When I met them...again

Chapter 9

4 months later

Katie's POV

It's been so long we need to move on...both of us. We've both taken up drinking again, that wasn't supposed to happen. Jamie went back to law. Which is great because she always loved it. But now there's Alice...I like her. We've been dating for maybe a month but...I think she's just a void filler. A void only Bridget can fill. I arrived home early today. Alice was still working at the hair salon. I expected to be the only one home I needed some time but there she was. Jamie is sitting at the kitchen counter half a bottle deep into a cheap bottle of red wine. I frowned. I know I've taken up drinking again, but I only drink socially with some colleagues 2-3 times a week. Meanwhile all Jamie does in her free time is drink. I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I feel her jump but she settles resting against me.

"How was work...love?"

Her words were slurred. I can only suspect this wasn't her first drink.

"It was fine...Darling we need to talk about this."

I say gesturing to the now three quarters empty bottle as she pours herself another glass.

"There's nothing to talk about Kate."

She was stern about it and I hated to pry but this is the right thing to do I know it is.

"Jamie, your drinking habit is getting out of hand you...we...need to go sober again."

"Didn't I just say there was nothing to talk about Kate. Why do you insist on making issues where there isn't any!"

She yelled. She never yells. I felt defeated as I heard the front door open. Alice.

"Hey you two how are you?"

"We're fine Alice. How was work?"

I ask, trying to distract myself from the previous conversation. She talks about her day with all her customers. I'm not listening, I'm drifting again. Thinking about something new...something right. Alice was cute, truly she was. A little shorter than the both of us, blonde hair, blue eyes, a lot more bubbly. In the end she is just in a rebound relationship. I think she know's this as well. She knew we loved Bridget. Jamie pours herself the last of the wine into her glass drinking while speaking to our new girlfriend. I can't take it. I need out.

"I- I'm going to head upstairs for a nap. I'm a bit tired from work. I'll see you two at dinner."

I kissed them both and went upstairs to bed. To sanctuary.

Jamie's POV

It's been hard recently. Katie's wrong this whole drinking thing is fine I can quit when I need to it's just coping. She drinks too, she admitted it. I take another swig from my glass finishing the last of it, the warmth spreading through me like a comforting blanket. It's a routine now—wake up, go to work, come home, and drink. Simple. My life has become this monotonous cycle since Bridget left, and I can't shake the feeling that I'm just floating through life without direction.

Alice is nice. She really is. Sweet, funny, always trying to make me smile. But every time she laughs, I hear Bridget's laugh echoing in my mind, and it stings. I catch myself daydreaming about her more than I care to admit, and I can feel the emptiness deepen. I know Katie thinks I'm just using Alice to fill the void, and maybe she's right. It's just so hard to let go.

"Jamie, you okay?" Alice's voice breaks through my thoughts, pulling me back into the present. She's looking at me with genuine concern, and for a brief moment, I consider confessing everything. But the thought of sharing my struggles feels too raw, too vulnerable. Instead, I force a smile.