One of Us Is Going Down

At two am Brian decided that if he didn’t get Ashlyn right then, he would have to take her to the hospital and have her stomach pumped for fear she would get alcohol poisoning. The fact that she was now climbing up on a table to dance also helped him make the decision. He walked to the table she was on and stood on the side, looking up at her.

“Hi Brian!” it took her a moment for the realization to hit, then she stopped, sobering up quickly. “Brian.”

“Yep, come on Boozy, let’s go home.”

Brian helped Ashlyn down from the table and carried her from the club in a fireman’s carry to her car. He got her home, as soon as they reached the apartment, she went to the bathroom and threw up. Brian held her hair. She got up and brushed her teeth, then pulled her hair back in a ponytail holder, as advised by Brian. By the time she had changed into pjs, she had to throw up again.

Brian smirked as he watched Ashlyn lay with her face pressed to the cold side of the toilet, begging it and God to let the vomiting stop. He remembered his first sick night and the hang-over that followed. Something about her slurred pleas as her face pressed against the toilet made him feel sorry for her and want to laugh all at the same time.

The next morning Ashlyn woke to find herself in her bathroom, alone. She had no memory of ever coming home. Had she? Had Brian called the police to look for her? He had to know, she was passed out on the bathroom floor, how could he not know? She groaned as she sat up, holding her head in her hands. She managed to close the bathroom door, crawl in the shower, and clean herself.

Once out of the shower, Ashlyn dressed in a pair of gym shorts and tank, then flopped down on her bed, deciding that she would take a root canal over this throbbing headache. There was a soft knock on the frame of her bedroom door that made her look up to see Brian there, holding a glass of water and a bottle of painkillers.

“I’m dead,” Ashlyn bemoaned.

Brian sat on the side of the bed as Ashlyn sat up and took the painkillers and the water from him.

“How did I get back here?” She asked.

“I brought you back, of course,” Brian said, smirking at her.

“How did you find me?”

“Well, we apparently chose the same bar to hang out at last night.”

“What happened?” She asked, almost not wanting to know.

“You mean before or after your table dance?”

“Oh god! Tell me I didn’t?!” Ashlyn moaned, Brian couldn’t help but laugh.

“No you didn’t. You were about to when I decided that you were good and drunk
so I brought you back here.”

“Aren’t you mad that I snuck out?” Ashlyn asked, amazed that he wasn’t yelling.

“Yeah, but I figure you paid for it the numerous times you threw up last night and with your hang-over right now.”

“So. . .why didn’t you make me come home sooner?”

“Because, it was something you wanted bad enough to sneak out, and because you should experience these blissful moments of youth,” Brian smirked at her.

“I swear I’ll never drink again,” she moaned again.

“See, you wouldn’t feel that way now if I had played the bad guy and hauled you out the moment I saw you.”

From that moment on, they had reached a sort of friendship and understanding. She knew he wasn’t trying to take away her youthful fun, he just wanted to keep her safe, as was his job to do.