The present, December 1996

"I'm worried about him, Jim," Nancy said, stirring the food she had been cooking on the stove.  She sighed as she set the spoon back down on the plate beside it, turning to her husband.

Jim studied her for a moment.  She looked tired.  And her hair was disheveled.  She had on a stained sweatshirt with a pair of old raggedy jeans.  He couldn't help it but to shake his head.  "And I'm worried about YOU."

Her brow creased with confusion.  "Me?  But I'm fine.  Im doing okay."

He rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his hip.  "How'd you sleep last night?"

Nancy groaned, turning back to stir the chili on the stove.  "I'm just worried about him, Jim.  I can't sleep knowing that he's suffering like this."

"It's just going to take time."

"It's been a month!" She cried out.  She stirred the chili so violently that it splattered all over the wall.  Anger boiled in her veins, causing her to shriek with anger & toss her hands up.  The ladle cascaded to the floor, bouncing heavily on the tile. Immediately, she regretted her outburst & turned to grab a towel to wipe up the mess.

Jim stopped her, though, wrapping an arm around her.  His brows furrowed as she wept within his hold.  He walked her over to the couch in the living room, sitting her down.

"Just relax, okay?" Jim told her softly, swiping the silver hair from her face.  He pressed his lips against her's.  "I'll finish dinner."

She nodded as she wiped the tears from her face.  She was about to cry more when Jim disappeared back into the kitchen until her eye caught that stick thin silhouette.

"Layne?" she called out to him, clearing her throat.  She tried her best to hide the concern that burned within her chest when he turned to her.  He was nothing but bone anymore.  His hair was a shaggy mess of blond still mixed with the pink dyed strands.  Those dim eyes of his were filled with the epitome of hopelessness & despair.

He lit a cigarette & took a seat on the recliner next to the couch.  "Hey, mom," he muttered.  His voice was thin & soft.  He sounded weak & emotionally destroyed.

"I'm surprised you're out of your room," she commented.  She sat up a bit, trying her best not to analyze him too much.  It hurt to see him in the shape he was currently in.

He raised his brows at her, leaning back a bit as he took another drag from his smoke. "I heard some commotion out here..."  His eyes dropped on his mom, his heart throbbing when he took in her expression.  His eyebrows furrowed, worry twisting his skull-like face.  "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Nancy smiled at that.  Even at his worst, Layne was still a sweetheart.  "I'm okay, sweetie."

He bit his lip.  "You look really tired..."

She gripped Layne's bony hand.  "I'm fine.  Just having a rough day."

The both of them turned to the opening of the kitchen when they heard Jim step out.  Jim smirked, eyeing Layne.  "I was just about to pull your SCRAWNY ass out here," he teased.

Layne smirked.  "Oh yeah?"

"Yep.  Tired of you acting like a freaking hermit," he eyed Nancy, his smile dropping. She kept glaring over at Layne, eyes wide, pointing out how horrible he looked. Jim's brows raised, turning back to Layne. "Dinner's ready."

Layne hot boxed his cigarette for a moment, catching a look from his mother. "What is it..."

"Chili," Jim stated. He sighed when he saw the wince that accumulated on his step son's face. Before he could say anything more, though, his wife stepped in.

"I could make you something else," Nancy said. Her eyes pleaded at Layne, making him sigh.

He took in another drag of his cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray on the coffee table before standing up. "Sure," he mumbled.

"What?" Nancy asked as she stood up. Her heart stopped when Layne wrapped his arm around her.

"I'll eat, okay," he whispered into her ear. He pecked her on her cheek, smiling at her.

Relief settled in her aging face as they sat at the table. Nancy stood near the fridge, eyeing Layne. "Do you want a sandwich, or..."

"Yeah, that's fine," he muttered. He blushed when he caught a look from Jim.

"So, you finally have decided to EAT? AND come out of your cave?" Jim asked. He winked at Layne to know he was just giving him a hard time.

Still, Layne's eyes softened. He wrapped his arms around himself insecurely, licking his lips. "Decided I should stop starving myself, it's stupid..."

"What, are you anorexic or something?" Jim asked, giving him a weird look.

Layne couldn't help but to laugh. "No, I know I'm too skinny..." His brows furrowed when Nancy set his plate infront of him. "Just...been depressed, had a hard time taking care of myself..."

"Well I hope you really start to take care of yourself," Nancy spat. She took a seat next to him, eyeing the outlines of his ribs that jutted through his plain white t shirt. "Hope you at least gain some weight, you're looking like you did back when we had to take you to rehab in '93..."

Layne sighed, his eyes fixated on the plate of food. "I'll gain weight, okay...? It's just been hard..."

Nancy glared pointedly at his untouched food. "Well, then, eat your dinner."

Layne rolled his eyes. His face burned when he caught the both of his parents staring at him. Puffing out air of anxiety, his eyes grew wide as he picked up the sandwich & brought it to his lips. He slowly chewed, looking to see his parents were minding their own business. They were eating their chili & talking about work. His mind fogged over with memories, making his head ache & his stomach gurgle with nausea. Still, he forced himself to eat most of his sandwich. When he got up, he felt a hand grab his.

"You didn't finish your dinner," Nancy pouted.

Layne bit his lip. Before he could explain, though, Jim piped up. "Let the poor kid be, Nance. He at least ate something. For weeks we could barely get him to eat HALF a sandwich..."

Nancy nodded & sighed as Layne slid out of the room.  When Layne collapsed back onto his bed in the spare room, he curled up on his side, hugging his pillow.  He felt crazy pretending his pillow was Demri, but he couldn't help himself.  It made him feel somewhat normal.

His head ached again, though, thinking about how he could score another bag.  He really didn't want to relapse YET AGAIN, but he was tired of feeling all of these unpleasant emotions.

Biting back tears, he rolled over onto his back.  A sigh escaped him as he glared down at himself.  He could count every single one of his ribs.  His hip bones were like knives cutting sharply through his sweatpants.  He really wanted to eat more, to gain weight, but the memories wouldn't stop.  The guilt weighed heavy on his chest to the point where he was nauseated at the thought of nourishing himself.

Demri kept swimming in his mind.  And it was anything but pleasant.  She was a mess after she began to bang heroin.  It killed him to realize that.  Demri used to be such a sweet & gentle person.  Until he got her to shoot up with him.

"Layne," his mother's voice called out from the doorway.

Layne opened his eyes to look at her.  His face burned when he noticed she was eyeing the bones that poked through his shirt.  He yanked his pillow over to him & hugged it.  "Yeah?"

She smiled at him.  Her eyes were sad, though.  A pang in his heart commenced, causing his chest to ache.  He hated seeing his mother like this.  It worried the hell out of him.  He wished he could put a stop to this, but he seemed out of control.  Ever since Demri, he'd been a hopeless mess.  He despised it.

"We'll get through this, you know that now I hope," Nancy said.

Layne sighed.  He honestly didn't know if he would make this out alive.  But he didn't want to harm his mother even more, he's hurt her enough already.  He couldn't form words to humor her, so he simply just nodded.

"I love you," Nancy called out to him.

Layne wetted his lips, forcing a smirk.  "I love you, too, mom..."

When the door clicked shut, Layne broke down in tears.  He hugged his pillow tightly as though his life depended on it.  His mind was racing, the memories seeming to taunt him now.

He wanted more than anything to just escape & get a bag...  Just one more bag, just to calm down.

Those dull gray-blue eyes widened.  A tiny sparkle gleamed within them.  He sat up, glaring at the window.

Working on impulse, he slowly slid the window open.  A devious grin creasing his face...