The Pack and Sidemen Oneshots

Wooflan- Alcohol Part 2

Rob's P.O.V.

My heart had started pounding the second I saw Lachlan in his bed, eyes completely blank, and didn't stop pounding even after he had fallen asleep beside me, now somewhat peaceful. I had almost gagged when I had stepped into his room because of the overwhelming stench of alcohol and I knew I had to do something before he woke up.

He was sleeping peacefully only a few minutes after I lay him down on the bed and he wasn't lying on me in any way so after I was sure he wouldn't stir at my movement, I slipped from the bed. Lachlan didn't move, but he did groan a little.

I spent upwards of half an hour cleaning Lachlan's room and airing out the house, a little overwhelmed by the number of alcohol bottles strewn around the house, especially in his room. There were beer bottles, whiskey bottles, liquor bottles, basically every type of alcohol you could think of, and all of them were empty.

I knew he owned a lot of alcohol, I had been around his bar when I had been in Australia on previous occasions, but I had no idea he binge drunk like that. In fact, before that day, I knew him to barely drink at all unless it was a special occasion or a party.

Gathering all of the bottles from around the house together I chucked them all out in the recycling, keeping what other damage might have been done. The house was a complete tip, food gone off in the fridge, stuff all over the floor in the living room, kitchen and his bedroom, and that was what made me realise what as going on.

Something must have happened to him, something must have happened to make him spiral down into drinking and depression and although I had no idea what it was, I had to get it out of him. It wasn't good for him to sit on it with no one to talk to, especially if it lead to things like a multiple day drinking binge.

His bedroom still stunk of alcohol but somehow Lachlan slept on, in a deep sleep that I knew he wouldn't wake from. Gently, struggling a bit because Lachlan was tall, I scooped him up from the bed and lugged him into the guest room, barely holding him up. I lay him down on the bed again and sighed, eyeing the mess of the boy fast asleep next to me.

Even though he was out of his room my nose still twitched with the scent of alcohol emanating off him. His hair was greasy from days without a shower and his clothes were wrinkled and stained, clearly from days of wear and his skin was pale, bags under his eyes.

"God Lachlan." I whispered, tucking him back under the blanket. "What happened to you..."

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I spent almost an hour thoroughly cleaning out Lachlan's room, which smelt like alcohol and had stuff all over the floor. Sure I had cleared the bottles out but it was still disgusting, and I had to put all the washing out, change and wash his sheets and pillowcases, put away and clean shoes and clothes and open his window to get rid of the smell.

For a moment I considered vacuuming but Lachlan was still asleep in the room next door, so I decided to do it later.

I was just putting the last things away when I heard retching from the guest bedroom and cringed, rushing to Lachlan's aid. He had managed to scramble into the bathroom before he was sick and continued his retching while I gently rubbed his back between his shoulder blades, soothing words falling from my mouth.

When he was finally done he fell back against the wall, whimpering painfully with bile on his chin. I got a tissue and wiped it away, flushed to toilet to get rid of the smell and bundled him up into my arms, practically carrying him back into the bedroom, his own one this time. He barely noticed that it had been tidied he was so exhausted and sick.

I helped him onto the bed and tucked him in, rushing downstairs to grab a bowl, some pain medication and a bottle of water to try and aid his sickness. I knew the sickness was his own fault- a result of his drinking, but that didn't stop me from doing my best to help him out. His drinking was to help himself, but I knew he didn't want this.

Somehow I managed to get him to take a drink and down the pain pills, pushing past his feverish fighting to get him to take them. He was tossing his head and didn't seem to be able to settle, moaning in pain, tossing and turning with his eyes half lidded.

I settled down beside him, massaging his temple to try and get him to sleep. He whimpered.

"I wan' it to stop." He whispered listlessly, moaning in pain. "Make it stop Robby..."

I tugged him onto my chest, holding him tight.

"I know Lachy." I whispered back. "But you just gotta sleep it off, okay? You'll feel better in the morning."

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Lachlan tossed and turned for hours, running to the bathroom on multiple occasions over the day. He barely slept, drifting in and out of a comatose like state while clinging to me with an unbreakable grip. He just didn't want to let me go, no matter how much I tried to twist myself out of his hold, he just wouldn't let go.

I spent most of the time on my phone but occasionally, when Lachlan stirred, I began humming to calm him. It worked, but after about 12 hours he began stirring and I couldn't get him back to sleep, so I let him wake, hoping to god that he felt better.

"How you feeling?" I whispered, stroking his hair. He moaned and buried his head in my side, squinting. Alright, he still clearly had a headache but he didn't seem to be nauseous or sick anymore, which was a good sign.

It took another hour before I gently started asking Lachlan what was going on, wanting to know what was behind his sudden downwards spiral.

"What happened Lachy?" I whispered, squeezing his hand. His ears went red and he attempted to shuffle a little down the bed, hiding his face in his hands. "Hey, you don't need to be embarrassed, I know you're going through some shit right now and I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk."

He paused and took in a deep breath, clearly gathering himself.

"I don't- I don't think I can do this anymore!" He whispered, bursting into tears. "I feel like shit all the time and I never have any motivation to do anything and I'm constantly anxious and depressed and nothing seems to help... the medication doesn't help. So I drink."

That massive sentence came out in one breath and then he dissolved into tears, chest heaving. I didn't have anything to say because there wasn't much I could do- all I could do was hold him tight. I just held him, arms around his waist and rocked him back and forth, my chin on the top of his head.

It took half an hour for him to sob himself out, the tears still falling but the hysterical crying, sobbing and chest heaving had stopped, replaced with shuddering breaths and a trembling boy curled up in my lap. I ran my hand up and down his arms, trying to think of something, anything, to say that might help.

"Lachy... God.... I don't- I know this isn't going stop overnight but... I don't think it's alright for you to live alone anymore. You need someone." He sniffled. "Do you think so?"

"Yeah... I- I guess?" He said questionably, clearly not getting what I was suggesting.

"Lachy, I'm asking if you want me to stay with you. My lease in Canada is ending and I was planning on moving anyway, so maybe I could move in with you. It's not good for you to be on your own and I might be able to help you out, give you someone to talk to."

Lachlan looked up at me with wide eyes and nodded slowly before throwing his arms around me, bursting into tears all over again. At first I didn't know why, but then he began talking.

"Please-" He whispered. "Please, I don't think I can be alone anymore."

I held him tight, beginning the comforting whispering all over again. He wiggled back into my hold and curled up tightly in my lap, trying to appear as small as possible, and audibly sighed.

"Thank you Rob." He said in a tiny whisper, closing his eyes.

I leaned down and kissed his forehead, making his cheeks go red, but I just smiled to myself.

"I promise that I'll try and make it better Lachy." I whispered. "I swear."