Loss Fragment

CHAPTER 26: Girls Night Out

Ella POV

I feel so ill this morning and have a terrible headache like someone banged my head on the wall the night before.

I curl up and pull the blanket off my face. I look around me. At least I'm in a familiar bed.

Alcohol and I didn't go along very well. That was the last time I drank, I swear!

So, I spent most of yesterday with my brother. Just chill at his friend Alex's flat and watch The Lord of the Ring. We somehow ended up at a bar restaurant for dinner.

What else happened after that?

Oh yeah, we had a couple of drinks.

And, Maxwell was there?

Argh!! My head hurts. And, my mouth is so dry. I'll never drink again.

I grabbed the shirt I saw on the chair and put it on me. It smells like Maxwell.

"Yeah, we'll fly back to New York later this evening. When are you.."

I hug Max from his side and kiss him on his cheek. It's a good thing he is sitting on a kitchen stool so I don't have to tip-toed so much to reach him. He smells so good. He always smell good. And, he looks so good in his casual white tee and jeans.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

I give him a thumbs down. "My head hurts so bad." Shit. I sounded bad as well with my cracked voice.

"Who were you talking to?" I thought he was talking to someone before I came in, but he wasn't on his phone.

I heard a man's cough from behind me. I turned around and saw Mike waves at me from Max's iPad.

Shit!!

"Hi, Ella. It's good to see you again." Mike grinned from the iPad.

Max pulled me with one arm and moved me behind him. I rest my forehead on Max's back. Shit! Shit! Shit!!

"I'll see you when you return from Spain." Max told Mike.

"Sure man."

I look over Max's shoulder and see Mike still grinning.

"Bye Ella." I heard him laugh before Max turned off the iPad.

"I hope you like veggie soup. I'll heat it up for you. And, I must say you look good in my shirt, baby." He raised his eyebrows, moved me at arm's length and looked me up and down.

I smile shyly at his remark. "So, you make me some soup?"

"Don't get your hope high though. It's only can's soup. That's the only thing I could find in the kitchen." Max moved to the microwave to heat up a bowl of soup.

He is so adorable. It's the thought that matters, Max.

I wonder if he was always like this with women. Didn't he say he used to have a girlfriend before? What went wrong?

"So, what happened between you and your ex?" I ask as I taste the soup he places in front of me.

He was stunned for a while. I guess he didn't expect that question.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I can tell he is not comfortable with me asking him that.

"I found her with another man in our bed. And, just like that, it was over."

I look at him, surprised with his revelation. I frown. Why would anyone do that? If you love someone, why would you hurt them like that? Why not just get out of the relationship? Why must you cheat?