The Last Drink

Jacob Moore sat in the corner of “The Lionheart Pub,” a dingy low-lighted place where people usually ended up when they were at their lowest. He sat there and thought about what had brought him to this point in life, his mistakes, and his troubles. He watched barley registering the people around him when the waitress slammed his drink in front of him. He looked up startled by the sudden noise and looked at the waitress with bloodshot eyes. It was Amber (one more of his mistakes flashed by his eyes). The tall blonde glared at him, her blue eyes were as cold as ice, and stalked away. He watched her go but made no attempt to stop her, it would be pointless to try to apologize and she wouldn’t want to hear his excuses anyway! He took a long swig of the beer she had placed in front of him, spilling some on his blue shirt. He cringed away from the cold feeling and hoped it wouldn’t stain his shirt. She’d given him this shirt, he wanted to take care of it. The way he didn’t take care of the most important thing in his life. The door to the pub opened and he looked up in hope only to be disappointed as he watched to old war vets stumble out in a drunken stupor! “Why would she come to a dump like this,” he despaired. Next time the door opened he didn’t bother to look up, he figured the text he sent her went unread. He was so caught up in his sulking he didn’t notice the woman walking up to him.

“You look terrible!” A soft voice echoed in his ear! She was here, he leaped to his feet and looked at her. Samantha was still beautiful; she was nowhere as tall as Amber, Amber was 5’10 where Sam stood at 5’5 in high-heels, her brown eyes were red (he felt the guilt hit him like a sledgehammer). “So why did you want to meet me here of all places? So I could look at you and Amber in the same place again? To rub it in? Why can’t you leave me be Jacob!?” Samantha sobbed quietly.

“No, Sammy I made a mistake! I know that I just wanted to explain myself and to apologize. Please take me back! I miss being us!” Jacob slurred his words in a drunken stupor. He reached out to hold her forgetting about the table in between them knocking it over a spilling his still full drink on Samantha. She cried out in alarm and tried to catch Jacob as he fell over the table. They both tumbled to the floor of the pub and everyone stopped to stare at them as the two struggled to get to there feet. Amber, who had been watching the two from behind the bar, may have been mad at Justin but she and Sam had been best friends at one time so she rushed to save her former friend from further embarrassment! She pulled Sam to her feet, kicking Jacob twice in the process (whether this was on purpose was anyone’s guess). Sam shrugged her off, glaring at Amber in a way that made Amber look short in comparison.

“DON’T TOUCH ME YOU BACKSTABBER!” Sam shrieked, her face red and her jaw clenched. Amber flinched as if she had been slapped and sulked away. So she turned her fury on Jacob. “You are such a mess! What the hell is your problem anymore Jacob?” She hissed. “You text me after 6 months! Your mother has called me every day because you won’t return her calls and she’s worried about you. Why is it even after we broke up I’m STILL cleaning up your messes? And to make matters worse you slept with my best friend THE NIGHT after we broke up. You couldn’t even wait a week?” She chuckled humorlessly! “You need to take a long look in the mirror Jacob! Get your life together because I’m not saving you anymore. Goodbye Jacob!”

She stomped away from him ignoring his pleas to stay. He was covered in beer, it stung his eyes and Samantha was just a red and blonde blur as she walked out the door and out of his life forever. He stood to his feet, ignoring the pain in his stomach and he stumbled to the bathroom. He washed his face at the sink and stared at his reflection. His blue eyes were bloodshot and sunken, his face was lean and unshaven, a scraggly beard rested on his chin but didn’t suit his face, and his once short black hair was unkempt and hung to his shoulders. His blue shirt was torn in several places now and his pants we covered in stains and were far too baggy for his thin frame! There was no hope for him now but he had a backup plan, a package that he had hidden in the bathroom before he started drinking before he sent the text to Samantha. It’s always good to have a contingency plan. He retrieved a backpack from one of the stalls, thankfully it was still there, and he pulled something out—a handgun. The metal was cold but the metal seemed to glow under the bathroom lights. He placed it to his temple. The people who had been cleaning up the mess outside the bathroom froze once again when a bang of a gunshot ripped through the bar. Amber rushed to the bathroom the blood rushing to her face and her hands already dialing 911 but by the time she reached the bathroom, it was too late. Jacob was already gone.