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some bags in some of the drawers, he started to stuff the pizza boxes into the bag along with the mountain of beer cans. He couldn’t have drank through all of these in less than a week?
    “Did you drink all of this?”
    “The magic fairy helped,” Elias rolled his eyes, “what’s it to you?”
    Elias jumped up from the sofa and marched over to the kitchen. Snatching the bag from Caden, he dumped it on the floor and pulled a beer out of the fridge.
    “If there’s anything you want to talk about, I’m a listening ear,” Caden watched as Elias sipped the beer, “that’s what I’m here for.”
    Elias arched a dark brow, almost amused at how hard Caden was trying. Leaning in slightly, his dark eyes pierced into Caden’s, making his lips part. Elias’ eyes darted down to his parted lips with a smirk.
    “I can smell beer on your breath,” Elias whispered, “get off your high horse.”
    Caden backed away, bringing his hand up to his mouth. How could he have been stupid enough to let his brother convince him to have a ‘ quick beer ’ when he was just trying to pass through to see how the bar was going.
    “I’ll be honest with you, Elias. I had a beer in my brother’s bar before I came here, but I’m not the one with an addiction problem.”
    “I’m not addicted to beer,” he laughed as he drank from the can, “I just like it.”
    Caden opened the bag to look at all of the cans. Stomping on the pedal of the trashcan, he could see loads more inside. He had gone through enough beer in less than a week to sink a navy ship.
    “Change is hard,” Caden crouched on the sofa next to Elias, “I get that. I want to help you.”
    “What do you know about change?” Elias snapped angrily, “Look at you. I bet you have a perfect life.”
    Caden had to stop himself from laughing. His life felt far from perfect; it felt like a mess.
    “I was living in New York,” he relaxed into the couch, “with my partner. I thought I had the perfect life but I caught them in bed with my best friend and now I’m back in Havenmoore. Trust me, I know change.”
    Elias peered at him out of the corner of his eye before staring back at the TV. Letting out an exhausted sigh, he picked up the remote control and switched off the box.
    “You ever tried cocaine?” Elias crossed his arms across his chest, his legs wide open so that his package was resting on the sofa cushion.
    “No.”
    “Then you have no idea what I’m going through. I’m not suffering with addiction. Cocaine isn’t as addictive as people make out. Most people can take it or leave it. It’s the feeling it gives you that’s addictive. Do you know how it makes you feel?”
    “No.”
    “It’s like a warm hug from somebody who loves you. It makes you feel on top of the world. It makes this shit world feel bearable. You don’t know anything so don’t pretend you do. You’re here because you need to be so let’s not make this any harder than it has to be.”
    Turning back to the TV, Elias gritted his teeth as he breathed heavily through his nose. His eyes stared intensely at the beer can on the coffee table but he looked like he was looking right through it.
    “Have you used since you left the rehab center?”
    “Do I look like I have?” Elias laughed, “Do you think I’d be sitting here if I had? People think rehab is the solution but it isn’t. Rehab is easy. You have people around you all day treating you like a kid who can’t look after themselves. You’re so frustrated that you can’t take a shit without somebody looking over your shoulder that you barely notice the withdrawals. It’s when you get home and you’re left alone that it starts. I can’t sleep, I can’t think about anything else and that can of beer right there is the only thing keeping me level enough not to call my dealer.”
    Caden didn’t know what to say. Elias was right; Caden wasn’t equipped to deal with his situation. You could have all the training in the world, he was