Choke On Your Misery (Alex Gaskarth) *ON HOLD*

Chapter 14: Why Did I Waste It All On You

Alex

What felt like years was literally only the 6 hour drive back to Maryland from the rehab center. I stared out the window the whole time just taking it all in. I'm out. I actually made it out of rehab. I'm sober, I'm me.

I was in there for a month and a half and it was honestly the most confusing time of my life. The only good part I could really think of is meeting Juliette. Juliette. The girl that I became close with. Who I called my best friend, told everything to. Who I want to call mine. It seemed absolutely insane when it first happened, the way my head spun, or how cold her lips were; but how she managed to keep me warm in the middle of winter with just a pullover on. Standing in the snow, sharing a kiss. I hoped it wasn't the last.

I guess it was okay to say that I was thankful for her. Even back three weeks ago, I knew I was feeling something, it just didn't hit me that hard until she kissed me.

Fingers snapped in front of my face and I darted my attention to Jack. Who seemed to have get me home alive, surprisingly. He smiled at me and I furrowed my eyebrows giving him a weird look. I looked through the windshield to see that the car was stopped in my driveway. "Welcome home, Gaskarth." Jack said while opening the car door and shuffling around to the trunk to get my bags.

I sat there for a minute letting it all sink in. I'm home. This is real. I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my door, swinging my legs out. The air was cold, it made me shiver, I wasn't really used to being in cold weather since I was trapped inside a warm rehabilitation center during the months that prepared for the harsh winter. I just wanted to get inside, but I was still trying to let this all sink in.

So I stood up and nearly collapsed from sitting so long, but I didn't. I shut the car door and looked up at my house. I hated thinking about how it was the house I once shared with Lisa, but I had no income to even think about another home right now, so I made myself forget about it and walked towards the door.

I hadn't stepped foot near this house for almost two months, and although I called this place my home for four years it felt really weird. It looked different, I could once recall this door being white, but now it was a shiny wood finish and I had to say, it didn't look half bad. It made me wonder what else would look different. So I grabbed the golden door handle and pushed it open slowly.

As I stepped in, I pulled my arms into my sleeves to hide my hands. I looked around, noticing just how different everything looked. The walls that were once white, were now a calming beige. Which I was honestly thankful for, I didn't think I could bare looking at another white wall. Everything seemed renovated and new. The only two thoughts that came to my mind were, who did this and how the fuck was this affordable?

I closed the door behind me and leaned forward to listen for any sounds. When I didn't hear any, I took that as my cue to continue into the living room. What I saw definitely wasn't what I was expecting. At least ten different people who stood in my living room, smiling. I think it was ten. A banner that was hanging perfectly, but the corner ended up falling.

"CODE BAN BAN!" Jack yelled, which is when Zack turned around and just ripped down the rest of the banner, so that it fell. I looked down and noticed that the floor was now carpeted as well.

"How was this even affordable?" I asked and pointed around at my renovated living room.

"Don't worry about that, it's a congratulatory gift." Rian said, my attention panned towards him. He was standing next to Cassadee, his arm fitting perfectly around her shoulders.

"MY BABY!" I heard behind me and looked down and saw my mom running towards me. I smiled and pulled her into a hug, I actually really missed my mom, I regret not seeing her so often. With tour picking back up too, I had to promise myself I'd see her on my times off. "Hey mom." I greeted.