It was the dead of night and the house was completely still and silent. Not a single light burned nor a sound uttered. Brielle was tucked away in the comfy bed in the guestroom, the shades closed but slivers of moonlight sneaking in through the cracks. The blankets on the bed rose and fell softly with her breathing and her long, blonde hair was fanned across the pillow.

Next to the bed, lying on the nightstand was a black cellular phone that Alex had given her as a Christmas gift. He’d insisted she take it after she’d opened the box and deemed it too much money. She had a job now and she would need a phone in case she was away from the house, or him, and something happened. He’d even been sweet enough to program it with all the important numbers; him, his mom, her doctor, the hospital, his bandmates in case she wasn’t able to get a hold of him and Lily.

Brielle had been touched though she’d decided that she was going to take over the bill once she was able to get hold of the money. She just hadn’t informed Alex yet because she was pretty certain he wouldn’t let her. He was so sweet and great to take care of her, but she wanted to make her own way in life. And she was trying to get him to understand; that was the tricky part.

Riiinnnggg

The phone lit up and the sound of its ringtone filled the room, cutting through the silence like a knife. The blonde in the bed jerked then rolled to her side and pulled her pillow over her head. It couldn’t be time to get up yet; it felt like she’d just gotten in the bed.

Riiinnnggg

It took two more after that one before Brielle realized that the sound was her new phone and not some alarm. Pushing the pillow away, she sat up in the bed and grabbed the cell from the table. Alex’s name flashed on the screen and her brows drew together. She hadn’t expected him to be gone as long as he was, but the situation was pretty serious and if Renee had needed him to stay, then he would stay.

Riiinnnggg

She jerked and nearly dropped the phone. Fumbling, she found the answer button and pressed it then lifted it to her ear. “Hello?” She sounded groggy and she cleared her throat then tried again, “Hello?”

“Wha’re you doooin?” Alex’s voice flowed over the line in a drunken state.

Brielle lifted a brow. “Alex?”

“That’d be me,” he slurred.

She frowned. “You’re drunk.”

“Yes, yes, I am and it feels soooo goood. Goooood. Gooood. What a weird word.”

The blonde sighed and rubbed some sleep from her eyes. “Where are you?”

“I’m right here. Where’re you?” His words slurred together and she had to listen closely to make sure she was hearing him correctly.

“I’m in bed. Are you still at Renee’s?”

No response.

In the background, Brielle could make out some horrible sounding music. “Alex?”

“Hm?”

“Where are you?” She spoke slowly, annunciating each word. Her patience was wearing thin with his drinking and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it. If he thought getting wasted was going to make him feel any better about Renee and the baby then he was seriously mistaken. He needed some help if this was going to be a regular thing like it seemed to be heading toward.

“Ummmm…I’m watchin’ this fucken hot chick take her clothes off.”

She frowned again and looked to her phone. “Excuse me?”

“You could be’a stripper, ya know. You’re pretty hot too. This chick has some big tits.”

His words disgusted her and she nearly hung up on him. “Why did you call me?”

“Oh, right,” he fell silent again.

“Alex, I’m about five seconds away from hanging up this phone.”

“I think I need’a ride,” he finally managed out.

She sighed. “Where are you?”

“A strip club. Hey, you could work here!”

She ignored his drunken comment. “I have no idea where any strip clubs are.”

“Well, I’ma tell you. It’s…shit, I don’t know, I’m too drunk ta think.”

Brielle sighed and rubbed her forehead. “What’s the name of the club?”

“Indulgence. And lemme tell you …they innndulllgee you for sure.”

“I don’t really care to hear about that. You need someone to pick you up?” She had no idea how she was going to do that; she didn’t know where this place was and she couldn’t just drive around LA looking for it. Besides, she had no transportation and she wasn’t comfortable driving any of his vehicles. Least not in the middle of the night by herself.

“I nee’a ride, I don’t think I can stand up. My legs are all wonky and shit.”

“How am I supposed to pick you up when I don’t know where this place is?”

“Hmmmmmm.”

She could just see him trying to look all thoughtful and not fall off his barstool and had she not been annoyed with what he was doing, she might have found some humor in that mental picture. “I’ll figure it out. Just…don’t go anywhere, okay?”

“Hell no, Foxy Lady just came on stage and I wanna see this.” Then he hung up without a goodbye.

Brielle sighed and lowered the phone, pressing the end call button. Great, what was she going to do? Waking Denise and asking her or Tony for help was not an option and neither was taking off on her own. If she were a mean person she’d leave him there, he deserved it for his behavior. But she couldn’t do that.

Tapping her finger to her chin, she began to scroll through the contacts in her phone. Maybe she could try one of his band mates. He had told her they were like brothers, so one of them would have to help her. Besides, who would turn down a crying pregnant woman which she could do if the conversation wasn’t heading in the direction it should be. But which one to call?

Nick would probably be the best choice. If she remembered correctly, the others were married and she would hate to wake them in the middle of the night. Not that she was happy to be waking Nick. Well, if he didn’t want to help, maybe he’d at least give her some directions.

Biting her bottom lip and sending up a prayer that he wouldn’t be upset with her interrupting him, or waking him, she pressed the button to call him then lifted the phone to her ear.

Nick answered after the third ring. “Lo’?”

“Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s Brielle; um…Alex’s friend.”

“Oh, hey…what’s up?”

She sighed and tucked some hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but um…I just got a call from Alex and he’s in desperate need of a ride.”

“AJ is?”

“AJ? No, Al- ooh, you mean his nickname,” she lightly smacked her forehead, “yes, Alex needs a ride. Apparently, he’s at some …strip club and he’s completely wasted.”

Nick gave a sigh. “Again?”

Brielle arched a brow. “He’s done this before?”

“Shit,” he dragged the word out. “You didn’t know about that.”

“Erm, no, but you can tell me all about it on the way to go get him. Was I interrupting anything?”

Nick chuckled low. “Nah, I was messing in my studio. You’re at his place, right?”

“Yes, but don’t ring the bell, his mom and step dad are sleeping. I’ll meet you outside. Thanks.” And then she hung up before he could respond. Frowning at the thought of Alex having done this before, she quickly slipped from the bed to get dressed and meet up with Nick.

Twenty minutes later, Nick pulled up into Alex’s drive. True to her word, Brielle was waiting on the porch. Quickly, she made her way off it and down the walk to the drive. Nick leaned across the seats and pushed the door of his SUV open and she slipped up and inside.

“Thanks for doing this,” she greeted him with, settling into the seat and pulling the seat belt around her and snapping it in place.

Nick waited until she was ready before putting the vehicle into drive and swinging around the circular drive. “He’d do it for me.”

She nodded. “Has he?”

“A few times,” he chuckled low and shook his head, “but I try not to do that anymore.”

“I don’t blame you.” She glanced around the SUV then turned her sleepy blue eyes his way. “When did he do this last?”

“About a week and a half ago; after he found out that Renee was pregnant.”

“That’s the night he never came home.”

The male in the vehicle glanced to her. “Yeah, he called me and I took him to my place. He was drunk as a skunk.”

Brielle frowned. “I worry about him.”

Nick met her gaze. “I do too.” Then he blinked. “Um, where exactly are we going? That might help me.”

“Oh,” she chuckled low, “um, Indulgence I think is the name. And just a warning, he’s pretty wasted. He was telling me I should be a stripper and if I hadn’t stopped him, he mighta given me a play by play on some of the dancers.”

Nick shook his head. “He’s back to his usual.”

“His usual?”

“Uh huh, Indulgence is the club he’d go to back in the day.”

“Back in the day?”

Nick glanced to her then back to the road. “Yeah, back before he got himself on the right track and got sober.”

Brielle tried not to look as shocked as she felt. “He…wait…what?”

Her companion felt the blood drain from his face and his heart slowly rose into his throat. “You um…didn’t know about that?”

“What is there to know?”

Now he felt like a complete ass and knew Alex wouldn’t be very happy with him. Well, it wasn’t entirely his fault; Aje should have told her about this or at the very least, told Nick she had no idea and he wasn’t being completely honest with her. “Um…” he shifted his hands on the steering wheel, “about ten years ago, Aje wasn’t in a very good place; he was using more than just alcohol and heading down a very, very bad path.”

“He told me he did drugs in the past, but he said he’s been clean for a long time now.”

“That’s partly the truth.” Nick slowed for a red light and turned her way again. “He isn’t doing drugs now, least I hope he’s not. He’s just drinking again. Sometimes, Alex has a really hard time handling certain situations and so he falls back into the familiarity of the alcohol and how it helps him feel better.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “He…I…” she paused and was quiet for a moment, just trying to gather her thoughts. “He told me he just drinks occasionally. I…had no idea it was a problem for him. I mean, I thought it was weird that he didn’t want his mom to know…” she trailed off and a frown creased her brow.

“He doesn’t want his mom to know because then he’ll have to admit he has a problem. He’s trying to pretend he doesn’t. Alex is very stubborn and you can’t just tell him that he’s got issues or problems, he’ll do his damndest to prove you wrong.” Nick sighed some then accelerated through the green light once it changed.

“Heh, stubborn is putting it mildly. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who is as strong willed as Alex. And I probably never will.” She tilted her head. “How long has he been drinking again?” Then suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped. “Ooh no! Was this something I caused?”

Nick frowned at that and looked to her. “Unless you put the drink in his hand and forced him to take it; no it’s not. He makes his own decisions and he knows the consequences.”

“When did he start drinking again?”

“Alex and alcohol have a very sordid relationship,” Nick explained. “He got sober in 2001, but relapsed again pretty quickly. Then got sober again and was good for awhile…and one day, he still hasn’t said why, got drunk. Since then, it’s been touch and go. He’ll be clean awhile then one day, drink himself into a stupor.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell me this.” She would be fuming if she wasn’t feeling sorry for him. The man needed help and she should have been smarter to know something was up with how secretive he was being about it. Shoving her out the window should have been her first clue.

“He doesn’t like to tell a lot of people. He’s very sensitive and he’s very scarred and opening himself up to that emotion and letting people in past all his defenses is hard for him.”

Brielle sighed and rubbed her forehead. “So, what do we do? Stage an intervention?”

“Heh, only if we want to see how fast he can hightail it out of there. Then disappear for a week.” Nick shook his head. “No, we have to be delicate and not make it seem like we’re backing him against a wall. You push Alex, he pushes back harder.”

“I knew something wasn’t right. He nearly dragged me to a bar with him the other day. Luckily, I talked him out of it.”

Nick’s brows rose. “You talked him out of drinking?” When she nodded, he shook his head and continued, “I can’t believe that. Usually he gets an idea in his head and he does it, regardless of the consequences.”

“Well, I was able to talk him down then we went to the beach and flew kites.”

His brows rose yet again. “You flew kites?” He glanced to her. “Alex flew a kite?”

“Yes,” she chuckled, “why is that so hard to believe? He even bought one the other day and he’s been flying it in the backyard.”

“I…” he chuckled and shook his head, “I’m just impressed is all. You’ve begun to tame the wild beast.”

“I’m taming him?”

“You’re keeping him from drinking; I’d say that’s taming him.”

“Heh, it didn’t work tonight.”

Nick sighed some and made a left turn onto a narrow road with a broken street light. “What happened?”

She wet her bottom lip and shifted her gaze around at their surroundings. “This area doesn’t look very safe.”

“It’s not. Indulgence is probably the seediest joint in all of LA and yes, Alex would make it his hangout.” He glanced to her again. “But what happened tonight that made him do this?”

“I dunno if I should tell you. I mean, it’s not my place and I don’t want to upset him.”

He nodded. He had to respect that. “I get that.”

“Good.” She smoothed her hands over her legs. “I can say, that I think his problem with drinking stems from his relationship with Renee; she’s toxic and not healthy in the least bit for him.”

“Don’t I know that. We’ve tried to talk him out of this marriage thing he wants to do with her too many times to count; but there’s only so much you can do or say. And no one wants to send him into eloping with her so we just…let it drop.”

She picked at her jeans. “Um, I kinda was able to help him see that marrying her wasn’t the right thing to do. They broke up the other day.”

He nearly drove them off the road and into a telephone pole. “You’re shitting me!?”

“I’m completely serious. They broke up and his publicist stressed him out and then he wanted to go drinking. And I talked him out of it and we flew kites at the beach instead.”

Nick whistled lowly. “You are a keeper and he better never let you go.”

She blushed. “Um…thank you, I think.”

“You just keep his ass in line like you’re doing.”

Brielle watched as he slowed the SUV and pulled into a rundown parking lot with cracks in the pavement and a sign that glowed Indulgence but the last e was not lit correctly so really it read, Indulgenc.

“I’m trying to help him out,” she spoke, tearing her eyes away from the horribly decorated exterior of the building and knowing the inside was probably even worse. “He’s dealing with some pretty horrible stuff right now, so it’s hard, ya know.”

“Must have something to do with Renee if it’s sent him here.” Nick maneuvered the vehicle into an empty spot and put it in park.

“I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it once he’s sober.” She studied the dark parking lot. “You do realize I’m not waiting out here for you, right?”

Nick shut the engine off and looked to her. “Is it safe for you to go inside? The place is like a huge smoke cloud.”

“I won’t be in there long and it’s better than sitting out here and being carjacked or kidnapped or worse.” Horrible images ran through her head and she shuddered then unbuckled. “I’m sticking to you like super glue sticks to your fingers.”

“And everything else.” Nick chuckled then climbed from the car and helped Brielle out. Together, the two headed on into the building, the bouncer checking their ID’s before waving them through.

Inside, the air was even thicker than Nick had tried to describe and the blonde felt her eyes stinging from it. She tried to hold her breath, but her lungs had never been that strong and soon were panting for even the poisonous oxygen.

Nick surveyed the scene; a buxom brunette on the stage shaking her thing in the teeniest g-string with star shaped pasties covering her nipples, servers dressed in short skirts and white tees that looked like they were painted onto their bodies were moving amongst the patrons, passing out drinks and collecting tips. And women wearing next to nothing flittered about the room, gyrating their hips in drooling men’s faces and trying to earn every buck they could.

He wasn’t one to be a party pooper and even he found himself enjoying an occasional strip joint every now and then, but at the moment, this place disgusted him. Maybe it was because his buddy was here, slowly trying to kill himself with alcohol poisoning, or maybe it was because of the petite blonde girl who held to his arm like it was her lifeline. She seemed so sweet and genuinely good and the idea of exposing her to something like this was not something he was proud of. Besides, she was having an effect on Alex that no one else seemed to have and he didn’t want to do a thing to mess that up. They needed to find their friend then get him the hell out of there.

“I see him!” Brielle had to shout over the cheap porn music that blasted from the speakers.

Nick turned in the direction she was pointing and spotted the man in question as he slumped over the bar. “Good, let’s grab him and get going.”

Brielle nodded in agreement and followed the tall man around the tables and to the bar. Alex looked like he was passed smooth out with his cheek pressed to the smooth bar top and his eyes closed. “Alex?” She moved up on one side, Nick on the other, and gingerly touched his back.

Alex jerked up and about fell backward right off the stool.

Nick’s hand shot out and grabbed him, righting him again. “Whoa there. It’s just Brielle and me, man.”

“Niiiick,” he slurred, wavering and trying to focus on the other man’s face.

“Yeah, it’s me, buddy.” He pulled his friend’s arm around his shoulder and helped him off the stool. “We’re gonna get you out of here.”

Alex’s legs crumpled and he went down.

“Shit.” Nick used his strength to keep him from falling all the way to the floor and he lifted him up, heaving him over his shoulder. “Alright, we’ll do things this way.”

“Whaddaya think you’re’a doin’?” The older man slurred.

Nick motioned for Brielle to lead the way then fell in step behind her. “We’re leaving, man, and you’re too drunk to walk.”

Alex tried to fight the position Nick had him in, but didn’t have the energy and instead went lax and passed smooth out.

Once he was out, they easily loaded him into the back of Nick’s SUV then headed for his place. Brielle didn’t think it would be a smart idea to take him back to his own place with Denise there, so Nick offered to let them stay the rest of the night at his. He’d drop them back off in the morning, once Alex was awake. He even had a foolproof hangover cure he’d make for his friend in the morning.

By the time they got to Nick’s, Alex was starting to come around again. He mumbled at them both as they helped him into the house and up the stairs to the guest bedrooms.

Brielle thought she had been amazed by Alex’s place, but she was utterly speechless at Nick’s. It was twice the size of Alex’s and spread out over a vast property that contained a large fountain in the center of a circular drive. Just making their way to the hall with the guest bedrooms was making her head spin and she hoped she could find her way back downstairs in the morning.

Nick showed them to one bedroom, depositing his band mate onto the bed. “Okay, he usually sleeps in here. There’s a room right across the hall that you can use; clean towels in the bathroom and help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen if you get hungry.”

She didn’t know if she could find the kitchen. “Thank you. And thanks for doing this for him.”

“Hey, it’s what we do for each other.”

She smiled. “I know and I’m sure he appreciates it.”

Nick nodded some. “Alright, there’s an intercom system and you can holler at me if you need anything.” He nodded his head toward the wall where the intercom was. “There’s one in your bedroom too.”

“Thank you.” She cast her eyes toward the bed where Alex was rolling off it and mumbling something about needing to take a piss. She watched him head in a crooked path into the bathroom. “I think I’ll just make sure he’s okay before going to my room.”

Nick nodded. “No problem; sleep tight.” He touched her arm briefly before slipping from the room and closing the door behind him.

Brielle watched him go then sighed and sank down onto the edge of the bed. Turning her attention to the bathroom, she noted Alex hadn’t even bothered to close the door. A strange sound came from the other room and her brows drew together. “Alex, are you okay?”

He mumbled a response and her frown deepened. “Alex?” She pushed up from the bed and slipped to the doorway, peeking around the corner and finding him standing in front of the bathtub, shooting a stream of urine into it. She blinked. “What the hell are you doing?”

Alex didn’t even turn in her direction, just continued to release his bladder. “Whas’ it look like? Pissin’.”

She stared at his back with a mixed look of shock and disgust. “And you had to do it there?”

He finished up then tucked himself away and zipped his jeans. “It’s where you piss.” He staggered past her and back into the bedroom.

“You pee into the bathtub? And all this time I thought that’s where you washed yourself.”

“That wasn’t a bathtub,” he mumbled before falling face first into the bed. “Was’a big ass toilet.”

Brielle just stared at him. This was not the Alex she had come to know over the last few weeks. He was like a complete stranger and she didn’t like it one bit.

“Alright, well,” she began, taking up her purse, “sleep tight, I’ll be across the hall.”

He didn’t respond and she crossed the room to the door, pulling it open. Hopefully he’d be back to himself in the morning.

She had just stepped out into the hallway when he mumbled something against the bed. She paused at that. He mumbled again and she slowly slipped back into the room. “Do you need something?”

Alex turned his head to face her and the look of longing and pain in his eyes made her heart ache. “Don’t go,” he finally spoke it clear enough for her to understand. “I nee’ you.”

Wordlessly, she closed the door and dropped her bag into a chair. She moved to the bed and slipped up onto it, settling herself with her back against the headboard. “C’mere.” She reached for him then smoothed a hand over his head once he rested it in her lap.

She couldn’t leave him and she couldn’t be mad at him; not when he looked at her like he had. “I’m here,” she murmured softly, watching as she brushed her fingers through his hair. “You’re gonna be okay, Alex. I know it’s rough, but we’re gonna help you through this.” Then leaning over, she pressed a kiss to his head.

His response was a soft snore.