The Detoxing Game

A Cup of Tea

That morning, Micky woke up to a sound he had gotten used to: Davy screaming. It should've caught him off guard, it should've made him worry, but it was a sound he had grown familiar with. It was close to 1 am at this point, meaning he hadn't been asleep for very long before he was woken up. Still, he got out of his bed and hurried down the stairs to check on him, not surprised with what he saw.

By the looks of it, Davy was still asleep but he was still screaming and crying as he thrashed around. Carefully, Micky made his way over to his friend and wrapped his arms around him, hoping it might comfort him a little. It only did the exact opposite.

"NO!" Davy screamed louder as he tried to fight his way out of Micky's arms. "LET GO OF ME! LET GO OF ME!"

Micky was frightened, unsure of what the best thing to do was.

"PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Davy sobbed and Micky let go of him, but that didn't seem to calm him anymore. He didn't know what he was supposed to do to help, so he just watched as Davy screamed and cried.

After a moment, he decided to slip away, turning on a light and going to the kitchen. After a few more minutes or so, it had become too much and Davy finally woke himself up. He jumped up, his heart racing as he looked around, trying to make sense of everything when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He cried out once he felt the hand and quickly turned around, Micky instantly raising his hands up in defense.

"It's just me," he said, trying to smile and show his friend everything was alright. There was nothing to fear. But he couldn't, even when he tried, it faded the second he saw the terrified expression on Davy's face.

"It's okay," he said softly. "You're okay now. It was just a dream."

Micky knew it wasn't just a dream but thought if he said it, that Davy wouldn't be scared anymore. Davy frowned, looking at him and breathing heavily. After a moment, he nodded slowly, returning to the couch.

He sat down and stared down, fiddling with his hands as he tried to think about anything else. Micky sighed as he watched his friend, but made his way to the kitchen.

"I'm gonna make some tea," he called out. "Want some?"

Davy didn't answer him. He frowned and turned around.

"Davy?" He tried again and Davy instantly snapped out of his mind.

"Huh, what?" He asked anxiously. Micky smiled slightly.

"Breathe," he said sternly. "It's okay."
Davy took a few deep breaths but he didn't seem any happier or more relaxed than before.

"I asked if you wanted any tea," Micky continued. Davy thought about it for a minute before he shrugged. Micky sighed, grabbing Davy a mug from the cabinet.

Tears filled in Davy's eyes as he stared blindly at the ground, reliving those same few moments. They played over again and again like a broken record in his mind. He didn't even notice when Micky sat beside him. Davy only saw as the figure came into his periphery and he cried out, trying to move as far away on the couch from the figure as possible.

"Davy," Micky said as he caught his breath again. "It's just me."

"Oh," was the only thing Davy could say as he sat back down properly, staring down at the ground.

"Yeah..." Micky started, frowning. "I just wanted to bring you this."

Davy looked over and saw that he was holding out a cup of tea.

"It's black tea with sugar and honey," Micky explained. "Your favorite."

Davy nodded slowly as he took the mug with shaky hands and hesitantly took a sip. He smiled slightly.
"I-it's good," he said quietly, setting it on the coffee table. "Thank you..."

"I'm glad," Micky sighed with a slight smile. "Are you okay?"

Davy didn't answer him as he looked down.

"I'm not gonna force you to talk about anything you don't want to," Micky continued. "I just wanna know if you're alright."

"Yeah," Davy sighed. "I-I'm okay...it's just..."

"A lot on your mind?" Micky asked, repeating what Davy had told him earlier. Davy smiled for a split second before nodding.

"Yeah," he said again.

Suddenly, he looked up at the clock, eyes widening.

"I-it's already close to one?" He asked in disbelief. Micky smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it is, my friend," he said, turning to the clock as well. "You weren't asleep for very long."

"O-oh," Davy said, sounding ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, closing his eyes as he tried not to cry.

Normally, Micky would try and embrace Davy to calm him down, but he refrained this time, already knowing it would be better for both of them if he didn't.

Davy sniffled and looked up at Micky. Already, there was a feeling of guilt he felt the second he saw how worried his friend looked. There were so many things he wanted to say at that moment, so many thoughts running through his head. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but all that came out was:

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

Micky smiled and tried to hold himself back from laughing. He wasn't upset about sleep, not at all, and it seemed ridiculous that that would be the thing to upset Davy. He wrapped his arm around Davy, already forgetting previous events as his friend instantly whimpered and tensed up.

"I'm sorry," he said, quickly letting go of him. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"O-okay," Davy nodded, breathing heavily again.

"And Davy, I don't care if I'm losing sleep," Micky said sternly. "It doesn't matter. If something's bothering you...well, I wanna try and help, in any way I can."

Davy smiled slightly and nodded.

"Okay," he repeated, not knowing what else to say.

"Now, is there anything I can do to help you?"

Davy looked down, thinking about it for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

"C-can..." he started, not looking back up at him. "C-can you just...s-stay up with me for a little bit?"

Micky smiled and nodded.

"Of course," he said. "Do you wanna watch tv or something to take your mind off of it?"

Davy shrugged and Micky took it as a "yes" as he stood to turn on the tv. The two stayed up for another few hours, not saying another word to one another. Both were concentrated on the screen, but neither was really watching. They were both in their own heads the entire time.