Chapter 2: A Helping Call
„…are you serious?" Takeshi asked after a few moments of silence – silence that had felt like an eternity to Haruka. "Yes." The blonde racer replied, hating herself when she heard the sound of her voice – small and helpless, and slightly shaking, as if she was about to cry again. She ran the back of one hand over her eyes, and when it was slightly wet afterwards, she wasn't really surprised. "Yes, Takeshi, I am serious…I need help, and I…I…" Her voice broke, and on the other end of the line, Takeshi closed his eyes for a second. He never really had liked Haruka much, although he had tried, in the beginning, when she had been the newest member of his racing team. Thanks to her behaviour though, he had given up on trying pretty fast and just put up with her because she still was a great racer, no matter how much she had been drinking. She even won the races when she was dead drunk. Although he had been annoyed when his wife had told him that Haruka was on the phone, he now felt sorry for her…she sounded as if she really needed help. "Calm down, Haruka." He now gently spoke, hoping that this would help a little. A suspicious sound came through the phone in reply, and it took Takeshi a while to realize that it had been a sob. "Calm down." He repeated, hoping that his voice was soothing enough. "I'll get the number and call you back, okay? Give me five, no, better ten minutes. Okay?" "Okay." Haruka whispered in reply, her voice showing the tears that ran down her cheeks. "Okay." Takeshi repeated, as if this was some magic word. "Okay. I will hang up now, and you will do the same. And in ten minutes, I will call you and give you the number." "Okay." Haruka agreed. Takeshi hung up the phone like he had said, and Haruka did the same. Then, for the next ten minutes, the blonde just kept sitting on the ground next to the phone, trying to make the tears stop before Takeshi called back. When the ten minutes had passed, she had succeeded, but the phone stayed silent. Worried, Haruka looked up to it, as if she could make it ring with sheer willpower. Another five minutes passed, and with every second, Haruka could feel her heart sink. Takeshi wouldn't call back; why should he? She was just an alcoholic who was mean to everyone, and who had thrown a whiskey bottle after him, so why should he be interested in…the phone rang, and Haruka nearly jumped to her feet. She quickly picked up the receiver, answering the call with a desperate "Takeshi?" "Yes, it's me." Takeshi's voice came, and Haruka had to keep herself from letting out a relieved sigh. "Sorry it took me so long, but I couldn't remember where I put the phone number." The mechanic apologized. "It's okay." Haruka replied, glad that he had called at all. "Glad to hear that you aren't angered." Takeshi said in answer to that before he came back to the more important things. "Do you have something to write?" Haruka assured him that she did, and he seemed satisfied when he spoke on: "Good. So listen, the number is…" Haruka quickly wrote it down while he read it to her, then repeated it to make sure that she had the right numbers. After Takeshi had confirmed that, she said her thanks to him, and, after a short moment of silence, stammered out an apologize for her behaviour the day before. "It will be okay…if you go to the meetings from now on." Takeshi replied after he had heard her "I'm sorry". "If you don't go – and I will find out if you don't – I will have to kick you off the team." "I know." Haruka softly replied. "And I will go. Thanks again, Takeshi." After that, the two said their goodbyes to each other, and both hung up the phone – Haruka feeling a little better now that she knew where she could get help, and Takeshi hoping that the blonde would keep her promise. His threat that he would have to kick her off the team probably was enough to make her go to the meetings, but he knew that they wouldn't help if Haruka didn't accept the help they offered. He let out a small sigh and picked up the receiver of the phone again, calling the person that what his contact to the AA – a young social worker named Michiru Kaioh.
Haruka sat in her living room almost for one hour, staring down at the small sheet of paper where she had noted down the number Takeshi had given her. She didn't know if she really should call that number; her eyes kept wandering back and forth between the paper and the half full bottle of whisky that stood on the living room desk. Then, the voice came up in her mind again. Come up here, Ruka. I want to talk to you. I want to talk to you while you are very close to me. Haruka let out a small, desperate groan, burying her face in her hands. Normally, when the voice came up, she would get a bottle and drink until she either passed out or until she had to throw up. Or both. But this time, she decided, she wouldn't. Slowly, the blonde picked up the receiver of her phone and dialled the number that Takeshi had given her. Only two rings later, she could hear the clicking sound that always came up when the phone was answered, and seconds later, a female, very melodic voice drifted through the line: "Kaioh?" "Hello." Haruka softly spoke, not really knowing what to say. "I…my name is Haruka Tenoh, and I'm calling because of the AA meetings…my mechanic Takeshi gave me this number, and…" She realized that she was babbling and forced herself to shut up. "I know why you are calling." The woman on the other end of the line – whose last name was Kaioh, that was all Haruka knew about her, but she liked the voice already – replied, her voice as gentle as if she was speaking to someone she knew for years. "Takeshi called me an hour ago, and I've been waiting for your call ever since then." "Sorry it took me so long." Haruka apologized, honestly meaning it. "I…had some inner conflict to master before I could call." "I know." The Kaioh woman replied, making Haruka wonder how she could know. As if the woman could read her thoughts, she explained: "That's what most alcoholics go through before they call me. And you are an alcoholic, right?" Haruka just opened her mouth to snap at the woman, who was stupid enough to say something like that to her, to Haruka Tenoh, the great racer who…then she realized that she was right. "Yes." She softly admitted, swallowing the thick lump that suddenly was in her throat. "Yes, I am." "Admitting it is the first step you need to take if you want to change that." Kaioh replied immediately, and Haruka knew why she had been so blunt – it was necessary to make her admit it not only to herself, since she already had done that, but also to someone else. And the fact that the person she had admitted it to was a complete stranger to her probably made it even better. "Our next meeting takes place on Friday, at five pm, in my house. I will give you my address, and I'd be happy to see you on Friday." "I'll be there." Haruka promised before writing the address down the woman gave her. "Great. So see you on Friday." Kaioh replied, and Haruka could almost hear the smile in her voice. "See you on Friday." She softly answered before hanging up the phone and staring at the calendar that hung at her wall. Today it's Wednesday…that means three days of staying sober. Suddenly, a bitter laugh escaped her throat. Three days? A whole fucking life. That realization sent an ice cold shiver down her spine, and she leaned back in her couch, staring up at the ceiling – wondering if she had made the right decision.