AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sit.”
I sat on the bed with my eyes closed while I listened to him rummaging through my closet. When I opened them again, he’d thrown on a pair of my sweatpants and a t-shirt. They were tight on him, and I cursed myself for even noticing.
He kneeled before me and put socks on my feet. Then he rose again and gently slipped a t-shirt over my head.
“Stand.”
“Sit. Stand,” I repeated. “What am I? A dog?”
“Most dogs are a hell of a lot more agreeable than you right now. And you forgot roll over. And fetch.” Tate smirked and passed me my grey sweatpants. “Can you get these on, or do you need help?”
Instead of answering, I took the pants and slid one leg in, then the other, and yanked them up. I wasn’t shy about my body, but for some weird reason, I didn’t want Tate to see me vulnerable like this.
And I hated to give him any credit, but I felt marginally better.
“Let’s go have something to eat.”
“You’re being nice to me and it’s freaking me out,” I admitted.
He looked at me with a cocky grin. “You’re such a liar. You’re not freaking out at all.”
“Asshole,” I grumbled.
He snorted and steered me out of my bedroom and into the living area, where Henn and Charlene were busy hauling bags of bottles out of the house.
I sat down on the sofa and watched them cart out those big ass recycling bags.
Holy fuck, had I really drunk all that?
“Jesus, you guys don’t have to do this. I can get rid of that later.”
“It’s no worry,” Henn said as she sauntered back into the living room and sat down across from me. “But you are.”
“Everyone want espresso?” Tate asked as he walked over to the kitchen island.
“Make mine Irish,” I added and looked around. All three of them were glaring at me. “What? Too soon?”
Charlene sat down beside me and patted my knee. “You’re not known for your comedic timing, Reed, so keep the jokes to yourself and listen up. After we get caffeine and food into you, we’re taking you to the doctor. Maybe a detox center if you agree.”
“What? I’m not sick! And I’m not an alcoholic!” I scoffed.
“Five bags full of empty liquor bottles disagree with that statement,” Henn added.
“Aren’t I entitled to grieve?”
“Of course, you are,” Henn continued. “But refusing to leave the house, refusing to talk to anyone, including friends like us and family who are concerned about you, is troubling. And so is binge drinking. It’s not going to make the pain go away. You need to talk to someone.”
“I’m not Tate,” I growled. “I don’t have an addiction. I’m in control.”
Tate snorted and I turned to watch him make himself at home in my kitchen.
“You have a comment you’d like to share with us?” I snapped.
“Yeah, I do. Looking at you now is like looking in a fucking mirror, Ree. Except, you have a family that cares about you. Haven’t they been through enough? Do they need to watch you self-destruct on top of losing your mom?”
“Fuck you!” I yelled and stomped off back to my bedroom, slamming the door.
Everyone could just go straight to hell. They had no fucking idea what I was going through.
