ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 ~ Noah Bridges

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Kaia's POV 

Over the past few weeks, me and Noah had gotten closer. We had gone out on more dates and he comes over to my house at times. When I'm around Noah I can be myself. I don't have to pretend I'm someone I'm not. Tonight I'm going to the game with Jackson tonight. Afterward, he invited me to hang out with the team. 

I've also taken a lot more time off from work to get myself back together and be with my family. I have lived in Georgia since I was 4, but I wasn't born here. I was born in Maryland. My mom moved here with my dad when I was 4 because our life in Maryland wasn't the best. 

My grandmother, grandfather, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all live in Maryland. The whole family gets together at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and sometimes the 4th of July. We host everything at my grandmother's house which is huge. 

I took the next 2 weeks off due to some possible traveling. Beforehand I made sure all my employees knew how to work everything and do everything. I told them to only call me in an absolute emergency. My mom's brother hasn't been doing good lately. He's an alcoholic and has been suffering from severe cirrhosis. He's been to the hospital at least 5 times in 4 years. had many procedures but nothing is working. My grandmother his mother told me to be ready for the day it happens which they're saying it should be soon. 

My uncle was my best friend I can remember him traveling with us, the cookouts, parties, holidays. All the amazing things with him. he never failed to make us laugh and smile. I can remember all the times we would fish together, hunt together, surf together. We were 2 peas in a pod no one could ever separate us. I was about 19-20 when his drinking got bad. he went to read 2 years ago for a month. When he was released he did amazing. Then we found liquor bottles in his room. I hated thinking about how I was going to lose him soon. I had never thought about but now it haunts me at night. 

I haven't told Noah about this yet because I don't need him to worry about me, I want him to be focused on his dream, not me. What makes this harder for me is all I've seen through it. When I go home during summer to visit with family I did things I've never thought I would have to do. I've had to administer CPR, kick down doors, and clean up massive amounts of blood, all because of a drug. 

My uncle was such an amazing man. He went to school in Texas to work in the elevator union. He was going to marry an amazing woman until she found out about his drinking. They had bought this beautiful house and we're gonna have the most amazing wedding in the whole world. Until she left him. Him getting dumped, his father leaving him, and other things combined made him drink so much. He never wanted to talk about the pain, all he could do was take a swig of the liquor. 

Our whole family tried to talk him away from drinking but it had the most powerful hold on him. I swore to myself the day I saw in the hospital room looking dead that I would never touch alcohol till the day I die. Seeing what I've seen is something you'll never forget. Yes, he may not be dead now but behind his dark brown eyes, he's been dead for years. Just breathing in a corpse that looks alive. Sometimes I'll get text from him saying how much he hates his life and how he's gonna end it. That's something you never ever wanna see. 

He told me that he wanted a funeral, not anything fancy. Just something simple to honor him and to show how much of an amazing person he was. 

I heard my phone ring from the kitchen, I picked it up and it was my grandmother. I said hello she said it back. The next few words that came out of her mouth were the worst thing in the world. He had died. But they brought him back and he was hospitalized. She said if I wanna say goodbye I need to get down there now. I hung up the phone and fell to the ground sobbing. 

My heart shattered, it felt like someone took it out of my chest and ripped it into pieces not bothering to try and put it back. I called my mom and told her the news. We were leaving early tomorrow and heading to Maryland. 

I booked my ticket and mom booked Jack's, hers, and dad's. I packed 3 outfits and toiletries. I threw it into a book bag. I have no idea what to do about my animals. I have no one to feed them. We booked the earliest flights. We have no idea how much longer he has but I know one thing it's not long. 

This is the finale, There won't be another hospital visit with him. No more. 

*RING* 

My doorbell rang and when I opened it there stood Noah with my favorite flowers. Peonies. 

"Hi, what are you doing here?" I asked 

"Jackson called me and said you need someone at the moment," he told me with a sorrowful expression. 

"Did he go into details?" I questioned letting him in 

"No, he just said right now it's not best for you to be alone," he told me handing me the flowers 

"That's the only thing Jack has been right about," I said with a slight airy laugh. 

"If it's okay with you can I ask what's wrong, You don't have to tell me," he said 

"My uncle is really sick and we are pretty sure he's gonna pass away this weekend," I told him with tears falling out of my eyes 

"Kaia I'm so sorry," he said hugging me 

"It really sucks, my heart is physically hurting," I told him in between sobs 

"This is horrible, I'm so so so sorry," He said again 

My tears were now soaking his shirt when something came into my mind 

"Noah, so you think you can feed my pets while I'm gone?" I asked 

"Yeah how long are you gonna be gone for?" he asked 

"About 3 days I will leave you with a spare key and instructions," I told him 

"Alright," he said 

"Thank you so much," I told him 

"It's the least I can do for you," He told me 

A/N

Sorry, there's no meme for this chapter. This was a very serious chapter for me. 

This chapter is something I went through in real life. 2 years ago was the hardest day of my life. Im so sorry to anyone who knows someone struggling with an addiction. None of the things mentioned in this chapter are lies, fake, or stretched in any way. I believe my uncle's story can help others. My uncle was such an amazing man, and on August 7th, 2021 god brought an angel home. This chapter was very hard to write but it came out so easy because I want people to know that they aren't alone with addiction. Addiction is horrible, it isn't easy to battle. some people are able to get through and others are not.