Little baggie of Advil
Wilbur Edmund Harley woke up with a splitting headache. He groaned. What the fuck had he done last night? He was no stranger to hangovers, but he didn't even remember how he got back to his apartment last night. He rolled over and fumbled for his phone on his nightstand. It was 12 AM.
Shit.
He got up, snatching his phone from his nightstand before something caught his eye. A little plastic baggie with some loose Advil and a note. He gingerly picked up the bag, opened it, and inspected the note. He held it close to his face and read the small scrap of paper.
Figured you would want some Advil. Please drink some water today, I'm a little concerned. Hope to see you in better circumstances
P.s I was the one who drove you home yesterday. Don't worry, you didn't do anything embarrassing.
- O. L
He stared at the loopy signature on the crinkled note for a few seconds too long.
Well, shit.
Very vaguely, he remembered being led to a car by a very pretty man. Also, judging from his horrific hangover, he could assume he was absolutely wasted last night. He sighed. He hadn't planned to get that drunk last night, but then again, he never did. Very honestly, this was the third time this had happened in a week. Usually, Raddagher came with him and drove him back to their shared apartment, letting the silence eat him alive with words he knew she wouldn't say, but thought nonetheless. He knew she thought he was an alcoholic, but he wasn't! He just enjoyed the relief that being drunk gave him. Most of the time he was a little drunk anyways, and when he wasn't, things fucking sucked. People around him noticably treated him with more disgust when he wasn't a little tipsy. Sometimes he just got a little carried away, that's all. There was nothing wrong with that. When he was in college he had gotten wasted every night, so if anything he was healthy now!
..Right?
Raddagher knocked on his door.
"Come in." Edmund called.
She entered with her girlfriend. Great. Just what Edmund needed: another reminder of how painfully alone he was and how thoroughly he had embarrassed himself in front of the bartender last night.
"Hey, Love." He grumbled.
"Were you out last night?" Nari asked, a hint of anger in her voice.
He winced and stared at the floor.
"Was he out last night?" Nari asked, turning to her girlfriend.
Ingrid shrugged.
Edmund rubbed his temples.
"Ed-"
"Okay, maybe I was fucking out last night! And maybe I got super wasted, and maybe one of the bartenders apparently drove me home!" He waved the note, clutched between his fingers.
"And maybe he was super cute and I made a complete fool out of myself, like usual!"
Nari stared at him.
Honestly, he was just as surprised.
"Okay, ignoring what you said at the beginning, we WILL come back to it." She took a beat to glare at him, then sighed.
"You do not usually make a fool out of yourself. You're great, and smart, even though you certainly haven't been acting like it lately, and you can't just put yourself down when the best hypeman of all time, ME, is here and cares for you lots. Don't try any of that self deprecation shit with me, Harley. You know Ingrid and I love you."
For a good three seconds he just stared at her, mulling the words over in his head. Haven't been acting like it lately. Was he really acting that different from normal? Or was Nari just finally seeing what everyone else did?
He sighed and decided to let it go. When it came to Nari and Ingrid, he always let it go. They were all he had, really.
He winced at that thought. Jesus. That's dark.
Then, ever the comic, he came back with a sarcastic:
"Okay, mom"
Then, quieter,
"I love you too."
"Damn right you do. "
He smiled despite himself. Although he would never admit it without the use of a crowbar, he would probably not be alive without Nari and Ingrid. Not in a depressing way--
Actually, okay, yeah. In a depressing way.
When he had taken up the offer for the apartment in freshman year of college and met Ingrid, it changed his life. Probably forever. He knew no matter how hard he pushed them away, the pair would always be right by his side. Partly because they lived in the same cramped apartment, and partly because each of the three loved each other. Nari and Ingrid loved each other romantically. but Ed loved them with all his heart too, just without the romance stuff. He'd bared his soul to both of them, and they each carried that part of his heart with them like no one else had ever done. It was nice to be loved.
"Yeah. I'm lucky to have you two."
Nari beamed at him, and he saw the skin around Ingrid's eyes crinkle. Ed stumbled out of bed and captured the pair in his arms. Ingrid stood stiffly, not pulling away, whereas Nari hugged him back tighter in a bone crushing embrace.
Nari pulled away angrily.
"You bitch! You can't distract us from last night with hugs, Ed!"
He knew she wasn't really angry.
"Sorry.. I just.." He sighed.
"Yeah, I was out last night. I got wasted, and a really... Pretty... Bartender took me home..."
Nari stared at him.
"What bar did you go to?"
He frowned. Damn. He didn't remember. That's probably not good.
"....I can't remember."
"Wilbur Edmund Harley!"
He winced. Okay, listen. He knew that not knowing where he was last night was bad. He knew that was a sign that things were getting worse.
"Sorry" Was all he could manage to say.
Nari sighed, Ingrid placed a hand on her back as a rare sign of comfort.
"Don't be sorry. Just... Can you just... Can you at least try to get better?"
And then, all of a sudden, he remembered why he got drunk so often.
"I am fucking trying, Love."
He knew his tone was cold. He knew it was sharp. He knew it would pierce Love's soft skin.
She recoiled, like he knew she would.
"No, Ed- I didn't mean it like that! I know you're trying, I just--"
He stopped listening after that.
Ingrid stared at him with those icy grey eyes that always managed to make him shiver. She silently watched as her girlfriend anxiously babbled away, while Edmund ignored her.
"Harley."
His head tilted to stare up at them. It wasn't really a conscious decision. When Ingrid talked, you listened.
"She didn't mean that you weren't trying. She meant that we want to help you."
He stared at them.
"What are you even talking about?"
Ingrid glanced at Nari.
".. one of my coworkers at the bar is a therapist. Was. We want you to start therapy."