Peace in a Storm

9 - Audrey

Where was she? I thought to myself as I typed yet another text message to Cat. We agreed yesterday that we'd try to make plans to hang out today. Usually if she got caught up with Tommy, she'd let me know. The fact that she wasn't answering my messages made my stomach roll. That girl always had her phone on her. Sure, she didn't answer everyone's messages, but she damn sure answered all of mine.

Sighing, I rose from the couch and walked down the hall to Papa's painting room. I knocked softly on the door. "Hey, I'm going over to Cat's. I may or may not be right back,' I yelled through the door.

"Alright, chiquita," Papa yelled in return.

I grabbed my jacket before I went out the door. I walked over to our neighbor's house and ascended the porch steps. After knocking on the door, I leaned against the railing and waited for someone to answer.

To my surprise, Max was the one who opened the door. He was barely dressed, only clad in his plaid cotton pajama pants. His curls were tousled on his head. His eyes were still narrow from sleep. The wounds on his face from the fight he refused to tell me about were gradually healing. The bruise around his eye had begun to fade, and his busted lip was barely noticeable. He leaned against the side of the doorway. "Hey," he said.

"Hi. Is Cat here? I've been trying to get a hold of her since last night and she hasn't responded to any one of my texts."

"Nah she's not here. Last night, she mentioned something about staying over at her boyfriend's house so I'm assuming she's just not back yet." He shrugged. "Knowing her, she might just stay the whole day with him. She'll probably be home tomorrow after she gets off of work."

"Okay. Thanks." I turned to leave. I wasn't even able to take a step before his hand was around my wrist.

"Hey," he said softly. "You don't have to go. You can stay if you want."

I raised an eyebrow. "And hang out with you?"

Max offered a lazy smile. "Sure. It'll be like old times."

I shrugged. "Okay." She poked at his toned abdomen as I walked into the house. "Put some clothes on."

He closed the door behind me. "Why? We're in my house. I can walk around however I like." A grin tugged at his lips. "Are my muscles distracting you? I know they're nice, but I'm sure you can keep your little boyfriend in the back of your mind when they're out in the open."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't flatter yourself." I took off my winter gear and neatly set them around the coat rack in the hall. I walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

I sunk into the cushions, falling directly into the indent left by Max's body. The television was flickering with images of choreographed fight scenes from some action movie. I grabbed the remote and changed the channel.

"Hey," Max yelled. "I was watching that!"

"Not anymore. I was watching 'Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta' when I was home, so we're going to watch that. They're having a marathon today."

Max narrowed his eyes. "I'm not watching that bullshit."

"Sounds like a personal problem." I smiled as Max tried to snatch the remote back. I moved my arm before he could grab it.

Max returned the sly smile - then, he hit me with one of the couch pillows. He grabbed the remote while I was stunned from the sudden impact. A chuckle escaped his lips as I yelled out in protest. He ran away from me, holding the remote high above his head.

I chased him around the living room for a few minutes. When I was close enough, I jumped onto his back and wrapped my legs around his ribcage. I climbed up his torso with my arm wound tightly around his neck. My other hand was reaching up to his, trying desperately to reach the remote.