Particles of Obsession (A Shadow of Death Romantic Suspense Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Addict
    Looking into the Abyss: A Form Addict’s Discovery of the Truth and His Mind’s Deceit
    The Encyclopedia of Drug Addiction
    Without much thought, I took each book off of the shelf. My mind was too occupied to determine which one was worth buying, but they all seemed to be a “bestseller” or “#1” in some capacity, so I figured I should get them all.
    “Don’t get In the Mind of an Addict, ” a deep voice said. “It’s full of psychobabble, hippy bullshit.”
    I turned around and saw a man around my age with messy blond hair and a big sweater with the word Tuskmirth splayed across it. He reminded me of James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause except he was skinnier and had a rounder face.
    “Um, do I know you?” I asked.
    “No, no, sorry…I, uh, I’ve just seen you around campus and, I, uh…well, the first time I really noticed you, you were practicing with your gymnastics team and you seemed like you were really good. I don’t watch much gymnastics, but the way everyone was reacting, it seemed like you were really good and it looked really good.”
    I scowled. “You’re just another guy who wants to sleep with a gymnast, so you can brag about all of the flexible things we did in bed.”
    He flushed. “No…really, that’s not what I was thinking. I just…you were just…graceful and strong. I always thought gymnastics was too feminine and uninteresting, but I’ve been going to your events and tournaments and…you’re stunning. It’s like every move you make is planned, but it doesn’t look mechanical and it’s still filled with passion.”
    “So, you followed me here?” I accused, but I could feel myself warming up to him. He reminded me of a puppy, desperate for my affection and willing to perform any trick to get it. I almost wanted to test how far I could push him—how far would he go to get me to like him?
    “Kind of, yeah,” he said, and his cheeks looked a little pink. “I mean, I’m sure I could find something I like here. Do they sell comic books?”
    “You read comic books?”
    “Nah,” he said. “But I figure those are cheaper than books and it could make me look less like a stalker.”
    I held up In the Mind of an Addict. “How do you know about addiction literature?”
    “My older brother was a cokehead,” he said. “Or maybe he still is. I don’t know. My parents kicked him out when I was fourteen. I saw him a few times, but around the time I turned sixteen, he stopped showing up. I’m not sure what happened to him.”
    “You never wanted to figure out?”
    “He is his own man,” he said, shrugging. “He can do what he likes and suffer the consequences for his actions. That’s how life works. We don’t need to make it any easier for people because it will just make it harder for them later.”
    “It sounds like you’re reciting something from these books.”
    “That’s more along the lines of my parent’s speeches,” he says. “But…now that I’ve divulged part of my life, I’m wondering why you’re interested in these books.”
    “I’m writing a paper on drug addiction,” I said.
    “Bullshit,” he said.
    I raised an eyebrow. He had been trying to charm me before and this was in the complete opposite direction.
    He continued, “If you were writing a paper, you would be getting more legitimate sources than these self-help books. You’re either an addict or you’re close to someone who is.”
    “My father might have an issue with pain killers,” I said.
    “Ah. Parents. The bane of us all. Well, since you’re close to your father—or at least, you’ve known him for a long time—I would say that he absolutely has an issue if you’re noticing it. Usually, people close to an addict don’t realize there’s a problem until they’re too far down the rabbit hole.”
    He reached past me, his arm brushing against mine, and grabbed a big brown book. He put it on top of my pile. In big gold letters, it said The Neurology of Drug Abuse