Chapter 5
Truth worked. Seth wanted to sleep after Tom called, but instead he thought about possibilities. He looked over the stuff he had about the drug and felt like the world opened up to him. Seth wondered why it wasn't still being tested and used, the implications for military application alone were mind-blowing. Daylight was coming through his window as he pondered his next move. He got out of bed for the bathroom, clicked on the light, and looked himself over. Unruly red hair and so many freckles on his face that he developed constellations. In practical terms his complexion resulted in him always looking dirty. He was muscular, but there was a layer of fat over the muscle that made him look heavier. He ran his tongue over his teeth and popped a pimple on his chin as he imagined depraved sexual scenarios using Truth.
Seth lit a joint as he stood in the small bathroom. He kicked some Wu Tang on his phone and turned the shower on. "Should I slip it in her drink? That seems a bit evil." He took another hit and drew in a big lungful. "I am an asshole, but I'm not a fucking asshole," he said as he blew out that smoke, which prompted a brief hacking fit. The last cough rocked his body so hard he felt like he was about to astral project. When the sharp flashes of color under his eyelids stopped he had an epiphany. Rebecca, his roommate's girlfriend, stood in his mind's eye. He shook the idea from his head as it came. Stealing Dan's girlfriend felt about as wrong as dosing some chick at a bar. Try as he might he kept circling back to Rebecca. "But could I steal his girlfriend?" He asked out loud as the water covered him.
Rebecca was a bonafide hot chick with sleek jet black hair, swarthy skin that gave her a Mediterranean look, and a body that showcased in a good chunk of his masturbatory fantasies. The boob job she got almost a year back was a major point of pride for her. She posted several pictures a day on Instagram and while she couldn't be classified as an influencer she had a sizable following including Seth. Shots of her lingerie, bikinis, and clubbing outfits always graced his feed. There was just one problem, she couldn't stand Seth. It wasn't that he sold drugs, she had in fact purchased them from time to time, it was just him, everything about him seemed to bug her. Seth was in the process of washing the soap out of his hair when he heard her voice behind the door, "Hurry up, please!"
"Five minutes!" He yelled back.
"Don't use all the hot water!"
"I could dose both of them. I feel like we're venturing towards evil..." he paused then continued, "...I am a drug dealer, that is very true and definitely in that moral gray area..." he paused again as he turned off the water and toweled himself off. "I do want to do it, that is very true. The question is can I live with myself? I'm pretty sure I can," he clicked onto her Instagram profile and looked at her posing in a skimpy red and white striped bikini. "Dude, I definitely can."
"You done yet?" Rebecca snapped.
Seth wrapped the towel around his waist and swung the door open. He let his gaze linger on her body starting at her feet and moving all the way up to her angry face. "All yours," he smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.
She stepped in and slammed the door behind her. "This is gonna suck for Dan." Seth pulled the bag of pills from out of a cigar box and emptied it out on his desk. The Truth was mixed in with other pressed ecstasy pills. He separated them out and came to about a hundred, "What should I charge for them? I mean you only really need one."
By the time Seth got dressed and started the coffee maker Dan and Rebecca were both gone. He kicked back in his room, turned on some tunes, and waited. His plan formed as he listened to Velvet Underground.
He got a knock at the door just before noon and saw Keegan, a tall skinny girl dressed in mismatched second hand clothes, waiting and watching the street behind her. She always wore huge round sunglasses that made her look like a humanoid insect. "Hey, Keegan!" He said as he opened the door.
"Seth," she gave a small smile as she came into the house. "I need to re-up."
"Sure, step into my office," he said and ushered her to his room. She sat down on his bed casually as he pulled out a huge bag of weed from his desk, "You good today?"
She shrugged then nodded, "yeah, I'm good. You?"
"I'm fantastic, I made a very cool discovery today."
"Yeah, what's that?" She asked and chewed on one of her nails.
He gestured to the pills, "This is called Truth. It has the power to delete and rewrite memories."
"What on Earth would you use that for?"
Seth portioned out the weed on a scale, "Anything. Everything. It can change people. While you use this drug anything said to you will become your truth."
"That sounds impossible," She picked up a pill and looked at it, "How much do you want for one?"
"Depends, what do you want to use it for?"
"I don't want to use it," she chewed on her words, "There's a person, we like each other, but they've got like trust issues, gets real distant, and I can't break through. They're so sweet, but there's all this damage from their ex."
"Shit, that sounds almost nice."
"Shut up, I care about them, but she'll text out of the blue and it's like we're back at square one. If this can make them forget her..."
"It can do that," he said as he bagged up the weed and handed it to her. "I can give you a pill for twenty five."
She fished out money from her purse and handed him a hundred dollar bill. "Can you spot me five dollars?"
Seth nodded, "Yeah, I can do that. Be careful, anything you say will be their truth, so be careful of what you say while they're under the effects."
"How long is that?"
Seth shrugged, "Two hours, maybe more, maybe less. I don't really know, but I do know it is incredibly powerful and works as described."
She looked at the pill and turned over in her hand, "would you maybe wanna smoke a bowl?"
"Sure, what's up?"
She shrugged, "Nothing, I just, let's smoke yeah?"
