Helpless | A Modern Hamliza Story

Chapter Five

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"Are you sure you're okay by yourself? I can just tell the guys I'm staying in with you tonight," Alexander offered as he pulled his hair back into a low ponytail.

Eliza was laying in their bed behind him, her eyes starting to doze off again.

It was the first time in months that Alexander and his friends had been able to have a night out, since everyone was so busy. Alexander blew off their last meeting because he didn't feel like he could take a break. Eliza being sick had forced him to slow down and take time away from the business of work and focus on her and his friends.

"I'll be fine," she assured, rubbing her eyes and pulling up the sheets closer to her. "Just promise me that you won't get too drunk?"

He chuckled at her request. She knew they always went to the bar on their "guys nights" since half of the boys were still bachelors drinking their nights away.

Alexander and Laurens did enjoy alcohol and getting drunk occasionally, but after they got married to Eliza and Peggy respectively, their weekends stopped consisting of only partying. Laurens still got more carried away than Alexander when he did go out, however.

"I promise. Someone is going to have to call a taxi for Lafayette and Mulligan," he predicted. Those boys have done the same thing since they were twenty years old. There was no way tonight would be any different. 

She smiled contently, missing the days when they would all hang out in a bar when the semester got out, and Eliza was the responsible one who made sure everyone got home safely. She maybe drank a beer here and there, or even some wine or champagne on fancier occasions, but she usually stuck with a fruity mixed drink or two, which Alexander has always called her "tutti-fruity" drinks.

Eliza was getting skinnier and skinnier, losing most of the fat she had on her body. She's always been a pretty small girl, but now she was smaller than ever. The thought of food still wasn't anywhere near her brain, though she was able to shovel down at least one decent meal a day usually.

She hadn't been back to work in over a week now, and it was two weeks since she first started getting sick.

Not only was she getting skinnier, Eliza was also getting weaker. She couldn't keep up with things like she used to, including blog posts. Alexander made sure she was getting up at least a couple of times when he was at home, but he couldn't control if she got up while he was at work. Getting up seemed to control her leg strength, but the rest of her body was slowly becoming weaker.

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While at the bar, it was hard for Alexander to keep his mind off of his bride at home. He tried focusing on his friends and the laughter of everyone around them, some long drunk and others well on their way there.

He finished off the last bit of his drink, pushing the glass to the side and focusing on the hilarious conversation unfolding in front of him. If Lafayette and Mulligan were present, it was going to be a good time. They had always been the life of the party, and that idea was reinforced as they were hilariously reenacting the time they got high as a kite during their sophomore year at NYU.

Lafayette turned to Alexander and John as he finished the story, gawking at him for stopping at just one drink.

"Quitting already?" he laughed, gesturing to the empty glass. "Surely you want just one more? Five years ago you would have already been on your third!" Hercules Mulligan laughed along with Lafayette.