Chapter five
Cameron
The room was nothing more than basic. It had four walls, a floor, a ceiling; not much else to speak of. The walls had been left an empty gray color. The floor had cheap tiles pasted over it. Several metal legged chairs had been positioned into a circle in the centre of the room. More than a few of them had already been taken.
Cameron sat by the chair facing the window. It looked out over the sidewalk that he’d walked along to get there. The sun was still shining out there, even though it felt like the middle of winter in the room. He turned when the door opened and an official looking man with round glasses and an even rounder stomach walked into the room.
“Well, it seems we have a celebrity amongst us,” the spectacled man said when his eyes fell on Cameron. His look was a mixture of concern and pity. He took a seat in the seat circle. “I hope you know that everybody here is serious about change,” he said with a low level warning to his tone. “You should only be here if you’re serious about change too.”
Cameron nodded. “I am.”
“Then perhaps, you’d like to get us started?” the spectacled man offered.
“Started?”
“Sure, we each go around the circle, saying a little about ourselves and why we’re here.”
“And, what?” Cameron could feel his cheeks burning under the attention he was receiving. “You want me to start first?”
“Is that a problem?” the spectacled man leant forward. The look of concern was winning over the look of pity. “Like I said, if you’re not serious about this, then you shouldn’t be here.”
“Okay,” Cameron sighed. “You all probably know who I am,” he said not looking at anyone in particular. “I’ve been told that my drinking is becoming a problem, but I don’t know how to stop.”
“Do you think your drinking is a problem?” a blonde haired girl asked. Cameron turned to look at her. She was wearing a candy pink top that hung tightly around her boobs.
“I suppose,” Cameron shrugged.
“You know; you need to admit it to yourself. You can’t start making progress until you really understand that you have a problem,” she told him wisely.
He glared at her. Who was she to tell him anything? She was just another trailer trash bimbo who’d been hitting the bottle too hard her whole life. He could see it on her skin. She was pale and almost sickly looking. Any remaining signs beauty had been heavily worn down by premature aging.
“She’s right you know,” another girl chipped in from the other side of the circle. Cameron glanced across to her. She was in the same state as the blonde.
Why had Ashley sent him there? He wasn’t like these people. He wasn’t aged and sickly. He wasn’t desperate and at rock bottom. He just liked a drink. He just liked to have a good time. He didn’t see the point of being sober. Being clear-headed was boring and dull. He didn’t have a problem with drinking; he just had a problem with how boring life was without it.
“You know,” Cameron found himself on his feet. “I’m not sure this is really for me.”
“You should probably go then,” the spectacled man said sternly. “We don’t need people like you dragging the rest of us down.”
Damn, Cameron thought to himself as he left the room. He’d been under the impression that he was going to a support group. That wasn’t a support group. There hadn’t been any support there. There had only been judgement and the expectation that he was going to fail.
The cell in his pocket started to buzz against his leg. He pulled it out and his heart sank, when he saw Ashley’s name flashing on the screen. “Have you just walked out of your meeting?” she demanded to know without saying hi.
“How do you even know that?” Cameron grimaced at her tone. “I’ve literally just walked out the door,” he glanced behind him. “Do you have someone tailing me?”
“Yeah,” Ashley snorted. “Like I’m going to tell you how I know.” The line fell silent for a second. “I’m not happy about this,” Ashley picked the conversation back up. “It took a lot to convince the manager of the group to let you in and you’ve just proven him right about all his worries.”
“I’m sorry,” Cameron said weakly. He knew that Ashley wouldn’t believe him. He knew that saying sorry wasn’t going to make anything better, but it was all he had.
“That’s not good enough.”
“I know.”
“Right,” Ashley’s tone was sharp. Cameron could tell that he was pushing her to her limits. He didn’t want to push her any further. He didn’t want to risk losing her when she’d already done so much to help him. “You’ve got a dinner tonight. It’s an awards thing for your team. I’ve set up three potential dates for you. If you check your email, you can look them over and decide which one you want to take.”
“I don’t want to take any of them,” Cameron said quickly.
“What do you mean you don’t want any of them?” Ashley asked. “I’ve spent most of today sorting them out. You’re going to pick one of them. I’m not having you run around with another model that’s going to get you in the papers.”
“That’s fine,” Cameron said calmly. “I want you to go with me.”
“Me?” Ashley asked in disbelief. “The girls I’ve picked are all ready to go,” she insisted. “They’re all looking to date you and they’ll be more than compliant if you take them home. Why would you want to take me?”
“I don’t need to have a reason,” Cameron avoided telling her the truth. “Be ready for seven and I’ll pick you up.” He hung up, so that Ashley couldn’t argue with him.
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