Following The Green, chapter 3
For the next few days, I woke up several times to find myself lying in a bed, in a plain room. My vision was still pretty hazy, and so was my memory. My head throbbed even worse, and my body ached all over. I called out for St. Jimmy several times, only to get no response. Sometimes I saw figures standing over my bed.
Eventually, I woke up. My mouth and throat were so dry, I could barely even groan. Someone handed me a glass of water and an aspirin. I drank the water within seconds and swallowed the aspirin even faster. Once I’d replenishing my thirst, I looked to see who’d handed me the glass.
I figured I was still delusional from whatever I was going through. Because I saw, sitting next to my bed, Him again—Billie Joe. I though I’d been dreaming the last time we met—so I must’ve still been dreaming again. “What’s happening to me?� I asked.
“You’re going cold turkey.� He replied. Simple as that. As if it were an everyday thing. Like a conversation between two commoners—“Hey, what’d you do today?� “Oh, I went cold turkey.� Just a normal thing. Bullshit.
“WHAT?!� I sat up so fast, I got dizzy that I had to lie back down.
“OK, look.� Billie Joe sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Jimmy committed suicide the other day.� I sat there, unable to speak. Jimmy committed suicide. Jimmy was the one everyone looked up to. He was the St. Jimmy. Bearing gifts of drugs and dope. And now he was gone…
I acted calm. I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “I’m dreaming, right? I’m still delusional. I mean, I’m in a random bedroom, with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day telling me my only hope of not killing myself is gone forever.�
He just shook his head. Oh God, I thought. It’s true. And that’s when I began to cry. I wanted to die right then and there. Finally, I regained composure. “So…you’re Green Eyes?� I asked.
“I guess.� He laughed. “I wanted to help you. When I saw you the other day, you were so out of it, so sick. I couldn’t leave you there.�
“Wait…you didn’t take me to a hospital? I could’ve died from overdose!� My voice was rising, but Billie Joe remained calm. “You want your parents to find you?� He asked. OK, so he had a point. I sniffled and hung my head. “How’d you know…� I began.
“I used to be exactly like you. In fact, I used to live around here. I made money by selling joints in high school for two bucks…earning me the nickname Two Dollar Bill. St. Jimmy wasn’t around back then, but there were guys…� He wasn’t with me anymore; he was looking back on his past. His eyes looked distant and sad. Then he blinked and the look was gone. “Anyway, they all end up the same. They all kill themselves, or die from overdose. But I’ve never seen someone as bad off as you.� He said it without sympathy.
At that moment, someone else entered the room. Until that minute, I’d still been unsure of whether or not I was dreaming this all up. But the person that entered clarified that it was real. Because none other than Tre Cool came bursting through the door.
“Hey! She’s up!� He said, grinning. “You’re first time off, I’m guessing?� What the hell was he talking about? Billie Joe read my confused face. “He means, you’re first time going cold turkey.�
“Oh. Yeah.� I said. “Why the fuck am I with Green Day again?� I asked, more to myself than them. “Didn’t Billie Joe tell you? We’re HELPING you.� Tre said, exaggerating ‘helping’. Billie Joe rolled his eyes.
“Look, Laura, your family…your family wants to see you,� Billie Joe said. I winced. My family…I hated them. Well, except my sister, Kelly. I was closer to her than anyone else. But the rest of them—my parents especially—had never paid any attention to me at all. Probably because they weren’t my real parents, in the first place. They were my foster parents, but me and Kelly were blood sisters. Why they took me and Kelly in in the first place, when they already had 4 boys of their own to be preoccupied with, I had no idea. And now I felt bad for leaving Kelly on her own with them.
“Kid, I know families are a pain in the ass, but you gotta see them.� Tre said. I shook my head. “You don’t know…� My voice drifted. Tre and Billie Joe exchanged glances. I sighed. “I just want to see my sister.� Billie Joe and Tre left the room, coming back with Kelly.
She ran over and hugged me, crying. “Laura…� She sobbed. “Where have you been? Are you OK? Oh my God…� She hugged me and kissed me. “I’m fine…� I said. Then I told her everything—from wasting my time on the streets, to meeting St. Jimmy, to how I got to where I was now. “I’m sorry I left you with them,� I apologized. She shook her head. “It’s OK. But you’ve got to come home.�
“No. I can’t go home. Don’t you get it?� I said, fighting back the tears. “Where the hell are you gonna stay?� Kelly asked. She had a good point. Where was I going to stay? I couldn’t go back on the streets. There was no one I could go to, now that St. Jimmy was dead, and besides, I’d probably kill myself if I used again.
“With us,� A voice said. It was Tre. He was standing with Billie Joe, and now Mike. I was speechless. So much was happening so fast…
“What?!� Kelly asked. I was thinking the same thing.
“Well, we kind of need someone to come with us on tours, you know, like a roadie.� Mike said. The other two nodded in agreement. Kelly paused, thinking about it. She was older than me by only a year, but she acted like my mother. “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease, Kel?� I whispered. “Well…I guess they did, like, save your life…� She mulled over it some more. “Promise me you’ll visit a lot?� I nodded furiously. She gave me a weak smile. Then she looked at the guys.
“OK.� She agreed. I threw my arms around her. “THANK YOU!!� I said to both Kelly and the guys. They all smiled. “We actually have to leave for our next tour next week. That should be enough time for her to recover before we leave.� Kelly smiled. This time, it was a real smile. “We’ll talk about it more later. Get some rest.� Kelly and Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre all left.
I lay down and closed my eyes. Now I hoped this really wasn’t a dream.
Eventually, I woke up. My mouth and throat were so dry, I could barely even groan. Someone handed me a glass of water and an aspirin. I drank the water within seconds and swallowed the aspirin even faster. Once I’d replenishing my thirst, I looked to see who’d handed me the glass.
I figured I was still delusional from whatever I was going through. Because I saw, sitting next to my bed, Him again—Billie Joe. I though I’d been dreaming the last time we met—so I must’ve still been dreaming again. “What’s happening to me?� I asked.
“You’re going cold turkey.� He replied. Simple as that. As if it were an everyday thing. Like a conversation between two commoners—“Hey, what’d you do today?� “Oh, I went cold turkey.� Just a normal thing. Bullshit.
“WHAT?!� I sat up so fast, I got dizzy that I had to lie back down.
“OK, look.� Billie Joe sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Jimmy committed suicide the other day.� I sat there, unable to speak. Jimmy committed suicide. Jimmy was the one everyone looked up to. He was the St. Jimmy. Bearing gifts of drugs and dope. And now he was gone…
I acted calm. I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “I’m dreaming, right? I’m still delusional. I mean, I’m in a random bedroom, with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day telling me my only hope of not killing myself is gone forever.�
He just shook his head. Oh God, I thought. It’s true. And that’s when I began to cry. I wanted to die right then and there. Finally, I regained composure. “So…you’re Green Eyes?� I asked.
“I guess.� He laughed. “I wanted to help you. When I saw you the other day, you were so out of it, so sick. I couldn’t leave you there.�
“Wait…you didn’t take me to a hospital? I could’ve died from overdose!� My voice was rising, but Billie Joe remained calm. “You want your parents to find you?� He asked. OK, so he had a point. I sniffled and hung my head. “How’d you know…� I began.
“I used to be exactly like you. In fact, I used to live around here. I made money by selling joints in high school for two bucks…earning me the nickname Two Dollar Bill. St. Jimmy wasn’t around back then, but there were guys…� He wasn’t with me anymore; he was looking back on his past. His eyes looked distant and sad. Then he blinked and the look was gone. “Anyway, they all end up the same. They all kill themselves, or die from overdose. But I’ve never seen someone as bad off as you.� He said it without sympathy.
At that moment, someone else entered the room. Until that minute, I’d still been unsure of whether or not I was dreaming this all up. But the person that entered clarified that it was real. Because none other than Tre Cool came bursting through the door.
“Hey! She’s up!� He said, grinning. “You’re first time off, I’m guessing?� What the hell was he talking about? Billie Joe read my confused face. “He means, you’re first time going cold turkey.�
“Oh. Yeah.� I said. “Why the fuck am I with Green Day again?� I asked, more to myself than them. “Didn’t Billie Joe tell you? We’re HELPING you.� Tre said, exaggerating ‘helping’. Billie Joe rolled his eyes.
“Look, Laura, your family…your family wants to see you,� Billie Joe said. I winced. My family…I hated them. Well, except my sister, Kelly. I was closer to her than anyone else. But the rest of them—my parents especially—had never paid any attention to me at all. Probably because they weren’t my real parents, in the first place. They were my foster parents, but me and Kelly were blood sisters. Why they took me and Kelly in in the first place, when they already had 4 boys of their own to be preoccupied with, I had no idea. And now I felt bad for leaving Kelly on her own with them.
“Kid, I know families are a pain in the ass, but you gotta see them.� Tre said. I shook my head. “You don’t know…� My voice drifted. Tre and Billie Joe exchanged glances. I sighed. “I just want to see my sister.� Billie Joe and Tre left the room, coming back with Kelly.
She ran over and hugged me, crying. “Laura…� She sobbed. “Where have you been? Are you OK? Oh my God…� She hugged me and kissed me. “I’m fine…� I said. Then I told her everything—from wasting my time on the streets, to meeting St. Jimmy, to how I got to where I was now. “I’m sorry I left you with them,� I apologized. She shook her head. “It’s OK. But you’ve got to come home.�
“No. I can’t go home. Don’t you get it?� I said, fighting back the tears. “Where the hell are you gonna stay?� Kelly asked. She had a good point. Where was I going to stay? I couldn’t go back on the streets. There was no one I could go to, now that St. Jimmy was dead, and besides, I’d probably kill myself if I used again.
“With us,� A voice said. It was Tre. He was standing with Billie Joe, and now Mike. I was speechless. So much was happening so fast…
“What?!� Kelly asked. I was thinking the same thing.
“Well, we kind of need someone to come with us on tours, you know, like a roadie.� Mike said. The other two nodded in agreement. Kelly paused, thinking about it. She was older than me by only a year, but she acted like my mother. “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease, Kel?� I whispered. “Well…I guess they did, like, save your life…� She mulled over it some more. “Promise me you’ll visit a lot?� I nodded furiously. She gave me a weak smile. Then she looked at the guys.
“OK.� She agreed. I threw my arms around her. “THANK YOU!!� I said to both Kelly and the guys. They all smiled. “We actually have to leave for our next tour next week. That should be enough time for her to recover before we leave.� Kelly smiled. This time, it was a real smile. “We’ll talk about it more later. Get some rest.� Kelly and Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre all left.
I lay down and closed my eyes. Now I hoped this really wasn’t a dream.
