He looked nervous, rolling his thoughts around his head like a pair of marbles on the tile. Josie looked at him with a look of concern written plainly across her face. “Where are you going?”
“To the racetrack”. James bowed his head to the ground.
Glaring, she stalked up to him, paused, then slapped him across the face. “You’ve already maxed out the credit cards for the month! Are you crazy?”
He shuffled closer towards the door, muttering. He slid his wallet into his back pocket without Josie noticing.
Her barrage of words continued. “We can barely pay the rent, pay for food and I barely sleep because I worry so much. You are an absolute fool. You drink and gamble all my money, just because you can. Filthy pig of a man.”
Looking at her, James saw the deep bluey black bags under her eyes. Glancing at the photo on the wall behind her, he saw this beautiful woman. Happy, healthy, full of life. And how only two years had drastically changed her. Juxtaposed with the two Josie’s, James slumped.
He had this look on his face. It wasn’t a scowl, or a grimace. Nor a look of joy. His face contorted into what could only be described as a dogs breakfast. He stammered, as he struggled to get the words out.
“I’m so sorry. Its all I know. I, I try to stop, but I can’t help it. It just happens.”
“Train wreck of a man. Actually, I don’t even know if you have the intelligence of a six year old. Disgusting.”
Josie walked off. You could almost see her body shake in laughter at the absurdity of this mans condition.
Sliding against the wall, James brought his knees up to his chest, curling into an upright fetal position. Tears poured down his face as his arm snaked around, looking for his only friend.
Alcohol.
The only thing that was ever there for James. Sliding his legs out, his free arm slapped the floor, as his head flicked backwards, slamming against the wall. He could feel the egg on his head begin to swell, and it seemed to have its own pulse.
Taking a gulp from the whiskey bottle, his eyes watered. No matter how many times he drank whiskey on a daily basis, the strength of it made his throat burn and his eyes water.
He couldn’t remember the last time he was sober. It would have to be a few years at least. There was always a bottle of something nearby… Whisky, tequila, beer, cheap wine. He guzzled at the bottle. Pulling it from his mouth, it sloshed from the top of the whiskey bottle, splattering as the liquid hit the ground.
His eyebrows furrowed into one as he realised he had wasted the liquor. In the process of removing the bottle from his inebriated mouth, he had managed to drool some down the front of his body. “Josie…. Joss, Josie, I loooove you”.
His words dribbled from his mouth with the remainders of the whiskey. Speech slurred, and the room beginning to spin, James became frantic. His movements were slow and uncoordinated, but his brain ran at a frantic pace.
“Josieee. Jose. Take me. Take me back. I, I love you…” The words slowly stumbled from his mouth. “I neeeed you.”
Josie had learnt to put up with his constant drunkness. Truth be told, she often wished that she had kicked him out years ago, severed contact, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually do it. She’d often threatened to boot him out.
