CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Upon arriving at her residence, Jayde took a deep breath to calm her nerves. When she reached her door, she was stunned to see someone was sitting on the floor in front of it. Their head was buried in their legs that were pulled to their chest. The dark hood covered their face.

Jayde hesitated. What was she supposed to do? This person was obviously sleeping soundly. She really didn't want to disturb them but she also wanted inside.

"Excuse me," she said, leaning a little towards the person. They stirred a little, letting out a snore that smelled of alcohol. "Fuck," she mumbled to herself. She was going to have to touch whomever this drunk was. The thought sent chills down her spine.

Taking a step forwards, Jayde stuck out her hand and shook the shoulder of the drunk. "Excuse me. I'm trying to get into my apartment, which you're sleeping in front of." They lifted their head in a daze, the face was still hidden by the shadow of the hood.

"Wha- What," they asked sleepily. It was a man and he sounded familiar somehow. Jayde cocked an eyebrow and straightened up.

"Sir, you're in front of my door. I need to get inside." His head lifted slightly, but Jayde still couldn't see his face. In the blink of an eye, the man sprung up, pulling her into his embrace. "Uh! What is happening?! Sir, please let go of me," Jayde was freaking out.

The fragrance wafting from him seemed similar, but it was heavily covered by the horrid stench of booze. Jayde held back a gag as she tried forcing the man to release his hold on her.

"I missed you so much," he choked out. Jayde froze in place. That voice! The slight hint of a drawl lingered in her ears. No way.

"M-Max," she asked, worry washed over her as she realized the drunkard was none other than the man she loved dearly. He pulled her in closer.

"You don't love me anymore," he sobbed. Jayde's heart shattered at the sound of his pain. How could he think that?

Jayde finally pulled free, pulled his hood back and looked into his puffy, bloodshot eyes. Max had been crying! She pulled his forehead to hers and sighed. "Max, of course I love you. I always have."

Max fell to his knees in front of her, crying and laughing with what seemed like relief. Jayde ran her fingers through his sweaty hair and smiled. "What an idiot. How could I not love you? You're the light that burns bright, lighting up my dark world. Max, you're all I want." He wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly and placing a kiss to her stomach.

Jayde continued running her fingers through his hair for a few minutes. When she noticed the neighbors peeking out at them, she suggested they go inside so they didn't disturb them anymore tonight.

Max was leaning all his weight on Jayde's slender shoulders as they stumbled into the living room. Jayde was huffing and sweating as she tried not to drop him. But Max wasn't helping much. He was barely moving and when he did, it was in the wrong direction, making Jayde pivot quickly to get them back on the right course again.

It seemed like forever before they reached the couch. Jayde let Max's limp body plop onto the seat and sat on the floor trying to catch her own breath. "How could you be so foolish? How much did you drink," she questioned him when her breathing became steady again. Max's eyes were closed as he laid slumped over. She smiled and shook her head at the idiot of a man before her.

He did this to himself because he thought she didn't want him. Or loved him. How ridiculous. Jayde laughed as she stood up and walked to the bathroom to fill up the tub. She added some of her cherry blossom bubbles to the water thinking Max would need them. She wasn't allowed him to sleep in her bed smelling the way he did right this second.

He reeked of a bar room that was crammed shoulder to shoulder of drunks that hadn't been cleaned properly in years. She shuddered at that thought. Her Max needed to be cleaned and she'd do her best to make it as easy for him as possible. In the morning, Max would probably be upset a grown man had taken a bubble bath, but this was for her.

Jayde laughed again at the thought of him relaxing in the bubbles, a glass of strawberry champagne in one hand, a cigarette in the other. She'd never seen him that relaxed or carefree. It would be a fantastic change of pace though.

Turning the water off, Jayde stood up to get a few more things ready for Max. She grabbed a new toothbrush out of the cabinet along with a clean towel and a loofah. He didn't have any clean clothes here though.

Jayde grew frantic. He had to have left something from one of his other sleep overs. She rummaged through the clean laundry she hadn't put away yet. No. Nothing. He was very thorough in making sure he took all of his belongings with him every time he left. Jayde plopped on the bed, chewing her thumbnail as the anxiety piled on.

Suddenly, she flew out of the bed and ran to her phone. Jayde dialed one of the numbers of his band mates, unsure which one it was. She listened to the country song playing instead of the normal ringing.

Finally, a man picked up. "Hello," he answered groggily. Shit. Jayde felt bad waking him up. She ran her fingers through her hair as she stood over Max, watching his chest rise and fall with every steady breath he took.

"Hey, it's Jayde. I'm so sorry for waking you up. But Max showed up here drunk as a skunk and smelling like a bar. I'm trying to help his drunk ass get cleaned up but he has no clean clothes here. Do you think one of you are sober enough to bring over a pair of his boxers at the least?"

She heard a husky laugh on the other end and squeezed her eyes closed, anticipating being yelled at for disturbing him.