Was he even conscious? Did he know what he was doing? Holding onto me like this, begging me not to leave...

My emotions were starting to churn again.

"James, he's drunk, isn't he?" I said, controlling my feelings as James and I helped Richard back onto the sofa.

James looked exasperated. "I don't know what got into Richard today. He kept pulling Brandon into one drink after another, and we couldn't get him to stop."

I had a vague idea of what might have caused ...