Saving Max

Chapter 2

"Bella!" Katie yells excitedly, pounding up the stairs to my room. Flinging the door open dramatically, she waltzes in like she owns the place, bringing with her an excessive amount of perfume that instantly makes me want to sneeze.

"What?" I groan, turning to face her from my spot on the bed while wiping away the small bit of drool that dripped onto my chin during the night.

"Get up. We're going shopping." She says in a sing-song voice, yanking at my arm impatiently. She gives up after a minute, figuring she won't get anywhere with her efforts since I'm a good twenty pounds heavier than her.

I'm not fat, though, if that's what you're thinking. Katie is just very petite. I also got cursed with wide hips, which doesn't sound all that bad, but makes putting on jeans one hell of a task.

"I don't want to go shopping, I'm wiped out. I had a long day at work yesterday." I mumble to her tiredly, flipping over so I'm on my back. Staring up with a frown, I try and will her to leave me alone, desperately wanting to go back to sleep.

"You can take a nap when we get back, but you're going shopping with me now." She insists. "You've been so busy these past couple of months; I feel like I barely get to see my best friend anymore." Katie adds softly with a pout, shaking my leg pleadingly.

Letting out  deep sigh, I nod. "Fine." I give in with a huff, instantly feeling guilty for being distant recently. Max has been filling up all of my Fridays, along with my brain every other day of the week, leaving room for nothing else in my life. It's been very draining, to put it lightly.

"Yay!" She cheers, already running back to my bedroom door. "I'll met you downstairs in ten minutes. Get ready fast." She says sternly, giving me a pointed look over her shoulder before bouncing back downstairs to the living room. Laughing to myself I get up, stretching out my stiff back. Walking over to my closet, I pick out a simple black tank top, getting a long sweater to pull on over top of it. Digging out a pair of my favorite dark wash skinny jeans, I wiggle them on, making my way to the bathroom. I scan the cabinet beneath my sink and take out my concealer and mascara, the only make up I ever put on, if any, and quickly apply it. I don't really get why girls feel the need to cake their faces with make up when it just ends up looking trashy. Some girls want it to look that way, but fortunately for my parents, I'm not one of those girls.

After I finish I walk out of the bathroom, taking a quick glance at the clock. Smiling proudly to myself, I note that it's only taken me six minutes to get ready. Taking the stairs two at a time, I make my way down to the living room, seeing Katie in a quiet chat with my brother. I'm about to brush it off, but quickly do a double take at his presence in the room. My brother hasn't been home from college in almost four months, and everyone at the house has been missing him greatly.

"Josh!" I yell excitedly. Jumping on to him, his arms wrap quickly around my waist to catch me.

"Hello to you, too, squirt." He says, letting out a small laugh with the mention of my nickname. Setting me back on the ground, he finally gives me a proper hug.

"Why are you home? I didn't think you got out for break until next week." I ask breathlessly, pulling away from him with a wide smile.

"I came back early to surprise you. I got back about two hours ago." He explains, shoving his hands deep into his jean pockets as he does so.

Taking in his full appearance, I come to notice that Josh has changed a lot since the last time I saw him. His hair is long, and his beard fuller. The only thing that gives him away as the Josh I know and love is his boyish smile, making him look like a little kid even under all the facial hair. No matter what he looks like, though, I'm just glad he's finally home.