Broken Man by Lee Kelly.

He watched as his shadow swayed across the bed, its shape distorted by the topography of the figure beneath the sheets. He stood in silent vigil, resting heavily against the door frame and swirled the bottle held loosely at his side, feeling it's balance shift as the whisky eddied within. The sleeper moved, sending his shadow dancing across the crisp cotton; A soft sigh, thick with sleep, then silence once more.

This was the woman he had given it all up for. This was the woman that had cost him his wife, his home, and everything he had ever owned. He had fought quite literally tooth and nail for her from the very start. ‘Us against the world’ they had said and it had been proven to be more than just words. They had battled from the start and she had ensured that he’d never been able to draw breath since. ‘She’s a head-f**k’, ‘she’s poison’… he’d been warned by so many, but he’d listened to no-one. Now he had no-one to listen to, save her.

A tear formed in his eye and he gripped the neck of the bottle with renewed purpose. He raised it to his lips and let the whisky flood his mouth, holding it until the alcohol burn became overwhelming and he was forced to swallow the fire. Wiping away the tear with the back of his hand, he lowered the bottle back to his side and shuddered with a repressed sob.

The form on the bed shifted again. “Babe? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me…” His voice soft, choked on tears and bitter whisky.

“It’s late. You should be in bed.” She raised the bed sheet, beckoning him in. The gesture stirred the still air, filling the room with the gentle fragrance of fabric softener and the warm cinder-toffee scent of her skin. “I miss you when you’re not here.”

“I’m always here. Where else would I be?”

The sob broke and his tears spilled. He took another hit from the bottle before resting it on the dresser, then moved slowly towards the bed. He had lost everything, but he knew right now that he would do it all again in a heartbeat if he had to. He was a broken man, but he was her man. He could be nothing else.

Lee Kelly is still a newcomer to the writing game but he's been fortunate enough to have both of his previous submissions see the light of day: 'Master of The Estate' appeared in Byker Books' 'Radgepacket: Tales of The Inner Cities - Volume 5' and his stab at horror, 'Dig', appeared in Wild Wolf Publishing's 'Holiday of The Dead' anthology.