Speak Now

XIX

The sound of the FaceTime dialling tone filled the bedroom as I waited for Max Casek to pick up my call. Ever since Logan had told me that he and Isabella had gone through a rough patch last year, I've been dying to speak to Max about it; despite being twenty-three years old, I'm a sucker for gossip. Plus, it's been ages since I spoke to Max without any adults around that I was starting to miss his sass. For a boy, he is as sarcastic and salty as I am, which goes a long way in explaining why he and I get along so well.

After what seemed like forever but in reality was just seventeen seconds, the call connected and Max's face filled my screen. Okay, so technically, it was his over-grown dark hair that filled the screen but I could still make out his dark eyes and bright smile. He lifted his hand and waved at me. 

"Hey, I thought you didn't love me anymore," he said, pulling a sad face. "You don't ring, you don't text, you don't visit... gee, Martha, I was getting really worried that our friendship was over. If I'd gone another day without seeing you, I'd have died."

I snort. "Bit overdramatic, Max."

"Better to be overdramatic than underdramatic," he reasons, shrugging his shoulder casually. He starts to move around, making his iPad tumble around, as he repositions himself. When the screen balances out, I just about make out that Max is in the living room of Lyanna and Mick's house. He's sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa, while the screen, I assume, is on the coffee table. Behind Max, I can see Freddie sitting on the couch, nibbling some carrot sticks while his eyes are fixed on something in the corner of the room. Max reaches up to his brother and says, "Fred, say hello to Martha. No? Not feeling sociable today? Yeah, you're Michael's kid, alright. Sorry, Martha, he's watching old episodes of a kid's show that Michael used to love as a child. Have you heard of Brum?"

"Nope," I reply. I try to catch Freddie's attention a few times but when I get absolutely no response, I give up and turn my focus back onto Max. "So, you and Isabella split and you didn't think to tell me?"

A dramatic eye roll comes my way, followed by an interrogation about who told me about that. He guessed that it was Michael, seeing as Mick and I are close but when I denied his suggestion, he quickly pointed the finger of blame at his mum, Lyanna. I shook my head. Was it my father that told me? I frowned. My father knew and he didn't think to say anything? After seven or eight tries- which included Nina- Max floated the idea that Logan was the spy, grumbling that he would never speak to his mum's employee ever again once I confirmed that his guess was right. 

Max tried to tell me that it wasn't anything serious and technically they didn't break up at all, they just didn't talk for a few weeks after a blazing row, but I wasn't buying his bullshit. Instead, I pressed on him to tell me everything, which he duly did after I threatened to publish Max's embarrassing eighteenth birthday photo on my very public Instagram page. As it transpires, much of what Logan told me was the truth; Max hadn't liked the look of one of Isabella's friends, Nari, when he accompanied her to Italy and after Max made it clear he didn't trust Nari's intentions, they got into a fight and in haste, Max flew back to London. He knew as soon as he landed that he was being rash in his decision to leave, but he's a stubborn little shit and he refused to go back and apologise.