My Ex's New Girlfriend (gxg)

Part 43

I could tell that Katie was not happy about having to leave the hotel and go back home. I wished we could have stayed as well, but I couldn't be anything but supportive of her.

It was 2:45 AM by the time we started driving back to Katie's from the hotel. I could tell that Katie was exhausted as she drove. The highway was empty, and Katie played music quietly in the car. I knew that she was worried because usually she would be blasting her country music.

"This has to be bad," she said, "Kyle wouldn't have called me if he felt like he could handle it and tell me the next day."

"Wasn't your mom at work tonight?" I asked Katie.

She nodded, "She was. It's making me even more worried now that she got fired from her new job if Kyle is saying that she is at home, strung out. My guess is that she took a bunch of Xanax or something, pills have always been the issue with her. She got into a car accident when she was 23 and injured her back badly, and that's how she got addicted to pain pills. It's been an on-and-off issue with her since then. She'll do other drugs besides pills though, when she wants to get high she doesn't give a fuck what it is. I've found needles and pipes in her room before."

I paused before speaking, taking in what Katie had just told me.

I couldn't imagine the stress that this must have brought on her for basically her whole life.

"I'm so sorry," I said to Katie, putting my hand on her thigh, "I truly am. I can't imagine everything that you've dealt with."

"I thought that I was finally done with dealing with it," Katie sighed, "She's been sober for over a year now. There was one other time when she was sober for a year and a half, but she fell back into it. She seemed serious this time, though. I guess she wasn't. I feel bad that the emotion I am feeling more than anything is anger. I feel like I should be concerned for her well-being, but I just feel mad."

"I feel like that's extremely valid," I said back to Katie, "Mad. Frustrated. Disappointed. It all seems very fitting for this situation."

"Thank you for understanding," Katie said, "Look, I can drop you off at home before I go back to my house if you don't want to be around the situation. I understand if you don't."

"I'm not going anywhere except to your house with you," I looked at Katie, "If you want me to be there, that is."

"Of course, I want you there with me, I always do. I just wanted to give you the option."

"The only option in my mind is being there with you."

When Katie eventually pulled up to her house, I could see through the windows that there were lights still on, even after 3 AM.

She sat in the car for a moment before making the move to get out.

"I really don't want to fucking deal with this," she said, "I'm so sorry, once again, for cutting your birthday night short."

"Hey, it's not even my birthday anymore," I said to Katie, "But I promise you, you don't have to worry at all. I understand."

Katie looked at me earnestly as she said, "Thank you, Cam. I guess it's time to face the music and go inside."

As Katie and I walked up to her house from the driveway, the front door opened, and Kyle stood there waiting for us. I could see even from a distance how stressed out he looked.

"I'm sorry," he said to me as we walked up, "I know it's your birthday, Cameron, and I wasn't trying to interrupt anything. I just didn't know what to do."

"Don't worry about it," I reassured Kyle, "You did the right thing."

He gave me a nod, and then Katie asked him, "How bad is it?"