Love & Ruins (#2)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four: Maggie

The morning sunlight felt like a slap to the face.

I opened my eyes not only to the pending activities of the day but also to my dreaded reality. Everything seemed as though it was charging at me at full speed.

I sat up from my position on the couch; before Alyssa left, I asked for Evan to be transferred to his bedroom so he could get some decent shut-eye.

I reassured her I'd be the one to take care of him after that. I removed his shoes, made sure he was laid comfortably and put a glass of water and some aspirin by his nightstand if by chance the hangover is going to be cruel to him.

Running a hand through my hair, I looked up at the clock to check the time and realized that I had slept in, but it was pointless because I planned not to attend our classes for today so I could check up on Evan.

Stealing a glance at his bedroom door, I wondered if he was awake or not. It was still early, but he got knocked out at the stroke of midnight. He's had about nine hours of rest already.

I rose from the plump cushions that buried me and approached his room; I didn't know whether I should knock or not, he is either awake or he isn't.

But I didn't want to be intrusive, so I knocked on his door once, twice and once the third one was left unanswered, I cocked my head and placed a hand on the doorknob as I let myself in.

The room was engulfed in darkness, as I didn't want him to wake up with dashes of sunlight further exacerbating his hangover. I inspected him from where he lay on the bed, and all I saw was a lump.

Taking careful steps, I tilted my head to gain a better look and saw that he was still sleeping. The glass of water and medicine I left is still untouched, and just as I was about to leave the room to let him be, I nearly jumped when he suddenly stirred.

"Jesus fucking Christ, did someone put a bullet in my head-"

"Close. It was the shots of vodka you took."

He practically leaped out of his skin when he heard my voice "Maggie?!" he called out, and perhaps the intensity of his reaction proved to be too unbearable for him.

As he put a hand to his forehead and groaned "I'm sorry," I apologized in earnest, as he shook his head.

"No, it's okay, it's just," he laughed "Why are you standing in the dark? How long have you been here?"

I chuckled "I just woke up and thought I'd check up on you. You came home drunk last night."

His ears perked up "I did?" I nodded. "How was I able to get back home, then?"

Here comes reality knocking at my door.

I knew eventually he was going to ask that, the truth finds a way to reveal itself and I don't know why I even dreaded it. But he deserves to know, she's the reason why he got home safely.

"How about you have some breakfast first and drink that aspirin? I'll tell you everything later." he didn't protest, he simply obeyed as we exited his room.

He slouched over the dining room table, his head in his hands as I made breakfast for the both of us; he was the one who usually took on this responsibility but for today, we've switched roles.

I didn't do anything special, just simple eggs with avocado toast on the side, and once I placed it in front of him, he looked up at me with his pretty-boy grin plastered on his face.

"Thank you," he said, his voice raspy as I felt a jolt of electricity rush through my veins.

"It's no problem," I replied as casually as I could, taking a seat right across from him. "It's weird thinking I've cooked for you these past few days, typically it's you being the chef around here."