You Had Me At Hello

A faint tapping sounded through the hollow hallways. I pulled off my headphones and listened for another. Knock, knock, knock. I got up and made my way down the hall towards the front door. I twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open. Standing on the other side was my best friend, which wouldn’t have been anything abnormal, except for the obviously disheveled state he was in.

“Jesus, Mikes… Too many drinks last night?” I asked, in an attempt to bring a smile to his weary face. He shook his head, pushing past me. “Okay… Just make yourself at home, I guess.” I shut the door behind him and followed him into the living room, where he had collapsed onto the couch. He had obviously had a rough night. “Mikey, talk to me. What is going on? You’re scaring me a little bit.” A few moments of silence went by before he sighed. He leaned forward and ran a hand through his hair.

“I spent the entire night at the hospital with Gee again. For the 3rd time this month, he almost drank himself into a coma,” he muttered. I nodded slowly. I didn’t know much about his older brother. Even though Mikey and I had been friends since middle school, I had only met his brother a handful of times. He was a very quiet, reserved person. I may have talked to him for a total of 15 minutes in the entirety of the time I’d known of his existence.

“Maybe it’s time to get him some help. Rehab, therapists, medicat-”

“We have fucking tried! We tried the rehabs, the therapy, the medications… Hell, we even tried a goddamn hypnotist. At best, he would seem to get better for a week or two, tops. Then, it’s right back to square one. I just don’t know what there is left to do. I can’t lose my big brother,” he trailed off. I could see tears forming in his eyes.

“Well, maybe he just needs someone to talk to. Maybe he feels like he’s alone, that no one understands him. I mean, I love your parents, but they don’t seem to be the type to be able to handle someone with as much emotion as he seems to have.”

“Wait, you’re right. If we can find someone who could give him some hope… Someone to give him a reason to get better…” I could see the wheels turning in his head. His eyes lit up with hope for a split second, before he sank back into despair. “Who am I kidding? No one wants to handle an emotionally unstable, drug addicted, alcoholic, potentially psychopathic loner…”

“Hey, don’t say that. You don’t know. Maybe there is someone who can help. We just have to find the right person to handle such a situation.” I leaned forward and grabbed his hand.

“Right… We would need someone who has a history with mental patients…”He grew silent again for a couple of minutes before he looked back at me. “Or, we might find someone who is super patient, and understanding, and empathetic, and compassionate, and a really, really, really good friend.” My eyes widened as I realized where he was heading. I shook my head. “Come on, please… You saved me. I was a total wreck. You brought me back to life. You gave me a reason to want to live. I just know you could save him too…”

“Mikey, this is fucking insane. You are asking me to get involved with your older brother,” I stood up. “Who, by the way, I barely know after the years that we’ve been friends.” He shot up.

“Yes, I know this. I know how this sounds, and I wish I had another idea, but you are literally my only hope. I can’t lose him, Taylor…” The tears returned to his eyes. I could see the pain and suffering he was going through, and I could see the glimmer of hope in his eyes. I gritted my teeth together and closed my eyes. I knew it was a bad idea. I felt it in every inch of my soul. I didn’t want to do this. I knew I was going to regret it, but as I opened my eyes, I saw my best friend standing before me. His battered and bruised heart on his sleeve. I knew what could happen to him, if he were to lose his brother. I knew what path that would send him on. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

“I just wanted to get through this year, with no strings attached. I’m still not fully over my last relationship. If you were anyone else, I would tell you that you are absolutely insane, and I would tell you to get the hell out…”I said with a sigh. “I can’t do that though, because you are my best friend, and I love you.” The light returned to his face, and for the first time since he’d shown up, he gave me a genuine smile.

“You are the best friend I could have ever asked for. You don’t know how much this means to me,” he said softly, pulling me into his embrace. I feigned annoyance and pushed him back lightly.

“Now, I can’t do this forever, Mikey. I am going to make this very clear right now,” I stressed. He nodded in understanding. “So, I need you to know this. I am going to try, but I can’t make you any promises. I don’t want our friendship to be ruined by my failed attempt to save your brother.”

“It won’t be. Just give a few months. If nothing changes, or if he gets worse, then, well… I guess I’ll know that there just isn’t anything left for us to do… If he gets better, then we can tell him about this whole thing when the time is right… You have no idea how grateful I am to have a friend like you,” he expressed. I shook my head and laughed to myself.

“Well, I guess you should probably give me some more information about him, because aside from all the bad stuff, I know absolutely nothing…”