4. I- took expired pills

Manchester felt as if he had been punched in the guts, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Mel, the mother of his child, the woman that he had shared his life with had moved on so quickly and was even engaged to someone else without getting a proper divorce.

Something wasn't right, it was either all of these had been going on behind his back, or Mel was just lying to keep him away for a reason that he was yet to understand.

"What did I do wrong?" He really couldn't get an answer, he wasn't the poorest man, especially when compared with a lot of people he had seen in the city. Manchester was living very comfortably and he was quite the provider no matter how hard things got.

If there was anything he could point out that Mel disliked about him then it was his temper, getting very agitated could be a turn-off for a lot of women but he was working on that as well to save his marriage, only to end up losing it. It just didn’t make any sense and how she left as well wasn't adding up.

He looked down at Nelson, his small body hooked up to machines and wires, his heart broke thinking about how to face this alone.

Just then, the doctor walked back into the room,

"I see you've had a chance to speak with your wife." He said,

"No offence, it was never my intention to eavesdrop on your conversation, but I was just outside the door going through a file and I overhead."

Manchester shook his head, feeling a lump in his throat, "she's not coming." He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor nodded his head, expressing his understanding.

"I am sorry. We will do everything we can to help you, and I am hopeful he'll make a full recovery. I don't know if this is the best time to give you this?" The doctor handed a file over to Manchester and as soon as he gazed upon the heading, his face fell. It was more bills.

This time, the owner of the car whom he had bumped into at the red light has fined him for a large sum of money in other to fix the damages that were done. And Manchester was no fool to not know that the bill for the damages thrown at him was enough to purchase a brand-new car.

"How am I supposed to pay for this?" He asked, his mind reeling with the implications of the damages done.

The doctor's expression was sympathetic and firm,

"I understand that it is a very difficult time for you, but the law is clear. You were at fault and must take responsibility for the damages.

Manchester's face fell, he felt a wave of anger wash over him but he couldn't afford to lose his temper, not now.

The doctor's expression softened as he watched the young man struggle to keep his emotions in check.

"We will do everything we can to take care of Nelson for now. The best advice I can give to you is to go home and strategise. If it's possible, find the man whom you bashed his car, and negotiate with him. He'd probably give you a longer time to pay."

Manchester nodded in agreement, there was no other option than what the doctor had suggested. He suddenly started to feel the pain from the wound he had on the left side of his head, the constant movement had opened up the wound.

The doctor reacted quickly when he noticed the bleeding, and he advised Manchester to rest a bit. But the young man was in a hurry to leave the hospital. He needed to get home and plan because he certainly couldn't make money while he was in the hospital.

-------

As soon as he walked into his apartment, Manchester collapsed onto the couch, feeling overwhelmed. He wanted to come up with a plan but his mind was nothing but a jumble of emotions and worries.

He got up and walked into the kitchen, searching for something to calm his nerves, and his eyes landed on a bottle of pills that a friend had prescribed for him a while back.

They were meant to help him relax, but Manchester had never taken them before because he feared getting addicted to any substance especially since he was just starting a family at the time, gone were those teenage year where anything just goes without significant consequences.

"I can't believe this is still here," he muttered,

"It's been two years now, if not more."

Desperate to relieve himself of the worry and think straight, Manchester popped a pill into his mouth and swallowed it, he placed his hand on the slab and kept his head low as the pills started to take effect.

"Well, that was fast." He uttered, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Instead of feeling calm and relaxed, Manchester started to feel a strange sensation wash over him. His body began to feel heavy and his mind started to spin.

He held tightly to the edge of the slab to stop himself from falling to the ground, and immediately after a slight rumbling of his stomach, Manchester threw up in the kitchen sink.

"What the hell?" He uttered and slowly walked back to where the pills were. He picked it up and checked the expiry date, but his vision was blurred making it difficult to read, but with the way he felt, Manchester had no doubts that the pill was expired.

He fell to the kitchen floor unable to hold his weight, and his freshly treated wound started to bleed again from the impact.

Manchester felt himself being pulled into a dark vortex, and he tried to struggle, but it was too late. He passed out immediately, unaware of what was happening to him.

But as he lay unconscious, a strange glow began to emanate from his body. The air in the room became humid all of a sudden and a holographic screen flickered to life in front of him.

// I-Mode System Activated ! //