Coming Home

At least now she knew why he’d been served. This wasn’t the place that had cut him off. The only good news was that she knew he hadn’t driven to McGillicuddy’s, so the other bar had to be within drunken walking distance.

“Excuse me?” Leah said, leaning over the bar again, and the guy glanced up, a condescending expression on his face. “Is there another bar near here?”

“Across the street,” he said, as he turned to lift a bin of glasses from the floor.

“Thanks,” she said before she turned her attention back to Da

“Come on. I need you to walk with me,” she said, wrapping her arm around his waist. She had no idea how she was going to hold him if he couldn’t walk, but as she took a step, thankfully he followed.

“Get home safe,” the bartender said as they passed, and she held her hand up behind her in acknowledgement. As they exited the bar, Leah’s eyes sca

“There?” she asked, and Da

“Sure.”

Leah shook her head. “No, I’m not asking if you want to go there…ugh, just forget it. Let’s go,” she said, pulling him across the street.

As they entered the bar, the guy standing behind the tap turned to look at them. “You here for his keys?” he asked, and Leah nodded.

“Yeah, sorry about this,” she said.

“Don’t you apologize,” Da

He’s drunk. He’s drunk. He’s completely oblivious and drunk.

The bartender fished under the bar and came up with Da

“Thanks for looking out for him,” she said as she turned them toward the exit, and the guy nodded, giving her a flimsy salute.

Once they were back out on the street, Da

“Where’s my car?” he asked, and Leah shook her head.

“You’re not driving tonight. Please don’t argue, okay? I have your keys. You can come back and get your car tomorrow.”

He leaned down, pressing his lips to the top of her head again. “I would never tell you no,” he said into her hair. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

She gritted her teeth together, trying to focus on getting them across the street. Right foot, left foot. Right foot, left foot. Not his breath in her hair, or his hands on her body, or those words on his lips. Right foot, left foot.

She managed to help him into the passenger side, and as she walked around the back of the car, she saw him fall forward, burying his face in his hands as he rested on the dashboard. She stopped short, biting her lower lip as she looked in the back seat for a plastic bag, or a container of some type.

She hadn’t even thought about the possibility of him getting sick.

Leah rubbed her hand over her forehead before she slid into the driver’s seat and closed the door, and she placed her hand on his lower back, rubbing soothing circles.

“Do you feel sick?”

He shook his head.

“If you need me to pull over, just tell me, okay?”

He nodded.

She took a breath as she dropped her hand from his back. “Alright,” she said as she exhaled. “Where do you live?”

“In my apartment,” he mumbled into the dashboard.

“That’s helpful, Da

“Leah,” he groaned. “What are you doing to me?”

“I need your ID so I can get your address. Just shush, okay?”

She quickly typed his address into her phone’s GPS before folding his wallet and dropping it into her cup holder, and just as she pulled out onto the street, he fell back against the seat, his hands falling limply into his lap.

“A year. Can you believe it? How could it be a year?”

“What’s a year?” she asked softly.

He dragged his hands down his face before he exhaled heavily. “What the fuck was I thinking?” he yelled, causing Leah to jump, and she glanced over at him, blinking quickly.

“I wasn’t thinking, you know? I just…I wasn’t. But what was I supposed to do?” he said, his voice softening significantly. “What was I supposed to do?”

He covered his face with his hands as he rested his forehead on the dash again, and then he slammed his fist down on top of it. “What was I supposed to do?” he asked again, and Leah’s stomach twisted.

She had not the slightest idea what he was talking about, but there was so much pain in his voice that she felt like she might cry.

She knew what that kind of suffering felt like.

Leah took a tiny breath as she reached over and resumed rubbing circles on the small of his back.

“And then you,” he mumbled against the dashboard.

She held her breath, waiting for him to continue, but he never did. He didn’t speak again for the remainder of the drive, and Leah kept her hand on his back, trying to soothe him. It wasn’t until she pulled up to the curb in front of his building that she realized she might have a huge problem on her hands. If he had passed out, based on how drunk he was, there’d be no waking him up. If that were the case, she had no idea how she would get him out of the car and up the stairs.

Leah cut the engine, looking over at him. She watched his back expand and contract with every breath, but he still hadn’t moved.

“Da

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said as she leaned over and ran her hand through his hair, and he closed his eyes. “You’re home. Let’s get upstairs, okay?”

He nodded wearily, and she exited the car and came around to his side, helping him out onto the sidewalk. He was leaning most of his weight on her as they walked into the lobby, and as they stood waiting for the elevator, Leah’s legs began to tremble with the task.

You’re almost there. Hang in there.

Da

She smiled softly as the doors dinged open, and she managed to get them both inside before the doors closed, leaning them up against the wall. He rested his head on top of hers again, and she could see in the reflection of the doors that his eyes were closed.

She could tell he was close to passing out, and Leah glanced at the numbers lighting up above their heads, willing them to go faster.

As soon as the doors opened, she stood up, pulling him to a standing position as she rubbed her hand up and down his side. “Come on, Da

By now she was using all her strength just to keep him steady as they stumbled down the hallway toward his door. She had his keys in her hand, and she opened the door quickly before tossing them somewhere on the floor. She needed both arms to help him now, and every muscle in her body strained with the effort.

Leah glanced around the small space quickly, noticing two doorways off the living room. Assuming that his bedroom had to be one of them, she began walking them in that direction.

“Come on. A few more steps,” she said, her voice strained as they tripped and staggered across the living room, and when she turned them into the first doorway and saw his bed, she thought she might cry with relief.

Leah gave him a gentle shove and he lurched forward before falling back onto the mattress with a groan, his eyes already closed.