Man in the mirror

"Sometimes, the biggest battles are the ones we fight within ourselves, with no one else to blame but the man in the mirror." my father once said.

I stood outside Jake’s house, the bottle in my hand almost empty. The night air was cool, but it did nothing to sober the heat in my chest. I’d screwed up. Big time. Everything was slipping through my fingers—my life, my family, the woman I’d finally realized I couldn’t live without. And for what? A stupid mistake, a night of weakness that had consequences far beyond what I’d ever imagined.

I pounded on the door, and after a few moments, Jake opened it, his eyes narrowing as he took in my state. He didn’t say anything, just stepped aside to let me in. I stumbled past him into the living room, collapsing onto the couch. The bottle dangled from my hand, and I stared at it, wondering how I’d gotten to this point.

“You look like hell, man,” Jake said, finally breaking the silence as he took the bottle from me and set it on the coffee table.

“F