Jae rolled on the couch in agonizing pain. That girl kicked pretty damn hard. He heard the door slam shut, no doubt Izzy had bolted. Jae silently cursed that crazy bitch for kneeing him in the balls and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He snatched his phone from the coffee table and scrolled through his contacts before pressing on an unnamed number that he knew to call only in emergencies.

"What?" The voice growled as soon as the line clicked.
"I have an update on your girl."
"Talk," he demanded.
"She came by Cassie's place, had a few pills, and ran out."
"This doesn't sound like very important information to me," Jae could tell he was getting pissed.
"She was still wearing his jacket," Jae added quickly.
"Cassie was drunk off her ass and asked her if she had been spending time with them. Izzy was very quick to deny it. And a little too nervous to be telling the truth," Jae informed.
"Damn it," Youngkyun growled on the line. "They take my money and my girl and then rub it in my face. I need to end this. I want their asses on a silver platter and I want my money."

***

The week was far from over. It was only Wednesday and the familiar itch on the crook of Izzy's arm had returned with a vigor; it was the biggest sign of her withdrawals. She sat quietly on the couch. Her morning shift at the cafe had ended a few hours ago and she'd come straight home just as the boys had told her to. She hadn't informed them that she'd gone to Cassie's place or told them what Jae had done but they were protective of her nonetheless. Really they weren't acting any differently than they always did, but in her irritable state of withdrawal Izzy found their phone calls and constant concern for her well-being more annoying than endearing. At the moment Jungkook's arm was slung over her shoulder and the TV was tuned to some strange survival show but Izzy paid it no attention, her mind was busy conjuring up images of little white pills. Her foot tapped out an erratic beat on the wooden floor. She was restless, the cramp in her stomach kept a permanent grimace on her face, and she hadn't slept more than six hours in the past two nights.

"I'm hungry," she blurted out, startling the boys who were resting throughout the room. "I'm gonna go pick up some food, anyone want anything?"

"Just get the usual orders," Jin told her while Jimin began to stand from his seat.

"I'll come with you."

"No!" Izzy spoke too quickly, freezing wide-eyed when she saw the confusion on Jimin's face.
"I-I just um," she sputtered for some sort of excuse to feed him.
"I just want to be alone for a bit." He didn't move.

"Alright," he sunk slowly back into his seat, unblinking eyes never leaving Izzy.
"Come back soon."

Izzy nodded rapidly, grabbed her wallet off the kitchen counter, and rushed out the door. Her feet carried her through the grimy city streets, she walked in the direction of the boys' favorite takeout restaurant. But she had no intention of stopping there, at least not yet. She had other priorities. The city was overrun with drugs so finding a seller shouldn't be too difficult. She could've just gone back to Cassie's apartment and gotten her fix for free. But there was no way in hell that Izzy was going to put herself in reach of Jae's slimy hands ever again.

Izzy walked past a dim alley, and halted in her stride when she heard movement behind her. She backed up a few steps and glanced into the narrow space between two tall buildings. One shadowed figure leaned casually on the dirty brick wall as another stumbled away from him. Looks like Izzy found her seller. She walked down the dark alleyway, stumbling slightly over discarded beer cans. The shadowed figure that was leaning against the wall had a hood covering his face. Stopping a few feet away, Izzy cleared her throat to get his attention. The guy barely moved. Only the slightest twitch of his head told her that he was listening.

"What are you looking for?" His voice scratched at her ears. It sounded like he had been smoking for three decades.

"Morphine," she mumbled out.

The guy laughed and slowly reached into his pocket, "Not a lot of people out there buy morphine anymore."

"Do you have it or not?"

"Thirty milligram. Fifteen bucks a pill."

"Fifteen?" Izzy shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. That was a lot of money. Did she need the high that badly?

"If you can't cough it up then go home," he pulled his hand back out of his pocket. This guy wasn't messing around.

Her eyes darted side to side as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip. One question ran through her mind over and over again. Did she need it? Did she need it? Did she really need it?

Izzy pulled a wad of cash from her wallet and handed over seventy five dollars. It was what two shifts at the cafe had earned her and she'd just tossed it away for five little pills.

She needed it.

The guy reached back into his pocket and pulled out a small baggie, tossing it to her. She stuffed the pills in her jeans pocket and walked quickly back up the alley, heart pounding in her chest. Izzy knew that she couldn't risk taking any right now, that would mean coming back home buzzed and she knew the boys would see through her immediately. Namjoon had been keeping an especially watchful eye on her the past couple of days. She would have to pretend like nothing was wrong, and that started with bringing home takeout for the boys.

Izzy walked quickly to their favorite restaurant, she had to make up for lost time or the boys might suspect that she'd made an unscheduled stop. The owners of the Korean Barbecue place recognized Izzy the second she walked through the door. The boys were frequent visitors, and the restaurant owners had their usual orders committed to memory, so they were quick to make the food and send Izzy off with a friendly smile. The entire time she stood in that restaurant, waiting for the food and exchanging pleasantries, she couldn't help the nervous tapping of her foot. It felt as if at any second someone would figure out that she's harboring 150 milligrams worth of drugs in her back pocket. The anxiety was eating her alive and even as she left the restaurant she wanted nothing more than to down those pills and finally find some sort of peace, or maybe just a second of relief from her own jittery body. Izzy's boots slapped far too loudly against the metal, outdoor stairs leading to the apartment. She paused and sighed in exhaustion before prying open the creaky front door.

"Food, as requested," she held the takeout bag in the air as evidence.

"Oh finally! I'm starving," Jungkook heaved himself off the couch and lifted the bags from her hands, setting the food down on the kitchen counter. He and Taehyung rifled eagerly through the bags and chattered happily about god knows what.

"Here Izzy," Taehyung handed her the container with her usual order and flopped down on the couch with his own food.

"Thanks," she mumbled quietly. Her legs couldn't find the strength or will-power to move from her spot in the middle of the living room.

"Izzy?" Her head snapped to look at Jimin, who stared back at her with concerned eyes. "Are you okay? You've been off for a couple days now. What's going on with you?"

All eyes were on her now. Hoseok was frozen beside Taehyung on the couch with a piece of chicken halfway to his mouth. Jin and Yoongi watched carefully from the kitchen where Jungkook was looking for a pair of chopsticks. Jimin stood right in front of her, leaning down so he could get a better look at her. But Namjoon was the one to make her anxious heart pound. He stood leaning onto the wall at the edge of the room, arms crossed, his sharp eyes narrowed but not once did he blink. She ripped her eyes away from his stone-cold expression and turned to Jimin.

Izzy smiled, "I'm fine. I know I've been acting kind of weird," she sucked in a breath, "I just can't sleep lately. And my shifts at the diner are kind of crazy," her voice softened. "I'm really sorry if I worried you guys."

Jimin nodded and quickly pulled her into a hug.
"It's alright," he breathed into her hair. "You know we're here for you, right? If you're tired or stressed you can always talk to us."

Izzy caught Namjoon's steely eyes over Jimin's shoulder, "I know," she whispered.