23 Apr 13 Hours And Four Tattoos

13 Hours And Four Tattoos

the best way to rekindle a friendship

This story starts way before the actual trip so let me catch you up…

It was during New Year’s Day that I came to the conclusion my best friend was gonna die. I could see it in her eyes, she no longer wanted to live, drugs had taken her shine away. Like so many people around us, she got sucked into the pitfall that those little blue pills create.

I never thought a 13-hour road trip would be so meaningful, but here I am. I’m here sitting in the middle of a tattoo shop in Florida after driving for hours with my best friend, who is now full of her shine and will to live.

One day she realized she was stronger and started to fight. When she got out of rehab she decided the best move for her was to move to Florida. Of course, the only challenge was that she needed to get her car and all her items down there. When she asked for my help I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time together after three months of silence.

It was three hours each of driving and switching for 13 hours, it was full of singalongs, story times, gossips, road games, and the ultimate feeling that my person, my best friend, was alive again. Interstate 95 is a usual straight shot from New York to Florida but due to a huge traffic jam in South Carolina, we got sent off on a detour. This detour lead to some amazing laughs as we got so lost MapQuest couldn’t help us.

When we finally reach Florida I would say two things occupied our time; food and tattoos. Before the addiction, we would drink our nights away, now instead, we spent a Saturday night laughing, getting four tattoos each, and actually spending time together again. Time off for me is hard to get, being in the military time off is like gold, and I would spend all the gold in the world to do that drive over and over.

It may not mean much to most people, especially those who have never experienced a loved one lost to addiction. But being stuck in the car with someone you love and thought you would lose may sometimes be the only thing you need to fill whole again.

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