His Touch

Chapter 2

"Come, I'll show you up to your room." Max tells me, ignoring Dominic's comment. "You and I are on the second floor." Max says as we reach a set of stairs.

"How many floors does your apartment have?" I gasp.

Maxwell grins back at me. "Three floors total. Common areas such as the living room, kitchen, dining room, and games room are on the first floor. The second floor is our bedrooms, and the third floor is Dominic's area so I do suggest staying away from there, he gets a little testy about his personal space." Max warns me.

I nod slowly, processing it all. "With this place and your car I would think you were really embezzling from your work or a high class drug dealer."

Maxwell laughs lowly. "This one's you." He says opening one of the doors on the second floor of the grand apartment.

The room is large, decorated with off whites and nutural colours. A large bed sits on the wall to the left and has basic furnishings around the room such as a TV, bedside tables, and a desk. Maxwell takes me through another door in the room to show me it is a closet with a dresser and plenty of hanging space. Another door off the bedroom leads into a luxury bathroom which already has me wishing I could be soaking in the bath right now.

"I'll take you out tomorrow and we can get some things for your room, anything you want. You can make it however you like, I just want you to feel comfortable here, Ellie." He tells me.

"Thank you." I whisper pulling my brother into a hug. "I don't know how I could ever repay you for all of this, for all you're doing for me." I tell him honestly.

"All I want in return from you is that you kick ass at NYU and you follow your dreams." He smiles down at me. "And of course when you publish your first book there must be a hefty dedication in there to me." He says playfully.

I smile and laugh as I nod. "Of course."

"Right then. I'll let you get to your unpacking. I'll be down stairs." He glances down at the gold watch on his wrist. "I'll order us some Chinese for seven?"

I nod. "Sounds good to me." I smile at him as I watch him leave my new room, closing the door softly behind him.

I take off my coat before collecting my phone and headphones from my bag. I put my headphones on before turning on my music. Glancing at the clock I see I have a little under two hours before dinner, plenty of time.

Max had left my bags in the closet and since I packed them in an orderly fashion, it made them easy to unpack. I started with my hangables, sighing when I saw the creases on them and made a mental note to ask Max where their iron is kept. I then moved onto organising my dresser. I didn't own much clothes, I owned a normal amount of clothes but this closet was larger than I thought possible and would take four times the amount of clothes I brought with me to fill the space. Next to organise was the bathroom, which I barely had anything for since I didn't take any liquids in my bags but was pleasantly surprised when I found Max had already picked up some bathroom essentials for me. 

I'm organising the novels I'd managed to bring with me on my new desk when I glance down at the time to see it's already seven. That time flew by so quickly. I go back into the bathroom to wash my hands and tidy up my messy hair before stopping my music and heading down stairs to find Max.

I get down to the living room which is at the bottom of the stairs when I realise I don't actually know where the kitchen or dining room is. I'm so not use to being in an unfamiliar environment, it makes me feel uneasy that I don't have the lay of the land, Max didn't even give me a tour. I notice Dominic is no longer in the living room watching his sports game, which I'm slightly relieved about because when he looked at me it was unnerving and made me squirm. I find my way into the kitchen where I see empty Chinese containers and continue on through the apartment until I find the dining room where Max and Dominic are sitting and talking. 

Their talk dies completely as I enter the room, I feel like I'm intruding. Max smiles up at me and nods to the chair across from him. Dominic sits at the head of the table which puts me sitting next to him.

"How's the unpacking going?" Max asks as I take my seat.

I can feel Dominic glaring at me as he eats. "It's good. Mostly done. I didn't really have much to unpack so it will only take me another twenty minutes before I'm fully finished." I grab a small amount of each of the choices, putting them onto my plate before I start eating. 

Dinner is continued in an uncomfortable silence. Once I finish I thank Max before collecting my plate and water glass as I excuse myself. Taking my dishes into the kitchen I rinse them off before stacking them in the dishwasher. I lean against the kitchen counter as I stare out the windows to look out over New York.

New York. My new home. My new beginning. 

I'm startled when I hear dishes being put into the sink, my hand clutches my chest to steady my racing heart. I turn my head to see Dominic rinsing off his dishes. "Hey." I say in a small voice, it was the best I could manage as to not sound like he had in fact just scared me.

"You didn't eat much." He says in a clipped tone.

I shrug. "I'm not a body builder like you and my brother."

Dominic doesn't say anything, he just turns to glare at me.

I have to tear my eyes away from him as his look starts to make me feel unsteady again. Instead I focus my eyes back out the windows for another minute before I turn to head back up to my room, finding myself alone in the kitchen. Dominic had left so quietly I hadn't heard him, the same as when he had entered.

Back up in my room I finish organising my desk and bedside tables before I decide it's finally time to draw a bath.

I filled the large free standing bath with hot water, lavender oil and bath salts which I had found in the bathroom cabinet. I had my pyjamas ready to go, neatly folded on the bathroom counter for when I got out of the bath. I stripped off my clothes, depositing them into the laundry hamper before I stepped into the bath and allowed the burning water to soothe my muscles after my long day. I closed my eyes within minutes and could feel myself drifting the more relaxed I got.

After waking from my nap in the bath I used a cloth and body wash to cleanse my body before I got out of the bath and wrapped a large fluffy towel around my body. I pulled the bath plug before walking over to the bathroom counter to wash my face and brush my teeth. I dried my body before putting on panties, pyjama shorts and a t-shirt. I hung my towel up on the rail before heading back out to the bedroom and climbing into the cloud like bed with Jane Eyre.

I fell asleep not too long after, dreaming of dangerous green eyes.