Hidden Falls by Ruthi Kight Page A

Her
catatonic state worried me.  Was there even enough liquor in the house to get
her that drunk?  There had only been one bottle in the house yesterday, which
meant that she probably went out this morning before I got up.  Shit. 
    “Okay, we need to get up
to your room.  Can you walk?”  I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.  I
could smell the vodka seeping out of her pores at this distance.  The smell
alone made me want to gag, but mixed with her body odor...it was too much.  She
obviously hadn’t bathed in days and that scared me even more.
    I struggled to get her up
the stairs.  She wasn’t helping herself, which meant I had to push and pull her
the entire way.  By the time I got her to her room, I was pouring sweat.  I
tucked her into bed and grabbed the empty bottles that littered her
nightstand.  The smell in her room wasn’t much better than her body, but at
least some air freshener would help that issue.  I looked back at her once I crossed
to the door.  She was already sleeping soundly and let out the breath I was
holding.
    I made my way back to the
kitchen and threw the bottles away.  In that moment, I knew that I had to do
something drastic.  My dad had let this go on too long, never confronting her
about her problem.  Well, not anymore.  Something had to be done or she would
end up killing herself, or someone else for that matter.
    I ran back upstairs to my
room and booted up my computer.  When the internet was finally ready I typed in
the name I was looking for.  The information was quick to come up.  I had heard
about this center in Columbia before and they were my last hope.  After dialing
the number on the kitchen phone, I waited.  The seemingly endless ringing
finally stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief.
    “Thank you for calling New
Beginnings Recovery Center.  How may I help you?”
     

 
     
    Chapter Twelve
    Brian
     
    I knew my goals for the
day when I woke up this morning.  I needed to get Jenn over here so I could
talk to her, and then I planned on heading over to Katy’s house.  I had to
apologize for how much of a dip-shit I was the night before.  We had gotten so
close over the past week, but all of that was destroyed in less than an hour. 
    I called Jenn first thing
and she seemed reluctant to come over, but I practically begged.  I have never
begged a woman to meet with me before.  It was a surreal experience.  When she
finally acquiesced, I felt a weight lifting off of my shoulders.  I was finally
going to be able to let go of my security blanket and make the move towards the
woman who had held my heart for so long.  Damn.  I was beginning to sound like
a girl.
    A quick shower, a bowl of
cereal, and I was ready to face the day.  I sat at the kitchen table and stared
down at my hands.  I had never been the patient type.  The kind of person who
sat idly by, watching the world pass by.  I kept glancing at the clock on the
wall, watching the seconds tick slowly by.  The ticks became louder with each
passing second.  The sound was beginning to grate on my nerves, but luckily I
was saved by the ding of the doorbell.  At least it was a different kind of
noise.
    I rose from the table and
made my way to the front door.  I checked my reflection in the mirror in the
hall as I passed.  I looked like hell from a lack of sleep and continuous
stress.  Maybe once this conversation was over I could get back to life. 
Whether or not it was the life I wanted mattered very little.  Life wouldn’t be
over if Katy never wanted to see me again, but it would be a new kind of
torture if I had to watch her hook up with someone else.
    I grabbed the door handle
and braced myself, mentally and physically.  I pulled it open to find Jenn
standing there, looking beautiful as always.  Her looks had been what attracted
me to her at first, but our shared experiences in life is what kept her in my
life.  She didn’t share her past with many people, so to be in