Cliché

He'd promised her that he wouldn't. But, everything reminded him of her, and he had too. He couldn't help himself, he couldn't stop himself. He broke down, sobbing as he drank the contents of the can. She wasn't there to stop him, she wouldn't be there to stop him ever again. He knew he'd made a mistake, but the pleasure he got from the alcohol, it was too much for him.

Several cans lay scattered around the living room, he glanced at them all. He hated how delicious they all tasted, how they filled the void she left. He rose from the sofa and stumbled towards the kitchen. His face was grim as he took another can from the table, not hesitating to open it.

"I love you, Hope," he slurred before drinking the can in one. He threw it on the floor as he heard the door knock. He wiped his eyes as he went to open it. He didn't want to open it; he didn't want to have any contact with the outside world.

"Joshua! It's your mother!" The female voice yelled, banging on the door. He sighed as he pulled open the door. His mother stood in the doorway, her arms folded over her chest. "Are you drinking again?"

He mumbled something incoherently as he turned around and walked back towards the kitchen. He knew his mother would follow him in, and he knew that he had a lecture. It started as he sat down, taking another can and opening it. "Do you have any idea with what you're doing to yourself? You're going to go back down that road again, the road that Hope and I desperately took you from. Is this your way to keep her memory alive; drinking your life away?" She snapped, walking into the kitchen.

She took the can from his hands just as he was to drink out of it. "Mother, please, just leave," he told her, trying to sound sober. "You didn't even like Hope!"

His mother scoffed, moving the packet of cans away from him. "Stop acting like a child, and go have a shower," she ordered. He looked away from her and shook his head. "Joshua, don't make me wash you myself," she warned.

He let a laugh leave his mouth. "Just go away," he snapped, glaring at her, "I don't need you. There is only one person I need!"

"Oh, Joshua," his mother breathed, "you miss her, don't you?"

He placed his head in his hands, letting the tears fall from his eyes. "I don't think I can carry on without her," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I-I miss her so much it actually hurts, I never got to show her how much I loved her. I want her back, she left me too early!"

His mother wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and tried to soothe him. "I know how you feel, Josh, losing a loved one hurts so much it becomes unbearable," she whispered. He sobbed into his hands as his mother still tried to comfort him.