Hidden Motives

Broken Pieces

At around 6:30 I began getting ready. We were going to leave in about an hour and Max had filled me in that Rene and Kailyn were going to be coming with the addition of James. I liked James. He was nice and pretty good at giving advice. Though I wasn't sure if Max liked him much. He didn't seem too excited about him being there. James also wasn't the biggest fan of Max either based on our prior conversation, so I was going to have to keep things controlled.

I decided to go all out tonight. I basically hadn't moved in a week and had no contact with the outside world. I was also going to see Maddox and Dave afterward. I found a black dress that was loose and comfortable, yet cute. The black really brought out my eyes. Then I straightened my hair and put on some leggings. It was cold out. I found a white fur coat and threw it on top. It was extra just like me. Once I finished my makeup it was 7:15. I found some earrings and a necklace before heading downstairs.

Max was already ready and was in the kitchen talking on the phone. He saw me and said "I..I have to go" to the person on the other end while keeping his eyes on me. Once the phone call ended he said "You look amazing as always".

I smiled and said "Same with you".

He walked over to me and took my hand in his.

"Let's go?"

I squeezed his hand and said "Yeah"

We then took a walk to the pub. It was pretty close by and we knew we weren't planning on drinking much. The walk also allowed us to talk a bit more.

"So how's school been while I've been gone?" I asked.

Max looked at me and said "Boring. Just like it was before you came. I've caught up on all my work though. There are only four weeks left of the first term. You've got some work to do. I think you only attended 2 weeks of work so far. You've basically missed the other two. We need o get you caught up. Oxford's not scared to drop you."

I rolled my eyes and said "Yeah yeah, whatever. We'll work on everything for the next couple of days and I'll talk to all my professors. it'll be fine, I promise!"

Max smiled and I noticed that we were at the pub. Inside I could see Kailyn. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that fit her skin tone nicely.

We walked in and I said "He Kailyn!"

"Oh my goodness hey to my new favorite couple!!" Kailyn exclaimed. This got the attention of both Rene and James who were standing next to her. James looked disappointed.

"Nothing official" I laughed before looking at James. He seemed a bit relieved that I had said this. Max on the other hand was a bit upset even though he knew it was true.

A few minutes later Rene and Max went off to the side to talk. That left me with Kailyn and James. 

"Um so James how have you been?" I asked.

"Good, good. I umm just am getting ready to leave tomorrow" he responded.

"Oh, wow. So soon. Will you be going back to America?" I questioned.

"Um yeah, I'm going to be heading back to San Francisco. It's kind of where I 'work'." James said while only looking at the ground.

"That's really cool!" I said. "I love California!"

James looked up and smiled and Kailyn intervened. "Any of you want drinks? I'm going to grab something real quick."

We both shook our heads and Kailyn said "Okk...suit yourselves" before walking towards the bar.

James looked uncomfortable so I asked what was wrong. "James are you ok?"

"I..I'm fine" he responded quickly.

"James I know something's wrong" I said starting to get a bit frustrated.

He looked down at me and said "Well for starters your here with Max. The dude I worried you about and the same dude that you said you were done with. What happened to that? And the fact that he left with Rene and now he's talking to some chick behind you. Reminds me of my teammates..I mean coworkers."

"What" I exclaimed. I then turned around to see my worst nightmare. Scarlett was standing in front of Max. She was holding his hand. The same hand that I had held on the way here. Max had managed to do it again. Another piece of my heart shattered into small broken pieces.