The Only Way is Up

Part Nine

That voice, she tried to open her eyes again, she was in her lounge, on her sofa, a duvet wrapped around her.

Two brown eyes appeared in front of her and it took a moment for her eyes to focus on him.

"Maxim?"

He sighed, his relief visible, "damn, you have made me very worried. How do you feel?"

She wanted to shrug; she wasn't really sure, "pain..." she tried. "My head...argh...my body."

Giving a gentle smile, he leaned closer, "Kim is on her way, with medication and...I don't know. You're burning up."

"Time?" she asked suddenly struggling to speak for her dry mouth.

"It's half past nine."

Her eyes fluttered open, "I missed our training."

He laughed at that, "I think I can let you off with that one."

Groaning she leaned back, stopped fighting to get up, "I feel like death."

"You look a little like it! You had me worried for a while."

Turning her head she peeked at him, "really?"

He laughed again, "yep, seems I do have a soft side."

"You do, I knew that."

It caused him to harrumph, but as she drifted back to sleep, Nicole was grinning inside.

"She looks awful."

Mike had brought Kim to the house, and she had what seemed like a mobile pharmacy that was spread out on the lounge coffee table.

Kim was leaning over Nicole rubbing her arm, "I'm SO glad you found her, god knows what could have happened." She lifted her head to study Max for a moment, "I'm just surprised that you came here, that it was you found her."

"She missed our session, then she wasn't answering her phone, something made me concerned." He hoped that was enough as he wasn't about to explain that he was worried that his own father may have had a role in anything that happened to her. Fortunately it seemed he was over thinking things, but it made him overtly aware that he needed to deal with his father, and not ignore him. Otherwise he'd be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his days.

"Well I'm glad you did; thanks. You don't have to stay I'll look after her from now on."

Mike stepped forward, until then he'd been silent, sat in the corner observing, "I think not Kim; you've not been very well. You need to look after yourself."

She made to protest, but he added, "she's spoken to you, she'd asleep, she'll be fine."

Mike's eyes met Max's and he gave a shrug, "I've got nothing to do tonight Kim. I am more than happy to stay here for a while. Mike is right, you need to look after yourself, and Nicole would hate to know that you're not doing that because of her."

He gestured at her stomach and she smiled, "I just get tired."

Max nodded, "exactly, I have nothing planned for the rest of the evening."

She eyes him suspiciously, "a handsome young man like you? Nothing to do on a Friday night? I DON'T believe that for a moment."

He grinned, "I enjoy staying in, I'm not the party animal people think."

Mike snorted at that, and they both turned to look at him. Then Kim cocked her head to one side and studied him again, "hmmm, I think you might be right."

An hour later, he'd ordered a delivery from the local supermarket, the makings of his favourite soup, and some other healthy ingredients, her fridge and cupboards were stocked full of crisps and biscuits. She needed something more nutritious than that. Kim was sat on the armchair across from the still sleeping Nicole, but she had woken for about fifteen minutes, spoken to them both, then curled up and fell back asleep. She had a temperature, was hot and had felt dizzy, Kim had protested, but Mike was insistent.

"She woke up again, she spoke, you helped her to the bathroom, she's sleeping now. She may now wake for ages."

Max nodded, "I'm sure it's just flu, but if she's no better in a while I'll call the doctor. But her temperature is dropping, she will be better soon I'm sure." He stood in the doorway; Mike had headed outside to take an important call. "So she doesn't have any family? I mean she told me that she spilt from her husband..." The words seemed strange to actually speak, to think about her having a husband, at some point over the last few weeks he'd started to feel affection for her, protective, now he had to think about a man marrying her, loving her, then breaking her in two.

"That bastard!" Kim spat the words out, "don't get me started! As for her family, her parents and her brothers...well they're kind of self obsessed, she lives off their radar, that's how she likes it."

The bookshelf to his right was filled with framed pictures and as he glanced at them he failed to recognise Nicole in any of them. Suddenly he realised the person laughing with the permed hair, the multicoloured jumper and black knee high boots was her. Her crazy clothes and hair weren't what disguised her, but the smile, the carefree expression. It was almost hedonistic, and he had to catch a breath. She was a million miles from the woman he knew,

"She looks different, hey?" Kim was suddenly stood beside him.

"What happened?"

Kim shrugged, "that's her story to tell, but back then she had so little to worry about. She's not had it easy, which is why I worry about her so much. To leave you here, for you to look after her...it goes against every cell in my body."

"I won't hurt her."

Kim laughed at that, "I don't think you'll have control over that. You look after her, you hear? She's the best person in my life."

He could see the honesty in her eyes, and nodded, "I get how special she is to you."

That was no lie, he could see how important the girls were to each other, and more importantly, he knew that he wanted to see the uninhibited and crazy woman that was in those pictures come back.