Life Goes On.

Chapter 5 - Be careful what you drink...

The bar felt quite empty, like the finished whiskey bottle that clung to you. Then again, you'd felt that inside of you for days on end, so it was to no surprise the drunk-house was already packing up. You check your phone for the time - 10:50. Deciding you have nothing to lose, you ask the barman for one of the strange concoctions that lay still on the back bar. You never drink, and you definitely had no idea what you were doing in a place like this. It wasn't... You.

 But that was the 'you' that missed K. The 'you' that broke her heart in the pouring rain because you could do nothing but blame somebody else for your mistakes. And you weren't going back. "Hell no," you muttered, as the barman slapped your frothing beer onto the counter. "I'm not going back."

 After taking several swigs to drown your sorrows, you took notice of the fiasco surrounding you.  The sticky heat slapped your nose as you admire the back bar, a glossy array of liquors hanging from the shelves. The choice was certainly overwhelming, probably because you never usually find yourself here. But after K, you need to scrape those thoughts away - lose yourself in the bottom of a bottle maybe. Safe enough, especially-

 "This seat taken?"

  You turned around to find a young man behind you, his youthful appearance completely mismatched to his strong voice. Quite a lanky fellow, you thought, as he perched himself next to you at the bar. 

 "You know, we're all here for a reason," the guy sighed. Looking closer, you realized his eyes were swollen, his eyelashes prickled with tears - it seems like the guy has had a rough time. "People come and go to this bar, but the ones who stay... They have nothing to go back to."

 You looked back at him, considering whether he was taking the piss or not. The timid man searched your face for an answer - "Yeah, I suppose. I'm (y/n), by the way. If we're staying in this bar for a while, I guess you want to know a bit about me," you finally said, the silence filling the void between you both. 

 "Well, everyone has a tale to tell. It's just whether they decide to tell!" he replied with a wink.

 "For a guy with a lot going on, you seem quite merry about things."

 A forced grin stretched across his face, a mask that you could easily see straight through. The man looked so broken; everything had shattered inside of him. You wonder what brought him around to be this way, as you circled your finger around the rim of your beer glass. But then again, he couldn't have been through as much as you! Nowhere near how you felt with...

 "Well, what else can I do? What could you do if your partner cheated on you with two other people?" his voice cracked at the mention of it. The odd fellow orders a couple of shots, apparently desperate to forget about everything. That was some seriously difficult stuff to go through, however.

 "Damn, sorry to hear that. And two?" he nodded slowly. "That's a mess. I broke up with my girl a week ago," you said reluctantly. Why were you even telling him about your breakup? The strange guy convinced you to take a shot. You agreed. Barely.

 "We all go through something like that. People wouldn't be people if we didn't. You find someone, you love them, you fight, and then you let them go. It's a cycle that we can't escape, you know? And that's why... We end up here."

 How surprising, you thought. You know a guy at the bar for five minutes and all of a sudden you're talking like you're brothers. His expression twisted into what appeared to be anger - you could feel the spitefulness clinging to him. 

 "Oh, I didn't catch your name," you ask.

The man took his first shot. "That's because I didn't throw it," he scowled. Bitter, bitter and more bitter. After checking the time, you realize how deep you have stayed into the night. Exhaust began to wash over you; all you were able to focus on was the spiteful man in front of you.

 "You can at least tell me your name," you yawned, your hand shaking around your beer. Lights were shutting down inside your head, you could sense it. Things were getting dangerous.

 "Well, I don't know if you'll stay awake long enough, (y/n). After all, the drugs kick in quite quickly," he growled, the alcoholic stench wafting off his breath.

 "W-what?"

 "I know exactly who you are!" he hushed. "And you're going to pay for what you did to my sister, (y/n). What you did to K!"

 The world was swimming around you like you were being sucked away into the abyss of your mind. He must have... Drugged your drink... But, who was he?

 "It's me, (y/n). J."