tw: mentions of drug abuse and addiction + mentions of verbal abuse
— • — • —
Enough was enough when Michael came home drunk and high for the first time.
Enough was enough when Michael started to angry while he was intoxicated.
Enough was enough when he took it out on Luke.
It hit Michael that enough was enough when Luke was sobbing and begging for him to stop doing this to not only him but himself.
Michael started out just using weed, which Luke was okay with at first. Until it got worse, and marijuana turned into cocaine.
Michael would get verbally abusive when he added alcohol into the mix. He would do things to Luke he promised he'd never do, and destroyed whatever trust was left between them.
Luke was broken and Michael was the one who broke him.
Michael knew he needed help, but it's a lot easier said than done.
It took him months of convincing himself to get checked into rehab.
He didn't tell Luke he was going. Michael thought it would be better and easier for him to just leave. He did leave a tear stained note on Luke's dresser before he left.
The day that Luke came home from work and read the letter was the best and worst day of his life.
No matter how much Michael abused him, he was the love of his life.
Every now and then Luke would find himself reading the note Michael left him. It was the last form of communication the pair had with each other.
Luke,
By the time you get home I'll be gone. I went somewhere to get help and to fix the mess I've made. I don't think I can repair all of the things I've broken but maybe this is a start. I need to do this for myself. I'm doing it for you and for us and our future if we even still have one, but if I don't do this for myself then I won't have any chance in succeeding. I'm sorry for the hell on earth I've put you through. I'm sorry for all of the times I've lied to you and said I was clean. I don't even expect to see you by the time I get out, and if I don't, then I need you to know that no apology will make up for what I put you through. Everything was perfect until I fucked it up, and now I'm trying to fix it. I love you with everything I have. I'm sorry I ruined what we had, when what we had was so perfect. I'll be gone for about 6 months. I hope during this time you can heal the wounds I've inflicted on you. I love you with all of me.
— Michael
Luke would look at the calendar and count down the weeks Michael had been in rehab. He always wondered how Michael had been doing, if he was in pain.
The blond stopped crying for Michael a week after he got the note. Luke was the victim, why should he cry for the man who ruined everything?
Reality hit him like a ton of bricks when Michael's mom called him and told him that Michael was out of rehab.
He didn't know what to do, so he cried for the first time in six months.
He didn't know what kind of person would be coming back. Or if he was been coming back.
Michael's mother said that if he wanted to see him then he could come over. Michael didn't want to make Luke feel trapped by showing up at their once shared house.
Luke agreed and found himself standing outside Michel's childhood home. His mom answered the door and excused herself before calling her son over.
Luke waited alone by the doorway until he heard footsteps enter the foyer.
