Chapter14
Aaliyah woke up with a smile on her face. The night before had been so perfect; Max had been perfect. She couldn’t believe how nervous she’d been that she might disappoint him or that he might not think she was nearly as exquisite as some of the other girls around. But never once did he make her feel that way, even when she’d started to get down herself. He was attentive and never even looked at another girl for the whole night. And there were some beautiful girls on the arm of his friends. There was a point in the night, during dinner, where Max did seem to get in some sort of little funk, but when he’d squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes, she could see something so deep in his eyes, she almost felt she could fall into him.
Aaliyah couldn’t remember a time recently when she’d woken up feeling so happy and so relaxed. It was a feeling that she hoped she could hang onto. To be able to push away the feelings of doubt and uncertainty and be happy with the bright way her life was looking. But a loud crash into the door made Aaliyah’s eyes fly open, and seeing both Caroline and Eli’s faces made that happy feeling sink into fear. Without either one of them saying a word, she knew something was wrong.
“What is it?” She wasn’t going to beat around the bush with pleasantries. No one ever comes crashing into a room, let alone two people, unless something was really wrong.
“You’re just waking up?” Caroline asked.
Aaliyah looked at the clock. It wasn’t that late in the morning, and she had been up late and had a long night. Of course she was going to sleep in a bit; what had they expected?
“I’m pretty tired from last night.” She saw Eli wince behind Caroline and was feeling more confused by the moment. And more panicked. “What’s wrong with me sleeping in?”
“Nothing, we’re glad you did. You definitely needed the rest. Plus, we’re glad we got here before you saw anything….” Eli’s voice trailed off, and Aaliyah could feel hear heart starting to race.
“Would someone please tell me what is going on? You’re freaking me out here.”
Caroline sat down next to Aaliyah, and she noticed there was something folded in her hand.
“What’s that?”
Caroline let out a sigh and looked away from Aaliyah. “I’m so sorry,” she answered and handed over the paper.
She took the paper from her friend’s hand and looked at the front page. There in front of her, in full color, was a picture of Max kissing her at the party. Why would anyone be sorry about that? Seeing that picture made her feel warm inside. Until she looked at the picture right next to it. There was a picture of Max again, in the same clothes as last night, but with another girl on his arm. She recognized the girl instantly and felt the first cracks in her heart start to form. It took her three tries to read the headline before it finally sunk in:
Perfect Boyfriend Max Connors Kisses One Girl and Goes Home with Another.
“This is real, isn’t it?” she asked.
“He’s a total pig,” Caroline said. It was her way of confirming her fears without actually saying the words.
Aaliyah looked at Eli. She just wanted someone to tell her that yes, this did really happen. Yes, he really did do that. He really did leave with Sylvia, and he really did take her home.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet.”
“Eli, just tell me. Did this really happen? Did he take her home with him?”
“I’m sorry, kid. If I had to guess, I’d say yes.”
The cracks splintered deeper into her heart, but she was clinging to any last bit of hope that she could find.
“But you don’t know for sure? Have you talked to him?”
Eli shook his head. “No, I haven’t talked to him yet. I’ve called and texted a few times, but he hasn’t answered.”
That definitely wasn’t what she was hoping for. Naively, she’d been hoping that he’d talked to Eli and told him it was all a big mistake or an old photo. Or maybe even he’d just been walking her to her car or giving her a ride. She was hoping that Max had talked to Eli, given him whatever reason he had, and they could all just pretend to have never seen the photo.
But that wasn’t reality.
Reality was that Max was photographed with Sylvia, wearing the same clothes he was in last night.
Reality was that he hadn’t been answering his phone yet.
Reality was that after scanning the article, whoever snapped the photo also had followed them to his hotel room.
Reality was, there was very little chance that Max had stayed faithful to her.
The thought overwhelmed her, and she tried hard to stave off the heartbreak that she felt coming, but it was too far embedded. She needed to talk to him, needed to hear it from him herself, before she had to see it splashed all over the rest of the world. Picking up her cell, she dialed his number and held her breath. With each ring, she knew deeper inside of her that the reason he wasn’t picking up was because he was lying in bed with another girl.
She dropped the phone and felt the tears start streaming down her cheeks. Caroline was immediately at her side with her arms wrapped around her. Eli went storming out of the room with a string of insults that were meant for Max. It was almost too much to wrap her head around. She couldn’t believe that her biggest worry had actually happened. Just when she’d let her guard down, when she’d felt happy and relieved and possibly even in love. Everything had just been swiped out from under her.
***
The banging of his front door sounded like a hammer slamming inside of Max’s head. Light shot like lasers into his eyes, and he could barely see anything. He definitely didn’t remember anything that had happened the night before, but he did know that it involved a lot of alcohol. The banging would not go away, so Max swung his legs out of bed, the world still tilting around him.
“I’m coming! Relax!” he shouted to whomever was the morning intruder.
He shuffled out to his entryway, but something felt wrong. Something was niggling at the back of his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe if the banging would stop for a moment, he could focus on whatever it was his mind was trying to remember. Or whatever it was his mind was trying to forget. When he finally swung the door open, he was startled to see the morning intruder was Eli, and he was looking anything but happy.
“How the hell could you?” The man pushed past Max and surveyed the room. For what, he had no idea, but whatever it was, he was pissed.
“How could I what?”
Eli turned, and Max was sure that if his eyes could shoot fire, they would have.
“How could you have done that last night?”
Max rubbed his temples. If only the booze would wear off just a little bit so that he could focus on whatever Eli was yelling about.
“Eli, I haven’t even had coffee yet. Whatever I did, whoever I fought with, or whatever I said, can it just wait a minute until I wake up a bit? Clearly, I was drinking a lot. I’ll apologize to whomever it was and send them a gift or courtside seats or something.”
Max walked to his kitchen and started brewing a cup of coffee. When he turned to offer Eli a cup, he could see that there was going to be nothing friendly about this visit. Whatever he had done the night before was clearly no good; he just wished he could remember what it was. A door clicked from the back of his suite, and Max turned his head toward the sound.
Who the hell was in his home?
Sylvia.
She came padding out to the kitchen, barefoot with her stilettos dangling from her fingertips. A sheepish look was on her face, but he knew her well enough to know that feeling sheepish was just an act.
“Oh geez, she’s still here? Get her out; we need to talk. Now.”
Eli stalked into the living room as pieces of Max’s night fell into place. He remembered the dark cloud that had been hanging over him, how gorgeous Aaliyah had looked, the club, and then seeing Sylvia.
“You have to leave. Now.”
She looked stricken, but again, he knew that it was all an act. Her little kitten attitude was not who she was; she was a tiger. In that moment, he couldn’t even look at her, his anger filled him so much. He wished he could blame it all on her, but he knew that wasn’t the case.
He’d screwed up. Big time.
“Come on, Max, you know this happened for a reason. You can’t resist me.” As she made her case, she slid up to him, rubbing against his arm, but his body ran cold.
“You know that it’s me you really want. I proved that last night.”
His eyes turned to stare at her; now he knew that some of his anger really should be directed at her.
“You did this on purpose. You wanted me to cheat on Aaliyah.”
“Well… I wouldn’t say that. I just wanted you to see…”
Max grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her to the door. “The only thing you made me see is how much I care about Aaliyah. And that I never want to see you again.”
He opened the door and pulled her into the hall.
“Don’t come back. Ever.”
He slammed the door in her face, and where relief should have come over him, a wave of sickness hit instead. Eli was waiting in the next room. Max knew he had to face him, had to face everyone, especially Aaliyah, but all he really wanted to do was bury himself away so that he’d never have to think about what he’d just done. But he took the tentative steps, feeling as if the earth had broken apart underneath him, and faced Eli.
“How the hell could you do that to her?”
Max slumped hard onto his couch and let his head, which now felt heavy and fuzzy for a whole different reason, drop into his hands.
“I don’t know. Really, I don’t. I just was feeling like crap last night, with everyone joking about the girls I’ve been with and acting so surprised that I’d have a girlfriend… I just wanted to go out with the guys and have a break from everything. Then Sylvia was there, and I don’t really remember anything else after the drink I took when I saw her.”
Eli was pacing the room, and Max wasn’t sure if he was even angry at all about how he’d probably just ruined his deal with his team. He had a feeling that Eli was angrier that he’d hurt Aaliyah. And honestly, in that moment, Max was right there with him. Sure, it was a big deal that after what he did, when the team found out, they were going to dump him to a new team and he’d had to move far away from his brother, but all Max could think about was how badly he had hurt Aaliyah.
“I have to call her,” Max blurted out.
“No, you need to get yourself together first.”
“No, I have to call her. I have to tell her before she finds out from someone else…”
Eli looked incredulous. “Are you kidding? How the hell do you think I found out? It’s all over the gossip pages, the internet, social media… it’s everywhere! Did you really think kissing your girlfriend at one event and then leaving the club with another woman wouldn’t hit the press fast?”
Max’s throat closed with fear. “So, she knows?”
Eli stood in front of him, a giant father figure looking larger than life with frustration.
“Who the hell do you think was there when she found out? Who do you think had to see her face? Had to tell her it was most likely true?”
“Oh shit,” Max breathed. “How do I fix this?”
Eli strode to the door. “Honestly, Max, I don’t even know. You were given a great chance to fix your life, and you blew it. You’re at risk of losing your team and the girl.”
With his hand on the door, Max felt desperate to know there was something he could do. Eli had been the only one to believe in him through any of this, and he’d screwed it all up. But he was at a loss for words. There were no excuses, no charming, and no begging he could do. All he’d had in the whole mess was Eli and Aaliyah to begin with.
“What do I do now?” His words came out like a broken whisper, the words of a man who’d lost the final game at the buzzer.
Eli didn’t turn to look at him but answered with his back ramrod straight with irritation. “If the team drops you, you’re going to have to figure that out on your own. And if you’re incredibly lucky and they don’t, then you’re still on your own.”
*
Even if she had tried to escape it all, the media frenzy that surrounded her now was worse than it had been after their first date together. Her phone hadn’t stopped ringing, and her social media accounts had blown up with strangers from all over telling her how sorry they were or that he was a pig. As if their condolences could change how she was feeling and how badly she was hurting. It was hard to even appreciate the effort of these strangers who were more than likely just trying to be a part of her drama rather than actually feeling sorry she was hurt.
But then there was another group of strangers who left her silently begging to hear more from the first group. The second group took to tearing her down, writing comments that she wasn’t pretty enough or in his league, that Sylvia was far more his type. Some even remembered that he’d dated her before and were rooting for a comeback from the couple. They were saying that she should basically be tossed aside. Which, she guessed, in essence she had been.
Max hadn’t stopped by to see her, texted, or called. In fact, he’d basically fallen off the planet as far as she knew. But after her first initial calls of panic, she’d stopped attempting to contact him anyway. At first, she’d wanted some kind of denial. Eli hadn’t even known the truth in the beginning. But as the day went on, more pictures had surfaced than just them leaving the club, though that picture from all sorts of angles was posted everywhere. There were other pictures as well, pictures that confirmed the rumors.
Pictures of them getting out of the limo at the entrance to his building. Pictures of them going into the building. And pictures of her leaving the next morning.
It was amazing how fast the articles and pictures could turn up. It seemed everyone from the media to random people on the street had caught these pictures. And she’d been the fool sitting in her hospital room thinking of how lucky she was. When in fact, it had been Sylvia who had been getting lucky. Of course, there was always the slight chance that nothing had happened between the two of them. That maybe they had just talked or she’d needed a place to sleep for the night. Aaliyah briefly tried to convince herself that this was a real possibility, but she quickly knew she wasn’t fooling anyone.
She knew not only from Max’s past, but also from her own personal experience, that no girl entered Max Connor’s apartment and simply walked out the next day without having her world rocked the night before. The thought made her stomach roll and her heart break all over again. Eli had to leave almost as soon as she’d found out, and from his demeanor, she gathered he was going to have a busy day of getting Max out of hot water. And she secretly hoped yelling at him just a bit.
But maybe there wasn’t really anything to yell at him about. She’d thought he’d cared about her, but maybe he just hadn’t cared as much as she had. Maybe to him it was still mostly about his contract. Sure, she’d given him an out and he’d stayed, but that didn’t mean he was going to stay forever, and that certainly hadn’t meant he wouldn’t leave when the next woman, a more suited woman, came along. It was all her fears combined, ending in a painful reality.
Caroline had taken off the day from work and sat by her friend’s bedside binge watching daytime shows and getting any flavor of ice cream she could for Aaliyah to drown her sorrows in. Eventually, she even took away her phone so that all of the buzzing and pain could, at the very least, be out of her hand. Literally.
By the time Eli came back that night, she was feeling no better, but at least from the ice cream and junk TV, she was feeling numb.
“Did you talk to him?” It was the first thing that popped out of her mouth when she saw Eli.
“Yeah, I did.”
The way he couldn’t meet her eyes let her know that she really didn’t need to ask the next question.
“So, is it true then?”
Eli’s head dropped a bit before he nodded her confirmation.
She’d thought she’d cry when she finally knew it was true, but instead, her wall of numb had built up so high throughout the day that all she did was take another bite of her chocolate and peanut butter ice cream.
“If it helps at all, he seemed pretty upset about everything.”
Caroling snorted in disgust. “Yeah, upset he got caught.”
Aaliyah didn’t want to believe that was true, but how could it not be? He clearly didn’t care as much as she’d thought he did if he’d been able to drop her off and within hours take another girl to his suite.
“Is there anything I can do for you? I got you into this mess with him; how can I make it better?”
At that moment, the only thing she thought could make her feel any better at all would be to be home, in her bed, surrounded by her things. As best as she could, she wanted to pretend that she’d never even met Max, that everything in her life was the way it was before.
“I just wish I was home,” she answered.
All the ice cream and junk TV in the world wouldn’t make her feel as good as her own bed would.
“I think that can be arranged,” Eli answered.
She had to admit, the man worked fast. Within twenty-four hours of her request to be home again, she was lying in her own bed, feeling at least a little better and far more comfortable. It wasn’t imaginable the amount of money Eli must have thrown at people to get her entire apartment packed up and moved down to the vacant apartment below so that she wouldn’t need to handle any stairs. She hadn’t even known it was all happening, and by the time Caroline finally spilled the beans at what Eli had arranged, it was already done.
Lying in bed, under her own comforter with her own pillow and TV (which she knew Eli had been paying her bills for her until she could get money for not working, although he wouldn’t say a word about it), Aaliyah couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have Eli in her life. Who would have ever guessed that spilling those papers like a klutz not that long before would give her someone so generous in her life? Someone who felt like a father to her.
“I honestly can’t ever thank you enough for all you’ve done for me, Eli. And I’m sure I’ll never be able to repay you, although I’m certainly going to try.”
But Eli just shook his head. “You owe me absolutely nothing. Besides, I charged it on the company card.”
Aaliyah knew that wasn’t true, but she also knew that Eli was feeling horribly guilty for what Max had done to her. She’d tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault, that it was her fault for ever falling for him in the first place, but he just dismissed her forgiveness.
“There are going to be nurses who come by regularly to check on you, so you won’t need to worry about doing anything at all on your own. There will also be a physical therapist and a doctor to check on you daily.”
Aaliyah shook her head and smiled at the man. She had no idea how he’d convinced the hospital to let her go or how he’d been able to arrange for all of the help that was going to have to come in to her apartment for her. But she did know that the man clearly had power, and when he wanted something done, he got it done.
“Thank you so much, Eli,” she said through a yawn.
He made his way to her door, seeing that she clearly needed some rest, and she really wasn’t going to argue. It had been so long since she’d been in her own home with her own things that she really just wanted to be alone and rest.
“I’ll stop by tomorrow night. Chinese for dinner?”
“Sounds perfect,” she answered.
With that, Eli left her apartment, and for the first time in a long time, Aaliyah was truly alone in the quiet. For a moment, it felt good, peaceful almost. But then her mind started to get restless. She was used to beeping machines and people constantly coming in and out of her room or passing through the halls. Grabbing her remote, she flicked on her TV to end the silence.
The moment the TV came to life with its glow, she saw his face. Max was on her TV, bouncing a ball as some entertainment newswoman reported on the burst of pictures that had gone viral.
“While no one can be reached for a comment, it has sure left fans and viewers wondering what exactly is going on between American’s favorite couple?”
That was the question of the hour, Aaliyah thought. Pictures flashed of herself with Max and then of Sylvia and Max, and she could feel her heart breaking all over again. She didn’t want to turn up the volume to listen, but it was as if her fingers had a mind of their own. Instead of changing the channel, they pressed the volume button until she could hear every word perfectly.
“Max Connors has been adored by fans for his game on the court and adored by females around the country for his charm and good looks off the court. So it’s not surprising that he’s also become a serial dater, rarely settling for the same girl for more than one night. But what is surprising is how quickly he changed from a player to a lover with the quick romance of PR specialist, Aaliyah Burns.”
Well, at least they called her a PR specialist instead of the grunt that she was, she thought. She was trying hard to focus on anything but what the woman was saying about Max. Frustrated with herself, she had no idea why she couldn’t just turn it off, but her fingers stayed firmly away from the channel buttons.
“Quickly, she became everyone’s sweetheart as she was able to tame the bad boy and keep him wrapped around her finger.”
Now, pictures were flashing on the screen of different snaps of their relationship. Pictures that people had taken of them at dinner or getting into the back of the car. There was even the picture of him chasing after her in the very beginning of their relationship the night she saw him hitting on Sylvia.
She stopped her train of thoughts there as she remembered that night, that they hadn’t really been a relationship at all. All they’d really been was a contract. How far she’d thought they’d come. It cut like a knife to know they hadn’t really come all that far at all.
“Max even stayed by her side as she healed in the hospital after a tragic accident. People watched as the torn basketball player came and went through the hospital doors every day, and fans fell even more in love.”
Yeah, thought Aaliyah, so did I.
“But photos surfaced the other night of Connors kissing his stunning, wheelchair-ridden girlfriend earlier in the evening, and then leaving a club later that night with ex-flame Sylvia Eves.”
Just the name on its own was enough to make Aaliyah’s stomach lurch with nausea.
“Was it the end of their fairytale relationship? No one has been able to reach either of the couple, but PR spokesman for the team and Aaliyah’s supervisor asked that ‘the couple’s privacy be respected at this time while they try to navigate the situation.’”
Silently, she felt thankful that Eli was the one fielding all of the media questions so she didn’t have to. Her phone had still been buzzing like crazy, but she’d ignored everything that wasn’t from Eli or Caroline.
“The couple’s spokesman did say that Aaliyah has been transferred to her home for the rest of her recovery and is getting stronger by the day. As for the fate of Max Connors and his team, the future isn’t looking so certain. Before the city knows it, we may be saying goodbye to our favorite bad boy.”
Aaliyah had had enough and turned the channel to some cooking show. She’d been so lost in her own heartbreak that she didn’t realize what Max had done to himself. With his one small decision, he possibly had just thrown out his career. Pulling the blanket up to cuddle underneath, she thought about what might happen if he really did have to leave. Would she even feel bad about it? How could she? She’d held up her end of the bargain and he had let it drop. If he lost his spot on the team, that was going to be his fault entirely.
She didn’t even know why he’d made it seem like staying in their city was so important to him. Clearly, he hadn’t been too serious about it or need to stay that badly. He’d obviously been okay with throwing everything away, and apparently, nothing had been as important as she’d thought. Not his team, not his career, not even her.
Aaliyah picked up her phone and started a new message to Caroline.
Looks like I’m moving past the heartbreak stage and starting to hit anger/bitterness.
Within a few moments, her phone buzzed with a reply.
Damn good for you, Hun. He’ll get his on his own.
She smiled a bit as she put her phone back on her nightstand. It was a weird feeling, the little bit of lightness she was feeling where all the pain was. Somehow, feeling bitter and angry was far easier than feeling broken and hurt.
And Caroline was right. Whatever happened next to Max Connors was his own fault; she was out of it.