Reggie's Breakdown
The way things have been going lately has left reggie feeling both useless and hopeless if he was honest, ever since his accident in the haunted house nothing has been the same for him. Between healing from his injuries and still trying to do his job he was exhausted, all he wanted was a drink but he couldn't and he knew he wouldn't but the urges were always there, always creeping around the corner, a little voice in the back of his head telling him one little sip wouldn't hurt.
He wanted to be a good boyfriend to Rusty, helping him with the new baby whenever he could but he's be lying if he said it wasn't hard. The memories of Riley at that age was always in the back of his mind, hell Riley was always in the back of his mind. He never wanted to forget her and with the news of Jessie's pregnancy a whole flood of emotions came that he pushed down so he could be there for her.
Reggie was having probably the worst day in a while between the urges and the thoughts. Of course he was happy for Jessie but the thought of never getting to experience that with Riley weighed heavy on him. There was no wedding for her, no grandkids to spoil from her, no meeting of any boyfriends or partners she might've had, only a hole where her memory lives on.
He knew he shouldn't be there but he found himself at the tree house he'd built for Riley and all her friends, running his hand over the wood inside and chuckling to himself at the memories they brought back. Things barely looked touched, it was as if she was still around. Everything was still there, friendship bracelets still laid on the table that Riley had made, some finished, most unfinished, seemingly wanting to finish them all before she gave them to people.
Reggie could feel tears welling up already but he didn't want to leave, being here felt like Riley was still there and that's what he felt like was needed right now but something caught his attention that made his heart ache more. Two of the bracelets stood out to him. One read Dad and had his favorite colors and the other had Mom that was in Yvette's favorite colors too.
As he picked them up and turned them over in his hand he couldn't hold the tears in any longer and let them flow. She never got a chance to give these to them and his own grief prevented him from even stepping in here for years. He'd almost tore it down in a drunken rage one time but never could bring himself to actually do it, no matter how painful the reminder could be sometimes.
But this time, this time was different, all the emotions came flooding out at once: Anger, Sadness, Happiness, all of it and it was overwhelming so he did the only thing he could think of. He picked up the chair he'd built and threw it against the wall and watched the old, splintered wood break against it. He wanted to do more but instead found himself sliding against the wood and onto the floor.
He wasn't even trying to stop the sobs that left him, all he could do was put his head in his hands and let himself cry. He missed his daughter with every fiber of his being but there was nothing that could or even would bring her back and that would always break his heart more than it already was.
