Well I've been toying with this idea since I heard an amazing song by Walker Hayes! If you've never heard of him, I urge you to look him up! His album is amazing! His songs are just so beautiful. The lyrics are so genuine and really make you think and feel. This story was inspired by his song Beer in the Fridge. I do not own the song and take no credit for it here. All credit goes to Mr. Hayes and the rest of his writing crew. As always, please read and let me know what you think! And if you liked his songs, let me know too!
Featuring: Jadeite (small appearance from two others)
Universe: Just a normal place. No magical powers or sailor senshi's. Doesn't have any tie-ins with any other stories.
Warnings/ratings: T. Just a few curse words and mention of beer. Obviously.
Jace unlocked the door to his house, tossing his keys and jacket unceremoniously towards his couch as he walked by. Normally he kept his home tidy, but lately he found it hard to care about the state of it. He unfastened his tie as he walked towards his room. His room. The word left a sour taste in his mouth.
He dumped his shoes somewhere near the closet. Removing his work clothes and tossing them into his dirty hamper, he fished around for his sweatpants and old t-shirt. He smelled the crumpled shirt that had been lying haphazardly near the hamper and deemed it clean enough. His eyes avoided the half empty closet. It just reminded him of what was missing.
With the shirt mostly over his head, he padded his way back towards the living room. He flopped down on his couch, kicking his jacket out of the way. He had started to hate coming home from work. Every day that passed seemed to wipe away the scent of her. Their home started to smell less of her and more of his shame and guilt.
He had tried staying later at work when it had happened. Only coming home to collapse onto his bed exhausted. Being too tired to do much of anything, moping or otherwise, had worked for a while. He'd wake up earlier than normal, get ready for work, and be at the office before anyone else. He'd dived into work, ignoring everything else in his life.
His boss had finally come up to him and told him to take a few days off, saying he looked like shit. Jace knew his boss had heard what had happened. That was the problem when you had mutual friends. Those few days off had been the hardest for him. Nothing to keep him distracted, he almost broke his promise to her a handful of times. Not that it mattered. It was more of a promise to himself at this point.
When she finally left him, it was the morning after another fight. The memories of that night were still hazy, on account of him being wasted again. Her best friend, Mackenzie, had told him what had happened when he refused to stop calling.
She'd gotten home late from work. He'd had a few friends over, but they had gone home a while ago. She saw him drunk again, surrounded by ten beer cans, sipping on the eleventh. She'd gotten upset, saying he had promised he wouldn't get that bad again. She told him he had a problem and needed help. He had retorted with something stupid. Probably along the lines like he could stop whenever he chose to. That had made her even angrier.
She said she was leaving him then. Said she was tired of him always choosing alcohol over her. He remembered she'd been crying then. Even through his foggy memory he remembered that. They'd had fights like these before, when he'd drink too much and she'd plead with him to get help.
He had never taken her seriously. He had always assumed she'd be there after. This night had been different. He should have realized that then. She'd had this steely, but sad, look in her eyes. She had packed a few things in her gym bag, throwing toothbrush and work clothes all in a jumbled mess quickly, trying to escape him. He had tried to stop her, mumbling incoherently and making it worse, he remembered. She had stopped crying then. He remembered her demeanor had changed; gone was the passionate spitfire woman he loved, replaced with a broken, despondent woman that was in front of him. With sagging shoulders she had brushed passed him, stating she'd be at Mackenzie's. He had let her go, thinking she needed the time to cool off and that she'd be back the next day. Oh how stupid he had been.
He remembered the next day vividly. He'd woken up feeling miserable and had reached out to her side of the bed, his hand finding only disheveled sheets. The memory of the fight of the night before came flooding back. He had laid in bed for a while, feeling sorry for himself and wondering if he should reach out to her. He had thought better of it. Instead, he had gotten up to clean their house as an apology for the night before. He had thrown out all eleven empty beer bottles, hating himself for drinking that much again. He had promised to himself that he'd do better, even though the tiny little voice in his head had scoffed at the idea.
The afternoon had started to bleed into night, and she still hadn't returned. He had gotten worried then. He had called multiple times, but it had gone straight to voice mail. He had tried Mackenzie next. She had picked up.
"You really should stop calling Jace," Mackenzie's voice sounded terse.
"Is she with you? Can I talk to her?" He pleaded.
He heard Mackenzie sigh and then the line went silent. She had probably muted him so she could speak with Rebecca.
"I already said everything I needed to last night," Rebecca's soft voice stated.
Jace's heart gave a lurch. She sounded so broken and it was his fault.
"Please come back. I promise I won't touch a drop of alcohol. I'm quitting today. Just please come home." He sounded pitiful, even to himself.
"You're not. We've done this before. I'm done. I can't stand here and watch you pick that over me time and time again. You made your choice. I wish I could help you, but only you can help yourself. I just hope one day you will." Her voice broke and he heard shuffling around before Mackenzie's voice responded.
"I think that's good for now. Please don't call again, for her sake." Mackenzie's voice sounded warmer now.
"Mackenzie, please, just let me fix this. Get her back on, I-"
"Don't! You've hurt her enough." And with that the line went dead.
He had gotten so furious then, tossing his phone angrily at the couch and yelling at an empty room. It was late into the night by the time he'd calmed down. She had kept her word and had stayed away. He had almost gone out to grab a few drinks, needing the calm he knew it'd bring. But he had stopped himself halfway out the door. She'd be right if he did that. Instead, he had gone to bed. She had gotten her things when he went to work two days after the incident. He had come home and all her stuff had been gone. That was three months ago. And he still felt as miserable as that day.
Jace sighed and looked at his watch. He probably should make himself something to eat since it was getting late. He hoisted himself up and shuffled to the fridge. He opened it, glancing around to see what he could make. His eyes drifted to the bottom shelf. A lone survivor of his last all-nighter mocked him. He had never poured it out. He wasn't really sure why he still had it. Besides the beer, his fridge looked pretty pathetic. His eyes darted back to the beer. God did he want just one. Not having her here made him itch for it. He knew it'd help him forget her, if only for a little while.
He closed the door, deciding he needed to go grocery shopping. He grabbed his keys and left, hoping it'd be a good distraction.
Jace had never been a bad cook, but he'd always hated cooking for one. It just seemed so depressing. He had gotten the last item on his list a few minutes ago and was just taking his time heading to the check out. He didn't feel like heading home to an empty house just yet.
He had been browsing the international aisle when a familiar voice drifted his way. Perking up, he stuffed the guarana soda quickly into his cart and made a beeline to the next aisle.
"Hey Mackenzie. Fancy seeing you here," he said as he craned his neck, looking for raven hair but not finding it.
"Oh, uh, hey Jace," Mackenzie said a little too loudly to be considered normal. Jace gave up looking and glanced at the blonde. Her cart was filled with ice cream, chocolate syrup, and other ingredients that looked like they were being bought to make brownies and cookies. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing her boyfriend's baggy jersey over yoga pants.
"What are you doing here?" Mackenzie asked a little awkwardly.
"Just grabbing a few things for dinner. You?" He kept glancing around before returning his gaze back to her. He knew he was being rude.
He caught Mackenzie eyeing her cart before looking back at him. "Just grabbing some essentials. For a night in. With the girls," she nonchalantly said. "You look like shit for the record."
Jace's eyes snapped back and locked onto cornflower blue eyes. There was mirth dancing in them and he cracked a genuine smile. He couldn't remember the last time he had truly smiled. He probably did look like shit. He knew he had dark circles underneath his eyes and he'd let his facial hair grow out a little longer. Coupled with the dirty shirt and sweatpants, he probably looked homeless.
"And you still look like a princess," he teased back. Mackenzie had always been his favorite out of all of her friends.
Jace heard the sound of flip-flops and leaned sideways to look past Mackenzie. Rebecca had rounded the corner and was heading towards them, a milk jug in her hand. Her long, raven hair had been pulled into a messy bun. She was wearing his oversized hoodie, her favorite one that always dwarfed her whenever she donned it. Yoga pants, the one he loved the most, that always seemed to compliment her curves even more, completed her outfit. He couldn't help a quick glance down before snapping his attention to her face. She had never looked so beautiful to him as she did now, with no make up on.
She placed the milk into their cart before addressing him. "Hey Jace," she said coolly.
"You look great," he blurted, mentally berating himself for saying it.
Her cheeks turned pink at the compliment. "You…" she hesitated, regarding him up and down before trying to continue.
He shook his head, stopping her. "No need to lie. I know I look like shit. Mackenzie here was nice enough to inform me," he chuckled.
She smiled at him politely. "You look…healthy," she stated seriously. Her amethyst eyes bore into his. He knew what she was secretly asking.
"I'm three months sober now," he said proudly. He hoped she'd approve as well. It was all for her, after all.
"That's awesome Jace!" Mackenzie exclaimed.
"I'm really happy to hear that," Rebecca genially said.
There was a pause- a beat too long in the conversation. Jace quickly scrabbled to say something, anything to keep her talking. He desperately wanted her to stay. "So, uh, that means you-"
"We really should be going. Ice cream's going to melt," Rebecca casually cut him off. Her words sounded dispassionate, but her eyes revealed a warning. Annoyance was slowly brewing in them.
"Oh. Right." He felt like a deflated balloon, all the air leaking out as his shoulders sagged a little.
"It was nice to see you Jace," Mackenzie smiled sadly at him. She threw a pointed look at Rebecca.
Rebecca bit her bottom lip and nodded curtly. "Yes. Bye Jace."
Jace watched as they walked up the aisle and disappeared. He gripped his cart tightly until his knuckles turned white. All his emotions decided to flood him then. Happiness, anger, sadness, guilt all swirled around inside of him. He had pictured that meeting going differently. He always imagined that after he told her he was sober, that she'd want to try again. It was the reason they had broken up, wasn't it? he thought to himself. God he missed her.
Maybe seeing her again wasn't a good idea. It just brought back memories and a crappy future with her not in it. He hated himself then. He had let the best thing that had ever and would ever happen to him slip by because of stupidity. He thought of the last beer in the fridge, mocking him.
Jace dumped his groceries on top of his table, not caring about dinner anymore. He determinedly walked to his fridge. He yanked the door open and stared at the beer bottle intently. He stood there, thinking of her for a while before reaching in for it. She was the reason he had stopped drinking, but the reason he wanted to get drunk.
And there we go! Hope you guys liked it! If you haven't already, I urge you to at least check out the song that inspired this story, you won't regret it! Please comment and review with any thoughts or criticisms!