Chapter 7

Chris’s POV

The days blurred together in an endless haze of heartache. Mornings slipped by unseen as I stayed up night after night, chasing oblivion at the bottom of a bottle.

Sleep only brought tormenting dreams of Hailey, flashes of her radiant smile and whispers of forever that sliced like razors through my battered soul.

Waking was almost worse - the harsh light of day casting her betrayal into brutal clarity once more.

The apartment we once shared felt like a mausoleum, every treasured memento a lancing reminder of the love I thought we'd had. Of the life we'd planned to build together, now scattered like ashes.

A heavy pounding at the door roused me from my scotch-soaked stupor. I barely registered the sound over the throbbing in my skull.

He's here. Yesterday I told him about Hailey when I o was drunk. He must be worried.

"Chris? You in there, man?" Jake's muffled voice carried the first traces of urgency I'd detected