And why did he look familiar? It could have been anyone. I met so many people in my line of work.
“Let’s get him over here. There’s a sofa next to the fire,” I said, and between his friend and me, we manhandled him to the sofa and laid him down. “Get his coat and scarf off. I’ll go grab some water.”
I reached over the bar, took a bottle of water from the cooler, and headed back to the man. He was now sitting, his head in his hands.
“Here, drink this.” I held the bottle out, and he reached to take it from my hands. It was then that I finally got a good look at him. Our eyes met, and I recognised him instantly.
“You,” I said.
He groaned and took a sip of the water. “Yeah, me.”
His friend looked puzzled. “You know each other? Harvey?”
“We don’t know each other. I spoke to him last week after I left the bar. That’s it.”
“But you were at the club the other night as well. You were there,” What was going on? Why was I seeing him all over?
The colour drained from his face.
“Clubs? Bars? What the hell, Harvey?” His friend looked at him in shock.
“Ed. This is none of your business. Just leave it, please. Go back to Sally and Vivian. I need to sit for a moment, and then I’m going home. I said this was a mistake.”
“But…”
“Just go.” He looked up at me. “You too. I want to be on my own.”
Reluctantly, his friend left but continued to watch him as he sat with his friends. There was no way I was leaving him alone. Who knew what might happen? I sat down next to him.
“Why were you at the club?”
“It doesn’t matter why.” He took another swig of water, and his colour slowly returned.
“It’s just, after speaking to you last week, I didn’t think it was your scene. Hell, it’s not usually my scene.”
“You seemed pretty comfortable with it.”
“You were watching me?”
“Fuck, no. Why would I do that?” But he refused to meet my gaze.
“I don’t care if you were.” I looked down at my hands, the many rings I wore dull from wear. What was it about him that drew me? He was no Ash; that was obvious, but he had a vulnerability about him that pulled me in.
His hand trembled as he took another drink.
“How are you feeling now? Was it another panic attack?” I’d seen him have one last week, but this was far worse.
Harvey shook his head. “I don’t know what it was. One minute I was on my feet, the next on the floor.”
“Stupid question, but have you eaten today? Low sugar can do that, you know.” My brother had suffered when he was a child, and if his sugars dropped, the same thing would happen.
He frowned. “I don’t remember.” His voice was barely a whisper. “I should go.”
His legs buckled as he tried to stand. I caught him before he crashed to the floor again.
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere just yet, mate. Let me get you something to eat. I’ve a chocolate bar in my bag; that should help.”
His friend approached me as I walked towards the door leading to the staff area. He didn’t look happy at all, his face taut.