Martha My Dear

Chapter 9

I woke up the next morning in someone else's bed, thankfully still wearing the outfit from the night before.

I looked around frantically feeling my throat tighten, until I spotted Martha at the door, her tongue hanging out of her mouth happily, causing me to relax realizing I was at Paul's house.

The faintest sound of snoring filled the room and I leaned over the side of the bed to see Paul on the ground with a sole pillow and blanket, wearing a plain white t shirt and plaid pyjama pants.

He looked to be in a deep sleep, his expression was peaceful as he laid on his side, facing the bed.

I remembered the events hazily from last night and panicked, terribly embarrassed of what had happened between us.

Knowing I'd come to regret the decision, I carefully lifted the sheets from myself, getting off the bed on the opposite side from Paul and tiptoeing across the hardwood floor to the door.

I looked back to Paul once more with a conflicted conscience, but ducked out of the room regardless, Martha following beside me closely with a wagging tail.

The clacking of her nails against the floor made me uneasy, causing me to continue to look back to check I hadn't woken Paul.

I didn't look around much as I hurried to the front door, finding my shoes and slipping them on.

As I opened the front door, Martha barked thinking she was going for a walk, making my eyes widen in fear.

"Shhhh." I whispered before hurrying out the door and running down the driveway thinking Paul must've woken up from Martha.

I hurried past the gate and begun to walk to my flat, seeing the sun just beginning to rise.

As soon as I'd made it back to my flat I slipped back into my bed setting my alarm for work, hoping I would be able to sleep off some of my humiliation before I would have to go.
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I had eventually gone up and went to work, pulling my unwashed hair up off of my face into a ponytail and not bothering to put any makeup on, figuring I had no one to impress now anyway.

I kept thinking about how I'd made a fool of myself in front of Paul and let him down multiple times, even after he'd kindly brought me back to his house after I'd blacked out. He could've easily left me and gone home with any girl there, but for some reason he had stayed.

I had a really nice time with him yesterday night at the party, and I wish I hadn't reacted with fear like I had when we kissed but it was automatic like self defence mechanism, in fear of letting my guard down. It was just too soon after what happened on the boat.

I had just begun to wait on some tables at the diner when I heard the bell on the door ring, signalling someone's entrance.

As I began to walk away to give the orders to the kitchen, I saw someone stop in front of me in my peripheral vision.

"Charlie." I heard Pauls voice suddenly, causing me to jump.

I looked into his eyes with fear, unable to form a sentence, my mouth agape in disbelief.

"Can we talk? Please?" The look in his eyes seemed pleading and desperate.

He didn't look like his usual self. He was still wearing his white t shirt from earlier and a pair of jeans, his hair still messy from sleep and his voice was still groggy like he'd rushed here as soon as he'd woken up.

I nodded slowly, my heart beating quickly in my chest and my stomach doing backflips.

Paul looked around seeing some people beginning to realize who he was and staring in astonishment. He took my free hand and gently lead me near the bathrooms where we were almost completely out of sight from everyone.

"I'm sorry." I began to shake my head with a remorseful frown apologizing unable to look in his eyes, guilt clouding over me as he let go of my hand.

"Yesterday night, Charlie, I would've never done anything to hurt you," he began looking hurt, clearly thinking it was all his fault.

"I know. I don't know what happened, I really like you Paul." I assured him shyly feeling like I should have just given him the reason why I'd freaked out, he seemed to be very troubled about it.

My reassurance seemed to somewhat ease his tenseness.

"I'm sorry for what I did, if I was out of line, I like you a lot too," he rambled, slightly more relaxed.

I leaned up and kissed him to stop his worrying.

His lips were warm and soft, his stubble brushing up against my face ticking me, causing me to smile. It didn't take long before he kissed me back, making a delightful feeling run through me as I put my hands on his chest.

I pulled away before it went too far and looked him in the eyes.

"There wasn't anything wrong. I just got in my own head." I smiled reassuring him once again, seeing him staring at me in surprise.

He nodded slowly, watching me lustfully.

"Paul, can I ask you something?" I bit my lip nervously, retracting my hands from his shirt.

He nodded once again attentively.

"Why did you come here?" I questioned.

"I-I'm sorry I can go," He began nervously, his tenseness coming back.

"No, I mean, after what I did, why didn't you just, leave me there and never speak to me again?" I spoke vaguely in a quiet voice, being extremely embarrassed.

"I dunno. I guess you're the first person who's treated me like a person instead of a Beatle." He looked down at me fondly, a small grin appearing to lift the corners of his lips.

I smiled, his words having lifted my spirits immediately.

"Charlotte!" My boss called over to me.

Paul and I both looked over to him, seeing him looking back at us annoyedly.

"I should get back over there." I looked up at Paul with sorrow in my features.

"Can I pick you up when your shift is over? To go out together?" He asked hopefully.

"Sure. Five o'clock." I was unable to keep myself from having a giant grin in absolute joy.

"Five o'clock." He nodded smiling.

We separated ways and I couldn't contain my excitement. It was as if I were still tripping from the LSD yesterday because it felt like I was floating.

I had spent the remainder of the shift happier than I had been in days, an unmoving smile on my face along with a great mood.
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Five o'clock couldn't seem to come fast enough, but when it finally did Paul's Aston Martin was waiting out front for me.

I got out as quickly as I could and ran to the car, Paul seeming to have been as excited as I.

"D'you want to stop by your flat to get changed before we go?" He asked upbeat, his eyes landing on the cardigan I wore over the dress to hide my arms.

"Yeah, sounds good." I nodded with a gulp as he looked back to the road.

We drove back to my flat, Paul coming up with me as we began to talk normally like we had been before, no awkward tension like I had thought there'd be to my contentment.

I noticed there was a piece of paper taped to my door as we walked up to it. I quickly pulled it off the door and looked down at it, my worst fears coming true. I felt lightheaded as my pulse quickened.

It was an eviction notice.