What The Heart Needs - The Heart #3 (Complete)

Chapter 10 - Part 1

Reece

Alarmed, I shot up and did a quick scan of the room trying to grab everything that belonged to me. I got a pair of shoes and my jacket. Then I dashed into Aiden's wardrobe and closed the doors, hoping I was over reacting and he wouldn't be coming upstairs but I wasn't taking any chances.

While I was more than prepared to come clean to Max today wasn't the day. I had my hands full with Lacey's situation and I couldn't deal with anything else. Once she was out of the woods I would deal with my messed up personal life.

My heart hammered in my chest and I heard voices. I strained to figure out if it was Max with Aiden but the voices were too soft to make out.

This felt like something right out of a movie and I was struggling to figure out how it had got to this. Hiding in a guy's closet so my boyfriend wouldn't find me. Who was this person? It wasn't me but I couldn't deny my choices had led to this. I had no one to blame but myself. I signed and leaned my head against the door.

The sound of the door opening made me catch my breath.

It was then I remembered I had forgotten my duffel bag. Any thought of dashing to retrieve it evaporated. Could I hope that Max wouldn't notice it beside Aiden's bed?

"It's in the closet." I immediately recognised Aiden's voice.

My eyes widened. The same closet I was standing with a few of my items, dressed in my pjs. There would be no acceptable explanation. This was like my worst nightmare playing out in front of me and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Thanks." This voice belonged to Max. He was in the room.

Despite every best intention to handle this situation with some dignity, it was going to unravel this way. Max deserved better than this.

I held my eyes closed tightly. The door opened and my eyes flew open to stare into Aiden's. He didn't miss a beat. He reached for a jacket hanging on the coat hanger. Our eyes held for a fraction of a second before he closed the doors. I couldn't believe I was still hidden in the closet and Max hadn't seen me.

How was that possible that Max hadn't seen me. My heart was beating so loud I swear I heard it echo in my ears but I tried my best not to make a sound. I had got this far without being discovered.

"Here."

Would that be enough? Was that all he would need?

"How's Reece?" Max asked.

I froze, barely breathing. For a moment I was scared he may have seen me.

"She's um handling it as well as can be expected."

I listened intently, hoping Max would leave before he saw something that would tip him off to her presence in the room.

"I haven't seen much of her. I hate not being able to be there for her. It kind of feels like she is shutting me out and I don't know how to get her back."

Max's words hit me right in the chest. I had no idea he felt that way. He was a great guy, he had done nothing to deserve my treatment of him. I felt like the worst person on the planet.

"She's just going through a lot," Aiden explained. "Just give her space. I'm sure once Lacey is out of hospital and on the road to recovery everything will go back to normal."

The ease to which he lied took me by surprise. He was smooth, I would have believed him had I not known different. He knew full well there would be no going back to normal. Not after what had happened between them. Memories of what they shared in the janitor's closet made my cheeks warm but in the same instance the guilt I was wrestling with grew heavier.