Page 41 of For All It's Worth
“Cool, well that stuff is on the next floor and there are a couple of assistants up there that can help you out. Nice to see you Max, and to meet you, Charlie. Hope you get what you need.” With that, Noah headed back to the main reception area where a couple was waiting with some purchases.
“Was I rude?” I ask Max quietly.
“Nah, he probably would’ve gotten into trouble for making those people wait.”
I moved over to a sofa that caught my eye and dropped down into it, tipping my head back to watch the light travel over the ceiling. I was suddenly exhausted. Just completely done. I wanted to get the furniture and stuff I needed but I didn’t want to pick it all. I just wanted to be somewhere quiet and calm.
Max stood watching me for a second before sitting next to me, our bodies aligned from knee to shoulder. “What’s going on, Charlie? I haven’t seen you like that in a long time.” He leaned further into me, reassuring me with his presence.
“I…” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, still not used to the shorter cut that Mom insisted I get. I felt frustration bubble up. “I just feel like I’ve had control of my life stolen from me. Like Mom and Alex took the mugging as an excuse to take it all away. Mom doesn’t like me working. She doesn’t think I’m ready for it even when I was going out of my mind at home within just a few days after getting out. She doesn’t want me to move out because she doesn’t trust Henry to keep an eye on me. It’s ridiculous!”
Max wrapped an arm around me, pulling my head down to rest on his shoulder.
“You are more than ready. Okay, so you didn’t wait long to get a job, but you don’t work full time, you are doing therapy and are home most evenings. She can’t fault you. You have to do these things eventually and I think doing them now while you have Evan to support you is the best thing for you.” Max stroked his hand through my hair and I melted into the touch. It was perfect to be like that with him, letting him look after me and soaking up the warm affection.
“I honestly think that moving out is the best thing for you both,” he went on. “You've been home a month and I can see the cracks forming. One of you is bound to say something they regret. You’re too alike for you not to. You’ll get the blame though because Alex is a dick.”
I couldn’t help the chuckle I let loose. “Fair and true.”
“Let’s just focus on problems as they come, okay? This move is going to be great and Henry knows what’s happened and still wants you to move in, so he must trust you not to throw it in his face by getting wasted, right?”
I gave a shrug. “I guess. The last thing I want to do right now is get drunk. I honestly don’t miss the constant buzz of anxiety from the day after a bender. Booze isn’t worth the hassle it causes.”
“See? Growth. Let’s go get you moved out.”
An hour later I was ready to hand over all decisions to Max because I was utterly done with shopping. We’d lain on what felt like a hundred mattresses before Max found the one he thought was best. The sales assistant looked at me like I had a screw loose for letting Max dictate what I spent my cash on, but she didn’t know how well Max understood me and my personal tastes. I had to admit that I spent most of the time we were shopping completely distracted by him. Each time that we lay down together, I couldn’t help picturing us doing this all the time. Climbing into our bed at the end of a long day and curling up together. Nights twisted around each other, sweat-covered skin. Panted moans and breathy gasps.
There was something in his eyes whenever they caught mine that made me think perhaps he was thinking something similar.
Surrounded by people, it wasn't the time to do anything about the feelings surging within me.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Will: Where is that animal shelter you helped out at? I want to get Andy a cat for his birthday.
Taking a second to draw up the shelter’s website on my phone, I shot the info back to him.
Will: Thanks.
A smile played on my lips at Will casually reaching out to me like that. Progress. Then it fell as I remembered how much shopping we still had to do.
I caught Max observing me as we neared the end of mattresses and I gave him a questioning look.
“You’re done, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I really don’t care now. I just want something comfortable to sleep on.” I cast a look around me. “This is too much. I can’t choose.”
Max moved closer and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his side.
“Why don’t you head over to the café and order us something? I can pick up stuff you’ll like. I’ve seen a couple of things already.”
“Really? You’d do that?”
“Sure. You can have the final say if you want. I can send you some pics.”
“Nah, I trust you.” I handed him my credit card and from the corner of my eye, I saw the assistant's eyes bug out. She didn’t know us though and I trusted Max and knew our tastes were similar.
We should have done it this way from the start. I sat in the café with an iced coffee for Max and a fruity iced drink for me. There hadn’t been much that was gluten-free, so I decided that we’d just get something to eat elsewhere.
