Chapter 52 - Taken Care Of

Arik had decided. He had decided that he was going to look for Kerri. And nothing was going to stop him.

Except, apparently, for Drake and Carter.

He had a feeling that she could hear him. He could never make sure, of course, because she never replied, but he felt like she could hear him, and he had the feeling that she wanted to reply, but couldn’t.

He climbed into bed, still drunk. He had been drinking nonstop for almost two weeks. That had to break some kind of record.

I love you, baby, he thought to her. Do you see what’s happening to me? I’m a mess, Kerri. I’m an alcoholic. I don’t even get hangovers because I’m never sober enough to feel them. Come back, babe. I miss you. I love you, Kerri, d’you hear me? I love you. I’m a mess without you.
He missed her so much it hurt. The bed seemed empty without her and much too big, even though it was a single bed.

Sweet dreams, Kerri, he managed to blurt out before sleep overcame him.

***

“Hey, you actually made it to lunch,” Drake greeted him.

“I ran out of beers in the fridge,” Arik said, sitting down next to them.

“Again?”

He shrugged. “I’m going to go get one now.” He got up.

Carter grabbed and pulled him back down into his chair. “No you’re not.”

“Piss off,” Arik grumbled as he brushed his friend away and heading for the drinks section, knowing but not caring that his friends were shaking their heads at each other.

“Look, Arik, you’ve got to stop drinking like this,” Carter said as soon as he joined them. “It’s been almost two weeks now.”

“It was okay for the first few days, but two weeks of nonstop drinking and almost no food is too much,” Drake said, joining in on the nagging. “Look at you; you’ve gone from fit and muscular to thin and scrawny.”

“Who are you, my parents?”

“Arik, we’re only doing this for your own good,” Mel said gently, placing her hand on his arm. “We know how horrible you must feel but—”

Arik stood up, finishing his beer. “Do you? Do you know how horrible I feel? Do you have any idea how it feels when your Mate trusts you with her most important thing—her life—and then for you to have failed her? Do you know how it feels?” He threw the beer can down on the floor and crushed it with his shoe. “No, I didn’t think so. So just leave me alone.”

He walked out of the room. He could’ve shifted, but walking out looked more dramatic. He went back to his room to find Drake and Carter already there.

“What the hell?” he asked them.

They shrugged. “We shifted.”

Dammit.

“What are you doing here?” he asked them.

“Clearing up,” Drake said. “And taking away all drinks that contain alcohol.”

“What? Don’t touch my stuff!”

“Your stuff is going to be the death of you.”

“But it’s still my stuff.”

“Not,” Drake said, dropping a glass bottle into a bin bag quickly, “anymore.”

Arik groaned. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“We will,” Carter said, coming up to him and handing him a sleeping pill, “after you take this.”

“Okay, I will, now go away.”

Drake crossed his arms. “We’re not stupid. Swallow it now.”

“Who are you?” Arik grumbled. “My parents?” He sighed when neither Carter nor Drake moved and swallowed the pill. “There. Happy?”

They nodded and stayed until he started feeling drowsy. Then they made sure he got into bed and once they got out the door, locked it with a spell so that he couldn’t get out until the morning.

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment