AN: Okay, I’m kinda in a hyper mood today lol and that kinda means my writing will be a little less serious so I’m trying to continue with the dramatic scene I ended with but if I add some stupid jokes in between, please forgive me lol I’m just starting out really hyper. Thanks so much for the people who reviewed! Keep on doing that and I’ll keep writing. The more reviews the faster I write. Now to the chapter:

~~

“Crap, I knew there was something I forgot.” AJ removed his hands from her body and rubbed the back of his head nervously.
“Something you forgot? What’s that supposed to mean?” Destiny tilted her head.
“Des, look, it’s nothing.” He shrugged.
“Nothing? Alex, you’re not supposed to be drinking, especially not this soon.” Destiny was uncomfortable by the fact that he wasn’t looking her in the eyes. He was always the one pushing her to face him.
Destiny knew that she had flawed by lying to him about the Nick incident but she thought she could count on AJ to always tell her the truth. Whether the situation dealt with their relationship or with anything else in their personal lives, she thought he would tell her. Now that he was holding back something so important, she didn’t know anymore.
“I had a weak moment so I took a few shots of JD. I stopped, didn’t I?” He dragged himself over to the couch, really not in the mood to start a conversation about this topic. It was redundant. He heard it over and over again and nothing was going to change this time. He admitted he had a problem once but it wasn’t knocking on his door again. He was cured. Healthy as he started out. Why can’t everyone just accept that?
“On your own?” Destiny sat down on the floor, in a meditating position. She didn’t really know what possessed her to do this but she felt more relaxed and able to deal with his problem.
Last time AJ was going through this, him and Destiny were still childishly fighting and she couldn’t sense a change in his attitude because he was never around her. Now that she was a main figure in his life, she had to listen and be considerate of what was happening right in front of her eyes. A small voice inside Destiny told her there was something wrong, even if AJ wasn’t admitting it yet. She was here to stay and help.

~~

“Ashley walked in.” A throbbing pain was returning right above his eye.
“Meaning, you would have probably continued doing it if she didn’t walk in.” Destiny’s heart beat quickened, even thinking of the possibility of coming home to him in that state.
“I’m sorry I’m not perfect, Des. I never said I was.” AJ’s voice had no emotion in it.
“I didn’t say you had to be perfect. I love you and I don’t want to see your hurting, ever.” Destiny started braiding her dead straight hair into small braids. Nerves did funny things to her, usually causing her to fidget.
“Destiny, if you’re expecting me to never make a mistake in this relationship, don’t hold your breath. I’m not always going to be there to fall back on when you constantly screw up. I’m just as able and eligible to make a mistake as you are. If you’re so prejudice about the way you want me to act, maybe it’s better if we stop this right now.” AJ’s speech surprised him just as much as it surprised Destiny.
He built up the courage to lift his head up and look at her. Her eyes were big with fear. Her body was slouched forward, as if someone had stabbed her right in the heart. He kept hurting her time after time even when he promised he wouldn’t. AJ felt bad but the expression in his face stayed the same. Stubbornness was overtaking sensibility, as it always had with him.
“Do you mean you want us to break up?” The words barely left her lips. They were said with long pauses in between them. She was hoping he would stop her anytime and tell her she was misunderstanding his words, but he didn’t. He sat in silence and forced himself to nod.
“I guess this would be the time and place I throw the engagement ring in your face but since I don’t have one, I guess I’ll just start packing.” Destiny quickly got up and ran up the stairs.
Unable to deal with Destiny, he moved to the kitchen and with a swift movement, clutched a new pair of shades and his keys. He jogged to the front door and slammed it behind him, neglecting to lock it.

~~

AJ jumped in his convertible and started driving. He didn’t know where he was going but he knew he had to get there, and fast. He found a heavy metal station on the radio and blasted it, ignoring all the evil glares drivers were giving him as the zoomed by. After twenty minutes, he u-turned and returned into his gated community. He speeded by his property, observing a cab right in front of the house. He figured Destiny was still there and determined he wasn’t ready or willing to return yet. He parked by a lush park and pushed himself to walk over to the bench, staring the lake. The environment and his mood clashed drastically. One being peaceful and serene and the other being dried from every emotion other than anger which was clouding his eyes. Ducks waddled past him in a row, quacking to eachother. AJ ignored them. He tossed his head back and saw a familiar man approach him. He winced, causing wrinkles to form in his forehead. It was Carrie’s grandfather.
“Alexander.” Jeff addressed him.
“AJ is fine.” He sat up straight and scooted toward the other side, allowing room for the elder man to sit.
“AJ it is. What are you doing here?” He sat down beside him, staring at the blue lake.
“Ya know, thought I’d get a breath of fresh air.” he stretched his arms and feet.
“A man your age must have something better to do than get some fresh air. My family makes me go for a walk every day. I usually stop here for a few minutes and continue home. Want to join me?” Jeff offered, noticing AJ’s bewildered look.
“Sure, I really don’t have anything better to do.” AJ nodded and jumped up from the bench.
“I think I’ll take that as a compliment.” Jeff chuckled and pointed to the way they’ll be walking.

~~

They walked rather fast, conversing as they went a long. AJ hadn’t really had a chance to look around his neighborhood since he was rarely home but he did always notice the house people used to refer to as ‘The White House’ of the community. It was one of the biggest houses in the surrounding neighborhoods, painted in a glorious white. The architecture suited for royalty, or at least a very, very rich person. The house belonged to Jeff Young, Carrie’s grandfather.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Jeff asked as he walked into the kitchen, leaving AJ to make himself comfortable in the large sitting room.
“Um, do you have any Vodka?” AJ asked, hoping Jeff wasn’t familiar with his drinking history. The last thing he needed right now was another lecture.
“You’re 21, I presume.” Jeff laughed as he entered his bar and rummaged through the cabinets, filled with wine, brandy, liquor, champagne and other alcohols that would quench the thirst of an entire army.
“Have been for a while.” AJ sighed in relief, anxiously waiting for the satisfying taste of the drink.
“Here you go.” He handed AJ vodka mixed with orange juice.
“There’s plenty more from where that came from.” Jeff winked and pointed at the bottle, still standing on the bar’s counter.
“I’m going to need it, rough day.” AJ sipped from the shot glass and savored the taste.

~~

“You really are beautiful, aren’t you, Tash? ” Nick smiled as the baby resting in his arms sucked the milk out of the bottle.
“And you’re all mine. I don’t know what I would do if your mother decided to raise you all by herself. Now that I’ve spent some time with you, I can’t imagine life without you. Is it bad getting so attached to someone you’ve known for one day? They sat that a mother loves her baby from the minute she finds out she’s pregnant but it takes the baby itself to cause the love to grow in a father’s heart. The minute I really looked at you, I knew I was going to be there. Just me and you, kid. Even if everyone else dropped out of my life. But they’re not, we’re both lucky enough to have people who care. If you can’t have Jezebel as your momma you’ll have Carrie. And she really is cool, except sometimes she snaps at me but usually I deserve it. So if I was you, I wouldn’t worry about it. You’re plain angelic, aren’t you?” Nick removed the bottle from the infant’s mouth, and put it on the table beside him.
“Nick, who are you talking to?” Carrie asked as she entered the room with countless bags filled with baby merchandise.
“Natasha.” Nick answered softly.
“Aw, isn’t that cute. You finally found someone to relate to, some IQ level and all.” Carrie grinned as she wobbled her tired arms in the air.
“Did you get everything?” Nick questioned, ignoring his girlfriend’s joke.
“Yeah. I got the food, the diapers, the wipes and some clothes. It’s just some basics but you’ll definitely have to buy some more stuff later. I’m glad you’re here, Tash. You’ll probably add some maturity to this house.” Carrie tickled the baby girl.

~~

“Ha.” Nick stuck his tongue out.
“Respect the lady.” Carrie pointed at herself.
“Why should I respect the lady when the lady doesn’t respect me?” Nick held Natasha to his chest , moving his hand around her back in circular movements.
“Because the lady always comes first.” Carrie bent down to sort the bags.
“Didn’t I tell you she snapped?” Nick asked his daughter, who responded by pulling his hair.
“Ouch! Easy on the hair there.” Nick rubbed his head.
“See, she agrees with me.” Carrie flashed him a victorious smile and started removing the products from their bags.
“Not fair, two against one. I demand another male in the house.”
“You do. You have your dogs.” Carrie pointed at the lazy pugs lying on their backs, absorbing the sun.
“And they even have all the lazy male qualities. Feel free to go over there and bond anytime, sweetie.” Carrie blew him a kiss and continued organizing.

~~

“This has been fun Jeff, my main man. We’ll have to uh do this again sometime soon.” AJ slurred as he tried to make his way toward the front door.
“Are you sure you can make it back safely?” The man, who handled the alcohol he consumed a bit better, asked.
“Sure. I walked here.” AJ lied through his teeth.
“It’s been a pleasure having you around. Feel free to come again.” Jeff gave AJ a pat on the back and unlocked the front door for him.
“Oh yes, we must.” AJ nodded, knowing that this was the only place he could get alcohol without any torture from his friends or trouble from paparazzi and other media.
“Would you excuse me?” Jeff turned his attention towards the ringing phone.
AJ simply waved goodbye to him and the man did the same and returned to his phone call. AJ closed the door behind him and tried to keep his balance. The last thing he needed was falling down on the grass, damp as a result of a cloud burst that occurred minutes ago. In his own world, he wobbled towards his car. With disregard to his safety, he injected the keys into the car. The roaring of the powerful engine indicated it was started. He drove back to his house. Although it was only a few minutes away, he was still drunk. And it took all of his concentration to stay in a straight line, what seemed like a straight line to him, anyway. In reality, he was swerving and causing havoc in the usually silent streets. Luckily, no one was walking outside and he reached his home safely.
(AN: DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. Thought I’d make it clear that I was under no circumstances condoning this behavior.)

~~

After the convertible was parked behind the van, he removed the keys from the car and desperately looked for the house key. His hands were shaky and his head was pounding. He felt a gooey liquid drip down from his head.
“Shit!” He swore as realized the wound on head was opening.
AJ’s vision was blurry. He kept trying to fit the key in but he kept missing by inches. He clothes his eyes tightly, trying to regain vision. When he opened them, he could see for a brief moment, long enough for him to open the door. He stumbled into the house and crawled up the stairs, trying to get to the bathroom. AJ had to change his bandage and tend to his wound. To him, he thought that was the only problem he had right now.

AJ clumsily changed the bandage and aimed the bloody bandage towards the trash. All objects around him were spinning. He was dizzy and felt sick to his stomach. Within a few minutes, his head was down his toilet. He was paying the price for a few minutes of joy.
“AJ?” Destiny called out.
She heard gagging noises from upstairs and ran to check what was happening.
AJ moaned in response. He couldn’t move.
Destiny entered the bathroom, shivering as she noticed the blood filled, used bandage lying on the floor. She pulled the hair that was covering his sweaty forehead back. and pat his back with her free hand.
“Destiny...go away.” He managed to get out.
“Not yet. I told the cab to leave. AJ, I’m not leaving you like this.” She insisted.
“Please go.” He growled. AJ felt as if he got out all he could right now and leaned against the bathroom wall, trying to catch his breath.
“Forget about it.” Destiny repeated.
“Destiny for god sakes just fucking get out of my house. I don’t want you here.” AJ used the wall as a support to rise to his feet. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the dizziness. It only made it worse. The pain killers weren’t supposed to be mixed with any alcohols but he was misusing the medications and now the effects were twice as worse as they would be if he just drank on a regular day.
“Alex, I love you heart and soul. Let me be here for you.” It was taking all of her power to stand still, facing a stranger.
“Don’t you understand simple English? LEAVE!” without a thought, he pushed her with great force.
Destiny flew across the room from his powerful shove, landing on the floor with a loud thud. She looked up at him in complete and utter shock.

~~

AN: *sigh* Review.