“Make this one last, babe. It’s gonna be the last one for awhile.” he said.

She scrambled to pick up the syringe, and then stopped. She looked up at him, panic crossing her face.

“What do you mean, the last one?!” Vanessa asked.

“My dealer got busted.” Jimmy said, as he pulled his belt from his pants.

He wrapped his belt around his left arm, just above the elbow. Jimmy clinched his hand into a fist several times. His veins popped up on his skin, waiting for the needle.

“You haven’t found a new dealer, yet?” Vanessa asked.

“No. Nobody wants to sell to me. They know we don’t have the money.”

He drove the needle into his arm and pushed the plunger down. Heroin shot into his veins. Jimmy shuddered a little bit and sighed. He undid the belt and handed it to Vanessa. She wrapped it around her arm and picked up her syringe.

“Babe, what’s wrong with you?” Jimmy asked.

Her hands were shaking. She clenched her fist and tried to stop shaking. No veins were coming up.

“Is this really the last one?”