A young couple faces up to how far down they’ve sunk in this excerpt from An Accidental Life.
Bree and Jason argued on into the wee hours of the morning until finally Bree seemed to sink into a semi-conscious state. She lay there, limp; every muscle in her body seemed wrung out and left to dry.
Jason leaned back against the wall, his face set in that stony look he got sometimes. They had reached an impasse. He glanced over at Bree, trying to anticipate her next move. When nothing happened, he began undressing for bed, his back turned to her. He felt totally helpless in the face of this monster Bree had become. What had happened to her? He knew everyone else thought it was the drugs. But he was sure that something much deeper was going on with Bree. But nothing she had said or done tonight had given him even the slightest clue.
As he slid under the big, scratchy Indian blanket, he felt a slight movement. Bree had slowly turned toward him, her face unreadable. Her blue eyes seemed huge, all dark and mysterious in that very pale face. He suddenly realized how very scrawny she was, now; her bones literally stuck out all over her body! He almost gasped with the shock of it, but catching the shift in her facial expression, he covered his feelings.
“I’m moving out,” she reported flatly, her voice conveying none of the emotion she’d displayed earlier. “First thing tomorrow.” Then she turned away from him, falling into a motionless lump at his side.
He almost reached out for her. His instinct was to hold her, comfort her, and beg her not to go. But he didn’t. A feeling of relief washed over him. Then guilt followed. As he lay there, trying to figure out what to do, the opportunity passed; in the end, he did nothing. They had turned a corner and there was no going back.
SERENDIPITY 