⢠One Month (and a half) Later â¢
Growing up, Oliver Scott's mother told him everyday that he was special. She told him he was perfect and better than the rest of the kids. However, almost like balancing an equation, his father made sure to let him know that he was worthless and incompetent, a waste of space and time. Of course he only said this when he was on his drunken rampages. The short amount of time he was sober (nine to five while he was at work) he remained silent as if Oliver wasn't even worth talking to. Sometimes Oliver believed that the angry rampages were better than the agonising silence.
His parents divorced, his mother remarried and his father got clean. Miraculously, his father actually accepted him after rehab and introduced him to the world of Scott Corp, a bank and stock brokerage firm where they made their billions. Suddenly, Oliver understood his father's alcoholism. As CEO of his self-made company, Ed Scott was under a lot of pressure. Of course it didn't justify his actions but still, it offered an explanation.
Meanwhile, Penelope Scott (née Ramos) remarried Steven Cheng who had been her therapist. Oliver could only imagine what happened at their sessions together. It was inappropriate and Oliver didn't approve. But the only good thing that came out of the marriage (aside from his mother's lifelong happiness) was Mai, his step sister who was also his best friend. Even after her bastard of a father kicked Oliver out of the family home over his 'raucous behaviour' (he threw one party where a few idiotic kids got alcohol poisoning and had to leave in an ambulance), Mai stuck with him. She was three years younger than him but seemed to hold way more wisdom.
"Oli," Mai sighed, taking yet another unsolicited swig from his whiskey decanter. "Just go apologise. It's your fault."
Oliver sighed in frustration and turned to face his sister angrily. "Don't you think I did that?! Nora doesn't want me. She made it clear." He grabbed the whiskey from his sister and gulped a bit too much down.
Nora Lawrence was the current cause of his heartbreak. His fiancée- well ex-fiancée- had decided to walk out on him after he came home high on cocaine. What he wished she would realise was that cocaine was normal in their social group. It was almost unavoidable. Maybe he shouldn't have threatened her or trashed the house after she left but still. She should have been more empathetic to his situation, his addiction. He couldn't help himself. Why couldn't she accept him for who he was, a loving fiancé who did cocaine occasionally? The cocaine didn't change the way he felt about her or the commitment he had to their relationship so why was she so uptight? She didn't have a job like him. She didn't understand the pressure of having your father breathe down your neck while giving you responsibilities that even people with more experience than him wouldn't be able to handle. He needed to blow off steam every once in a while and he was careful so he wouldn't overdose or do too much damage to his health. She didn't understand.
Mai scrunched her face after taking yet another gulp of whiskey.
"Stop drinking that! It's rare and expensive. Why are you here anyway?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "I can't buy alcohol for myself even though I'm only a month away from twenty one so I have to drink here-"
"Why are you drinking anyway?"
"Chill, Ol. Not all of us drink to suppress our issues. I'm just bored. And you haven't called in like a year-"
"It's been a week, Mai-"
"Whatever!" Mai grabbed her vintage Vuitton bag and grabbed a small, silver blister pack that was nearly empty except for four pink pills in it. "I'm worried about you. This is unethical but here take these. They're xannies from my high school stint in therapy. There was more but that shit is so easy to get addicted to. Take one now, stay off the booze and use its effect on you to think about what you're going to do. You keep moping around and it's driving me crazy."
"Sorry for not taking you into account while missing my ex partner of five years," Oliver said dryly.
"Ol, I'm serious! Either apologise to her or move on. I love Nora but at the end of the day all I want is what's best for you."
"Yeah, well I want Nora."
Mai rolled her eyes and began to walk towards the door. "Just promise me you're going to try to get over her. Don't do anything risky."
Oliver blew a raspberry at his sister. "Okay, mom." He looked at the pills ravenously and pocketed them quickly. His phone rang and he looked at his sister. "Can I answer this?"
Mai rolled her eyes at him and nodded.
Pressing 'accept', he put his phone to his ear and winked at his sister.
"Hello?"
"Hey. You still up for tonight?"
Oliver smiled at the sound of Charlie's voice. "Yeah. I'll meet you at the club."
"Cool. I'll bring the stuff. See you later."
Oliver let out a long sigh of satisfaction.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Mai asked.
Oliver grinned at his sassy sister and winked at her again. The reason he was smiling was because he associated Charlie with his favourite substance in the world; cocaine. So the stuff he would give him later on that day would make all of Oliver's sadness go away. He was certain of it
"No reason."
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"Come on, Oliver! Get off your phone and come dance!"
Oliver didn't bother look up at Charlie as he sent his eighth long-winded text to Nora, explaining how much he loved her.
Charlie groaned and moved away from the girl that was entertaining him with her dance moves. "Oliver! I came because of you! To cheer you up! I didn't even want to come because the last few times have been so messy!"
Charlie was right. The first time was when they met at Ivan's party but Oliver got so drunk that the entire night was just a blindspot in his memory. He vaguely remembered reuniting with Charlie but then his memory went blank up until he the moment he woke up beside Nora back in their home.
The second time they went out was perhaps the messiest. It ended up with Spencer and Charlie getting arrested. Of course that night was also quite a blur but nothing could get rid of the memory of Charlie's heartbroken face as an officer handcuffed him. After that they just stuck to staying at home and getting high.
Oliver sighed and finally slipped his phone into his back pocket. "Fine. But first we should go... dust our noses?"
Charlie rolled his eyes. "We already did that!"
"Come on! It's not a big deal! I won't tell Spencer, I promise."
"That's not... no! Ugh, why did I even agree to come clubbing with you! You're clearly not ready-"
"I am! I just need a fixer, that's all."
"You'll overdose!"
Oliver smirked and stepped very close to Charlie. His hand hovered over Charlie's signature fanny pack which was wrapped around his shoulders. "I'm invincible, Charlie. And that is a guarantee."
Charlie grabbed his hand to prevent him from opening the bag himself. "Don't ever touch the bag."
Oliver shook Charlie's hand off of his and sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll have to resort to some glorious shots. Want one?"
"Haven't you had like eight already?"
"Yes. Far too little."
"That's not what I-"
Oliver grinned and walked away before Charlie could fit in another word. He ordered four shots and leaned back on the bar as the bartender worked her magic. He faced the dance floor where Charlie was dancing with the same girl. He looked like he was having the time of his life and Oliver envied him. He wished he could let loose like that. But even under the influence of all the pills and potions, Oliver could never just have fun.
He was technically single so it wouldn't be cheating. He vowed to never cheat again after the Madeline scandal. And, true to his word, he remained faithful until the ultimate end. But no one in the club caught his eye. No one could compare to Nora. She was so wonderful...
Oliver laughed as he spotted Charlie doing some strange robot move. If he wasn't so good-looking, no girl would even glance at him. He was just too wild. Or maybe that was what girls liked? Maybe it wasn't his beautiful face that attracted them. Maybe, it was how he could make them laugh. He was fun to be around, unlike Oliver.
"Here you go!" The bartender chirped, placing four neon coloured shots in front of him.
Oliver looked at the shots then back at Charlie. He wanted to be like Charlie. He wanted to let go like Charlie. His hand reached into his pocket and fumbler before coming up with a half empty pack of pills between his fingers. Mai said they would help. He sighed in resignation as he popped out two pills, downing each one with a shot. Hopefully they'd do something. After finishing off the alcohol in front of him, Oliver took a deep breath and walked over to Charlie.
"Are you happy now?" Charlie asked.
Oliver winked. "Not yet. Give me a few minutes."
As soon as the alcohol and xanax were whisked together in his stomach, Oliver would be happy. He would forget all about Nora.
⢠⢠â¢
"OLIVER? Oh god..."
Charlie shook him again but Oliver's eyes remained shut. He placed his hand in front of Oliver's mouth to see if he was still breathing and thankfully he could feel his shaky and soft breath.
"Ew! Is he dead?" The girl who was dancing with Charlie asked. Oliver had collapsed as they were all dancing together and the look on the poor girl's face made Charlie feel even more concerned.
Oliver was still conscious but barely. He could feel Charlie's hands gripping onto his arm and he could hear him panicking. But he couldn't open his mouth to reply. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness.
"No. He's breathing."
"Okay, should I call nine-one-one?"
"Yes. We need to get him to a hospital."
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I should just take a moment to clarify that this book does not romanticise mental illness or drug addiction in any way so if anyone feels like it has please let me know so I can reassess some details.
Also Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Stay safe. Love you guys â¡
Love,
-hexed