What You Do To Me

Chapter 21: Maxwell's POV

"We're almost there luv." Casey says, his voice hurried.

"Right. Right." I mumble and he tries to offer me a reassuring smile.

"We're almost there, we're almost there." He murmurs.

We were on our way back when I got the call from Iris. I couldn't really understand what she said, just that "something" had happened, and she needed me back at the house. She sounded panicked.

Casey had stepped on the gas and rushed us home.

Now here we are, 5 minutes out, and Casey is struggling to keep me calm.

As soon as he pulls into a parking spot, I'm throwing my door open and sprinting. The elevator isn't there, so I keep running, right up the stairs and to my apartment door.

If I'm being honest it felt amazing to run like that again and the light ache in my muscles makes me smile.

I quickly unlock the door and throw it open as a puppy runs right at me.

"Don't let him out!" I hear Iris yell and then she too runs right at me.

Instantly I scoop down and hold him in my arms.

He's an adorable little thing. A black and white husky with startlingly blue eyes.

"What the fuck?" I ask Iris. "Care to explain what the fuck is happening?"

"This is Cooper." She says.

"Great. Why?"

"Well um... Brooke and I found him when we went for a walk. And he didn't have a collar or a name tag, so Brooke named him Oreo, but Brielle vetoed it-"

"Wait Brielle knows?" I ask and her eyes widen.

"No." She says instantly, and I roll my eyes. Oh, when I see that bitch again!

"Continue."

"And then of course Brooke and I, alone, brought him back here." Her eyes widen at my neutral, but slightly angry, expression. "You would have done the same thing!" She whines.

"Oh, come on Max. He was starving and his fur was so dirty!" She whines as Cooper struggles to escape my grasp. He squirms and it's kind of adorable, he's not even bigger than my hand!

"So then what happened?" I ask.

"Well we gave him a bath and-"

She pauses as the door opens behind her, I spin to see Brooke, standing there, holding a bag of dogfood and several plastic bags. In the bags I see a leash, 2 dog bowls, and a blue collar. It matches Cooper's eyes.

"Fuck..." She mumbles and her eyes widen when she sees me.

"Where'd you get the money for this?" I ask, my eyes narrowing at all the stuff in her hands.

"Briel- I mean nowhere!" She corrects, her eyes widening.

"So... you paid for this stuff with money you don't have?" I ask, ripping a hole in her attempted cover up.

"Um... no we um..."

"Don't ever lie to me again." I say coldly and Brooke hangs her head.

I turn back to Iris.

"Brielle asked you to lie for her." I hiss and she simply nods, she too drops her gaze. I rarely get angry, but this has me livid.

"We are not keeping him. We are simply-" I'm interrupted as once again our front door swings open.

Casey.

Instantly I smile.

"Woah." He says and his voice gets higher. "And who is this?" He says cheerfully and with his free hand lightly scratches under Cooper's chin.