Roommates with Benefits [COMPLETED]

Chapter 50 - Pillow talk

Emma

I'm outside, trying not to fall. My head is spinning and I'm starting to feel nauseous. There's loud voices. I think Blue is here. And Hannah. She looks sad. I want to tell her not to cry, but I think something serious is going on. There's tension in the air.

I close my eyes for just a moment. The guy with the beard... He's here. He wants me to go with him. We were trying to find Hannah. I push away from the wall to go with him. I need to find her. But no... That's not right. Hannah is here. I lean back and try to think.

I stare at the ground. The guy is laying there. He's groaning. He was just standing. Is he sleeping?

I want to reach out, to ask, but someone's carrying me. There's more yelling. I feel safe. It smells like home. Home. I don't want to be away from Knightley. Max. I want Max.

Then I'm sitting. Safe hands move over me, fastening a seat belt. I'm in a car. And it smells like Max. I inhale deeply. This is what I want.

"Emma?" Someone's stroking my cheek.

"Max?" I open my eyes with some effort. How much did I drink?

"I'm here. Do you want to go to the hospital?"

I don't understand. He looks at me with worried eyes. Kind eyes. I'm just drunk. I want to tell him I was too sad and beg him to take me back.

It takes all my effort to shake my head. "I want to come home." I try to lift my hand but it's too heavy.

"You want to go to Hannah's?" he asks.

"No," I complain, frustrated that he doesn't understand me. "I want to come home."

"Ok, it's ok. Don't worry. I'll take you home." His hand strokes my cheek and I close my eyes. Max is here. He's here and he'll take care of me.

Satisfied, I lean back and let the world spin around me.

There's talking. Is that Hannah? I want to make sure she's safe. But my tongue doesn't move, my voice isn't working. It doesn't matter. Knightley's here. Max is here. He's got me.

When I wake up, I'm in bed. It smells comforting. Familiar. I inhale deeply and immediately regret it as my head splits open.

"Hey, relax," Max says. Knightley. He's not my Max. I want to cry at the thought. But I force my eyes open.

"Where am I?" The room is dim and all I can see is his face in the light from his phone. It's still dark outside.

"You're in my room." He leans forward. "Here, take these." He puts away his phone and hands me some pills and a glass of water. I force them down.

"What happened?" I ask.

He comes closer and sits on the bed.

"You got drunk, and we think maybe this guy put something in your drink. We're not sure. But you threw up a lot." He grins and I look around, horrified I've made a mess.

"Don't worry, most of it was in the bathroom. Some outside."

"I'm sorry."

He strokes my hair. "You have nothing to be sorry about, princess." It feels so nice.

I lift the blanket and peer down at myself. I'm wearing a large t-shirt.

"Hannah helped me get you changed." Even in the dimness, I can tell he's blushing.

"Hannah?" I ask with sudden worry. He calmly keeps stroking my hair.

"She's fine. She's asleep in your bed. I'll take her home in the morning. She was very brave. The guy tried taking you outside, but Hannah noticed and bodyblocked him. He pushed past her, but by that time, Blue had seen what was going on and called me. When I got there, he was trying to convince them you wanted to go with him."

"I didn't," I say weakly, leaning into his hand.

"I know." He settles the hand on my cheek and I close my eyes. "As far as we can tell, nothing happened."

"You came."
"Of course, I came. I'll always come when you need me."

As a friend? I'm too afraid to ask. But it's burning inside me. "Thank you," I say instead.

"Emma, you don't have to thank me. I'm here for you. Whenever you need me, I'm here."

Tears well up and I don't dare open my eyes. "I thought you hated me."
Soft fingers wipe away the tears. "I could never."
"But I was so mean. I was a bitch. And I made you think I had a crush on Frank."

He goes still. So still I have to open my eyes to make sure he's still there.

"Max?" He blinks and inhales in a small gasp. When his eyes burn into mine, I realize I called him Max.

"You're tired. You should sleep," he says. His face is unreadable.

"Please don't hate me."

"I could never."

"Promise."

"No matter what you say or do, I could never hate you."

I grab his hand and hold it to my cheek. "Good."
"Sleep, now."

I move onto my side, and he pulls away his hand.

"Max?" My voice is barely audible, my heart pounds violently.

"Yes?"

"Will you hold me?"

He is quiet for a while, then he gets into the bed and lies behind me. He doesn't get under the blanket, just puts his arms around me and holds me tight.

I smile to myself as I fall asleep again.