Brightside | ✓

29 | seven things

The rapid thudding on the other side of the door made Eddie's heart skip a beat. It was loud, obnoxious, demanding attention in the rudest way possible. There was no rhythm to it, nor was there any explanation why anyone would know her and Maverick's hotel room. Housekeeping wouldn't knock like that, nor would the room service Maverick claimed he'd ordered before jumping into the shower once again—no music this time, Eddie had noted. Either a good thing or a really bad thing and she'd ask over dinner.

That didn't solve the knocking, though. It hadn't actually stopped in the time it took Eddie to think of all the possible ways she was going to be murdered by whoever was on the other end of the door.

She stood on her toes to look out the peephole and frowned—a ball of that much hair could've only been one person. Unlocked the door and opened it gingerly. "Hi—"

"Do I have a fucking bone to pick with you, Yamaguchi." Axel didn't waste any time getting past her and in the hotel room. Her guard was down, sue her. He still smelled like the bar and his eyeliner was smudged.

"Um." Eddie looked around for a moment before closing the door and turning to see him. Pacing right in front of her bed. "Come in?"

"You ruined my fucking life, do you know that?"

Something in Eddie's chest sank into her stomach. "I'm sorry?"

"I just—I can't." Axel threw his hands up. "I can't live like this."

"Did something happen—Are you okay? Did you get papped—" Eddie looked in the peephole again. Nobody she could see. "Did they follow you?"

"God, no, not like that." Axel scoffed. "They don't care about me. Who the fuck do you think I am to anyone?"

Eddie turned around again. Axel stared at her both like he'd never seen her before and like he'd known her his entire life. She wanted to be someone who could say: you're everything and have him believe her. And she didn't think either version of her that he was seeing was allowed to do that.

Eddie didn't know if she was allowed to approach but did so slowly. "Can I just warn you that Mav—"

"They care about you but, fuck, Eddie—so do I."

"You—huh?"

"Like hell you didn't know."

"I asked for time—"

"And I did my fucking best to respect that, but I don't know what the fuck you did to my brain but it's like I go to sleep and you're behind my fucking eyelids and when I finally get to sleep you're all I dream about and when I wake up I'm sad you're not there. And I thought I had it under control but then you went and came over and wouldn't let me smoke because I don't know maybe you cared about my health more than I did in the moment and I haven't stopped thinking about kissing you on the balcony maybe because it's been plastered everywhere and that's not your fault but then you had the fucking audacity—"

Eddie raised her eyebrows. "Audacity?"

"—To put that fucking nicotine patch on me and I wanted to tell you then but I was so fucking depressed that it didn't feel like the right time but then shit hit the fan and then there was no time because you wanted space and, fuck, I tried my best. And I feel crazy and I know I'm drunk but I was so ready to tell you today because seeing you brought everything back that I thought I had a hold of and then you sat as far away from me as possible don't think I didn't notice—" Axel took a shaky breath. Him yelling at her in a hotel room in Chicago was not on any bingo card she may have created but lo and behold, it was happening.