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Guess who's back... back again (;

Christian

I woke up later than expected the following morning. When I checked my bedside alarm, realization quickly settled in. My unintelligent ass had set the my alarm for seven in the evening, as opposed to seven in the morning.

What I hoped would be a relaxing and prepared start to the day, quickly turned into something hasty. I didn't even have the time to put on a suit, so I settled for a sweater and some khakis. This was just going to have to do.

When I made it downstairs, Nathaniel had already wrapped some breakfast burritos to go, and set them on the counter. There was a note attached to the foil that said..

Call your mother when you can. And bring back some avocados. I want to make guacamole.

My lips twitched up into a grin. Nathaniel was one of the few people that could send me out on errands like this.

Who was supposed to be paying who again? I thought to myself.

The note fit perfectly into my back pocket, as I grabbed the two burritos off the table, and made my way towards the garage.

-

It felt like I had been driving for eternity. Literally. I kept glancing at the time on the gps impatiently as I zig zagged through the traffic. Once traffic cleared from the congested areas of the city, and out into the country, the drive became easier.

Farm fields stretched out for miles ahead of me.

The facility was located out in the middle of what felt like nowhere. I decided upon this treatment center because Regional had assisted an old buddy of mine with getting clean years ago. Their programs worked, and the staff had just the right amount of backbone for a struggling addict. I appreciated how hands on and invested the facility made me feel during that process, and I wanted the same for Alex's mother.

There was an unavoidable amount of anxiety which started to build up inside of me as I neared the building. What was I even going to say to her? How was I going to convince her that she needed the treatment? These were questions I probably should have thought of before I left.

At this point, we were going to have to wing it.

The facility lot was generally empty for the most part. I was able to find parking near the front of the building, and as soon as I entered the treatment center, I was welcomed with a smile from the receptionist.

"Good morning, sir. How may I help you?" The woman asked. The name plate on her desk said Cindy Matthews.

"Hi Cindy." I returned the smile. "I believe I had scheduled a meeting with Sandy to see Mrs. Hamilton this morning." She quickly got to typing something into her computer.

"Yes, I do see that here. It looks as if Vanessa Hamilton is due to be discharged today. She is still in her room right now, while the last of her vitals are being checked. Let me walk you to her." Cindy replied, as she quickly sprung to her feet.

When I followed her into one of the secured hallways, memories of this place came flooding back to me. Not much had changed since the last time I'd been here, I noted. The intricate winding of the hallways still had this complicated feel to them. Regardless of how many times I walked down these corridors, I still managed to get myself lost.

"She is in room 107. First door to your right there, Mr. Ivanov."

"Thank you." I nodded to her, as she gave me one last smile and headed back the way we came.

The door was already propped open when I walked through. There was a nurse sitter next to a woman. She was just finishing up drawing blood. When her eyes caught mine, she gave me a smile. Vanessa also looked over at me.

"Right on time, Mr. Ivanov. I'm just going to run these samples to the lab and I'll be back in about thirty minutes or so. Sandy is currently in her office. I'll bring you to her when I return if that's okay?"

"That would be perfect, thank you." I nodded to her as she packed up her supplies and shimmied past me outside.

"Who are you?" Vanessa asked as soon as the nurse had disappeared. I took a seat in one of the chairs located across from her bed.

"My name is Christian. I'm a friend of your son." I replied. Her eyebrows furrowed as she processed my words.

"That nurse called you Mr. Ivanov. Do you work where my son works? At Ivanov Corporation?" Vanessa asked. My eyes cast down to her arm, and I noticed the multiple injection scars before she could pull her sleeve back down. The marks were also on her neck leading down to her shoulder. They made my skin crawl.

Just the thought of shooting up made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. I never understood how someone could do that to themselves with a needle. All that for a few hours of a high?

"Yes. I'm the CEO of Ivanov Corp." I replied. Vanessa's eyes got huge.

I noticed the resemblance between her and Alex's eyes. Besides those eyes, however, Alex and Vanessa looked close to nothing alike. Alex had brown hair, yet Vanessa's hair was bright blonde. Alex's features were chiseled and defined, Vanessa just looked sickly.

The bags underneath her eyes were the worst I'd seen.

"W-What? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm here to get you help. I was the one who brought you to this facility after your overdose a few days ago. They informed me that you were to be discharged today, but that you turned down rehab. I thought I'd pay you a visit to ask why that was."

Her face got tense at my words. "I don't need rehab, I'm fine. I just slipped up a little but I'm fine. I'm handing it. I don't need your charity." She spoke sternly.

"That's a fucking understatement if I ever heard one. You damn near died. What part of almost dying made you think you're okay? Was it the almost part? Or the dying?" I snapped back. The dark aggressive tone in my voice, made her visibly flinch. "What I'm offering here is a new life. Literally. If it wasn't for my inquiry into your whereabouts, my team wouldn't have even found you in time. Your body was turning cold when they discovered you laying in that alley."

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, then she closed it again. A few moments passed before words finally did form.

"I'm handling it." She said quietly.

On my soul, if this woman said she was handing it one more goddamn time, I was going to lose it.

"You aren't handling shit. You're homeless. You've been jumping between shelters the last year. Does your son know that? Has he seen you? Has he seen those fucking scars on your arms and neck? If this is what handling it looks like, then not handling it must be death itself." I completely snapped. "You've already put Alex through a shit load of hell, now you want to go and die on him?"

I saw Vanessa's eyes start to tear up.

But somehow, there wasn't a shred of fucks in me left to give for this woman.

"I can't afford rehab." She said in between sobs.

"Everything is being paid for by me. Even your hospitalization here. All you have to do is show up, and complete the work." I replied.

She fell silent for moments, as she pondered my offer.

"I have one condition if I do this-"

"Let me clarify this for you, ma'am." I cut her off. "You don't have a condition, you have a request. If I have to, I'll drag your ass to that rehabilitation center myself. I just prefer you'd go willingly." She game me a small hesitant nod.

"I'll check myself in to the treatment center, but I want to attend the Ivanov Gala this year. I want to see my son."

I leant back in my seat as I digested her words. If I brought this woman to the Gala, I wasn't sure how Alex was going to react... but I couldn't dump this woman back on the streets either. Especially after she got sober here. The beginning stages of sobriety was such a fragile thing. It could take the smallest bit of drugs, to tempt her.

Thus I was at a crossroads.

After a few minutes of thinking, I finally gave her nod.

"Alright then."

••

Hey lovelies! Hopefully y'all didn't die in my absence. I took time off for Thanksgiving and the holidays and such, but now your girl is pregnant with a galore of food babies, and fully rested- my truest form if I do say so myself. Hopefully everyone has one fantastic week of reflections. This book passed 800k reads and what I'm most grateful for, is every last one of y'all.

So thank you.

Xoxo


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