As Sweet As Can Be

Part Eight.

Elizabeth's POV

The day has been painfully slow, I thought to myself as I drive through town. I pass by some houses that all seem to look the same, and I wonder if that's what whoever built these houses was going for, or if it was just an accidental coincidence. I pass all the familiar streetlights and street names. Oak Street, Birch Street, Spruce Street, Cherry Street, Seemingly-any-kind-of-tree Street. I feel as though I've been away from home too long even though it's only been two days. All I can think about is my son, who is most likely sleeping by now. I really do hope he didn't give the babysitter a hard time.

The basketball team had a two day tournament out of town and we lost one game out of five. Which is great, the team did really good. We barely got any fouls and got a good amount of three pointers in. The captain of the team, Jess Napper got four three pointers against the Highland Hawks plus the winning shot. She may be short but she is pretty fast and has a way in handling the ball. I see big things for that girl in the athletic world.

It is a little past two am and I am completely exhausted. The streets are mainly empty besides myself and some other late night drivers. A man staggered down the sidewalk up ahead with a bottle in his left hand. 'Just another homeless drunk.' I muttered quietly to myself. Suddenly, just as the words left my mouth, the man tripped over his own foot and face planted onto the cement. I wonder if that was as painful as it looked. I pulled up to the guy as he attempted to stand up. He wobbled a bit and I opened the passenger window. The cold air from outside entered my car and nipped at my skin.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked the stranger. His brown, almond-shaped eyes were bloodshot and he reaked of liquor. I looked at him from head to toe, examining him. His dark navy jeans had been ripped from the fall and his knees were bleeding. His jacket had a patch of wetness due to alcohol spillage. His hair was really messy and all over the place. He did not answer with words, but he nodded his head. I bit my lip out of curiosity. "Are you drunk?" Although I already knew the answer, I just wanted to hear him say it. He nodded once more, remaining silent. "Where are you heading? I can give you a ride..." I trailed off a bit. I don't know why I offered a ride, I guess I just don't have the heart to leave him alone in this state. Silence filled the nearly winter air and I shiver slightly. I pulled my jacket closer to my body as if it would keep me warmer.

"I am going to the bridge." His voice was very raspy, clearly drunk. I know exactly what bridge he is talking about. The Delton bridge, also known as 'the drunken bridge' mainly because the group of people that huddle up beneath it's structure for shelter at night. Sometimes there is five, sometimes there is fifteen, but driving by at night, you will always see somebody there. Before even thinking about it, I opened my mouth to speak.

"Hop in."

Apparently, it has not occured to me that I let a complete stranger into my vehicle at night and offered a ride without even getting a name. In all honesty, I am afraid he is going to pull a gun out on me. He thought about it for a short second before deciding to get in. He struggled a bit and I actually would not surprised if he fell, but he didn't. He closed the passenger door and remained silent. I began to drive again and just let everything be. As curious as I am about the guy, I decided not to play 21 questions. Although one question couldn't hurt anyone.

"Is anyone meeting you at this bridge?" I asked while keeping my eyes on the road.

"Turn left. And no, I'm sleeping there." His voice held a tinge of embarrassment in it. I pressed on the brakes and he jolted forward. His expression became very shocked due to the sudden stop. I don't know why him sleeping at the bridge bothers me as much as it does.

"I'm sorry, you were not wearing your seatbelt. But I am not taking you to the bridge, you're drunk and alone." I felt his eyes on me as I spoke, but I stared straight ahead. I heard the familiar click of the seat belt and I then released the brakes and continued to drive.

"Where are we going?" His voice came out as tired slurs, the only noise heard in the vehicle besides our breathing. I remained silent and hoped that he would too. It's too late to deal with a drunk man's questions. Some time and a couple of turns later, my house came into view. The first thing I noticed was the trees outlining my driveway and the starship nightlight shining from my son's bedroom window. I smiled at the thought of him sleeping with his face soft and relaxed into the pillow. I parked my car and stepped out of the vehicle. Just as soon as I stepped out, Lincoln started barking like crazy.

"Chill out Lincoln, it's just me." He stopped barking immediately at the sound of my voice. I heard the other car door open and close. I walked to the other side of my car to see a very sick looking stranger puking on my freshly cut grass. I cringed at the sight and smell of it. He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. I sighed and grabbed a bottle of water and a rag from the back seat of my car. I dropped to my knees beside him and handed him the items. His breathing was heavy and he looked straight exhausted. "Look at me" I spoke and snapped my fingers in his face, trying to catch his attention. His eyes landed on mine. The dark, haunted circles under his eyes told me that he needs to sleep. "What's your name?"

"Kevin." He breathed out before closing his eyes. A soft snore left his mouth notifying me that he is now asleep. I let out a deep sigh. How the heck am I supposed to get this fool inside? I shook his shoulder lightly in attempt to wake him, he did not budge. I shook him once more, this time way more violently, causing him to stir and sit up. I pulled him up from behind into a standing position. And to top it off, he is half asleep, making this process way harder than it needs to be. I cursed under my breath at his near dead weight and put his right arm over my shoulder.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to try walk." I managed to say through my heavy breathing. My short body compared to his reasonably tall one is seriously going to make this a problem. He let out a grunt, which I took as an 'alright' and began to take baby steps. I felt him leaning more of his weight onto me as we neared the front steps. "Oh f*ck!" I exclaimed as he dropped to the ground. He landed with a thud into the grass, thankfully he missed the walkway, cement to the face twice in one night would definitely suck.

"What the hell?" His voice came out raspy. I stood there beside him as he held the side of his head. "Where am I?" I took the opportunity of him being awake to get him up.

"You're coming inside, stand up." I held a hand out to help him up. He took it and I pulled hard to get him to his feet. His arm ended up back on my shoulder and we struggled to get up the steps and towards the door.

After about fifteen minutes of me cursing at him, dragging him inside and deciding that I am definitely not going up another set of stairs with a drunk man again, I dropped him on the couch of a guest room. I removed his shoes and left him there to sleep. I took one last glance at the clock hanging on the wall. 2:43 am, it read. I shut off the lights and closed the door behind me.

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Hey, it's Elizabeth's point of view! Don't forget to comment your feedback and vote because it means so much to me lmao. Have a good day!

-Naomi