brooklyn baby → s . rogers ( 1 )

Chapter Sixteen

When the next morning rolled around, Blossom was slow to wake. She blinked several times and looked around the room. She was back in her bedroom, but the bed felt different and her pillow was hard. She glanced down and held in a scream. She was against Steve, his arms around her waist, holding her close. And, it was if a dam broke, because her memories came flooding back, along with her tears. She began to sob into her hands, and woke Steve on accident. His eyes opened suddenly, and he held her closer.

"Shh, Blossom. I got you..." He whispered, and she sobbed even harder. Steve rubbed her back slowly, and she sobbed onto his bare chest. 

"I-I'm s-so sorry S-Steve." She hiccuped, sitting up a bit.

"Don't be. Not with this." He said softly, and she nodded. He reached up and wrapped his arm around her again, pulling her back onto his chest. He dried her tears gently, running his thumbs over her cheeks slowly, and she hiccuped again. 

"Everything's going to be okay. I'll try to make everything okay...." He whispered, shifting the sobbing girl so that she was on her back on top of him. He rested her hands on her stomach and began to rub small circles into her skin. He felt her body relax a bit, but he could feel her upper body heaving with silent sobs. 

"Shh, let it out." He whispered, and she reached for his hand. She laced their fingers together and slowly stopped crying. Her head hurt, her eyes stung, and she was having trouble breathing. Steve gently squeezed her hand, and he hugged her closer than before, stroking her hair and kissing her cheek.

"I can't believe she's gone...." He heard her whisper, and he looked down sadly. She rolled onto her stomach, still on top of him, and he looked her in the eye. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and rubbed her back as she lay her head on his chest. 

"I'm so sorry. If I could do anything to fix this, to bring her back, you know I would." Steve said softly, and he felt her take a deep breath. She lifted her head ever so slightly and lightly kissed him, full on the lips. He was taken by surprise, but slowly eased into it, hold her slightly shaky body close to his. When she pulled away from him, her eyes were dry, and her face was red and blotchy. She heaved a sigh and sat up, her limbs feeling heavy.

"Steve, you should probably go home. It's gonna be a long day." Blossom said softly, and Steve shook his head.

"I'm not comfortable leaving you like this. But, if you want me to, I will. Do you want me to drop by later?" He asked, and she nodded, for fear that her tongue would slip and she would beg him to stay.

"Later works fine. Around dinner time?" She asked, and he nodded, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'll see you tonight Blossom. Please, don't do anything too bold." Steve said, kissing her cheek and standing.

"Here, your shirt's on the ground." Blossom said, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks as she handed Steve his shirt.

"Thanks. And, do you remember anything from last night?" Steve asked, taking the shirt and putting it on quickly.

"I remember crying myself to sleep, waking up, undressing and changing, and pulling you in here from the living room so you could hold me." She mumbled, and Steve nodded. He slipped on his shoes and walked back over to his girlfriend. He took in her appearance, and she seemed so fragile. Her face was red, her eyes were swollen, and her hair was a mess. He just wanted to take her into his arms and hold her until the world changed, until her fortunes changed. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her in a comfort hug and kissed the top of her head multiple times.

"I'll be back soon." He whispered in her ear, and he pulled away from Blossom and left her apartment. 

***

She found it in the cupboard over the sink. A whole two sided cabinet filled Jack Daniel's and brandy. She knew she shouldn't have had any, but the situation called for it. Blossom was going to break her no drinking rule, but she honestly saw no other option. She uncapped the brandy bottle and poured a bit of it into a glass she had cleaned out not five minutes ago, trying to keep busy. She looked at the glass, unsure whether or not to go through with it, but she brought the glass to her lips and swallowed the liquor in one big sip. She shuddered as the hard liquor smoothly went down her throat, and she felt as though it was boiling in her stomach. She knew in her head that she had no idea what she was doing, or how much of it she should take, but it didn't matter. At this point, Blossom didn't care if Steve found her, all she knew was that she couldn't sleep, eat, or relax without help. Sleeping pills never did the trick for her, since her body became resistant to them. 

"I'll just drink myself into a stupor. Hopefully, nothing will even matter then." She said to herself, pouring another glass. She looked at her glass and poured a bit of the golden liquid back into the bottle before downing the drink. Again, she shuddered, but it felt normal the second time around. She downed three more shots, and she felt dizzy. Her vision was blurred, and to her, everything seemed distant. The opening and closing of the front door seemed to fade away, and footsteps coming from the hall were almost swallowed up by nothing. 

"Blossom, I'm.... What are you doing?!" Steve exclaimed, glancing at the brandy on the counter and the glass in her shaky hand. She looked up at Steve, and her eyes went wide. Steve rushed over to her and snatched the glass out of her now sweat hand. He set it in the sink and caught his girlfriend as she collapsed, drunk. He carried her back to her room, and he could smell the brandy. It seemed to be emanating off of her skin, and she slowed breathing. Carefully, he set himself on the bed with his drunk girlfriend in his arms. He held her close, ignoring the strong scent of alcohol. He felt terrible, knowing that she got herself drunk because of the pain she was in.

"I should've never left..." He mumbled, sighing and shifting so if Blossom were to wake up, which wouldn't be until later, she'd be more comfortable. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair gently, mentally kicking himself for letting it get this far.