"Caleb … " Her heart throbbed and she crouched down in front of him. "Why don't you give me that?" she suggested, reaching for the bottle in his hands. It was whiskey. She wondered how much he'd had in the past couple hours.
A lot, judging by the look of him. His eyes were glassy, hair messy, cheeks flushed. He stared at her and then groaned, pushing a hand to his eyes.
"Oh, Caleb," she said, biting her lip.
"Everything's spinning," he slurred.
"I bet."
Maddie looked around, wondering what she should do, feeling responsible for his current state. It was getting late, but he was obviously in no condition to drive home. She briefly debated letting him stay in the office, but the idea saddened her. She hated seeing his jacket balled into a pillow and that ratty old blanket sprawled on the floor.
"Stay here, I'll be right back," she told him, setting the bottle of whiskey on the work bench. She hurried back to the main garage and, thankfully, Brian was still there, cleaning off his tools.
"Brian," she started, "it's Caleb."
"What is it?" the older man asked, frowning.
"He's drunk."
"What?"
"He had a bottle of whiskey. I don't know where he got it, but it looks like he's been at it for a while."
Brian sighed, rubbing his temple. "Probably from John's old stash. I'd wondered if he got rid of it."
"He can't drive in this state. He's-" her throat tightened and she bit her lip to keep it from trembling. "He's not … "
"It's okay, sweetie," Brian told her softly. "Let me help you with him. He can sleep it off in the office."
"I-I think I'd rather take him home, Brian," she said, looking down to the floor of the garage. "We argued earlier. I feel partly responsible. It would make me feel more comfortable, knowing he was safely home."
"I don't know," Brian started hesitantly. "He might not want to wake up there."
"Please, Brian. I … " her voice hitched, "I hate it when he sleeps in that office."
The older man sighed. "I do too," was his quiet reply. "All right. We'll get him to your car. But if he asks, this was your idea."
"Deal."
Together, they rounded the corner of the garage and walked past the employee break area. When Brian saw Caleb, he whistled. "Now, Caleb, I'm impressed. How much did you drink?"
"Fuck off," Caleb groaned.
Brian heaved him to his feet with a grunt and supported him with an arm around his waist. Maddie felt helpless, but Brian seemed to be able to handle Caleb's weight all by himself.
"Go get your car ready," Brian told her and she nodded, hurrying ahead in front of the two men. Maddie pushed the passenger seat back as far as it would go and turned on the ignition to blast the heater. When they reached the car, Brian unloaded Caleb, as gently as possible, into the seat and Maddie reached over and buckled him in. Caleb's bleary eyes connected with hers for a brief moment before he shut them.
"His house keys should be on his desk," Brian told her, even though she'd already known that. "I'll watch him while you go get your things."
Maddie retrieved Caleb's keys when she arrived back up at the office and snagged her purse and jacket before flicking off the light switch. She'd only been gone a couple minutes but Caleb appeared to have passed out when she returned.
Brian gave her Caleb's address, a suburb in Martinez not far from where she'd gone to school, and she plugged it into her phone for directions.
"Thanks, Brian," she said. "I'll make sure he gets home safe."
"You do that, sweetie," the older man told her, eyeing Caleb in the passenger seat. Then he looked at her and his features softened. "I don't know what's happenin' between you two, but I will say that I'm glad for whatever is. He needs someone like you in his life, you know? Someone lovin' and stable and, most of all, patient. And don't you let him scare you off. He puts on a mean front, but he's not that person underneath."
Maddie thought over his words and then glanced at the man sleeping soundly next to her. His features were relaxed, possibly the most relaxed she'd ever seen them. He wasn't scowling or furrowing his brow. All the lines on his face were smooth and soft and it made her heart ache.
"Well, he hasn't scared me off yet," she finally told Brian, trying not to feel as hopeful as his words made her feel.
When she pulled up to a single story house in an upper middle class neighborhood after following the directions to the letter, she couldn't help but be surprised because Caleb only lived about five minutes away from her mom's house, the house she'd grown up in. Of course, it made sense, considering that they both went to the same high school together.