Recovery Read Free Page A

cherish the peace they’d created in the eye of the storm. Maxim pulled back the covers, placed her on the bed, stripped down to his boxers and slid in beside her. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes as her lids grew heavy and he toyed with the ends of her hair.
    “Don’t give up on me, Oceane,” he whispered in the moments just before sleep took her.
    “I will never give up, Maxim. Have you given up on yourself?”
    Unable to answer her question Maxim shook his head and let a comfortable hush fall over the room.  It wasn’t long until Oceane’s body went slack and her breaths evened. He, however, was unable to find the same rest. Her words haunted him. How had things gotten so twisted? The beauty of their relationship had always been their mutual understanding of the love they held for their crafts. So when did his career begin to come before her?
      One moment he’d been in control.  The next, the whole situation had been on a downward spiral he couldn’t put the brakes on. Maxim felt like a victim of a natural disaster except he had been blinded to the fact that devastation was coming and shell-shocked in the aftermath.  No, that wasn’t right. He had been the one to cause this. Cocaine had started off as an experiment. A drug he’d just do for fun with friends until he’d discovered it boosted his creativity. Then it became a priceless tool. He’d go months without using. Then they’d need new material and he’d binge. Weekends spent over at his bandmate Reed’s apartment kept his methods a secret until the demo deal was made with a record label.
     His usage increased drastically and things between him and Oceane began to deteriorate. The heavy consumption made him paranoid. For no reason at all he’d become convinced O was cheating or someone was after him. Some days he’d refused to leave their apartment at all. Those times had been some of the most sinister. The venomous words he’d spoken had reduced Oceane to tears.
    It was like someone else was in control of his body.  There was a portion of the maniac behavior he couldn’t even remember. Still, the music that came into existence was sensational. It had earned M.A.D. their first record deal. Maxim couldn’t stop now. If M.A.D created subpar material on the cusp of stardom they’d be finished before they started. It was a letdown he refused to be responsible for. Just a couple more tracks and he could put the coke away. The weight of his sadness crushed him as the memories began to overwhelm.
     
    * * * *
     
    6 months earlier
     
    “Where are you going?” he asked, as he took in O’s outfit. The shimmery metallic tank top paired with black skinny jeans and three inch heels was not her normal style.
    “Out for drinks with Henri and Aurelie,” she said was she grabbed her oversized black purse off the counter of the breakfast nook.
    “I thought you were staying in tonight with me.”   He set his guitar down to give her his undivided attention. Maxim played the role of dutiful fiancé well, but what he really wanted to do was assure himself she’d be gone long enough for him to call Tony and get his fix. All the music he’d worked on had fallen flat. He needed the boost that only coke could provide.  
    “I was, but then Aur called me to tell me about their plans and I figured why not. You’re planning on working on your music so I didn’t see the harm.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head back to smile up at him.
    “That sounds fun, babe, but I thought you were going to do some work on your poetry book, it’s almost done.”  
    “Everyone needs a break sometime, Maxi, you should remember that.” She pulled away from him to issue a playful tap to his nose before she headed towards the door.
    “You’re right, have a good time, baby, I’ll miss you.”
    His heart pounded in his ears as she left the house and he forced himself to count to one hundred. He had to be sure she