Hollywood Politics {BoyxBoy}

Chapter 22 - Ass Whoopin Time

Aria’s POV

Walking through the front door I noticed firstly the scent of old pizza and alcohol. It had been the same scent every time I came over the last few days. I had to go to a meeting this morning, and when I left, Max was fast asleep. I had hoped that by the time I came back he would have had  a shower, or do something other than drink and mope around his apartment like he had for the last few day.

I followed the sound of the television and walked into the room to see Max on the sofa.

‘You leaving the house today?’ I asked Max, but the man only shook his head and I sat down next to him.

My best friend was wearing sweat pants with no shirt, his hair was a mess and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. His breakup with Ryan was slowly killing him and it hurt me more than I could say to see him like this.

After I got to his house the other day, he had just cried and told me that Ryan had chosen Claudia. At first I was going to go over to Ryan’s apartment and whoop his ass, but I needed to look after my best friend.

He had spent the last few days on the couch, a drink in his hand and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. The morning after the breakup he told me what Ryan had said, that Claudia had threatened both of their careers and that the baby was some guy named Zach’s. I felt so bad for Ryan, I knew he was trying to save his career and protect Max, but that evil woman can’t control his life like that. I had asked Max if I could call Ryan and talk to him, but Max just told me that Ryan made his choice.

After that day he blocked me out. Whenever I tried to get through to him, the man would just look at his lap and say nothing. Ryan was everything to him, and now he was just missing all his meetings and drinking his life and career away.

‘Come on Max, let’s go to lunch or something?’ I prompted, placing a hand on his arm, but he just moved his arm away from my touch.

‘What do you say? There’s a new place opening in Hollywood today, we could go there?’

He just shook his head again, ‘Why? I have nothing left’

‘You have your career and you have me,’ I tried to reason but he wasn’t listening.

‘I don’t have Ryan, every time I go out, I could run into him and his new happy family’ I watched the tears well up in his big green eyes, ‘I can’t- I just can’t see that.’

I pulled him into my arms and let him cry into my neck.

‘I thought that he would choose me,’ he mumbled out between sobs and it broke my heart.

Max was the strongest person I know, but seeing him like this, vulnerable and broken, it was like the essence of what made him himself was gone and all was left was the empty shell of a man who had loved and lost.

How could Ryan not see that? Not see that by choosing Claudia, he was destroying Max, destroying the future with him that he could have had. 

The man pulled away from me, ‘I’m going to have a shower.’

‘That’s a good idea,’ I told him and I watched him walk away.

My phone rang in my pocket and I hoped that it was good news. I could use some of that about now.

‘Hello.’

‘Claudia! How are you?’ I recognised the voice instantly as Colton Jacobs, one of my clients. The blonde was a great model, whose career had been rising over the past year.

‘Colton! I am great’ I lied, but I couldn’t let my personal life and issues with Max interfere with my work. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m good, look, I really need to see you, can you meet me for coffee?’ His voice was not as cheery as usual and I wondered whether there was a problem.