Free Luke's #1 Rule by Cynthia Harrison

filled at two different drugstores, for pain. What pain? She continued to search and came up with a roach clip topped with a dice for ease of handling, a pipe he liked to smoke his weed in, and rolling papers.
    She knew about some of these drugs. She knew about one doctor. There were drugs he said had made him sick so he had to switch to another. However, the pill bottles told a different story. He still filled both prescriptions. For the first time, she knew why Chloe had left Spence. He’d been to rehab, gotten clean, and Chloe had left him anyway. It hadn’t made sense to Bettina until now. Now she understood that Spence might have had more than one rehab and relapse experience. She went back down to check on him. Still out cold. Now what?
    The prescriptions had been from four different doctors and five different drug stores. They were all legal, as far as she knew. Wasn’t it illegal to go to lots of doctors to obtain lots of drugs? Why hadn’t she educated herself beyond the usual school in-service programs for faculty and staff held once every few years? She’d gone to these in-services. About her job, she listened. Just had not connected any of it to her personal life.
    No one had mentioned crushing pills with spoons. Spoons were for cooking heroin. Glass pipes were for smoking crack. She checked the back of the spoons. No dark smudging. Okay. Right. He’d probably told her the truth about crushing the tablets with two spoons. Capsules made it that much easier. Should she call these doctors? And if she did, would Spence go to jail? Would her baby be born with daddy in prison?
    Her anger slipped out from where she usually kept it tucked inside. She went back downstairs to the kitchen and kicked Spence’s bare foot. She told herself she was trying to rouse him. He snored louder, didn’t move. She filled her largest soup pot with cold water, and almost threw it on him, but then reconsidered. She’d be the one cleaning it up. She reached for her phone and pressed speed dial.
    “Oh hon, I’m so sorry,” Chloe said after Bettina had told her the entire story.
    “Thank you, but what should I do?”
    Chloe didn’t say anything, but Bettina could hear her breathing on the line. “Is that an unfair question? Maybe, can I ask, what did you do?”
    “I never turned him in. He went willingly.”
    “How many times?”
    “Just twice. Once before Josh was born. And then right before I left him. I said if he went to rehab I’d stay, but I lied.”
    “So what set him off this time? Our baby? Your move?”
    “Don’t.” Chloe kept her voice low. “It’s not us; it’s him. Nothing you can do or say or be will stop him if he chooses to get high, go off program. Is he attending meetings?”
    “I’m not sure.” Bettina doubted he’d gone to the moderation group any time lately. Who goes on a modification plan and has a beer first thing in the morning? “He’s doing this moderation plan he found online. Where they have this elaborate set up: no drinking two days in a row, never more than two drinks per day, never drink alone.”
    “Was he abiding by the plan?” Disbelief clear in Chloe’s tone.
    “I’m not sure. I don’t think so. I just started maternity leave today!”
    “Oh, Bettina. I’m really sorry. I put faith in rehab to take this time. I thought maybe you were the one who could turn him around.”
    “But you just said. It’s not me. It’s not you. It’s not anything we do or don’t do. He decides to drink. And drug.”
    They were silent a beat.
    “He still out?”
    Bettina kicked his foot, a little harder this time. He rolled over. Her foot so close to his face. She had to work hard to hold herself back from bashing his nose in with it. “Yeah.”
    “Do you have his sponsor’s phone number?”
    “No. They no longer have a relationship. Because Spence drinks.”
    “Right.”
    “Do you know if it’s illegal to drug shop? Because he has all those doctors?”
    “No. I really don’t.