Deceptions of the Heart (Prequel for Trials. GxG, 18+)

Chapter 26

I wandered into Rick's office and he slammed the door as I sat down.

"What in the hell is going on with you? Fighting with an employee and being rude to a customer in less than 20 minutes?" He retorted. He took a step closer to me. "Aimee, have you been drinking?!"

"Not for a few hours. Last drink was around like five this morning."

"You're drunk? You drove yourself into work and are here drunk? Damn it, Aimee! Didn't you learn anything from your DWI? What is it gonna take for you to step back from the alcohol?" Rick said. He paced around the room for a moment before stopping in front of me again. "I am going to give you three choices. First, you go home and you never come back here. You find a new place to work. Second, you get yourself into a treatment program. If you can show proof of a inpatient program, I promise your job will be here when you get out. Finally, you sort this shit out on your own and get your life together... if you want your job here, you need to stop the drinking. I cut you some slack when you were hungover, but coming in here drunk? That's not acceptable."

"Okay." I said, then stood up and made it out the door.

"Aimee please. Think about your next decision long and hard. You are gonna be 25 next week. You are still so young and have everything ahead of you. I don't want you to leave because you are an outstanding employee.

"I will." I turned the handle and walked out.

"Aimee wait. How do you plan to get home? I can't let you drive home under the influence."

"I don't know."

"Go sleep it off in your car but give me your keys." He said, following me outside.

We each lit our smokes and stood in silence for a few minutes.

"What is going on that you turned back to the bottle?"

I sighed. "I'm just over my life. Everything seems to go wrong. I was dating someone, but she left me because of my drinking. I drank even more and now I'm behind on my bills and everything is just a damn mess. I don't know what to do."

"Okay. First thing you need to do is get rid of the alcohol. Don't buy it, don't have it in the house. Don't be around people who drink. Get it out of your life. Things are going to seem impossibly hard before they get better. You call me when you want to drink. I don't care what time it is, you call me. Understand?"

"Yes."

I finished my smoke, then climbed into the passenger side of my car. I handed Rick my keys and was passed out before I remembered even closing the door. Rick came out and woke me later in the day when his shift was over. He gave me my keys, and I drove home.

I spent most of the week thinking things over. Rick was right. I needed to stop drinking and to get my life under control. I thought long and hard before I made my decision. Once my mind was made up, I went to the fridge and opened a beer. I sipped on it throughout the evening until I grew tired. I downed the last beer in the fridge, then went to bed.

I got to work early and headed inside to meet Rick in his office. I knocked on the door.

"Hey." He said, looking up.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course."

I sat down beside the desk and picked at my fingernails. "I made my decision..."

"Okay. What's it gonna be?" Rick said as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm... I'm gonna get my shit in order on my own... I know it's gonna be hard, but I can't keep doing this."