Tonya loved that she could vent all her pent-up frustrations about her mother to Pete, and not have to worry about him repeating her comments. Over the years, he won her trust and became a valued confidant. At times he even acted as a go-between, squashing beefs they had ….

“Tonya, you know ya mother only wants the best for you. She just goes about things wrong sometimes. But that’s still ya mother and she loves you.”

“Loves me? If she loves me, she sure gotta funny way of showin it. She beat me worse than a dog.”

Pete sighed. “I know how you feel. Things did get a little outta hand. But y’all will get through this. Y’all always do. Here, drink this.”

“I don’t know ’bout dis time. Dis time it’s different,” Tonya informed him. “She ain’t neva beat me like that. I’ll neva forget it for as long as I live.”

“Don’t worry, you will. Just give it some time.”

Tonya was thirsty and gulped the drink down in a hurry. Pete leaned up against her dresser and dug into his front pocket. He pulled out a hand-rolled cigarette.

Aside from being a chronic drunk, Pete was a weed smoker, especially when his woman wasn’t around. He and Tonya had secretly shared a few joints together on several occasions. Tonya thought that was so cool of him.

“Here,” he said, extending his hand. “you light it up. You had a rough day already.”

Tonya took the joint and lighter, and without even thinking twice proceeded to do as she was told. She was about to receive a welcomed escape.

Unbeknownst to Tonya, this was not marijuana. This was PCP, angel dust, a hallucinogenic drug that sometimes renders the user dangerous or helpless. A novice weed smoker, she never noticed the strong difference in smell. Maybe she was too mad or distracted to question it. She just wanted to get high. So she inhaled the fumes.

“Hun,” she said, handing the joint back to Pete.

“Naw,” he responded. “You go ’head and finish it up.”

“Okay, but you don’t know what you missin’. This weed is pretty good.”

Pete did know what he was missing. PCP could sometimes be a terrible high for first-time users. He declined her offer. He wanted to keep his mind right while he did what he planned to do.

The drug took effect. In mid-sentence Tonya’s speech became slurred. She visibly began to move slowly, almost robotic. The joint fell out her hands and landed on the floor, as she fell back on the bed. She began seeing spots on the wall.