Help Me, Help You

Kevin shut the front door after watching his girlfriend get into her and pull out of the driveway. He put the leftover pizza on a plate and wrapped it with aluminum foil before putting it in the refrigerator. He tossed the pizza box in the trash just outside the side door. He went back into the kitchen and washed the plates they had used and put them in the cabinet. Thinking he finally had a moment to relax before going to bed, he sat on the couch and flipped through a couple channels before settling on Mythbusters. After a couple minutes, the phone started to ring. Kevin sighed as he remembered that it was Saturday night.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kevin, it's Barry."

"She needs someone to come pick her up?"

"Yeah, sorry to bother you but she's had enough."

"No, it's fine. I'll be there in a couple minutes." Kevin hung up and grabbed his jacket and keys and walked out the door.

He walked into the bar and instantly spotted her. He took a seat next to her as she nursed her last drink of the night.

"You know," she whispered as she leaned over to Kevin. "I started with a margarita and now all of a sudden, I'm drinking straight tequila." She let out a loud boisterous laugh as if she had just told him some top-secret secret. "I'll be fine." Kevin didn't laugh.

"We have to go. The bar's about to close," Kevin said as he stood up. She slid off the stool and stumbled around for a moment before Kevin caught her. She looked at him and laughed again like she had earlier. Kevin shook his head. He didn't find that funny either.

I wonder how long she's been drinking like this, Kevin wondered to himself. He finally got her out to his car and into the passenger seat. Before he could shut the door, she grabbed his shirt.

She looked him in the eye and said, "I swear I'm quitting." Kevin just nodded his head. He wanted to believe her but he knew she was lying. She said the same exact thing last Saturday night.

On the drive to her house, Kevin's thought were scattered all over the place. But he kept thinking How am I supposed to help somebody when they tell you that they don't need help? How am I supposed to reach a soul that doesn't know they need to save themselves? I think I've done all I can do. Then he whispered out loud, "You've got to help me, help you." They soon got to her house and he helped her inside. He set some aspirin and a glass of water on her side table before locking up her house and leaving.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Kevin turned his car off and got out. He walked to the end of the driveway and took the mail out of the mailbox. As he walked back towards his house, he flipped through the various bills and junk mail. He unlocked his front door and stepped inside. He tossed the mail onto the counter and turned on the T.V. Moments later, the telephone started to ring so he picked it up. He heard her panicked little girl, Angela, crying on the other end.

"I can't wake mama up from sleeping."

"Okay, you stay there and I'll be right there in a few minutes," Kevin quickly said and hung up. He grabbed his keys and ran out to his car. As he drove, he couldn't remember the last time he sped like this. In record time, he got to her house and ran inside. When he opened the door, he could see her lying on the couch.

"Leave me alone," she said before he could say anything.

Frustrated, Kevin started to pace the room. He was growing tired of this vicious circle she had them going in. She seemed to forget that she had a daughter to take care of. He suddenly stopped pacing and turned to her.

"Let me ask you this, how am I supposed to help somebody when they tell you that they don't need help?"

He heard her sigh but he kept talking.

"How am I supposed to reach a soul that doesn't know they need to save themselves?"

Realizing he wasn't about to stop, she sat up. Kevin sat on the coffee table in front of her and looked her in the eye.

"I've done all I can do. You've got to help me, help you."

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Kevin stood quietly in the back of the room with his arms folded behind his back. Angela sat in the last row just in front of Kevin. He leaned back against the wall as she stood up and approached the podium. She nervously fumbled around with some papers and then breathed out.

"I'm really nervous. I've never really done this before." She glanced down at her papers again. She said, "I started with a margarita. Then I went to straight tequila. It's been twelve steps, four years, and twenty-seven days." She looked to the back of the room and looked Kevin in the eye. "And now I stand before you asking you to help me, help you."