#roundabout asks

Remy actually comes from an incredibly wealthy family in Georgia. He has no siblings, so his parents put a great deal of pressure on him growing up to one day take over the responsibilities of his mother’s (yes, his mother’s) position in their company. His parents were aware of his eye condition, but acted as though it wasn’t that grand of a deal. They treated him as though he was completely normal, which he liked at times but often caused disagreements involving his sunglasses and his mother’s frustration about him wearing them inside. 

After college when he was thrown headfirst into the whirlwind of stocks and trade deals and endless exhausting meetings, he had begun going out to casinos on the weekends to de-stress. Needless to say, that quickly spiraled out of control until his parents began to take notice. His father was more concerned about his son’s well being, but his mother quickly sent him to therapy to try and repair the image of their family name before any permanent damage was done.

At first, Remy didn’t take therapy seriously. His therapist spoke so robotically and gave him looks of sympathy that he absolutely hated. He just wanted to have fun, why couldn’t anyone understand that? Eventually, he decided enough was enough and moved away. His parents stopped communication and cut him off financially. He spent two years essentially living in casinos and almost entirely off of alcohol and beer nuts.

There was one day that he’d woken up hungover in his apartment, with a throbbing headache and dehydrated beyond belief. He was too tired to get up, and decided to run by to get some coffee before getting back to the casino. 

And that was the day he met Emile.

They had both been in the same line, Emile, two people ahead of him, but Remy could see him dancing to the music over the radio, and something told him to talk to him before he left. So, ever the charmer, he ordered his drink and walked over to the table Emile was sitting at. One almost smooth pick-up line later that had them both chuckling to themselves, and “just a quick coffee run” turned into two hours talking about anything and everything.

The casino was still on his mind when he left Starbucks, but this time it wasn’t hard to shrug it off and go home. Up until that moment, he didn’t have any motives to change. But Emile’s number in his phone gave him plenty of reasons to move forward.

Remy’s moment of clarity came from a place of love. He shared his problems with Emile on their second date, and not longer after he was going to AA and GA and attempting to see a therapist again, this time one Emile recommended who specialized in addiction. One who didn’t give him looks of pity but listened without being utterly condescending.