The Hate You Drink

by N.R. Walker

when Monroe hits rock bottom, Erik gives him an ultimatum, and his entire world comes to a grinding halt. It’s not until the haze lifts that Monroe can truly see what he’s been searching for was never in the bottom of a bottle. It’s been by his side all along.

“Someone once said to me that if you drank hate, it would get to a point where that’s all there was inside you,” he said. “And that’s very true. But the same can be said for love. If you drink it in, if it’s the only thing you let in, then love is the only thing in your

heart. And I owe that to you, Erik. The love you give me is without limit, undiluted, and the only intoxicating thing I will ever need. You gave me purpose and family, and I will spend every day of forever being the man you deserve. That’s my promise to you.”

“And I will spend every day of forever being the man you deserve,” I said back to him. “My promise to you.”