The Broken Road - A Zac Efron Novel (18+)

Chapter 67 - OtherSide

I followed Zac back to his house that night and tried to mentally prepare myself for what was about to happen.  I'd never known anyone who was a drug addict before and I didn't know what to expect as he slipped into withdrawal.  All I knew in that moment, still blissfully unaware of the harsh reality of drug addiction, was that I loved Zac and I owed it to him and our family to do whatever I could to help him get better.

We arrived back to his house and stood in the kitchen.  The awkward tension between us had returned.  When we stripped away the façade of our relationship – that I didn't even know was a façade until a few hours prior – I didn't know how to act around him. It was the strangest feeling. It was like being with a complete stranger.  A stranger you loved and cared about deeply.

He held my hand and led me to the bedroom where we stood in the doorway, each of us leaning on the opposite side of the door frame, neither of us knowing exactly what to do or say next.

He finally walked across the room and sat on the edge of the bed. I stood in front of him, staring into his eyes.  For the first time, I didn't see passion and strength in the deep, tranquil waters of his eyes – I saw pain and fear.

I stood between his knees, cupping his beautiful face in my hands and resting my thumbs on his temples.  "I am so proud of you," I said as I pressed my warm lips to his.  "Baby E and I are both so proud of you.  It takes a real man to admit they need help."

He sighed as he wrapped his hands around mine, breaking eye contact with me as he stared at the floor.

"Would a real man have to tell you he's thinking about getting high right now? That he's making a mental checklist of all of the places I've got drugs stashed around the house?"

I lifted his chin up with my index finger, forcing him to look me in the eyes.

"Yes.  A real man is honest, even when it's hard."

"I don't deserve you," he said quietly.

"Zac, of course you do.  You're still the same man I fell in love with.  I know you are.  This isn't going to be easy for either of us, but we have each other.  There's a reason you promise to love each other in sickness and in health when you get married."

"Promise me you won't stop loving me."

"No matter what happens, there is never anything you could do that would make me stop loving you," I confirmed as I kissed him gently.

I carefully tucked him into bed and went through the house, through each room, collecting Zac's stash.  The last stop was out by the pool as I retrieved the vial of drugs that started all of this. I walked back into the kitchen, turning on the water as I washed the drugs down the drain.

The best way I could describe preparing for Zac to go into full-blown withdrawal is to compare it to waiting for a tornado to touch down.  You don't know exactly when, or where, but you know it will be bad when it gets there.  You feel helpless because no matter how much you want to protect those you love, you're powerless. You have no control over the situation. Dealing with addiction is a lot like that.

Zac was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep.  He was restless. He couldn't remain in any position longer than a few minutes.

"I feel like I'm freezing.  Like I'm standing outside in New York in the middle of winter without clothes on."

I looked down at him, as sweat dripped down his brow and hairline.  I retrieved a hoodie from his closet and helped pull it over his head before tucking him back in.

The nausea was next.  Unable to stand, he crawled on all fours to the bathroom where he expelled the contents of his stomach in the toilet.  When there was nothing left, he began to throw up stomach bile.  I got a washcloth and soaked it in warm water, draping it around the back of his neck before retreating to get him a glass of water.