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Relapse	By : Downey Category: Individual Celebrities > Robert Downey Jr. Views: 2310 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with or knowledge of Robert Downey Jr. I have received no payment for this story. This is a work of pure fiction.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
Maggie told him he should get some sleep, but Robert couldn’t relax.Secretly wishing for some Valium, some Vicodin--anything, he accepted her offer of the in-room coffee instead, drinking the entire small pot full in a matter of minutes.For four hours, he paced back and forth in the cramped hotel room, chewing his nails, sighing, and whispering some of the most unique expletives Maggie had ever heard.Eventually, he regained a bit of composure and sat in a half-lotus on the floor, breathing deeply. She decided that his life was none of her business—she wouldn’t ask him anything about his father, or his wife, or why he’d suddenly, tragically gone off the wagon for the first time since 2003.Her whole goal had been to watch over him, to protect him until it was time for someone else to take over, and he seemed to be grateful to have her there.At the same time, she couldn’t help but dread the coming of the dawn, when whoever he’d been talking to on the phone would presumably get into town and whisk him away from her forever.
At 7:16 am, Robert’s phone rang.“Yep? ….Uh…” He turned to Maggie, who had showered and gotten herself dressed again and was now sitting at the small circular table in the far corner of the room, trying to separate herself from him physically and emotionally.“What room are we in? Actually, what hotel are we in?”
“Howard Johnson’s, room 410.”
“It’s a HoJo’s, room 410,” he said into the phone.“What street are we on?” He was looking at Maggie again.
“Um…I’m not sure.Somewhere near Queen.”
“Near Queen.Can you find it? … Oh, okay.”He put down the phone.“He’s on his way—shouldn’t be more than a few minutes.”
When a soft, coded knock sounded on the door, Maggie felt her heart break.She’d been the one to rescue him, but now the professional was here.The cleaner. She tried to bring herself back down to reality.What did you expect?
Robert opened the door, shirtless, and a wide-framed, tattooed, six-foot-tall dark-haired man took two steps into the room and shut and locked the door firmly behind him.He looked at Robert, whose golden-brown eyes were filling and threatening to overflow, and wrapped his strong arms around him.“Jimmy…” Robert began, but gave up and sobbed instead, burying his face in his bodyguard’s chest.
Jimmy put a hand on the back of Robert’s hair soothingly.He glanced across the room at Maggie, narrowing his eyes in a look of pure contempt. “Sshh… it’s going to be okay now.Tell me what happened.”
Robert broke away from the bigger man reluctantly and sighed.He wiped his eyes.“We had just wrapped and Allyson called to tell me… Dad…” Choking on his words, he couldn’t continue.
Jimmy looked to Maggie.“His dad died,” she whispered.
Jimmy put his hand on Robert’s shoulder and guided him to a chair.“Is that true?Bob’s dead?”
Robert nodded and sat down.
“I’m so sorry, man.That’s rough.Your dad was a great guy—a prince.”Jimmy wrinkled his brow.“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone!”
“It’s not your fault, Jimmy.How could you have known?”
“Still—I shouldn’t have left.Because now you’ve gone and… what have you done?” He looked back and forth from Robert to Maggie.
Robert saw the look.“Yeah, I did that, but that’s not the worst of it.”
Jimmy kneeled in front of his boss.“What was it? Booze?Coke?Not the black tar again?”He studied Robert’s face closely.There was no judgement in his voice.
“Mostly vodka and a bit of coke, I think.” He looked away toward the window, embarrassed.
Jimmy sighed heavily and stood up.He walked in front of the window so he could look in Robert’s eyes as he spoke.“That’s okay.We can handle this.You’re going to handle this.”
“Am I, Jimmy?”
“Yes.You are.One day at a time, right?”
“Sure.Back to square one.”He got up and turned to the wall.“I’m such a fucking asshole!”Jimmy moved toward him but not quickly enough to stop Robert from smashing his forehead against the hard surface.
“Did anyone see you?”Jimmy looked at Maggie again.“Anyone else?”
“No,” Maggie told him.“I’m pretty sure no one did.”
“Right.I’ve got a contract here…”Jimmy reached into his coat pocket and produced a few folded sheets of paper.
“What’s this?”Maggie directed the question to Robert, but he was studying his fingernails.
Jimmy answered.“It’s a standard non-disclosure agreement.Your acceptance of this contract and the cheque we’re going to give you means that if you tell anyone—a single soul—about anything that happened in the last 24 hours, you will be sued in a court of law.”
Robert grabbed Jimmy’s arm that held the papers.“Never mind that now, Jimmy.She’s cool.”He turned toward Maggie, reached a hand toward her, and tucked a stray chunk of hair behind her ear.“She saved my life.”
Jimmy frowned.“Okay, we’ll talk about this later. Have you called Susan?”
"No."
“Wouldn’t you normally have called her last night?”
"Yeah."
“Call her.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to.”
“And say what?”
“Tell her you love her, you miss her, and you’ll be home by 4pm as planned.”
“That’s it?”
“Hey, she’s your wife, it’s your life.But I wouldn’t tell her anything else.”
“How can I not?”
“You’d be clearing your own conscience, but you’d be killing every ounce of trust she has in you. Is that really what either of you needs right now? What Exton needs?”
Robert sat alone on the edge of the bed, holding his Blackberry out in front of him as though he might catch something from it.When he finally started pushing the buttons, his hand shook.
“Hey, honey, it’s me… Oh, she did? …. I know, I’m sorry… I was so upset, I just didn’t feel like talking… I went to bed early…”Susan could hear the anguish in her husband’s voice.“I’m okay, it’s okay.He had a good life.No, that’s a lie… I’m not okay.I wish you were here.”The tears started again, and this time they didn’t stop.“I love you too, baby.I’ll be on the next plane home.We’ll deal with all the details later I guess.”They talked for a few minutes more, then he put the phone down and reached for his shirt, still crying.
Jimmy walked toward him.“Pull yourself together, dude.You don’t want to draw attention at the airport.”He helped Robert on with his jacket.
Maggie got off her chair but hesitated—maybe it would be best if he just left.
Robert hadn’t forgotten about her, though.He turned toward her and extended his arms.“C’mere.”She felt herself wrapped tightly in a bear hug, one she wished would never end. “I owe you…so much. If you hadn’t come along…”
“Don’t worry about it. I just hope you’re going to be okay.”
His grasp loosened and Maggie reluctantly pulled herself away from this distant stranger she was somehow suddenly madly in love with.
Jimmy approached her with the papers again and she took them and the proffered pen, signing on the dotted line without bothering to read the words.He pocketed the contract and walked over to the exit.
Robert’s sunglasses and hat were back on his head and his hand was on the door now.He half-turned back into the room and said over his shoulder, “I’ll be okay.”
And then he was gone.The room still smelled of him.Maggie picked up a damp white towel from the bathroom floor and held it to her lips.She sat like that for a long, long time.
The End
- 5
- 6
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