Inside, Sean made his way through more crowds of people until he reached Jay's kitchen. It smelled strongly of alcohol and cigarette smoke that was drifting in from the living room, where a group of people were amusing themselves by having a contest to see who could keep the cigarette buts pushing into their palm the longest.
"Hey Cameron, you decided to show after all..." Jay said, carrying his beer can as he headed over to Sean.
"Yeah man, it sounded good." Sean replied, eyeing the can in Jay's hands, his mouth beginning water.
"Well, help yourself to some drinks. They're on the table." Jay motioned to a wooden table behind Sean, cluttered with unopened beer cans.
Sean turned and walked over to the table as Jay disappeared back into the crowds of partiers. He stood in front of the table, contemplating whether he really should have one. His mind kept telling him to go for it, that one wouldn't hurt. On the other hand, his conscience kept telling him not to, that he couldn't start this again. A voice inside Sean's head kept repeating "just one" over and over again, until he just couldn't take it anymore. He hesitated only a moment more before grabbing one of the cans, popping it open and guzzling it down.
As the can finished emptying it's contents into his mouth, Sean set it back down on the table, the addicting taste lingering in his mouth beginning to fade. His taste buds began to plead for more, and soon Sean's eyes returned to the numerous remaining unopened beer cans, without hesitation he reached for yet another can, opened it and let the liquid inside flow through his mouth.
Throughout the duration of the night, the number of empty cans on the table continued to grow. The world around Sean began to get hazy as the flashing lights and people swirled, the details fading with each continuing sip he consumed. As he began to feel sick from the booze he tried to resist the temptation to continue, but it was impossible, he was just too far gone....
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The following morning Sean found himself slumped in front of his toilet, his shirt smelling strongly of vomit. He blinked, trying to focus and figure out exactly where he was. Eventually, memories of the events that occurred yesterday returned to him, giving him a sudden brush of reality.
Using what little strength he had left he pushed himself up off the floor and stumbled over to the nearby sink. He turned the handle, letting the cold water spew from the faucet before taking his hands and splashing the water on his face, hoping to sober up a bit and possibly calm the aggravating ringing sound in his head.
"Maybe I should give Ellie a call..." He told himself, glancing over at the phone, considering the idea. Within moments he had the phone gripped tightly in his hands, dialing her number. As it rang he began combing his mind, trying to figure out what he was going to say--what he needed to say.
It rang for what seemed like forever, Sean glanced around him impatiently, muttering "Please pick up Ellie...." in a soft tone. It continued to ring, three, four, no five times, Sean counted, until something clicked on the other end of the phone.
"Hello you've reached the Nash residence, please leave a message after the tone." A voice chimed from the other end of the phone, followed by a beep. Sean hung up the phone, rubbing his temples furiously, he couldn't just leave a message. It had to be direct, otherwise it just didn't seem strong enough. He sighed, collapsing on his couch, letting the phone fall to the floor. He hated his life right now, it just seemed like an endless circle of mistakes and problems. There just wasn't a way out....
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Ellie woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She dug her head into her pillow, in attempt to block out the ringing noise, letting the phone ring endlessly. She just didn't feel like talking to someone right now, after all of the frustrations she'd been having to deal with lately, she'd probably just end up lashing out at whoever was calling.
"Let it ring..." She muttered as she buried her head under her pillow, trying to once again grasp the trancelike sleep she had woken from, but she failed. The phone eventually stopped ringing, even then Ellie just couldn't go back to sleep. She rolled over, raising her left arm up from the covers so that it was in eyesight. The cuts she had carved into her skin the night before graced her arm, each deep and dark, covered by a thin layer of scab. Ellie watched them for a little while, feeling the twinges of pain as she ran her fingers over the new additions to her collection of scars. She eventually sat up, turning over to her nightstand where she had left her razor the night before.
Within a moment she held the razor tightly in her hand, once again staring at the scars on her arm. Ellie ran the blade against some of her unmarred skin, letting the blood flow from her new cuts as the release consumed her. After the blood stopped flowing, she placed her razor back on her nightstand and laid back down, attempting once again to sleep. This time she was successful, falling into a light slumber, her mind soothed by the continuation of her cutting, a habit she just could no longer stop.
A/N: The procrastination spell is broken, I finished this chapter and most of chapter 6 and put this up before my vacation, I'm proud of myself. I'll be gone basically all week, so I'll post chapter 6 when I get back. Time for vacation! (I seriously need to get away, it's hotter than hell here)
A quick advertisement: Those who enjoy well-written very interesting Ellie / Sean fics, go read Yours Truly, Ellie Nash & Numb, now!
To those who took the time to review, thank you, I love reviews, any kind, except maybe ones from this guy in my English class last year, but that's a different story....