His addiction

"Jack!!!" He jolted from the bed as he heard his mom scream his name.

"Mom, I didn't hear you come in." Jack replied slowly.

His mother briskly walked to his bedside table and unplugged the computer he had been playing games with. She turned to face him with a serious frown on her face. Jack knew he was in trouble.

"Do I have to take this away from here for you to stop?" His mother yelled at him.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was late already; I should've stopped or probably turned down the volume." Jack apologized.

"Can't you see that you're only harming yourself? Every single opportunity you get, you spend it behind the screen with these flashing images. Don't you know it can affect your sight in the future?" His mother asked again.

"I'm sorry, Mom; I'll turn over a new leaf. I promise." Jack said.

"You had better do that, or I'll take this away from you and destroy it." His mother threatened and left his room, shutting the door with a loud bang.

---

At twenty-four, Jack would rather prefer to play video games than spend some time with his friends. They would always complain, but he always said it was peaceful to play video games.

"Jack, when can we go on an actual date?" Miriam, Jack's girlfriend, asked him.

She had come to spend the weekend at his place, but as usual, Jack was more occupied with his games and paid little attention to her. All he did was make sure that all she might want to eat was available, but he spent his time laughing and playing video games; thus, Miriam felt neglected.

"A date?" Jack asked her, without turning from his computer.

"Jack, I need you to turn it off and listen to me." Miriam said. She was trying to keep the anger that was surging through her in check.

"I don't need to turn it off. I listen with my ears, and that's all you need." Jack replied.
Miriam waited for some time, and seeing he wasn't going to listen to her demands, she lost her cool and unplugged the gaming console out of the socket, and then she threw it off the table, and seeing this, Jack screamed in terror.

"What was that for!!!" He screamed and stared at dismembered console parts scattered across the room.

"Now I can have your full attention. What is your problem? You love your video games more than you love your girlfriend. I've been here for two days, and you've barely said more than twenty words to me. Are you crazy?" Miriam was furious, and she took it out on him, but Jack couldn't say anything. He only stared at his game set, which had been destroyed.

"You shouldn't have done this. I spent a lot to get this game set, and it's barely three months, and now I have to get another one because of you?" Jack complained.

"Whoa, all you really care about is your video game. I hope you rot with it. I'm done with you." Miriam said and packed her bags, then she left Jack's house, but he stood there and didn't try to stop her.

Source

Twenty years later, Jack was diagnosed with a chronic sight problem, and he was advised by his doctor to stay away from the screen and avoid flashing images, and this constantly became an issue for him and his wife.

"We'll be heading to the doctor's office tomorrow." His wife said to him as she got into bed beside him.

Jack pretended not to have heard what she said. He turned his back and faced the wall, then he made soft snoring sounds.

"You can pretend to be asleep, but if you don't go with me to the doctor's office tomorrow, I'll have him come here." His wife threatened.

"Miriam, what did I do wrong to you? Why are you bent on making me sad tonight? Twenty years ago, you destroyed my game set and walked out of my life; now you're involving doctors. Why?" Jack whined and feigned tears.

"Well, it's for your good. You should've left me the moment I walked out, but you came back with your friends the next day..." Jack tried to argue, but she hit his shoulder and turned him to face her. "We're going to the doctor tomorrow. I saw you today, and you know what I'm saying, right?" Miriam asked him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jack denied and turned back to the other side of the bed.

"Then explain to me why water was gushing out of your eyes. You were playing games again with your phone. Do you think I wouldn't catch on just because you used your phone? You and the kids were doing that, and I can't continue to complain all the time when it's obvious that you won't listen. So, you'll have to explain yourself to the doctor, unless you're ready to go blind." Miriam said to him.

She was clearly offended. Jack knew better than to say anything; he curled up in the bed and slept it off, but he hoped she'd forget about the hospital by dawn.

The next day, Jack got up early and ran to his kids room. He tapped on the door of his eldest son, who had taken after his gaming attitude.

"You can't let your mom take me to the hospital." Jack said to him.

"Dad, I got an earful from Mom yesterday. Did your eyes really hurt after the game?" His son asked.

"No, it didn't. Your mother was just exaggerating, so she can drag me to the hospital." Jack tried to convince his son.

"If that's the case, go with her and watch the disappointment on her face when you'll be tested, okay? If you insist on staying back, she'll only suspect that you're hiding things from her, and it can't get worse than that." Lucas advised.

Jack knew he couldn't get out of his current predicament. As he left his son's room, he was met by Miriam, who was already dressed. She asked him to hurry, and soon after, they were en route to the hospital.
When they got to the hospital, Miriam complained about the water that had gushed out of her husband's eyes and how bothersome it had been.

"That's not supposed to happen. Mr. Jack, what did you do before then?" The doctor asked him.

"Can't I shed tears of joy? Does it have to be a problem too?" Jack asked.

The doctor opened his mouth to respond, but Miriam cut in.

"It's a problem when you shed tears after hours of playing video games." She said, and Jack stared at her and gave a tired sigh.

"You win. Doctor, can't I have a little fun with my son?" He asked the doctor.

"You can have as much fun as you want, but you need to avoid spending much time behind the screen. You'll have to get tested today." A nurse came in and took Jack away to get his eyes tested.

Miriam watched him leave, and she sighed loudly and placed her head on the doctor's desk.

"He'll be fine, ma'am." The doctor assured.

"He never listens. He's been this way since I knew him for the first time; it's like an addiction, and I don't know what to do anymore." Miriam complained.

"What do they say about old habits?" The doctor asked her.

"They die hard." Miriam quietly replied.

"I'm sure that with time and more persuasion, he'll have no choice but to give up on the games; it'll take more than some scolding. Give him time." The doctor advised.

As they drove back to their home, Miriam stared at her husband, who had fallen asleep, and she silently wished that he'd give up on the video games before it got out of hand.

Thanks for reading.