The stability he had briefly found was gone. Tommy immediately regressed, falling back into his destructive habits that had plagued him after the loss of Rosa.
His drinking became constant and unrestrained. He would consume alcohol whenever the urge struck, in the morning, during the day, making his relapse comprehensive.
Nightly drinking, once again, became an inevitable fixture of his life, a desperate attempt to fill the void.
As expected, being constantly under the influence of alcohol reignited his urgent need for physical intimacy. With no committed relationship to anchor him, the brothel became his inevitable next destination, marking his full descent back to his lowest point.
Tommy knew all too well that these encounters offered only temporary, superficial pleasure. There were never any emotional connections with the girls he was with, never.
Yet, this painful knowledge did nothing to halt his descent; the raw, physical urge consistently defeated his reasoning, driving him to repeat the act over and over again, always followed by a familiar sting of regret.
The drinking, however, became his primary escape and source of immediate comfort. Unlike the brothel, which offered only fleeting pleasure followed by regret, Tommy truly enjoyed the sensation of being under the influence, preferring the hazy oblivion it provided.
His habit was strictly solitary. He would always go out to his regular bar alone, never once inviting a friend to join him. Alternatively, he would drink alone at home, savoring the combination of oblivion and solitude, which he considered the best combo for escaping his reality.
Until...