Chapter 5
1216 Words
After a while, he took out his phone and called the only person he could talk to at that moment.
"Dude what's up," Javon's excited voice was heard at the other end of the line.
"Lets meet at Bar de Baron," Asher voiced out softly.
"I thought you refused earlier, moreover, it's raining dude, I can't come out,"
Asher could hear the sound of the keyboard, Javon must be working. "Please Jay, I need to talk to you,"
There was a moment of silence then came Javon's voice. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Asher sighed deeply, "I just need to talk to someone,"
Javon frowned, it was obvious his friend was disturbed. "Alright, I'll meet you there,"
Once he ended the call, he got the car started and drove to the bar. Not long, he arrived his destination but didn't get out of the car, he would wait until Javon arrived, but after a moment, he raked his head in frustration. Sitting in the car wasn't a good idea after all.
He unlocked the car door, stepped out of the car and made his way into the bar.
Bodies swayed to the rhythm of the soft music which filled the air. Asher glanced around, then located an empty table, luckily, his car heater was warm enough to dry him up a bit.
His eyes slowly scanned his environment and at every corner he gazed, his heart ached. Perhaps it was also a bad idea coming to the bar. Men and women drinking and chattering, lovers cuddling each other.
He quickly averted his gaze as the pain he felt became unbearable. Slowly he lifted his eyes and his gaze fell on a couple. The lady looked so much like Ellie, her smile beautiful as hers. She held the young man, her head rested on his shoulder.
The man stared down at her tenderly and her face glistened with her blush. They looked like a perfect match, just as he was with Ellie.
His chest contracted and his veins weakened as he stared at the beautiful couple. He shut his eyes tightly, his teeth tightly gripped his lower lips as he fought his emotions.
"What can I get for you?" The masculine voice pulled him out of his painful thought. It was the waiter. He revealed a smile which looked more like a frown. "Drinks! Beer, anything strong!!" He muttered.
The waiter looked at him momentarily, "do you have a preference?" But he wagged his head.
"Anything strong," he needed a strong drink to block the thoughts deeply embedded in his head, to keep his emotions at bay.
The waiter nodded, then walked away. Not quite long, he returned with a wine glass and a bottle of spirit.
"Get another bottle please," Asher instructed and got a worried look from the waiter.
"Sir, are you drinking alone?" The waiter who was concerned asked, but he got a murderous glare from Asher.
"How is that your business?" he spat angrily and the waiter skedaddled.
Slowly, he uncorked the bottle, filled the wine glass and gulped down the drink. He shut his eyes, wagged his head to suppress the burning sensation from the drink, then filled his cup again. After several glasses, his eyes were bloodshot and he began to feel dizzy.
He stared at the empty bottle of spirit intently, carried it up then dropped it heavily on the table startling others who shifted their gazes on him.
He glanced at them, shrugged, then a loud belch escaped his lips. "Sorry," he muttered.
It was a usual occurrence in the bar to see drunk men, so no one paid attention to him anymore.
He carried the second bottle, took a close look at it, then revealed a small smile, "keep me company since she can't," then he uncorked the bottle and fill the glass up.
With trembling hands, he carried the glass up to his mouth but a broad hand quickly snatched it from him.
Slowly, he dropped his trembling hand on the table, lifted his bloodshot eyes to see the intruder, his head dropped repeatedly and he fought to keep it steady.
"You," he pointed at Javon who stared at him in total confusion.
"You came late," he stared at the bottle and carried it up to his mouth.
"Stop!!" Javon snatched the bottle from him, his eyes bored into his face.
"What wrong with you? What happened to you?" Asher wouldn't drink more than three glasses of alcohol, but there he was with two bottles of spirit, one empty and the other about to be emptied. That wasn't his friend.
"Javon, let me me, my heart is bleeding," his speech was slurred.
Javon heaved a sigh of relief, luckily his friend was still conscious to recognize him. He pulled the chair beside Asher, sat down then patted him gently on the back.
"Whatever it is, please don't hurt yourself with this!" he pointed at the bottle in his hand then gently dropped it on the table.
"What do you want me to do? I'm just a failure," he released another belch, then sighed.
"Let's leave, we will talk when you sober up," then he tried to help him up but he immediately declined.
"I don't want to go to that house please,"
Javon raised his brows meaningfully, then nodded. "Okay, my house then," slowly and carefully, he helped him up, his grip tight on him to steady his unsteady steps as they left the bar.
"We'll leave in my car , you'll come for yours later," but he got no response from him aside the incoherent words he muttered.
Carefully, he helped him into the car, shut the door, got into the driver's seat and sped off. By the time he got home, Asher was in a deep sleep, snoring heavily.
He stared deeply at his friend, then sighed painfully. Outside, he looked brave and strong but inside he was weak. A young man who was fighting to make a name, break new ground, yet all his efforts seemed to be futile.
Javon got off the car, headed into the house and returned later with the housekeeper. With the help of the housekeeper, Asher was taken into the room and he laid heavily on the bed.
"Thank you," Javon nodded at the housekeeper.
"It's there any other thing you need me to do?" The house keeper asked while staring at the man snoring heavily on the bed.
"If there is, I'll let you know," and the housekeeper quietly left the room.
Alone , Javon took in a deep breath, gazed at his sleeping friend and his eyes darkened. His sized him up and his gaze landed on his shoes. He bent over, pulled them off his feet only to realize they were wet.
Quickly, he touched his pants and frowned when he realized it was damp too. "What's wrong buddy?" He muttered as he stared at him in confusion.
He touched his shirt and just like the pants was damp. Quickly, he left the room and returned with a new set of sleep wear.
Carefully, but with difficulty, he pulled the damp clothe off Asher's body, and wore him the sleep wear. Done, he heaved a sigh of relief, turned on the heater and left the room.
- Writer
