LOVE IN THE SHADOWS OF TUSANY

The pain in her stomach wasn't a gradual ache. It was an explosion. It felt as if someone had detonated a grenade inside her gut, sending shrapnel tearing through her internal organs. Rain hammered against the thin glass of the motel window, sounding like handfuls of gravel being thrown by an angry god. It was a fitting soundtrack for the end of the world, or at least, the end of hers.

Chelsea lay curled on a mattress that smelled of mildew and other people's bad decisions. Her body was a cage of aches. Withdrawal was a living thing, clawing at the inside of her skin, demanding to be fed. Her hand trembled as she reached for the plastic bottle on the nightstand, but her fingers were clumsy, numb. The bottle tipped. Empty.

Just like her.

She caught her reflection in the cracked mirror bolted to the wall. At forty-three, she looked sixty. The woman staring back was a ghost of the "Gossip Queen" who once terrorized Hollywood. Her skin was gray, etched with lines that mapped out every mistake she had ever made. Her eyes were dull, two burnt-out cinders in a skull that felt too heavy for her neck.

A sharp, rhythmic clicking sound cut through the noise of the storm. It was the sound of expensive heels on cheap linoleum. It didn't belong here. Nothing expensive belonged here.

The electronic lock on the door beeped-a shrill, invasive chirp that spoke of a bribed front desk clerk. The door swung open.

Brittany Potts stepped into the room. She was wearing a trench coat that probably cost more than this entire building. It was a soft, buttery beige, immaculate and dry despite the storm outside. She held a handkerchief to her nose, her eyes scanning the room with a look of profound disgust.

Chelsea tried to sit up. Her muscles screamed in protest, and she collapsed back onto the lumpy pillows. She was a puppet with cut strings.

Brittany didn't say a word. She just gestured with a manicured hand. Two large men in dark suits squeezed past her, carrying a velvet armchair. They placed it in the center of the room, facing the bed. Brittany sat down, crossing her legs with a grace that made Chelsea's stomach turn. She looked at Chelsea the way one looks at roadkill-with a mix of pity and revulsion.

"You look terrible, Chelsea," she said. Her voice was light, airy, completely at odds with the stench of the room.

"Get out," Chelsea croaked. It came out as a whisper.

"Now, is that any way to treat an old friend?" She reached into her bag and pulled out a document. She tossed it onto the bed. It slid across the stained duvet and came to rest against Chelsea's hand.

Chelsea looked down. The bold letters at the top blurred, but she could make them out. Waiver of Marital Assets and Future Claims.

"Sign it," she said. "Bennet is in the Bahamas right now. We're celebrating. He wanted this done before the weekend."

Bennet. Her husband. The man she had bankrupted herself for. The man who had promised to love her in sickness and in health, but apparently, poverty was a dealbreaker.

"He... he wouldn't," Chelsea stammered.

"Oh, sweetie." Brittany laughed. It was a dry, humorless sound. "He already has. He's been waiting for you to die for years. We both have."

Chelsea wanted to scream, to fly across the room and tear that smug look off Brittany's face. But she couldn't move. Her body had betrayed her long before Brittany did.

"You're shaking," Brittany noted. She snapped her fingers. One of the bodyguards stepped forward, holding a steaming paper cup. The logo was green and white. Starbucks.

The smell hit Chelsea instantly. Roasted coffee, caramel, sugar. It was the smell of her old life. The life before the pills, before the scandal, before the ruin. Her mouth watered, a physiological betrayal that made her hate herself.

"Drink," Brittany said softly. "It's your favorite. Caramel Macchiato, extra foam. Just like the old days."

She was offering it like a treat to a dog.

"If you sign the papers, I'll give you enough cash for a fix," she whispered, leaning forward. "But first, drink the coffee. You need the energy."

The hunger was a physical pain, a hollow pit in Chelsea's center. Her dignity had eroded years ago, washed away by addiction and desperation. She reached for the cup. The warmth of the paper against her freezing fingertips felt like salvation.