Back to Reality:
Mustang tracked
down Damon at a seedy motel and knocked on the room door.
“Damon!”
He pressed his
ear to the door.
“Oh shit.”
Sheets rustling.
Footsteps.
“Uh… Give me a
second.”
Roy shook his
head and took out a master key.
With one click,
Mustang entered the room.
To his surprise,
he found Damon in bed with another woman. Both looked shocked. Mustang frowned,
shaking his head.
“And what is
this?”
Damon lowered
his eyes.
“Uh well…”
The woman next
to Damon looked at Mustang and then her date.
“Who’s this?”
“His boss!”
“Oh…”
“What are you
doing here, Mustang?”
Mustang looks
over at the brunette covering her breasts.
“Hey, uh…”
His eyes shifted
towards Damon.
“What’s her
name?”
The other man
shrugged and shook his head.
Roy pressed his
hand to his forehead.
This is how low you have fallen?
“Anyway, could
you send her out? We need to talk.”
Damon stared
blankly.
The woman tilted
her head.
“Why?”
“Could you
please leave?”
The woman
sighed.
“Fine.”
She climbed out
of bed and got dressed.
Neither men
moved until she left the room.
Mustang didn’t
wait to come up with tact or being easy.
“What has gotten
into you, Damon? You are better than this. Why are you doing this?”
Damon clutched
his sheets.
“It’s my curse.”
“What?”
“Ai-Oni did this
to me. She woke up something inside of me and now I can’t stop.”
“That is no
excuse!”
“I already did
this to Carol once! I can’t put her through this again!”
He drew his
knees to his chest.
“She doesn’t
deserve my crap.”
“So what?”
Damon looks up
to see Mustang frowning at him.
“She loves and
misses you. What you are doing to her is cruel and distasteful.”
“The cheating?”
“No, running
away from your family!”
“What else can I
do? I don’t want to drag Carol and Micah through my shit again! They can’t
handle it.”
“Then why didn’t
you come to me or anyone else for that matter?”
Damon stared
blankly.
“Huh?”
Mustang sat down
on the foot of the bed.
“Look, I have no
idea what’s going on or what you did in the past, but you can always can to us
if you need serious help.”
“And how can you
help me? Huh?”
“We would think
of something.”
“Like what?”
“Does it matter?
Your family misses you and I am here to bring you home.”
“Why?”
“Because your wife asked me to. I will not hear any arguments from you. You are
coming home and getting help immediately.”
Damon raised an eyebrow.
“Is that an order?”
“Yes.”
Damon frowned.
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
“And you won’t give up, will you?”
“No.”
Damon sighed and dropped his shoulders.
“Fine, you win.”
He climbed out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed.
Damon had hoped to self-destruct alone.
But now, he would have to face his problems and get help once again.
The reality would be much bigger than that.