Chapter 9 - The English Patient

Emma walked into her apartment feeling completely baffled, guilt-stricken, light headed, and pretty damn giddy. She couldn't believe she had thrown herself like that at Max. What the hell had gotten into her? But she couldn't make herself feel bad for kissing him because it had been hands down the best of her life. And the way he had been so sweet with her all night...he had simply stolen a piece of her heart.

He had a way of taking her into this whole other world. He just made her feel so different, so wanted. Even now she could still feel the effects of it and certainly couldn't get it out of her head. Hell, she felt like she could still smell his cologne around her.

She headed to the bathroom and decided it would be best if she showered. Maybe that would make her snap out of it. She quickly stripped and as the steam of hot water first hit her back, she realized she did in fact smell like him. It was then that reality hit and she started feeling plain horrible about herself. She was a horrible person and human being.

She quickly finished showering and got ready to go to bed. She didn't want to think anymore and sleep was the only thing that could help with that. She went to grab her phone out of her jacket, remembering she needed to charge it. She powered it back on and was surprised to see she didn't have any messages from Roy. Her last message to him had been pretty nasty as he had stood her up to go partying. Shrugging it off, she found the glow in the dark stickers from Max and put them in a drawer in the living room where she kept a few keepsakes she had brought with her from L.A.

Despite her sullen mood, that brought a smile to her face as she turned off the lights and balled up under the covers on her side of the bed. She thought she had barely fallen asleep when she heard her phone ringing. A quick glance at the clock revealed it was nearly three in the morning.

"Hello?" she answered with a groggy voice.

"Emma? It Tony from class. Where Max live?"

"What? I don't know Tony. Why are you calling me?"

"Think, Emma. It important. I need to give him some paper."

"At 3am? What the hell is going on, Tony?"

"Do you know where Max live or not?" he demanded.

It suddenly occurred to her that she did indeed know and sighed into the phone. "Ayala 89, apartment 2B, as in boy."

"You da bomb Emma. Bye bye!" she heard before the line went dead.

What the hell was that? When she looked at her phone, she saw that it was actually Max's number who had called her and had a few missed calls from him as well. She immediately called him back but there was no answer. Weird.

She went to delete the call history and on a whim decided to change Max's name to Maria under her contacts. Just in case he called her and Roy was back, she didn't want to raise any suspicion. Yes, she was definitely losing it now and becoming paranoid. Taking a deep breath, she headed back to sleep.

She woke up early the next morning to a snoring Roy. He was still fully dressed on the bed and reeked of alcohol. She tried to wake him up so he would at least change or stop snoring, but he didn't move an inch. He was completely out of it. Not being able to stand the smell or snoring, she went to get out of bed when his right hand caught her eye underneath the pillow.

His knuckles were completely red and purple...and swollen. She grabbed his hand to inspect it further and it looked like there was dry blood on it too. She swallowed hard, instantly thinking the worst. The phone call from Tony asking for Max's address. Had they gotten into a fight? She didn't think Max would be going out yesterday, but what if he did? Oh, no.

She flew out of bed and quickly threw on a yoga outfit and some sneakers, after pulling her hair back in a ponytail. She grabbed her jacket, cell phone and keys, and flew out of the apartment.

Exactly twenty minutes later she was at Max's building after asking some pedestrians for quick directions. She ran up the stairs until she was at 2B and rang the doorbell. There was no answer, so she also tried calling him several times. She knocked on the door and then jiggled on the door knob just to see what she was dealing with, when she realized the door was unlocked.

She sighed in relief and stepped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her and locking it. She headed towards the bedroom and also found a fully clothed Max peacefully sleeping on his belly. He appeared to be in a deeper slumber than Punxsutawney Phil in his tree stub right before Groundhog Day. Thank god he was okay.

She noticed a note on his night table and went to pick it up.

Max,

Sorry I can't stay. I call Emma to know where you live. Told her it for some paper but I think she know. Also talk to your brother Leo - he nice. Anyway, hope she worth it.

-Tony

With shaking hands, she dropped the note and went towards the other side of the bed to get a better look at him. Her hand immediately went to cover her mouth when she saw his face. He had been beaten up badly.

He had at least one black eye and his nose and cheekbones were all red and swollen with dry blood smeared across his face. Had Roy really done this to him? She tried to convince herself it probably looked a lot worse than it actually was so she could try to deal with this properly.

Fighting back tears, she went to the bathroom to try to find a medicine cabinet. She didn't find exactly everything she was looking for, but did manage to find aspirin, hydrogen peroxide and cotton swabs, and cough syrup. From the kitchen, she got a tall glass of water and a bottle of vitamin water.

She went back to the bedroom but didn't know what to do. Should she wake him up now or let him sleep? She looked at her watch and it was 10am, so he probably hadn't gotten much sleep as it is. She didn't want the swelling to get much worse either.

She went to sit down on the bed next to him and shook his shoulder. "Max, wake up." He didn't move so she tried to flip him over, but of course he was too heavy for her. "Max, it's Emma. Please wake up," she said shaking him forcefully. He stirred and shifted his position towards her. He immediately groaned in pain and opened his eyes in confusion.

"Emma? What are you...fuck that hurts," he said sitting up and resting his head in his hands.

Her first instinct was to ask him if he was okay, but the answer to that was blatantly obvious. She placed two aspirin pills in his hand instead. "Take these. You need it."

With his eyes still closed, he popped them in his mouth sluggishly and downed half the water she gave him. "More," he whispered eyeing her for a second.

She hesitated before handing him one more pill. "Thank you," he said before taking it and drinking the rest of the water.

"Do you want vitamin water?"

He motioned for it with his head still drooping down, so she gave it to him. "Are you hungry? I can make you something," she offered.

He drank almost all of the vitamin water before handing it back to her and slowly shook his head.

"Max, I'm so sorry."

"You shouldn't be here, Em," he said, running his fingers down his head.

"I know. Let me just clean you up and I'll go okay?"

He nodded slightly so she took it as a yes. She went to remove his jacket, followed by his sneakers and socks. "Max, you should take a shower first. You'll feel better. Can you get up?"

He didn't answer and debated whether she should take his jeans off or not. He seemed so out of it, so she decided to unbutton them and pulled the zipper before tugging them down his legs.

"So this is what I have to do for you to undress me?" he said with a half asleep grin on his face.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said sadly. She went to remove his shirt, careful not to touch his face with the collar as she pulled it over his head. She immediately noticed the left side of his ribs was completely bruised up as well in yellowish and purple coloring. She winced at the thought of Roy kicking him there on the side, but at the same time became incredibly distracted at the sight of his almost naked body.

Max had a perfectly defined chest and six-pack and a more than generous amount of muscle on his arms and shoulders. Why was he putting himself down all the time? The truth was he had an amazing lean body and despite all the bruises, he looked so damn attractive it made her toes curl. Not to mention whatever he was packing beneath those sexy Armani boxer briefs he was wearing, she had no doubt in her mind that the boy was very well endowed.

"Should I take these off, too?" he suddenly asked, slipping his thumbs under the sides of his boxers, ready to push them down.

She felt her cheeks turn beet red and put her hands on top of his to stop him. "Not yet, tough guy," she said with a hitch in her voice.

"So what now? Are you done looking at the goods?"

"I wasn't...Max I was just inspecting the damage," she said defensively.

"It's okay, Em. You can look all you want. I was just trying to help you out...with your inspection," he said hazily. "The crown jewels are still intact in case you're worried."

"I'm going to take this as a sign that you're feeling better. So get the hell up and go shower," she ordered, giving him some tough love.

"Yes, ma'am," he joked in an American accent. He went to get up but it was clear he was still in a tremendous amount of pain. He had a really good way of hiding it though.

She helped him get up and led him towards the bathroom, closing the door after he went inside. "I uh...I'll wait for you out here," she said through the door.

She heard the water turn on so she went to the kitchen to make him something to eat. He had said he wasn't hungry, but he needed to get some nutrients in his body anyway. After sorting through the kitchen and finding a blender, she decided on a banana milkshake with granola mixed in it. It was simple and he wouldn't have to chew in case his jaw hurt.

She headed back to the bedroom with two glasses and a bag of frozen peas for the swelling on his face. She was surprised to see he was already settled back in bed when she got back. If it weren't for his damp hair and his face no longer smeared in blood, she would have sent him back to the shower.

"Okay, so I didn't find any painkillers earlier but I did find some cough syrup. It should do the trick and knock you out for a few solid hours." She poured a heavy dose of the red liquid into the cap and handed it over to Max. He drank a third of it with a disgusted look on his face and handed it back to her. "All of it, tough guy."

"Yes, mommy," he said before drinking the rest of it.

Ignoring his comment, she handed him the milkshake next. "This should taste better, daddy," she said somehow chuckling despite the dire situation. "It's a banana shake."

"My favorite kind," he said drinking it in big gulps. You would think the poor kid had been starving of thirst in a desert for a week.

She went to get the peroxide and started cleaning the area around his ribs first. He felt him flinch several times as she touched him, but didn't complain once about it. By the time she went to clean his face, he appeared half asleep again and she tried not to grimace at the cuts and bruises. She needed to keep it together just a little bit longer until she left.

Once she finished, she carefully settled the bag of frozen peas against the left side of his face which was the worse area. He groaned a bit and put his hand on top of hers and held it in place.

"Thank you for coming here, sweetheart. You didn't have to do all this," he said.

"It's the least I could do, Max."

"I don't want you getting into trouble because of me."

"He was out cold when I left. He probably won't wake up until the middle of the afternoon. Besides, I'm doing yoga at the moment. Can't you tell?" she said gesturing at her outfit.

"You look sexy as hell in that, Emma. You're the hottest nurse I've ever seen."

"I think that's the cough syrup talking."

"Nope. It's the truth. You're so worth it, Em. I would take a hit for you every day of the week."

She shook her head, feeling the guilt coming back in full swing. She had done this to him. "Please don't say that, Max." She felt the tears she had been holding back since yesterday resurface, and this time they fell down her cheeks.

"Sweetheart...no. Don't cry. Please don't cry for me," he said wiping her tears and pulling her against his chest.

"It's all my fault, Max."

"No, it's not. I went to that fucking party when I shouldn't have. He was already drunk out of his mind when I got there and he just...snapped when he saw me. It didn't help that I provoked him further. So you see, these are all results of my own actions and I'm okay with that."

"So he doesn't know....about us?" she asked confused.

"No, sweetheart. I'm sure he doesn't even remember half of what happened last night so you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, Max. I was so worried," she said hugging him tighter.

"Easy, baby," he said wincing a little. He lifted her head and ran his fingers through her ponytail. "As long as you're safe that's all that matters to me. If that ever changes for whatever reason, I want you to come back here, okay? There's a spare key in the kitchen drawer above the dishwasher. Take it with you. Promise me that, Em."

She nodded at him. "I promise."

"Good. Now give me a kiss before you leave."

"Max..."

"Please, Em. It's the only thing that will make me feel better."

"You really know how to play your cards right don't you?" she asked standing up.

"I try."

Well, so do I, she thought. She sashayed her way towards the window curtains, walking purposely slowly and taking her time to shut the blinds. She knew he had been staring at her ass the entire time by the look on his face as she turned back towards him.

"Sweet dreams, Max," she whispered as she leaned down to softly kiss him on the lips. "I'll be thinking about you."

"I'll definitely be dreaming about you, angel."

She walked outside the bedroom feeling lightheaded, and shut the door behind her. What the hell was she doing? She went to the kitchen to tidy up a bit since she had left a mess of it before. As she rinsed out the blender, she kept thinking about Max and how backwards everything seemed at the moment. She was truly starting to care about him and that scared the living hell out of her.

She found the spare key Max had mentioned and added it onto her keychain. She was about to leave when she heard Max's phone vibrate on the kitchen counter. She normally would have just let it go to voicemail, but saw 'Leo' under the display name. She knew Max hadn't spoken to him so he was probably worried.

"Hello?"

"Hey...I'm looking for Max? This is his brother, Leo," a British accent said.

"Hi, Leo. This is Emma, a friend from school."

"Do you know what happened to him? Is he okay?" he asked all concerned.

"Yeah, I'm at his place now. He's sleeping...did you want me to wake him up?"

"No, that's okay. So he's good? I got a call from this crazy Korean bloke last night and I couldn't understand a word he was saying."

"Oh, that must've been Tony. He also called me asking for Max's address. He's pretty banged up, but I think he'll be okay."

"Who did he get into a fight with?"

"Um...another guy from school?" She didn't know why she answered that as a question at the end.

"Do you know him?"

Emma silently grimaced before answering. "You could say that."

"Is he a big guy or something? I know Max can't fight even if his life depended on it, but sounds like he knocked the shit out of him."

"Five foot nine, 200 pounds..."

"Hmm. I could probably take him," he said almost to himself. "Wait, how do you know that so specifically?"

"He uhm...he's my...boyfriend," she whispered into the phone.

"What? Your boyfriend? And you're with Max right now, in his flat?"

"That would be correct."

"Holy shit. They got into a fight over you, didn't they?"

"I don't know the exact details, but yeah."

"So you and Max are hooking up," he stated after a while.

"No! I mean, it's complicated. Please don't say anything about this, Leo. If Roy finds out I'm even here..."

"Don't worry, Emma. I live in London...who am I even going to tell? I mean besides my wife here who already heard half of this conversation. I'm just surprised Max hasn't mentioned you."

"Oh," she said, feeling kind of disappointed for some reason. Well, at least it was good to know he hadn't spilled the beans. Something she was doing an entirely great job at doing all by herself.

"Hold on a minute. Are you the American girl from the basketball thing...you had a bet going on or something?"

"The one and only," she said perking up.

"I thought it was strange he stopped talking about you all of sudden. He was so into you. Well I guess he still is. Makes sense now."

"Oh, I didn't know he had...anyway, I should probably go," she said.

"So where are you from?" he asked, completely ignoring her.

"Los Angeles," she answered.

"Oh yeah? Mia grew up in New York...you two would probably get along. In fact, let me put you on speaker. She's dying over here to know what's going on."

"Leo, you're going to embarrass her," a female voice suddenly said through the phone.

"You're already on speaker, Mia," Leo said.

"Oh. Hey...Emma," Mia said.

"Um. Hi. Nice to meet you," Emma said.

"Thanks for taking care of Max, Emma. You should really give him a chance. He's a little rough on the edges at first but he's the cutest," Mia said.

"I thought I was the cutest," Leo interrupted.

"I thought guys didn't like to be called cute. At least that's what Max told me," Emma pointed out.

"Aww. Typical Max. Of course he likes it," Mia said.

"So listen. I think we should all get together the next time we're in Madrid. Or even better, you guys should come up to London for a weekend. Max is currently subletting his flat, but you can definitely stay with us. There's plenty of space," Leo said.

Emma massaged her forehead at that. What? Why were they being so nice to her? "Am I missing something here? You guys know I have a boyfriend, right?"

"Well, that never stopped anyone before," Leo said.

"I don't think a trip right now would be the best idea. It's a really nice offer, but maybe you should talk to Max first."

"Okay, but will you at least think about it? It would be so much fun...and we never get to hang out with other couples," Mia argued.

Emma sighed. "We're definitely not a couple...but yes, I'll think about it. Listen, I really need to head out. I have to go handle Hulk Junior at home now."

"You don't want to stay with Max, Emma? It'll probably be safer if you stayed there," Leo said sounding really concerned.

"No, it'll just make things a lot worse. I'll be fine, really."

"Well, let us know if you need help with anything. Save our number. You can call us anytime, okay? Even if you just want to chat," Mia said.

"Thanks guys, appreciate it," Emma said. "Oh and Leo? Do you think you could teach Max a thing or two about fighting when you see him? Self-defense mostly...just so he's prepared."

"Emma, I've been trying for years. He'll probably change his mind now, especially coming from you."

"Okay, good. Well I really gotta go now. Take care guys."

"Bye, Emma!" they said in unison.

She hung up the phone completely baffled. She couldn't explain why they were being so friendly to her and didn't judge her at all. What's more, they were encouraging her to be with Max for some reason. She had never heard of anything like it. What was the catch?

She decided it would be best to just go home and face the music. When she arrived to her apartment, Roy was still dead as a mongoose, as predicted. She was so mad at him, she felt like throwing a bucket of water on his head. The only thing that was stopping her was the fact that she would have to sleep in that same bed later that night.

"Wake up, Roy. Nap time is over," she yelled at him instead.

He turned to look at her, his eyes completely red and bloodshot. "Please, no yelling Emma. My head is literally pounding right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting your precious party schedule?"

"Can we talk later? Obviously you're pissed and need to calm down."

"I need to calm down? You're the one acting like we live in fucking Ibiza! It has to stop, Roy. I'm serious. Look at yourself. We came here to study and you're behaving like a frat boy."

"Relax, Emma. It's Sunday. I went out to an end of semester party on a Saturday night. It's not a big deal."

"It is when you've been on a two week bender. This isn't you, Roy. I barely see you anymore, and you certainly won't talk to me. I don't even know where you are half the time. I passed by your study group the other day and they asked me where you were and I couldn't give them an answer because I had no freaking clue. God, do you even remember getting into a fight last night?"

He looked at her confused for a moment and then looked at his hand. "You were there?" he asked nervously.

"No, Roy. It's pretty obvious from where I'm standing. What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't one of your hockey games where you can just slam someone down on the ground and walk away with a penalty for it. This is real life. You could've killed somebody."

"I don't know, Emma. Last night is kind of blurry to be honest."

"Unbelievable. You better get your shit together, Roy. I'm not going to stand for this kind of behavior from you...not anymore. The worst part is you don't even apologize for any of this. You should be ashamed."

"I'm sorry, Emma," he blurted out.

"Too late, asshole," she said preparing to leave. "And take a goddamn shower, will you? It smells like a fucking brewery in here," she yelled before slamming the door behind her.

She halted when she saw Professor Bernabe in the hallway, unlocking the door to this apartment. Shit. How much had he heard of that? He at least must have caught the tail end of her rant.

"Um, hi Samuel," she said softly, internally cringing. She really wasn't in the mood to exchange pleasantries, but it would be worse if she tried to ignore him.

He turned to look at her quickly, but his expression was unreadable. "Going out, Emma?"

"Yeah, just going...for a walk."

"It's a nice day outside to get some fresh air. Parque del Retiro is quite lovely this time of year."

She gulped. Okay, so he definitely heard her. How embarrassing. Now he must think he lives next to a couple of crazy people. "Yeah well I...should go then. Bye, Professor."

"Take care, Emma," he said as she headed down the stairwell.

It was times like these that she really wished her mom was still alive. Sometimes she just needed someone to talk to. Someone who would listen to her unconditionally and without judgment. Her mom would have somehow made her feel better about her current situation and given her some motherly advice on how best to fix this mess. God, she missed her so much.

She left the apartment in a rush for the second time that day. And just like earlier, she found herself wanting to go straight towards Max's apartment. She could almost picture herself curling up in bed next to him and having a quiet and peaceful afternoon. Leo was right, she should have just stayed there in the first place.

Tossing her vivid imagination aside, and with a heavy heart, she headed towards the park instead, feeling the loneliest she had ever been since she first arrived to Madrid.