Chapter 32

When Jade woke two days later she wasn't surprised to see she had passed out on the floor again. Vomit clung to her clothes despite changing her shirt 2 days ago. She didn't remember, but she must have dragged herself to her room changed her shirt and pants and dragged herself back to her bottles.

However, changing did nothing as piss and vomit still clung to her clothing. She smelt ripe, but after a few sips of her precious magic liquid, she couldn't smell the stench coming off her. She pushed herself up into an upright position and blindly searched for the pain pills she knew were floating around.

After popping 2 pills and drowning them in what she assumed was tequila, Jade closed her eyes and waited for the pain to stop. Once she could open her eyes and not feel like there was a stabbing pain, she blindly scrolled through her phone searching for the app that allowed her to buy more alcohol and have it delivered to her door. After starring at the screen for like 20minutes waiting for it to come in focus, she ordered more alcohol which would arrive by lunchtime.

While she waited she drank the last of what she had left and when the doorbell rang she realised, she had no way of getting what she needed. The door handle was too high for her to reach up and grab and her arms were still too weak to haul herself up onto a chair.

Groaning she dragged her useless body into her bedroom grabbed a coat hanger and crawled pathetically back to the front door. She bent the coat hanger and used the duct tape she found to attach it to the end of a broom. Her door was already unlocked, and she prayed this worked.

She reached up with her broom and was surprised when it worked first go. She looked both ways making sure no one was around as she quickly dragged in her new box of goodies and quickly shut her door.

Her body was already starting to shake and she all she could feel was pain, despite the medication she took this morning. Her head was hurting as memories started to flood her every waking thought. So, the moment the door was closed she didn't even think twice before she cracked open the first bottle. As the liquor burned its way down her throat, her mind started to become blank until she entered the state where nothing existed, but a plane of emptiness. 

So Jade kept drinking until she forgot who she was as a person and only then, was she able to take a deep calming breath. 

***

Marco and Marcus both looked at each other and frowned when they heard the doorbell from next door ring. No one had visited Jade in just over a week and a half and they were both wondering who the hell was ringing her doorbell.

"Don't Marcus. If she wants to push us away that's her choice. We can't go running over there every time." Marcus grumbled to himself. This is why he didn't enjoy getting involved with people because he was the one who always ended up getting hurt.

"I fucking wish I could go back in time." Marco thought the same thing many times. Anything to stop the events that had occurred that led them all into this predicament. They were all struggling. He knew Jade was struggling the most, but he hated how selfish she had become. She couldn't see that she was hurting everyone around her, she couldn't see what it was doing to everyone every time she said she wanted to die.

Jade had turned into someone he didn't recognise, and he knew if she continued down this path she would really have no one. He looked towards his brother and found another drink in his hand. This change was hard on everyone, but soon they would go back to work and most likely another tour and then who would look after Jade. Marco sighed rubbing his head at a headache that was slowly forming. 

"I know, but we can't, we can only move forward." 

***

Later the evening when Marcus got back from dinner with some of his friends he stopped by Jade's door. He knew he should give her the space his brother demanded she needed, but he told himself that he just needed to make sure she was okay. Pulling out his spare key it surprised him when he saw the door wasn't locked and knew he would tell Jade about the importance of locking her door.

The first thing he noticed when he walked inside was the musky smell that lingered in the air. It smelt like no one had opened the windows and the smell of piss and vomit clung to the inside of his nostrils. As he took his first step in, his boots came in contact with an empty bottle that he picked up and smelled.  

One whiff of the strong alcohol caused Marcus to pull it away from his nose and really glance around the room. The place was filled with empty glass bottles and broken glass. He could see stains on the floor and he couldn't tell if it was the piss he smelt or stains from the alcohol that had spilled.

He saw Jade's chair turned over and pills scattering across the floor and coffee table. The more he looked around the room the more he felt his temper rising. His worry for Jade started to disappear and was replaced with blinding hot anger and what he saw next caused him to snap and see red.

Never in his life had he felt an anger so strong for one person. Not even when his ex cheated on him and not even when his best friend killed himself, but seeing Jade passed out on the floor covered in vomit and piss cause his anger to spike to new levels he didn't even know existed.

"What the fuck." His deep voice bellowed out and his brother stopped next door and got up wondering what had made him brother sound so angry.

"Get, the, fuck, up." Marcus gently kicked Jade's side and watched as she stirred and reached for the bottle that was still in her hand.

"What the fuck." She groaned and sat up while taking a swing of whatever was in her hand with her eyes still closed unaware of Marcus standing in front of her. Marcus stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and turned around when he heard his brother come into the room and halt at what he too saw.

"Take one more swing of that and I'll put it through the fucking wall, with you following closely behind." He was done being the nice guy, he was done trying to understand what she was going through. Jade needed a kick up the fucking backside and if she hated him for it so be it.

Jade was still coming round wondering why the fuck she was up. She once again didn't remember passing out, but the foul taste that lingered in her mouth told her she had been sick again, something she had become accustomed too. She went to take another swing of her drink to get rid of the pounding in her head when she heard a deep and angry voice.

Opening her eyes the bright light blinded her, wondering who the fuck turned on the lights. She blinked a few times and when she could finally focus she saw a furious Marcus and Marco standing before her. She gave them both a sly smile saluting her bottle before taking a sip. She watched with a flash like reflex as Marcus grabbed the bottle out of her hand and threw it across the room.

Jade watched it shatter on the wall as dark liquor ran down the wall. She felt her heartache as she watched her precious medication waste away much like she was. She glanced up at Marcus with sluggish movements and saw just how angry he was. The veins in his arms were straining under his clenched fist and his eye held a fire that had her cowering in fear and lust at the same time.

"Come to join my party." She thought her words were clear, however, Marcus could barely understand a word she was saying she was that drunk.

"Just, shut the fuck up." Jade rested her head against her couch and closed her eyes and stretched her arms out hoping to find a bottle she could use to drink her problems away or drink herself stupid to avoid this situation.

"What, the fuck are you thinking." Jade just waved her arms around trying to whack the buzzing noise that was floating around her ears.

"I weed another dwink." Marcus and Marco both watched as she tried to blindly search for another drink.

"Touch that bottle and I swear to god-" Jade glared at Marcus as her body started to crave the burning sensation of liquid settling in her stomach.

"Why do you care? You all left me. Go, leave, let me drink until I die, please." Marcus shook his head as he didn't understand a single thing she had just said.

"You are living in your own piss and vomit. How long?" Jade cringed at his harsh tone that rattled through her head. She wasn't drunk enough to deal with him and his mood swings, so she looked towards his brother who had the same expression.

"Why does it matter?" Again Marcus struggled to understand what the fuck she was trying to say.

"Right, get up." Jade just laughed, how was she meant to do that she was a cripple.

"How?" She was still laughing as Marcus all but, threw her chair at her. Jade hissed when she saw the devil's trap. She would rather shoot herself then get back into that chair.

"Get up." Jade shook her head as she started to crawl. Marcus and Marco watched as Jade pathetically crawled her way through piss, vomit and alcohol.

"I fucking said get into your chair, not crawl around like an average whore." Jade glared at Marcus and spat on the floor.

"Go fuck yourself." That was the first clear sentence she could form that both the brothers could understand.

"Oh trust me kitten, you are doing a marvellous job of that all by yourself." Jade continued to crawl until she could reach her bottle. She smiled at how close she was, only for Marcus to kick the bottle across the room.

"Give it to me," Jade begged as Marcus picked up the next closest bottle to Jade and waved it in front of her face. She was so distracted by the bottle in his hand she didn't realise Marco was emptying the rest of her stash down the sink. 

"You want this," He waved teasing her. She was ready to fight him for it. She would do whatever it took to get her hands on the bottle her body was craving.

"Please." She begged. She didn't care how desperate she looked, she needed that bottle. The pressure inside her head was building and soon she would feel the onslaught of pain and memories that were coming back.

Soon her mind would be so wrapped up in the darkness that she wouldn't know which way was up and down. Drinking made her forget. It made her forget who she was, what she was supposed to be doing. It allowed for her body to be in a constant state of numbness that she craved as much as the bottle that was in Marcus's hand.

It was her life support and without it, she would die, and there was Marcus waving it around toying with her tempting her with her golden ticket to escaping this world into one where nothing mattered.

Marcus watched as Jade begged and pleaded with him to give her the bottle as he watched his brother shake his head as he emptied the last from her house.

"No." He walked over to the sink and knew Jade was crawling behind him and he stopped and turned around to face her.

"You did this to yourself." Jade watched in slow motion as he tipped the capless bottle upside down and watched every drop painfully disappear down the sink into areas she could not reach.

"No." She yelled and tried to stand up to stop what was happening. However, she was too slow and forgot her legs don't work, so when she fell to the floor she grabbed onto Marcus's trying to yank them to get him to stop.

"Stop, please, no. I need that." Soon the bottle was empty and Jade cried in anguish at what he had done. It was only then she noticed the other bottle on the countertop, and how they to were empty. 

"What have you done?" She screamed and started to frantically crawl to find what she needed.

"No, no no," She opened up cupboards and found them all empty. She found a bottle and brought it to her lips to find it also empty.

"No." She yelled again and threw the empty bottle across the room and heard it shatter.

Marco and Marcus both just watched Jade until Marcus had enough of her trying to crawl around. Marco felt his heartbreaking at how broken Jade really was. Many soldiers had a hard time adjusting when coming back from tours. Many drank to forget. Though when drinking failed, they turned to drugs. He had seen too many soldiers become homeless from addiction, just so for a few moments every day they could forget and get some resemblance of peace.

"Put me down," Jade screamed throwing her hands around as Marcus picked her up and started walking back to their place.

"You fucking stink. You are covered in your own filth. You kitten are going for a shower." Jade screamed the whole way to their apartment next door. That another neighbour poked his head out to see what all the goddamn noise was.

Marcus tried not to breathe in Jade's scent as he carried her because she fucking reeked. Her smell was so putrid he was trying his best not to gag. He wasn't known to have a weak stomach, but Jade was so ripe it gave his cast-iron stomach a run for its money.

"Can you shut the fuck up!" Marcus growled as Jade was still screaming and yelling nonsense again. Marcus sighed as he finally stepped over into his place and Jade stopped yelling only to hear retching before his chest was covered in warm, slick, wet, chunky vomit. Marcus cringed and gaged at the smell and feel of Jade's vomit all over him. He looked down to see that Jade had passed out in his arms again and was snoring.

"That's fucking disgusting." His brother retched, and he threw a towel onto their couch as Marcus dumped Jade onto it, not caring if it woke her up, however, she was out stone cold. Marcus took off his vomit clad shirt and threw it straight in the bin knowing, there was no way he would bother washing it.

"She is a fucking mess," Marco stated passing his brother a bowl in case Jade was sick again.

"You don't fucking say." Marcus didn't care if he woke Jade, she was going for a shower. He would shower he awake or passed out but either way, she was having a shower because if he had to linger around her stench any longer he would throw up himself.

"I will start the shower. Make sure she is still breathing when I come back." Marco watched as his brother walked away and he sat down as far away from Jade was possible. He heard the shower start and soon his brother was back.

Marcus looked down at Jade and felt nothing, but blinding, white-hot anger. He picked her dead weight up and wasn't surprised when she didn't move. He took her into the shower and sat her on the floor before stripping her of her clothing.

Once Jade was naked Marcus left the clothes in a corner of the shower and took off his own pants that were also covered in vomit. He then began washing Jade making sure he scrubbed every inch of her filthy body.

By the time he was done he had washed her hair 4 times and her body 3 before he deemed Jade clean. Jade didn't stir once throughout the whole process as she snored softly in her alcohol-induced coma. He quickly washed, before wrapping and a towel around his waist and stripping off his wet underwear.

He grabbed another towel and wrapped it around Jade hair and another around her body before taking her into his room. He wanted to make her sleep on the floor, but he wasn't that much of a cold-hearted bastard. Marcus unceremoniously dumped Jade on his bed and left her while he quickly changed into some fresh clothing.

When he came back into his room, he took a minute to really look at Jade. She had lost a lot of weight these past weeks that she was almost skin and bone. He knew her liquid diet wasn't any help, and it made him so angry. Not only at Jade, but himself for not checking in on her sooner. He should have known something was wrong, instead every day he walked past her door and did nothing. Now, look at where it had gotten them.

"Here I thought you might want some of her clean clothes." Marco passed Marcus Jade's clothes which he helped his brother get Jade into.

"I've also hired a cleaner to clean her place. It is disgusting." Marcus nodded his head, and both brothers fell into silence as they watched Jade in her self-induced coma.

"This will not be easy. I think she needs professional help. She needed it months ago, and we didn't push her enough." Marcus agreed, but first, he was going to absolutely give it Jade the moment she woke up, hangover or not he would tell her exactly how he felt and it would not be pretty.