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"Yes," he said in a cal hiood measure, I spun around and marched away

"I hate you!" I yelled over ht so dark, I wasn’t sure I could s wasn’t led in front of me A dream I’d let myself dream and one that would never be realized

When Garth’s next words came, I felt the first tear about to form in the corner of , I turned slowly "No," I said, the voluone from my voice "I need one"

Garth inclined his head "Me, too And I hate to drink alone Reminds me too much of my dad" He waited for o drown our sorrows before we have to wake up and get back to our shitty lives"

Drinking alone with a guy like Garth Black wasn’t the s to do I knew that Hell, I’d lived that But right then, with the way I felt and the pain I wanted to forget, I just didn’t care I’d gone through a long period of turning to guys to et, to te wanted and loved The past couple years, I leanedthe pain out with a bottle Or I had, pre-Willow Springs I hadn’t had one drop of alcohol since arrivingbut that was about to change

I followed Garth for a fewme into the middle of nowhere Until I remembered "middle of nowhere" here I’d been since I’d stepped off of the bus After anotherhis hand ceremoniously in front of him, he said, "Home sweet home"

Oh My God

The trailer thatat it? Yeah, that e were standing in front of

"U" Garth e chairs in the same ruin as the trailer were "How can I live within the lap of luxury when there are little children dying of starvation"

I glanced over at Garth curiously Was that a joke that had just slipped out of his cryptic mouth? Was that a bit of snark where I’d been so certain none could reside?

I didn’t kno to respond to his unexpected slip of hu off the debris on one of the rundown chairs, he loped toward the trailer "I’ll be right back hatever I can find that’s the strongest"

I alht better of it If that was Garth’s homewell, that was his home I wouldn’t step a foot inside of it, ever, but that didn’t mean I had to knock it

A couple of s had a bit of flashing light strea inside I was just settling--carefully--into the lounge chair when I heard a couple of raised voices So Garth didn’t live alone and, judging from the deep voices, he lived with another man A brother, maybe? A father?

Whoever else shared the dilapidated trailer with hiood terms at the moment I couldn’tand curses thrown back and forth, but I was familiar with that "conversation" My moh to stand up to her

When I heard the fa, I popped up in my chair I was about to break a solemn vow and actually enter that rust bucket when Garth practically lunged out of the door What looked like a bottle exploded into tiny pieces behind him when it crashed into the doorway instead ofhis head?

Garth glared at the ground for a couple seconds as he continued toward me, a bottle clutched in his hand, but when he lifted his face, his expression was al at him

"What the hell was that?" I asked I knew, as so or seeing distance, we hoped to hell they’d just keep theirHowever, being on the other side of the equation, I understood why so many people couldn’t stay silent

"Well, let’s see," Garth said as he stopped in front of ht, past ten o’clock, and all the liquor except for o So that h to be pissed but not quite drunk enough to be passed out yet"

I ju sound "Who?" I asked, wondering if being within the same county line as that person, let alone their backyard, was safe

Garth’s expression ironed out "My dad" His words were like ice again, and frouessed he really did need that drink as badly as I did "So? Bottoh I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t say no

Not when relief from the pain was a few inches and drinks away

"Bottoms up" I took the bottle fro from the label, it was cheap tequila

"To-kill-ya?" Garth said as he dropped into one of the chairs "Yep"

Since there weren’t any cups to be found, I lifted the bottle straight to ret this in the ?"