My Only Love

Chapter 57

Nate felt as if the world had crumbled right before him. He felt like an empty shell feeling very much alone. He felt no zest for life cause in one night Kate was gone. The same feeling he felt when his mother died.Maybe far much worst. At least with his mother he knew what to expect. But this time he wasn't prepared for the impact of Kate's rejection. What made it even worst was that Kate never loved him but only as a friend. Nate had always felt there was at least hope for him. But instead he got slammed in his face that again Ryan came first. He was again too late.The pain unbearable slicing through his heart. Just imagining Kate marrying that Richie Rich filled with a sense of desolation unimaginable. He was supposed to be the man spending her lifetime with. But instead he felt abandoned and all alone. All he wanted to do was die and wallow in misery. At least if heaven accepted him he would find happiness for once in his life.

His only escape was liquor. It filled his days now. Alcohol invigorated him till he felt numb inside not feeling anything. He was like a zombie surviving from day to day frequenting sleazy bars. Enjoying the company of drunkards like him.Life was just meaningless. He hardly ate only liquor took its place. Looking filthy and unshaven like a bum from the streets.Not even showering for days. His thin body withering away just as the hollow feeling he felt. He had not even reported for work or school. Frankly Nate didn't give a damn. All he had worked hard for held no meaning without Kate in his life. Call him crazy but he felt he was starting to lose his mind.

What made it even more unbearable was that no matterhow intoxicated he was Nate was plagued with nightmares. All the traumatic experiences he had as a child coming back to haunt him. Tracing back tohis lonely childhood where other kids played he was there cleaning every nook and cranny of their house. How deprived he was of food beaten hard for every small mistake. Remembering his thin body filled with welts from the numerous lashes of his stepfather who without mercy would strike him. Crying out for help in the cold dark room where his stepfather locked him up stark naked his whole body shivering from the cold. His entire body filled with blows barely surviving without food for days. In his stricken drunken state he could only cry out for help but there was no Kate or his mom to dry his tears or heal his wounds. He was all alone in his misery. All Nate could do was wrap himself in his bed and cry in his stupor for all the anguish of the past with again the liquor in his hand. This was his partner for life now. This was his Kate. He found himself laughing and talking incoherently to himself till he fell slumped on the floor. Passed out.

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Mark Costner drove to Nate's neighborhood with a sense of purpose. He had this nagging fear that things were not right with his best friend. It was not like him to miss work or school for almost two whole weeks without a word. Steve Connelly his boss, was raging mad at Nate who he felt was very irresponsible not even bothering to call considering he had given him glowing recommendations to the senior partners. He even threatened to fire him out of sheer anger if he did not show up for work. With Connelly everything was possible. But Mark knew deep down he can never afford to lose Nate. For all his talk he knew how much Connelly admired Nate and all his potential to be a great lawyer someday. The last he heard from Nate was his pending proposal to Kate. Receiving a text from him that this was the night and to wish him luck. But then there was silence after that. Nothing. As if Nate had disappeared from the face of the earth. This scared Mark like a sense of foreboding. Whatever happened to Nate he would soon find out. He had a strong feeling that it wasn't good. But he would do everything in his power to save his bestfriend.

The first thing Mark noticed was that Nate's apartment was ajar. The stink of liquor permeating intensely in the apartment. Everything seemed to be in a disarray. Clothes strewn around the place smelling filthy as if it hadn't been cleaned in weeks. Mark's heart thudded in fear worried over Nate's condition searching frantically for him. Mark found him in his room sprawled passed out on the floor. Intoxicated to the extreme. He tried to shake him but he was not responding. The only consolation he felt was that his heart was beating. Mark could only fight back tears as he surveyed Nate's condition. He was reed thin looking emaciated. His once boyish face looked sunken and hollow. Looking so old beyond his years. Mark could only see how much Nateabused himself. Even to the point of deprivation as if willing himself to die. Mark could only blame one person for causingNate so much pain. It would only be Kate. Her rejection of his love so great for Nate to bear to the point of losing all hope in living. Mark could only open his eyes to see for himself that there was still hope after all. Life would still be worth living without Kate. Mark would not allow Nate to destroy all that he had worked hard for all his life just for one girl.