the TV was on. She gently lowered herself on the sofa beside her boyfriend, giving him a soft nudge.

“Erik.” She said softly. “I’m home.”

As expected, it took a few more tries before she finally got a response.

“Hey, beautiful.” His voice was thick and sleepy as his eyes finally fluttered open.

Harper sighed. It was always so terrible seeing him like this… But it was happening more and more often lately. When he first relapsed, Erik was so careful — taking only enough to calm himself down and deal with the stress of losing his job.

But he’d been getting more and more careless lately with his doses… And Harper could already tell things were going back to exactly how they used to be.

“Hey, handsome.” She forced a smile for a moment. “I, uh… take it the job interview didn’t go so great?”

Erik shrugged, smiling. “Eh, whatever. There’s always the next one.” His speech was still so slow and slurred.

Harper knew it was the heroin talking, not Erik. Something told her he’d be a lot less calm and carefree about things once he sobered up. “That’s the spirit.” She replied weakly. “I just wish you’d waited so we could talk about this, instead of…” Her eyes flicked toward the syringes on the kitchen table.

Erik’s smile flickered. “Fuck. You’re right. I’m sorry.” His words still sounded sleepy and garbled. “It won’t happen again. I was stupid. But I’ll make it up to you. Okay?” His smile slowly crept its way back on his face.

Before she had a chance to reply, Erik pulled Harper to his chest and closed his eyes, laying back against the arm of the sofa once more.

Harper sighed. “You always say that… But yeah.” Her voice was small as she rested her head against his warm chest. “Okay.”