pick your poison.

"Yeah, Gena, I know... I know..." Ava spoke, exhaling in frustration and running a hand over her face. She wanted nothing more right then than to hang up on her sister, but she knew that Gena was right. She'd been through this before, and she was trying to save Ava from it. "But I'm trying to make my marriage work. I'm not packing up just because something got tough. So, please just leave me alone right now, okay?" The faux redhead huffed before hitting the end call button, putting her phone back on the coffee table. Was referencing her and Zack's divorce a low blow? Yes. But was Ava a grown adult who could make her own decisions? Also yes. She didn't need her sister holding her hand through everything anymore. The twenty something looked down at her wedding ring, and the corners of her mouth turned up the slightest fraction of an inch. She remembered when Johnny had placed it there about a year prior, with such love and care. They'd written their own vows for their vegas elopement, and Ava remembered crying tears of absolute joy as she read hers. But now? Those feelings were all gone. She still loved Johnny-- she wouldn't be there if she didn't. But his... issue, was slowly wearing down her patience.

You mind picking yourself up from whatever gutter you're in right now and coming home? I'd like to see my husband sometime this week, please! Love you. Ava texted. If there was one thing she learned from her older sister, It was passive aggression.

--

Zack knew three things for sure right about then. The party he threw last night absolutely fucking rocked, he spent way too much money on coke and booze, and Johnny was passed the fuck out on his couch and Ava was going to kill them BOTH. He'd known the redhead since she was a child due to his being involved with her older sister, and he knew that pissing her off was not something that was a wise decision. "Dude," Zack spoke, nudging the shorter man. "Dude, you need to get the hell out of here." The sound of his own voice was absolutely killing him-- this hangover was gonna be killer until he did the line that was waiting for him upstairs on his dresser. The guitarist made sure that Johnny wasn't absolutely passed out cold before heading upstairs, nudging open his bedroom door. No one was in there (thank god, that'd happened to him a time or two before-- he just chalked it up to the rockstar life), and he breathed a sigh of relief. Zack ran a hand through his hair before shuffling over to his dresser, and there was his prize. The remaining powder from the night before. He used the old hotel room key to line it up a bit before bending down, pressing a finger to his nostril and snorting the stuff. Zack coughed slightly, and almost immediately he felt better.

Kayla was absolutely ready to kill Zacky right now. He'd promised that he would meet her for lunch after her NA meeting, but she'd sat at the restaurant like a complete fucking idiot for almost two hours and he hadn't shown up. She was absolutely fuming when she arrived back at their house and unfortunately, Johnny happened to be the first person she saw and so received quite a bit of her wrath, but there would be plenty left for Zacky, she was sure of that. If she even managed to find him, of course. He probably heard her shouting from downstairs and was going to try and hide from her. Once Johnny had shuffled out the front door, Kayla pulled out her phone, shooting a quick text message to Ava, knowing she would likely be wondering where Johnny was. Your husband just left my house. Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, Kayla barely gave a disgusted glance around the living room before she headed upstairs. She remembered a day when she would've been here with the guys during a party, right alongside them as they killed their liver and brain cells. But somehow she'd managed to turn her life around, which was a miracle according to her sister, since Zacky still seemed to be stuck in that lifestyle. But Kayla was confident that she was pulling him away from that, slowly by surely. Shoving open the bedroom door, Kayla fixed her fiancé with a cold glare. "Care to explain yourself, Zachary?" she asked scathingly.

---

Like most nights, Johnny hardly remembered what happened the night before. He remembered being at Zacky's house, surrounded by enough booze and coke to easily get them into a lot of trouble, but that was about it. Once the alcohol started to flow, it took his memories with it. "Alright, alright, I'm up!" Johnny halfway shouted, just wanting Zacky to go away. But he could sense the guitarist staring at him, so he reluctantly peeled himself away from the couch. "Fuck," he groaned, feeling his head start to pound. The first thing he did was check his phone, his stomach turning over when he spotted a message from Ava. She was more than sick his shit by now and the passive aggressive message she'd sent him was proof enough of that. Suddenly the front door opened and Zacky's fianceé stepped into the house, immediately lighting into Johnny about how stupid they were and that Ava was probably worried sick about him and didn't he ever think of anyone but himself? Rolling his eyes as he left, Johnny squinted his eyes against the harsh afternoon sunlight. He really needed to invest in a pair of sunglasses, but he would probably lose them. When he got to his house, Johnny stopped on the front porch. He didn't particularly want to go inside because he was sure hell was waiting for him on the other side of this door, but he was sure Kayla was right. Ava was probably worried sick about him. That or ready to rip his head off. One of the two. "Ava?" Johnny called out cautiously as he stepped inside, wincing at the sound of his own voice. "I'm home."

Thanks for letting me know, I adore you. <3 Ava texted Kayla back, putting her phone back down on the coffee table before heading into the kitchen in search of something to drink. She'd just plucked a Gatorade out of the fridge when she heard the front door open, and the dogs start going nuts. "Guys, chill, Daddy probably has a hangover." Ava quipped, leaving the kitchen and heading to the front hall. Despite her anger, her heart fluttered and she went slightly weak kneed at the sight of her husband. Johnny always had that effect on her, no matter how pissed off she was at him. "Glad you made it home safe," Ava whispered, smiling slightly before closing the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Johnny and squeezing tight. "I'd kiss you but I can smell your booze breath from here, so let's pretend I did." She gave him a wink. "Please, do me a favor and take a shower." Once she sent her husband in the direction of their bathroom, Ava headed back to the living room to grab her phone and fire off another text to Kayla. Once you're done presumably killing Zack, do you wanna go shopping or something? It's been forever since I've gotten out of the house with someone other than my sister. I can't take her condescending looks anymore. Ava added a few eyeroll emojis before sending the text. Now that Johnny was home safe, it was time for her to start her day and get dressed.

--

Oh, fuck. Zack's promise to his fiancee came rushing back to his mind when he heard her screaming at Johnny downstairs, and he felt like shit for forgetting her. Thank god for the coke he'd just done, or else his head would be downright fucking killing him. The guitarist quickly put his paraphernalia back in his sock drawer and headed to the en suite bathroom to scrub his face so he looked like less of a trainwreck when Kayla came in. "Hey, gorgeous..." Zack spoke by way of greeting when Kayla entered his room. Even when she looked about ready to kill him (which she did quite often), the little brunette was the most gorgeous person he'd ever seen. "I'm so fucking sorry I forgot about lunch. I remembered to set my alarm but I slept through it... please don't be too mad." How Kayla ever stayed with Zack was a fucking miracle. Here she was, clean and sober, and he wasn't ready to grow up yet. In the back of his mind Zack knew he had to tone it down on the partying sooner or later or he would lose Kayla. And that just wasn't a reality he wanted to face. "I'll do anything to make it up to you, babe. I'm so sorry. You know I love you." Zack closed the gap between the two of them and he gingerly reached out to run a hand through her hair, positive that it would be slapped away after a minute.

Kayla only continued to glare at Zacky as he offered up his excuse about sleeping through his alarm, which she immediately knew was bullshit. The remnants of his party were still all over the living room and she knew that was why he'd stood her up at the restaurant. Kayla's body stiffened as Zacky approached her and when he reached up to touch her hair, she pushed his hand away. "Do you know how fucking embarrassed I was, Zacky?" she hissed at him. "Sitting in the restaurant alone for almost two hours, dodging everyone's stares and questions because I didn't want to think about how my own fiancé stood me up." She paused, taking a breath as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She glanced down long enough to gather that Ava wanted to go out shopping, something Kayla could definitely go for right about now. A little retail therapy would do her some good. "You know what? I think there actually is something you can do to make it up to me. I'm going out with Ava and when I get back, I want this house to be spotless. I don't want to see a single fucking beer can in the living room, no liquor bottles stuffed into the trashcan I don't even want to see a single dish in the fucking sink. And when I get home, if everything's clean, then I'll think about forgiving you." Kayla gave Zacky no chance to argue as she turned around and headed back out the house, pulling out her phone to respond to Ava's message. Zacky lives, for now. Although that might change if he doesn't clean up the house while I'm out. But shopping sounds fun! I'm leaving the house now.

---

Johnny was very pleasantly surprised when Ava didn't immediately light into him when she appeared from the kitchen. But maybe she wasn't as mad as he thought she was. She never tended to be, which was likely an underlying reason why Johnny continued to drink and party the way that he did. He knew deep down that if he kept this up eventually he would lose Ava, but until he got a true slap in the face, he would never change his ways. Nodding when Ava suggested a shower, Johnny headed off towards the bathroom. He was positive that he stunk and getting himself cleaned up would please his wife and also serve to make himself feel better. It just seemed like it was easier to recover from his hangover when he didn't smell like alcohol. Although he noticed over the years that he was less and less hungover after a night of heavy drinking, which showed that his body was getting used to the amount of alcohol that he was pumping into it and it scared Johnny a little. He made quick work of showering, taking a few minutes to brush his teeth as well and get rid of his booze breath. "Alright, I'm clean now," Johnny announced as he headed downstairs. "And I brushed my teeth, so can I have an actual kiss now?

Ava was just about to text Kayla back when Johnny came back downstairs, asking for his kiss. "Oh, well, if I have to." She joked, putting her phone down. The redhead met her husband at the foot of the stairs, slinging her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips. Ava sighed gently, biting her bottom lip. "Have fun last night? Who was all there?" She asked, taking a sip of her Gatorade. Ava didn't know why she asked anymore, she knew that hearing what Johnny had to say would make her sad, or even angry again. All she wanted was for him to stay home with her, at least one or two nights out of the week. Hell, even if they had a party over here, Ava wouldn't mind all that much. As cheesy as it sounded, falling asleep next to her husband was one of her favorite things to do. And it'd been ages since that had happened. "Any of the old crew show up?" She asked, mentioning the people that had hung around before she and Johnny got married. One of Ava's worst nightmares was that Johnny would get so drunk, so fucked up that he would end up sleeping with someone else. The drinking and the coke, she could handle. But Johnny having sex with someone else? That would absolutely devastate her. "Babe, Kayla and I are gonna go shopping, she'll be here in like twenty minutes. Do you need me to pick up anything?" Ava asked.

--

Zack was just about to agree to what Kayla had said before she turned on her heel and left. "Okay... love you." He called to her retreating form. Before Zack could even think about cleaning the house, he had to take a shower. The smell of booze and his sweat was starting to turn his stomach. He quickly grabbed a new set of clothes before heading to the en suite bathroom, turning the water up as hot as he could stand it and scrubbing the party from last night off of him. Once Zack was done showering, he threw on his clothes and headed downstairs to begin cleaning up from the previous night. First on the agenda was cleaning up all of the beer cans and liquor bottles that were scattered throughout the house, and fuck there were a lot. He tossed them in the recycling bin in the garage before running the vacuum across the rug. Then, just for the hell of it, Zack decided to burn Kayla's favorite candle to get the smell of booze out of the air. He then moved to the kitchen to load the dishwasher, seeing as the sink was fucking overflowing. Zack could see why Kayla was mad. Hell, if he were in the right frame of mind he would be, too. Zack was normally a neat freak, he liked his stuff in order. But after a party, he just didn't care that much. The dishwasher was quickly loaded and then started, and then next on the agenda was cleaning the pit that was their bedroom.

Kayla heard Zacky shout after her as she left, but she ignored him. She was still beyond furious and honestly a little hurt and she just didn't feel like acknowledging him. She climbed into her car, starting it up again and leaving for Ava's house. She pulled into the driveway and honked her horn, not particularly wanting to go inside and interrupt whatever might be going on between the redhead and Johnny. When Ava finally slid into her passenger seat, Kayla pulled out of the driveway again, taking a drag from the cigarette she'd started up. She knew taking up smoking was essentially trading one addiction for another, but she didn't care. Nicotine made it easier to calm the nerves and stress that came along with kicking her drug problem and it also helped her to not just throttle Zacky sometimes. Like when she'd been stood up at the restaurant. "So is Johnny still alive?" Kayla asked, glancing over at Ava. She managed a slight smirk. "Because I've got to tell you, I was ready to murder Zacky. He promised me he would meet me for lunch after my NA meeting and then he never showed up. And he tried to feed me some excuse about sleeping through his alarm, but I know that's bullshit. If he thinks I'm stupid enough that I didn't know he threw a party last night, he's got another thing coming." Kayla suddenly became aware of the fact that she was ranting and she paused, taking a deep breath as she took the turn that would take them towards the mall. "I'm sorry. I asked you about Johnny and then I just ran off with the conversation."

---

Johnny grinned as Ava came over to him and kissed him. She always gave the best kisses, even when he didn't deserve them. "Well what I remember was pretty fun," Johnny said. "Zacky definitely hooked everybody up with the alcohol. And a few of the old guys were there, yeah." He didn't like to tell Ava too much about the parties he went to, because he knew she didn't like that he drank so much. Johnny knew that he had a problem when it came to that. Hell, he was more than certain he was a fucking alcoholic. But even that knowledge wasn't enough to make him want to quit. "Do I need you to pick me up anything...from the mall?" Johnny asked curiously, looking at Ava. "Because I know that's where you and Kayla are going. And you know, I don't understand why you don't invite your sister along, I bet her and Kayla would get along great." Johnny said this last bit with a smirk of sorts, because that was definitely the opposite of what would happen. Kayla was engaged to Gena's ex-husband and so she tried to stay as far away from Ava's sister as possible. "But no, you don't have to bring me back anything, just go have fun. Oh wait, you can bring me back some food, if you want." It wasn't much longer before a horn honked in the driveway and Johnny stopped Ava one last time to give her another kiss before she left. Once he was sure she was gone, he slipped out of the house, hurrying down the sidewalk to the closest liquor store. He wished he had his car, but it was still in the shop from his latest drunken fender bender. Johnny was in and out of the liquor store quickly with his prize, a fifth of Jack Daniels. Sure, it was a little early to be hitting the bottle, but did he really care? Hell no.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. Putting Gena and Kayla in the same room? I value my life, thank you very much." Ava joked. She loved her sister and her best friend more than anything in the world-- which was why she kept the two far away from each other. Ava was always quick to defend Kayla when Gena put her down, and vice versa. She absolutely hated being in between the two of them. Truth be told, Ava wished the two got along like her and Lacey did. Were they best friends? No. But were they able to hold a conversation without killing each other? Of course. "No, I'm not gonna bring you food. You can starve." Ava joked as she heard the car horn in the driveway, signaling that Kayla was here. "Alright, I'm gonna skedaddle. Love you." She gave Johnny another kiss before heading out the front door, making sure it was locked before jumping into Kayla's passenger seat and giving her a side hug. Ava was about to answer Kayla's question when she went off on her rant about Zacky. She could tell that her friend was angry, so she just let her vent. "Don't worry, dude! You needed to let that out, it's all good." Ava laughed before lighting up one of her own cigarettes. "As of right now, Johnny is still alive. Let's see what condition my house is in when I get back-- then, we'll figure it out. That's absolutely shitty of Zack, though, but it sounds like him. Love that guy like a brother, but he has the worst fucking excuses on Earth."

--

Zack honestly did feel guilty as fuck about forgetting Kayla. He was amazed that she still stayed with him, she deserved much better than some fucking punk who didn't wanna grow up yet. Thank god she hadn't left-- Zack didn't think he had it in him to survive another soul crushing breakup. When he and Gena had split, he thought he would never get over it. Hell, he couldn't even visit Ava and Johnny for awhile because of how similar the two siblings looked. But then, Kayla came into his life and love punched him right in the fucking gut again. The only thing the petite brunette that had stolen his heart didn't change in him was his love of the bottle, and that devilish white powder. Zack sighed, straightening the pictures of the two of them that were on the dresser before wiping it down. He knew if he wanted to get back in Kayla's good graces, the house had to be absolutely fucking HGTV perfect. I know you're probably gonna ignore this, but I'm so sorry and I love you more than anything. Have fun with Ava, tell her I said hey. xoxox Zack sent the text before stripping the bed and changing the sheets. They hadn't been changed in weeks and they stank of alcohol and sweat. Nothing made Zack feel better than crawling into a bed with fresh sheets after a long day.

"I know, which is why I don't know why I expected him to have a better one," Kayla said. Zacky had always had terrible excused for the things he did - or didn't do - ones that were obvious lies. She didn't understand why he didn't just tell her the truth. Sure, she would likely be mad at him, but lying to her just made it worse. "Well if you have to murder Johnny, I'll help you hide the body," Kayla offered jokingly, laughing. At the mall, she found a parking spot as close to the front as she possibly could, waiting for Ava to climb out before she locked the doors. "Oh! So I was so mad at Zacky that I completely forgot what I got at my NA meeting this morning," Kayla said as they walked into the mall. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small golden token. It might look insignificant to most people, but to Kayla, it was a testament to how far she'd come. "The day before yesterday was my one year sober date." She looked at the coin for a few seconds before she stuffed it back into her bag. It was amazing she'd made it this far, especially with Zacky still stuck in the partying lifestyle. But it just made Kayla more determined than ever to help Zacky earn one of these tokens as well. Speaking of Zacky, just as she and Ava entered the mall, a message from him flashed across her screen. She sighed. I love you, too. "Alright, so where do you want to go first?" Kayla asked, stopping to look at the directory. "I could use some new jeans. Oh, and Zacky says hey, by the way."

---

Johnny tucked the bottle underneath his arm as he hurried back to his house, not really wanting anyone to spot him. Most of the neighbors knew about his problem and a few of them had even been known to tattle on him to Ava if they saw him with alcohol. Sure, it might not be the greatest thing that Johnny drank so much but he was a grown fucking man, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Once he was inside the house, Johnny kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the couch, twisting off the cap of his fifth of whiskey. As he usually did, he decided to forgo the glass and drank straight from the bottle, a large sip that sizzled down on the way to his stomach. The burn was so familiarized to him now, he hardly noticed it. The taste wasn't something he noticed too much anymore either, which was probably what helped him to drink so much so quickly. He knew that by the time Ava returned home, Johnny would be beyond drunk, too drunk to know that she would likely be furious with him. Once he was finished with his whiskey, Johnny got up from the couch, stumbling to the first of his many hiding spots. A fifth no longer did it for him, so he had taken to hiding various amounts and types of alcohol around the house. Luckily, he found a bit of vodka in his first hiding spot, so he wouldn't need to go searching anywhere else for anything else.

Ava rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly. Despite everything that had gone down, she and Zack still remained close. "Tell him I said he's a jerk, and I'm gonna shove my foot up his ass next time I see him." She spoke, half in jest. Even though she did care about her ex brother in law, she was just as pissed as Kayla was. At the sight of Kayla's token, Ava gasped, and a grin formed on her twin flesh. "Has it been a year already? Time flies when we're the only ones 'not' having fun! I'm so proud of you, Kay!" She pulled her best friend in for a hug, patting her on the back. A year of sobriety was nothing to sneeze at, and Ava knew just how hard Kayla worked to achieve that year. "We should celebrate! Get a bottle of sparkling grape juice, you know? Get real wild." Ava scanned the directory, trying to decide what store she wanted to hit up first. "You know, I could use some jeans, too. I practically friggin live in leggings. And then we could hit up Victoria's Secret? I need new yoga pants, too." She followed Kayla to the little boutique in the mall where they got a majority of their clothes from, pulling out her phone to fire off a quick text to Johnny. Hey, goofball. I love you. I'll bring home some subway or something for dinner. <333 Ava slipped her phone back into her pocket as they entered the store, sighing softly. "Thanks for agreeing to come out with me. I really needed this today. It's been like a month since I left the house to do something other than go grocery shopping or pick up takeout."

--

Zack smiled at the sight of the text. That meant that slowly but surely, Kayla's anger was melting away. Hopefully when she saw the house, and how much effort he put into cleaning it up, she wouldn't be angry any more. He headed to the laundry room in the basement to start tackling that. Laundry was a chore that Zack never really minded. He found the routine downright soothing, if he were being honest. Love you more... what do you want for dinner? My treat, cause we know I'm not that good of a cook. Zack texted back. It was true. The only things that the guitarist could really cook came from the frozen aisle, and even then that was a stretch. He put his phone in his pocket before throwing in a load of clothes that belonged to both he and Kayla, making sure to separate them so none of their white clothes ended up pink, or the darks got bleach on them. Once he threw the clothes in, Zack turned the washer on and headed back upstairs to go chill on the couch for a minute. He might as well, seeing as their was nothing really for him to do right then. Once the dishes were done in the dishwasher, he'd get up and put them away. But for right now Zack was gonna chill and plan a nice dinner for when Kayla got home from her shopping trip.

"I'll be sure to pass the message along," Kayla said with a chuckle. She grinned as Ava hugged her, gushing about how proud of Kayla she was. She was pretty proud of herself, because getting to a year sober had been no easy feat. She just wished she could get Zacky to that point as well. But trying to take him along to her NA meetings was like pulling teeth. "We'll go to Forever 21 and look for some jeans and then we can head to Victoria's Secret. I don't need any yoga pants but they're just so cute I can't help myself. And their shirts, too." Kayla laughed as she walked with Ava over to Forever 21. The only reason she really wanted some new jeans is because all of the ones she owned had gotten a little tight since she'd given up her habits, likely because she tended to eat a little more. But at least she'd gotten some curves out of it. "Fuck, I bet I'm up to a size six by now," Kayla said, looking over the jeans display. She picked up a pair that was dark wash, with a few strategic holes hear and there. "What do you think about these? I like darker pairs better, goes better with my hair." She slung the pair over her arms, deciding to go and try them on once she'd found a few more things. She meandered around the store, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket. Gets Chili's To Go. I've been wanting some of those honey chipotle chicken tenders. Kayla sent the text message to Zacky and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

---

Before long Johnny found himself on the floor, tucked between the couch and the coffee table. He'd lost his shoes at some point, one over by the front door and one that had somehow managed to find its way into the kitchen. He'd finished off the bottle of vodka and he wanted more, but he just couldn't figure out how to get up. The sensation of his phone vibrating in his pocket nearly made him jump out of his skin and he fumbled around trying to pull it out. Johnny's vision was a little blurry, but he managed to make out the text message from Ava. Subway sssounds goos, bby i loe you two. Johnny mashed send before tossing his phone away, suddenly feeling completely exhausted. That was his cycle. Drink until he ran out of alcohol or wound up on the floor and then he would pass out. By the time Ava returned home, he would be pretty far past the point of her getting him up. And Johnny knew this was unhealthy, knew he was hurting himself and Ava, but the alcohol was the only thing that could numb him enough to forget all of his problems. Like how his drinking had in part cost him one marriage already and was likely going to cost him a second.

"Yeah, the dark wash looks good on you." Ava echoed, looking at the same pair of jeans but in white. She threw the jeans in her shopper, pulling her phone out of her pocket when she heard it ping. A perfectly manicured eyebrow raised at the sight of the text from Johnny. "Jesus fucking Christ," Ava muttered in disgust, handing her phone to Kayla. "Look at this shit. I haven't even been gone half an hour, and my idiot husband is already wasted. You know how you offered to help me hide his body? I might take you up on that." Your ass is grass when I get home, Seward. She texted before she put her phone back into her purse, mentally shaking Johnny out of her mind. Ava would deal with that when she got home. For now, she was determined to have a fun day out with her best friend. "Ooh, that romper is cute!" Ava spoke, pointing out a little peach number. "Do you think I could pull that off? Or would it be too much with my hair?" She asked, knowing that Kayla would give her honest opinion.

--

Chilli's it is. I'll put the order in right now and go pick it up when I'm done putting the dishes away. Zack texted Kayla back. He then opened the Chili's app and ordered their food, making sure that it went through before heading to the kitchen to put the dishes away. That was done in about five or so minutes, so Zack decided to change out of his bum clothes and head out to get dinner for he and Kayla. He quickly hopped into the car and drove to the restaurant, picking up the food. The hostess was a fan, so he signed a quick autograph for her before heading home. Just grabbed the food! When are you gonna be headed home? He texted Kayla after putting the food in the oven so it would stay warm. Zack didn't wanna put it in the microwave unless he absolutely had to. No rush btw, babe. Just curious. Zack headed back to the living room, content to just watch television and relax until his girl got home now that the house was clean.

"I'll try them on, then," Kayla said. But first she wanted to find a few other things. Maybe a flannel or something, since fall was coming up soon. She turned towards Ava when she heard the other girl cursing, seeing her waving her phone in her face. "Wow," was all Kayla said. "Yeah, if you decide to murder Johnny when you get home, I'll help you hide his body." While Ava sent a response to Johnny, Kayla felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she knew she had a message from Zacky. And as she was reading the first one, a second one came through, and then a third. Calm yourself! I probably won't be home for at least an hour so just stick the food in the oven or the microwave until I get back. "I think the romper is cute, but maybe in a different color?" Kayla suggested to Ava. "Because yeah, I think it might be a little much with your hair." She searched through the rack for a second and pulled out a deep navy blue romper. "I think this would look cute on you. And it would go good with your hair."

---

Even as drunk as he was, Johnny knew as soon as he read Ava's text message that he'd fucked up. She knew he was drunk and when she got home Johnny was probably dead. But it wasn't like he could do anything about it now, he was already drunk. And now that he was on the floor, there was no getting up. Not without help, anyway. And besides that, Johnny was tired. Alcohol always made him sleepy. The floor was comfortable enough and this wouldn't be the first time he'd slept here. For a second he thought about responding to Ava, but Johnny knee that would only add fuel to the fire and the last thing he wanted to do was make the situation worse for himself.

[sorry Johnny's bit is so short, it's a little hard to think of stuff when he's just laying drunk on the floor ]

"Ooh! I like that navy one, it's super cute." Ava put it in the bag along with her jeans, picking up a few more things here and there. Despite her best efforts, images of her husband (and what his dumb ass was probably doing) crept into her mind, and she couldn't help but feel sad. Ava was pretty sure that she was near her breaking point-- she didn't know how much longer she could take this relationship. She was giving it all she had, but the redhead was beginning to see why Gena had left her marriage. "Alright, I think Forever 21 has done enough damage to my wallet... let's head up to the register." Ava spoke, trying her best to dull her emotions. She was pissed as well now-- Johnny practically fucking RUINED her day with Kayla. All because he couldn't put the bottle down for a few hours. Ava paid for her stuff, which totaled to about 300 dollars with all of the odds and ends she picked up, using Johnny's credit card. If he was gonna cause her this pain, she could do whatever she wanted. "Want me to pay for your stuff too?" Ava half joked, giving Kayla a wink. The two girls went about the rest of their shopping trip, and before Ava knew it it was time to head home. She was silent the entire car ride, staring ahead in silent determination. "Thanks so much for this... I'll call you later okay? Congrats again on your year. Be good." Ava gave Kayla a hug before stalking into the house, eyes narrowed. Her foot had barely touched the front door when she smelt the alcohol in the air, and it was almost enough to make her sick. She stalked into the living room, and her suspicion was confirmed. There was Johnny, past the fuck out surrounded by at least three empty fifths. "Fucking pathetic..." Ava grumbled. She nudged him with her foot and when he didn't wake up, a plan formulated. The faux redhead quickly headed to the garage, grabbing the airhorn that she had confiscated during Brian's birthday party. Once that was done, she grabbed the Brita water pitcher that she kept in the fridge before stalking into the living room once more. "Wake up, asswipe!" Ava yelled at the top of her lungs, dumping the water on her husband before laying on the airhorn.

--

Zack was upstairs putting the clothes away when he heard the front door open, signaling that Kayla was home. He put the last pair of socks away before heading downstairs and smiling at the sight of Kayla. "Hey, gorgeous... have fun shopping with Ava?" He spoke as he headed down the last step. "I busted my ass cleaning the house... I even did that big ass pile of laundry in the basement." Zack spoke proudly. The guitarist leaned in and pressed a kiss to Kayla's lips before leading her into the kitchen. "Did you get anything good while you were shopping?" He asked curiously as he set up their dinners. Zack placed Kayla's food in front of her, grabbing her drink as well before getting his own. That was just their routine. Zack would fuck up, Kayla would scream at him, and he would fall all over himself to get back in her good graces. It would be about two, maybe three days before he threw another bender and the cycle started up all over again. Zack took a bite of his food, eating it before lifting up his drink in a toast. "To you, for putting up with my bullshit day in and day out. You have the patience of a saint, future Mrs. Baker." He winked before taking a sip of his soda. Zack may have been an asshole, but there was one thing he absolutely refused to do, and that was drink or do his drugs in front of Kayla. Just because he was a fuck up didn't mean he had to ruin her life. She worked hard to get to where she was at.

Kayla picked out a few more things as she and Ava walked around the store, heading up to the register with her. She laughed when Ava jokingly offered to pay for her things, knowing that she was only doing so because she was using Johnny's credit card. "No thanks, my trip is paid for by the bank of Baker," she said, laughing. After they were finished in Forever 21, the two girls headed to Victoria's Secret to shop for a little while and Kayla even convinced Ava to pop into Sephora for a few minutes so she could pick out a new foundation. It was a little expensive, but it was her treat to herself for a year of sobriety. "I'm sorry Johnny had to ruin your day," Kayla said, pouting at Ava. "Give him a good kick for me, okay?" She stayed long enough to make sure Ava made it inside her house before driving away. Inside her own home, Kayla kicked off her shoes before setting her shopping bags on the couch. "I can see that," Kayla said when Zacky mentioned cleaning the house. This compared with a little time away from him with Ava had helped to soothe her anger towards him. "I got some jeans at Forever 21 and a really cute top. Oh, and a new sweatshirt and yoga pants from Victoria's Secret." Kayla cut off a piece of her chicken, dipping it in the ranch before sticking it in her mouth. "And I need it to put up with you," she teased. "Thank you for working so hard to clean the house, Zacky. I guess I can forgive you for standing me up at the restaurant."

---

It wasn't much longer before Johnny completely passed out. He had absolutely no idea how long he'd been out when he was rudely and abruptly brought back to consciousness. The second the ice water hit him, Johnny jolted awake, cursing loudly when he somehow managed to smack his forehead hard on the coffee table. The pain only added to the ringing in his ears from the air horn. "I'm awake, I'm awake," Johnny mumbled. He didn't even want to look at Ava right now, because he knew she was beyond angry with him. She always was when he got drunk like this. But she'd never poured water on him before. Still looking at the floor, Johnny got to his feet. He swayed a little, but he wasn't nearly as drunk as he had been before. The sleep and the ice water had definitely helped to sober him up. "I'm...I'm sorry, Ava," Johnny sputtered out. He knew that wasn't going to help the situation, but that was all he could think to say. And besides, what else was there for him to say? I'm an alcoholic fuck up and I wouldn't blame you at all if you just walked away from me and never looked back? Hell no. Johnny knew that Ava deserved so much better than him, just like Lacey had. But he didn't think he would be able to stand it if Ava left him.

Ava only stopped the air horn after Johnny was standing up, tossing it away in anger. "Sorry? SORRY? You're fucking sorry? Johnny, that's bullshit and you fucking know it. If you were sorry, you wouldn't DO this to me!" Like always when she was angry, Ava started crying. She clenched and unclenched her fists that were at her sides, doing her best to stay calm and NOT kill her husband. "Kayla and I probably weren't even down the damn road when you started drinking, were we?" She ran a hand through her hair, stepping back in case Johnny got the bright idea to touch her. Ava was in no mood for physical contact with her husband-- she wanted to stay mad at him. "You ruined my day with Kayla, just like you ruined my day with Gena last week, and when Val and I went out last month... god dammit Johnny! Are you not happy unless I'm absolutely fucking miserable? Cause that's what it feels like." Ava took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. "You know what? I'm done. I'm not dealing with this shit today. You like passing out drunk in the living room so much? Then that's where the hell you're gonna sleep tonight. If your drunk ass can stagger over to the linen closet, you can get your pillows and your blankets from there." She turned on her heel, heading back into the front hall and upstairs. Ava walked into the bedroom that she shared with Johnny and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her.

--

"You're welcome, babe." Zack spoke, taking a bite of his ribs. He listened as Kayla talked, relief flooding his system when she mentioned forgiving him. "I know I said it about forty million times this morning, but I really am sorry, babe. I know you said you forgive me, but I'm gonna make it up to you still. I promise." He ran a hand through his hair, just staring at the beautiful woman in front of him. Kayla was a good soul. Much too good for a scumbag like him. He never cheated on her or laid a finger on her, no-- Zack was much too good of a man for that. But try as he might, Zack could never resist a drink or a line. His worst fucking fear was one day Kayla was gonna have enough of his shit, and he was gonna wake up to her and her stuff gone. "How about we go out later this week?" Zack mused, sipping on his drink. "Get dressed up real nice, go somewhere fancy...We haven't done that since we got engaged. And you deserve it."

Kayla raised an eyebrow when Zacky mentioned going out. It had been so long since they'd gone on an actual date. Normally Zacky seemed to want to fill his evenings with his parties, getting drunk and high. But the fact that he was willing to give that up even for just one night seemed like a promising sign to Kayla. "That sounds great, Zack," she said. "Because you're right, we haven't done that in awhile. And I think it would be a nice way to celebrate this." Kayla pulled out her one-year token, setting it on the table. Maybe reminding Zacky of the progress that she'd made would help him want to make that sort of progress himself. "I wanted to show you earlier but well, you didn't show up," Kayla said. "Yesterday was my one-year sober date. They threw me a little party at the NA meeting, with a small cake and sparkling grape juice and everything."

---

Johnny flinched when Ava started to scream at him, but he didn't try and stop her. He deserved this, he always deserved this. And he wanted to tell her that he hated himself for how miserable he made her feel, because the only thing he wanted was to make Ava happy. He loved her so much. But he just couldn't escape the alcohol, it had too tight of a grip on him. Johnny jumped when he heard the bedroom door slam closed upstairs, the weight of Ava's words smacking him in the chest. Slowly, he made his way up the stairs, leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom as he pounded on the door with his fist. "Ava, please...open the door," Johnny said. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Ava. I really am. I love you so much, all I want is to make you happy, but I just can't."

"If you think I'm opening this door, then you're dumber than I thought." Ava snapped as she changed into her pajamas. Everything in her was screaming to open the door, let Johnny in. But she knew that she couldn't. If she did, Johnny would think that he could keep walking all over her, that what he was doing was okay. Ava had to stand her ground. "I love you, too, more than anything in the entire world-- and that's why I'm so fucking angry, Johnny!" Ava continued once she was dressed. "Don't say that. You can make me happy, you have in the past. You just don't want to make me happy anymore. It's because of that damn fucking bottle that's always by your side. Being drunk is more important than the happiness of the woman you love, and I came to terms with it for awhile. But no more." She exhaled harshly, wiping her eyes.

--

Zack grinned at the sight of the medal, giving Kayla a proud look. He instantly felt even worse for ditching her at lunch, he knew how much this meant to her. "Jesus, has it been a year already? That's awesome, Kay! It definitely calls for a celebration." He sipped his soda again, reaching across the table to place a hand on top of hers. "Seriously, babe-- I'm so proud of you." The guitarist squeezed her hand, giving her a smile. If only he could accomplish the same thing-- Zack couldn't even imagine being sober for a month, let alone for a year. That felt like a lifetime to him. He finished up the last of his ribs before getting up to throw the container out. "I don't know about you," Zack mused, sitting across from Kayla. "But I would liked nothing more than to sit on the couch with the love of my life for a few hours and watch some television."

Out of anyone, Zacky's reaction to her year of sobriety meant the most to Kayla. This was the man she loved more than anything, even if she did want to kill him sometimes, and knowing that he was proud of her made her feel so good about herself. And she hoped that maybe seeing her doing so well with her sobriety would help Zacky want to get sober, too. "Relaxing on the couch sounds good to me," Kayla agreed to me," Kayla agreed. She hadn't finished her food, so she closed the takeout container and stuck it back inside the fridge, grabbing herself a can of Coke before she went into the living room. "You pick something, I'm awful at picking," she said, getting comfortable on the couch. She wondered if now was a good time to bring up the possibility of Zacky trying to get sober, but she knew that there would never be a good time. Zacky was still in love with his party lifestyle. But deep down Kayla knew that she couldn't stay with Zacky if he wasn't willing to let that go. Because if she stayed with him and he continued to party, to drink and use cocaine, Kayla would inevitably get dragged back down. That had been her problem the first time, she was awful with peer pressure.

---

"But I do want to make you happy, Ava," Johnny said. And he did, he really did. But he just knew that he couldn't and that's one of the main things that drove him to drink. Ava deserved the world and the sun and the moon and the stars and he just couldn't give that to her. So he drank to numb his feelings of disappointment in himself. And he knew that Ava would never understand his logic, but that's what it was. The alcohol would never be more important to him than her, nothing would. But it had such a tight grip on him that he just couldn't let him go. "I'm sorry, I love you, Ava," Johnny mumbled, resting his forehead against the door. He stood there for another minute or so before he moved away, slowly making his way back downstairs. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the linen closet in the hall and laid down on the couch. It wouldn't take him long to fall asleep, not with how drunk he still was. It wasn't even that late, but Johnny would likely sleep clear through until the next morning, which was a good thing. The longer he was asleep, the less time he had to drink.

Ava bit her bottom lip and screwed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to cry even more. She would wait until she knew that Johnny had moved away from the door and back downstairs before she let her emotions go. A sigh left her twin flesh, and she moved to go lay in bed. The redhead made sure that her phone was plugged in before settling under her blankets, turning on the tv. Ava was just so emotionally exhausted she knew that she wasn't gonna stay awake much longer, even though the sun was barely setting. She ached for it to be like it was a few years ago, when she and Johnny had just gotten together and the booze didn't have as much of a grip on him as it did. They would either spend the evening with each other watching movies, or out with their friends doing whatever. But now, Ava more often than not went to bed alone. A soft sigh left her lips, and she picked up her phone to call her sister. She desperately needed someone to talk to, and she had already bugged Kayla enough for one day.

--

Zack sat down next to Kayla, throwing a blanket over their legs before turning on the television. He navigated to netflix and debated for a few moments before coming up with Forrest Gump. It was one of his favorite movies, and he always watched it when he wanted to relax. "This okay, babe?" He asked, confirming that his selection was okay with Kayla before slinging his arm around her shoulder. Zack pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed comfortably, settling in to watch the movies. Moments like these were what he really treasured-- spending time with Kayla just doing absolutely nothing. Just her by his side was enough for a good time. "Love you," The guitarist whispered, running his fingers lightly through her hair. "And I mean it. We're going somewhere special tomorrow-- a continuation of my apology, and to celebrate your year." He really was extremely proud of Kayla. She was a much better person than he was, by far.