I flew through the employee entrance and down the stairs into the cool night air.

"What is wrong with you?" I screamed at him once we got outside.

I pulled my hand from him and pushed at him. He didn't even flinch. I wanted to smack him across the face. He deserved it for breaking another promise to me.

"This is my job. I deal with hundreds of guys who do this every night. I do not need you to protect me. You lost that right when you left me." I covered my mouth, surprised at the words pouring out.

"I'm the only one who gets to touch you." He said with his eyes narrowing.

"We are not together, Ezra." I annunciated the words for emphasis.

"You still love me, Riley. I know you do." His jaw clenched and he swallowed. His cloudy bloodshot eyes looked dangerous and unfamiliar. Ezra was still in there. I could see a small piece of him. It was like someone else was inside controlling him.

"What about this, do you not understand? Are you high or something?" I blurted out.

Ezra looked away from me and down to his feet. He kicked at his shoes nervously but did not answer. It hit me. Something I just said struck a nerve with him. The erratic behavior, the mood swings, the disappearing act. Why didn't I see any of this before? It was so clear to me now.

"How long, Ezra?" I bent down to get in the line of his sight. He turned his head to avoid my gaze. He would not even look at me. He was going to answer me. After everything he had put me through, he owed me that much.

"How long?" I asked again, needing to hear the answer.

"The day you found out you were pregnant. I left and got high and then came back to find you on Aiden's lap." Ezra's shoulders dropped as he finally let out the shame he was holding inside.

My heart stopped.

Why didn't I notice before?

Shouldn't I have seen he was spiraling?

I was not in the best mental state at the time, either. Ezra had been using since he found out we were having a baby and it broke my heart. Maybe if I would have noticed that first night, things would be different between us now.

"You should have told me," I said to him, putting my hand on his arm softly.

"Tell you what, Riley?" His voice rose and his body shook. "Tell you I'm a horrible drunk, a pathetic junkie, and that you were better off without me?"

"You should have told me how bad it was so I could have helped you." Small tears ran down my cheeks as I stared at the broken boy standing in front of me.

"No one can help me, not even you."

I pressed my hand to his face to swipe the hair out of his eyes. He shook his head at my touch. There was deep sorrow in his eyes I had never noticed before. The urge to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything would be alright overwhelmed me. I knew that wouldn't solve this for him and would probably confuse the situation even more than it already was. I may not be able to touch him, but I could at least make sure he was safe tonight.

"You're not driving like this.  I'll take you home." I said to him.

He nodded and closed his eyes.

Pulling out my phone, I checked the clock.  The bar closed in twenty minutes. I had to stay to finish out the night, but I wanted to make sure he didn't run away and try to drive himself home if he was under the influence.

"My shift is almost over. Please go wait for me in my car and don't come back in the bar. Jules will call the cops on you if he sees you. I will drive you home after we close the bar down. Do not try to leave."

I handed Ezra my keys and he took them from me. His hand lingered when his skin brushed mine. I watched as he began walking slowly towards the parking lot. He unlocked my car door and climbed into the passenger seat. I wanted to cry. How was I going to make it through the rest of the night knowing he was out there waiting for me? 

I shook out my hands and pushed my hair back off my face before heading back into the bar.

When I got back inside, Jules told me he had to comp a round of drinks from my section due to the fight. I frowned and apologized to him. He pushed my hand away as I pulled out my tip money and offered to pay him back for the lost sales.

"I would never let you do that. It's the nature of this place. It just can't happen again." I shook my head in agreement and promised him.

Rachel and I rushed around the bar closing out the opened tabs. Once everyone was out of the building, we scrubbed the tables and floors while Jules cleaned up the bar. I was in a hurry to get back out to Ezra to make sure he was still there. I dumped the mop water and ran towards the employee door, waving goodnight to Rachel and Jules.

"Riley, one second." Jules said, stopping me just before I grabbed for the door handle.

"Yeah."

"There's something not right about that guy." He warned me.

"Jules, I know you mean well, but I really don't want to talk about this." I said as nicely as I could.

"I know Riley. I just want you to be careful. I have seen his type before and it never ends well. That's all." He said a little sheepishly.

I twisted my tongue ring around in my mouth before speaking. Jules was concerned and I didn't want to snap at him for overstepping. "I know, I'll be careful."    

Would I be careful?

I wasn't sure.

When it came to Ezra Miller, all my sanity flew out the window.