Read Online Death Spiral by Janie Chodosh - Free Book Online Page A

who overdosed on your bathroom floor, stole from you, and then disappeared. There is no other word, though, and I return the greeting.
    Now comes the awkward silence. What is there to say? You still doing smack?
    I stand in the doorway and peer into the tiny cluttered kitchen, at the crusty dishes piled in the sink, at the beer bottles littering the table, and the overflowing ashtrays. I breathe in the stink of cigarettes, marijuana, and a room that hasn’t had fresh air in about a decade. My heart tightens. This scene is too familiar. I’m about to turn and leave when Melinda speaks.
    â€œCome in,” she wheezes. “I have to talk to you.”
    Jesse, Mr. Chivalry, tromps across the floor, hand extended. I take a deep breath and follow.
    Melinda shakes Jesse’s hand, then fidgets around in her pocket and pulls out a fresh cigarette and a lighter. She lights up with trembling fingers and squints at me. Bones poke at her flesh as if her skin is nothing more than a thin sheet holding her skeleton in place.
    â€œI got your note,” I say, finding my voice. “You said it was about my mom. So what is it?”
    Melinda hacks and paces the perimeter of the room. Her eyes dart from door to window like she’s expecting someone else to show up. “I’m sorry,” she says, letting the cigarette dangle between her nicotine-stained fingers.
    â€œFor stealing from me or for almost dying on our bathroom floor or because my mom’s dead?”
    She stares at me with her gaunt face and hollow eyes. Television voices murmur from behind the closed door where Fat Guy disappeared. “All of it.” She glances at the window again. “What happened? How’d she die?”
    â€œShe was sick,” I mutter.
    Melinda rakes her fingernails over her cheek, causing a welt by her right nostril to bleed. “I need money,” she pleads as a trickle of blood dribbles past her lip onto her chin. “You’re the only one I could go to, the only one who could understand. I’ll pay you back. All of it.”
    I slap my hand down on the table, knocking over an empty wine bottle. “Understand? You’ve got to be kidding. You’re really asking me for money?” I shake my head and turn toward the window where a trapped fly buzzes between the cracked glass and screen. “I can’t believe you had the guts to come to my aunt’s house, leave me some bullshit note about my mom, and ask for money after you stole from us.” I spin back around to face her. “I’m such an idiot. I knew I shouldn’t have come here.”
    â€œWait!” she blurts. “Please. There’s more.”
    She takes a drag off her cigarette and starts to cough. She coughs so hard I think she’s going to crack a rib. For a second I almost feel sorry for her, but I shake off the feeling. I’m not getting suckered into that charity case routine.
    â€œForget it. We’re out of here. Come on, Jesse. Let’s go.”
    I grab his arm and start walking to the door, but Melinda gets there first. She stands in the doorway, arms out, blocking us from leaving. I could easily push her out of the way if I wanted to—a flick of my hand and those birdlike bones would snap.
    â€œThey’re telling me not to go to the doctor, like they told your mother,” she whispers.
    â€œLike who told my mother?” I hear my voice rise, feel my face burn.
    Melinda cracks the door, peers down the hallway, then closes it again. She’s acting like a paranoid drug addict. Big surprise.
    â€œI can’t tell you,” she says.
    â€œOh my god. This is crazy.” I try to push past her, but she’s not letting me go without a fight. She grabs my jacket with more force than I would’ve expected, given her size and state, and gives me a hard shove. I stumble backwards into Jesse. He rights my fall and holds my arm for a second, but I jerk away. I’m angry