Missed Steps – Episode 2: The Weight of It All

A FaceThyFear™ Psychological Thriller Series

⚠️ Disclaimer:

Missed Steps is a fictional work that explores the struggles of addiction, recovery, and psychological tension. While inspired by real emotions and experiences, all characters, events, and locations are entirely fictional. This story does not glorify substance use, violence, or illegal activities but rather serves as a raw, unfiltered exploration of the mental and emotional battles that come with recovery.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available:

📞 SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

💻 Find resources at www.Facethyfear.com (http://www.Facethyfear.com)

The Air Feels Heavy

Zay doesn’t realize he’s holding his breath.

The phone screen glares back at him, cold and lifeless.

No Caller ID.

No message to respond to.

No way to know who—

His chest tightens.

He sets the phone down, but it feels like it’s still ringing.

The silence in the apartment? Too thick.

It’s in moments like these—**alone, stuck with his own thoughts—**that the past creeps back in.

His knee bounces under the table. Tension curls in his stomach.

The High That’s Not a High

It wasn’t just about the money.

It was about the power. The respect. The feeling of always having something in motion.

Zay was never one to flash cash, but knowing it was there? Knowing he could make things move when he wanted?

That was the real addiction.

Now?

He’s drinking sparkling water out of a can, laughing bitterly to himself.

“At least I won’t wake up next to a stranger.”

He exhales slow, rolling his neck, cracking his knuckles. Ain’t no point in sitting in this tension.

His sponsor used to tell him that. “Move through it, don’t sit in it.”

That sponsor? Relapsed.

Didn’t even call him first. Just disappeared.

The first sponsor—the older Black dude? It was different.

Something about the way he spoke to Zay, the way he never quite met him where he was at.

Maybe it was the age gap. Maybe it was something else.

Zay never could shake the feeling that the man just didn’t like him.

He wasn’t sure what it was. But it was enough to create distance.

Zay shakes the thought off.

He reaches for his phone. Hits play.

Gunna’s voice floods the space.

He turns it all the way up.

Water, Smoke & Reflection

The steam from the shower billows out like smoke.

Zay steps in, lets the water hit him full force.

Burns just right.

He scrubs hard, like he’s trying to wash off more than just the day.

By the time he steps out, his head feels clearer.

The scent of Nag Champa incense fills the air—thick, grounding.

He lets it burn slow.

Deep stretches. Hands pressing against the floor, back popping in all the right places.

If he closes his eyes?

For a second, it almost feels normal.

Memory Lane Ain’t Sweet

Rehab was a beating.

Not just the withdrawals, not just the group therapy, but the way it stripped everything down to nothing.

He saw too many people relapse.

Too many people walk out, talk about how they had it under control.

Some ended up right back inside. Some ended up in prison.

Zay remembers checking in for piss tests every day.

Even when he wasn’t using, wasn’t even thinking about using.

He still had to stand there, prove himself.

He wasn’t allowed to drive, but he still had to pay insurance.

He was working at a fast food joint for $11 an hour, barely making anything, while his old crew?

Still moving weight. Still counting stacks.

They tried to pull him back in.

He said no.

Didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.

The Edge of Sleep

Zay lays back, exhales.

Gunna’s still playing, but it’s quieter now.

The incense is half-burned.

His body feels lighter, stretched out, calm.

He did the right thing.

He knows that.

But as his eyes drift shut—

Something moves at the edge of his vision.

A shadow.

Flickering.

There, then gone.

His breath catches.

Too tired to check.

He lets sleep take him.

End of Episode 2

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