Relapse

It’s been seven years; seven years since he’s last drink. It was only a matter of time before Jacoby fell back into his old ways, even if it was for only one night.

It starts with a joke, a dare, a “don’t be a wuss, one drink won’t hurt” between friends. But one becomes two, and two becomes three and then, before you know it, you’ve lost count and so have they.

That’s how it always starts, a moment of weakness, a dropping of the guard and it all just spirals down from there.

As soon as the drug passed Jacoby’s forbidden lips he knew he wasn’t going back, nothing could beat the taste, the burn in the back of his throat and the relaxed buzz that would soon take over his body. It was better than sex, because this was one thing he deprived himself from. The relaxed buzz however, soon turned to loud slurs and then to fists, and fights. His friends disowned him and Jacoby is transported back seven years ago. The scene is near identical to the last time he drunk, one black eye, a sore wrist, vomiting in the back alleyway of the bar. Seven years of hard work all undone in two hours.

The scene ends the same way as it did last time, with the world going black as Jacoby stumbles out onto the footpath.

Jessica had always lived around ‘problem’ people, her sister was a recovering heroin addict, her ex boyfriend was recovering in rehab from self mutilation and her best friend was an alcoholic. She didn’t attract them, they attracted her, she loved the opportunity to help someone, to fix someone. In her head she called them project people and it was her job to fix them, she was still yet to meet someone she had been unable to fix, she just knew how people worked.

Strong for a rather small girl she lifted the unknown man onto her shoulders and began to drag him home. Most wouldn’t even contemplate bringing a passed out man home, but Jessicaica wasn’t like most other people. She took him home, left him in the spare bedroom with two aspirin and a bucket next to the bed.

Jacoby woke the next morning with his head pounding in unfamiliar surroundings. He tried to sit up a little too quickly, his head spun and his stomach emptying in the bucket next to him.

“Are you okay?” Jessica whispered walking into the dimly lit room.

“Who are you?” Jacoby asked his voice sore and raspy.

“Jessica, there’s some aspirin on the table for you.”

Jacoby glanced down at the tablets on the table and back up again “Where am I?”

“My house” she said simply “get dressed, we’ll get some breakfast, it’ll make you feel better.”

Jacoby and Jessica ended up in the cafe McDermont, just down the road, Jessica was a regular there. The morning was frosty; a thick layer of smog, and hanging over the city making it seem like it was hiding something sinister.

“I’m not like that you know” Jacoby broke the comfortable silence as they had their coffee and scones.

“Like what?”

“An alcoholic, I haven’t had a drink in seven years, apart from last night.”

Jessica just nodded and stirred two sugariness into her coffee.

“Why’d you do it” he asked nervously “I-I coulda- could’ve been psycho?”

Jessica looked up from her coffee “Because everyone needs a second chance.”