drunk voicemails ➟ ethma

2.9

twenty-nine | a new addiction

ETHAN
SATURDAY | ZERO DRINKS

Emma left around three hours ago to return back to her home and the time was now nearing midnight. Ethan told her that he'd be going to sleep shortly, and he did mean that, except his body had other plans. He laid in bed for those three hours—which is blatantly obvious that that's a bad decision—and each minute that ticked by worsened his state. When he was with Emma in his lovesick daze, he felt better than usual. He of course still suffered through various sources of pain, but it was bearable when he was distracted by Emma.

Ethan knows it's best to take things slow with her, which is why he plans on not progressing their relationship (or whatever you'd call) very quickly. He's just fortunate that Emma is willing to be with him; he can only imagine that he's not very enjoyable to be around when he's irritable. Somehow though, she puts up with it with only a smile on her face.

Now that he's utterly alone in his bed, his thoughts are getting to him and the symptoms are becoming more obvious. His body is drenched in a cold sweat and there's a tremor in his arms. He tried to control the shakiness he was experiencing, but nothing he tried to do seemed to resolve the issue.

Ethan was growing frustrated as the hours passed and nothing seemed to cease his hurting. He decides to call Emma. He was hoping he didn't have to because she's already done so much for him, just today alone was more than he could have hoped for.

His trembling hands manage to dial her number and within seconds, she answers with concern apparent in her tone. He doesn't have to say much before she's leaving her apartment and in her car.

When she steps inside, Emma immediately thinks he's fallen ill. Ethan isn't wearing a shirt and there's evident sweat glistening on his chest and his entire body, mimicking as if he just stepped out of the shower. His hair is damp, sticking to his forehead and there's dark circles beneath his drowsy eyes.

"What happened, E? You seemed fine when I left," Emma asks distraught.

He shrugs, "It's like when you leave, all the side effects flood to the surface. That, or my body entirely hates me for not getting a drink now that it's been a few days."

Emma grabs his hand and pulls him into the bathroom where she finds a washcloth and wets it with cold water. She folds it over twice and lays it on his forehead as Ethan leans against the bathroom countertop.

She grabs his hand again to notice it shaking. Ethan stares at her as she sympathetically looks down at their hands. Emma intertwines their fingers and she squeezes his hand with hers. The trembling begins to lessen, slowly but surely.

"Your hand stopped shaking," She comments, glancing up at Ethan.

He smiles, "I swear it's the effect you have on me."

"But that doesn't make any sense."

For the last two years, Ethan drank to numb the pain of thinking he had permanently lost Emma. He was so sure that their friendship would never recover, that he'd live the rest of his life in agony over the fact that she hated him. Now that she's come back into his life, it's no longer the alcohol he has a dependency on, it's Emma.

It's like his brain doesn't realize that when she leaves the apartment that she'll eventually return to him again. So while she's with him, the symptoms aren't so bad because he's comforted by her presence that he craved for so long. When she's not with him, he's deprived of the only thing that was providing him comfort, therefore his brain desperately needs the alcohol that previously fueled his contentment.

"But it does, Emma. I never thought that I'd see the day where we were friends again and that's a large part of why I became an alcoholic. Now that you're back in my life, it's like I can finally breathe again. The pain I feel when I'm not drinking is the same as not being with you," Ethan rambles, praying that the words that left his mouth resemble any sort of sense.

Emma has a cute pout on her face. Her eyebrows are furrowed and her lips are pursed together. She feels an astoundingly high amount of sentiment from his words. It's almost hard for her to believe that she has that large of an impact on him.

"Ethan—" She starts.

"It's true. You're my addiction," He says.

Emma shakes her head and smiles, "You're something else, Ethan."

"Not to like trap you into being with me all the time, but I can assure you that your presence is very much needed," He says.

Emma begins to walk out of the bathroom and into the kitchen as Ethan sets the wet washcloth down and follows behind her.

"It's a good thing I missed you so much," Emma admits.

She begins to grab a can of soup from the pantry and pours it into a bowl. She analyzes the instructions on the label and places the bowl into the microwave. As she's setting the time, Ethan steps behind her and places his arms around her waist and rests his chin on her shoulder.

"Ew! You're all clammy, E," Emma exclaims as breaks free from his hold.

Ethan pouts like a sad puppy dog.

"But Emmaaaa, I want attention." He groans.

"And I will give you attention once you dry off," She replies.

"Fine," He says, heading back to the bathroom.

Just as Emma pulls the bowl of soup from the microwave, Ethan enters the kitchen once again. His hair is now messily tousled back and he's completely dried.

"You're lucky, I put cologne on just for you."

He holds out his arms, awaiting for Emma to walk into them. She does just that and he lets out a sigh of content as their bodies come into contact.

Ethan doesn't know what will happen in the future regarding their relationship and the outcome of his alcohol recovery. All he knows is that he needs Emma more than he has ever needed anything before.

Emma runs her fingers through Ethan's hair, scratching his scalp lightly as she then brings her hands down to his face to hold his cheeks.

Ethan then begins to leave quick kisses all over her face, causing her to giggle. In between kisses, he says, "You truly are a blessing."