Alcohol is fun. In moderation. Be safe, kiddos.
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"You have a problem. You need help." That's what Taylor told me over a year ago, "You're going to a rehab outside the city."
"What the hell Taylor? You drink just as much as I do."
"I don't. But I'm also six foot and 200 pounds of muscle. Listen, I'm doing this because I love you. I'll stop drinking if you do this. I'll be there for visiting hours." I rolled my eyes, there was no way he would stop drinking. It's summer. We're at the lake house. He wasn't going to do this.
"Let me pack my fucking bag."
That was my first trip. I got out in a month, stayed clean for a couple weeks, then slowly went back to where I was. Taylor sent me back, but the same thing happened.
During hockey season, it was easier for me to get away with it. I slept through parties. Almost ruined the ones I went to. I spent the occasional night in the hospital for dehydration. Eventually, Taylor was getting tired of it.
I came home after a night on the town, bottle of vodka in hand. I'm not sure how much I drank. That wasn't slowing me down.
I kicked off my shoes and stumbled past the figure sitting at the dining room table. My mind was playing tricks.
"Where have you been?" I jumped at Taylor's voice, running into the wall. I started laughing, he wasn't supposed to be home.
"Why are you home?"
"I don't want to give you an ultimatum, but I don't know what to do. You're going to die if this goes on any longer." I may have been drunk, but him crying was something that I'll never forget. "I can't keep trying to get you help if you don't want it."
"Okay." I dropped the bottle and collapsed on the floor.
That was the last time I drank.
Taylor stayed with me during detox, making sure that I got through probably the hardest part. I was sent to a place close to Edmonton so that it was easier during the season for Taylor.
It was hard, no doubt. Learning to live without something you had to have almost everyday was tough. It was horrible. I would go out to eat with Taylor and his teammates and they would all be drinking a beer, making me want just a sip.
A sip would turn into a gulp. A gulp into a beer. A beer into a bottle of vodka.
Taylor kept good on his word and took me to dinner to celebrate. It was everything I could have asked for. And more.
"I'm sorry for everything I've put you through in the past two years."
"Would I be crazy if I said I wanted that for the rest of my life?" My eyes widened as he got something out of his pocket. It was this gorgeous, amazing diamond ring. "You are so amazing. You fighting to become clean helped me become a better person. Will you be my wife?"
"Oh my God. Yes."
Meeting Taylor was the second best thing that happened to me. Getting clean was the first.
