Short stories

The End of the Bottle

All i could do was just lay there and pray sleep took over soon. I heard the front door slam shut and i winced at the loud noise that rattled my head. I squinted my eyes because the light that was dull last night was now painfully bright.

"Hey, man. You were supposed to come to work today," my best friend said with a hint of exasperation.

I looked at the blurry figure before me and i remembered it was Monday. Groaning, threw my arm over my eyes.

"I totally forgot. I'm sorry," i replied.

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, lucky for you i had a feeling you wouldn't show. So i told the manager that you had the stomach flu and that you'd be out today."

I let out a breathy chuckle and thanked him. He sat down in a chair across from the staircase, where i was positioned. I sat up on the stairs and looked at him. Looking around, i grabbed a new full bottle of whiskey. I swirled the bottle to mix up the liquid a little before i tipped it back and drank some of the fiery beverage.

"What's happened to you, man?" My friend asked in disbelief. "You get drunk almost everyday and you're so bitter. This isn't you! This isn't my best friend! This is the shell of a man that i care deeply about."

I smirked, "Took you long enough to profess your undying love for me." I joked as i took another swig.

He glared at me before telling me that this wasn't a joking matter. I stretched and my back cracked in several places. I sighed and returned to my former hunched over position. When i saw that he was waiting for my explanation i raised my eyebrows to ask what it was he had to know.

"How long has this been going on, bro?"

My eyes bore into the remaining whiskey left in the bottle. "It started when they all couldn't match her." I stated bitterly.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Just shut up and listen to the story." I shushed him.

I took a big gulp of my drink before i began, "We'd been dating for about six months. In those six months, she fell in love with me. Any idiot could see it, she even told me on multiple occasions that she thought that God had put the stars in the wrong place. That they belonged in my eyes and that's where she'd always find them.

I didn't know how good i had it. I was stupid and wanted what other girls had to offer. I told her that i didn't want her anymore, that i had only used her. Tears pooled at her eyes and streamed down her face. She kept asking me if i was playing a joke. She told me that i was lying and that i did love her. She said it over and over as if thinking if she said it enough, it'd be true. But i left her. I left her crying on the doorstep as i turned around and got in my car and drove to Casey's house.

Fast forward two months. By this time everything the other girls had to offer was no longer enough. It took me two months to realize that i had in fact loved her. Two months to realize that everything i was looking for had been in my arms for six months and i never bothered to notice."

He looked stunned and sorry for me. "What do you miss most?"

I laughed but it held no humor, just a bitter loneliness that only heartbreak could bring. I took yet another swig of my now almost empty bottle. "I miss everything about her. Her eyes. Her laugh. The way her nose would scrunch up in disgust when i belched loudly. I miss her lips. Her smile. And her kiss. God, do i miss her kiss. When she kissed you, she kissed you with every fiber of every emotion she was feeling. All the pain, hate, anger, love, passion, and lust would radiate from her lips and set fire to your own." I sighed and looked back up at him.

"I saw her yesterday. I saw her wrapped up in another man's arms. No. I saw her in a man's arms. Not another man's arms. I was never a man, only a stupid boy. She didn't see me though, so i took the opportunity to just watch her. She was smiling so bright it made even the sun look away for a brief moment. Then he kissed her. He kissed her and rammed a knife in my chest as he did so. He was taking what should've been kisses for only me." I bitterly took a drink, relishing in the burn it brought.

"So while she's out kissing her man, i'm sitting here kissing bottles until the sunrise," i say as take a few gulps.

"But why do you drink? You could be doing something with your life. You could be moving on and bettering yourself for a woman who comes along in the future. But instead you're drinking. Why?" He pleas desperately.

I shake my head, "I drink hoping that at the bottom of one of these bottles lies that same feeling i got when i kissed her. Though I have yet to find that bottle." I look at him dead in the eyes as i down the rest of the bottle.

((Thank you to mainstream20exile for the title))