Forbidden Love

Chapter 2

My head splintered into a thousand pieces when I slowly opened my eyes the next morning. I placed my hand against it to keep it steady while I propped myself up onto my elbows. The slightest movement increased the storm inside my head, which caused me to snuggle under my blankets again.

"Demi?" Meg beckoned softly. "Are you alive?" I had spent the night by Meg, seemingly how I could barely keep myself up last night.

"No," I grumbled under the blankets. "I was hoping for dearth." I groaned and pulled the blankets tighter around my head. "Drinking sucks."

Meg chuckled. "Well, the way you drank does. Come on. Get out of bed and we can go get something deliciously greasy to eat."

"I honestly just want to lie here and die."

"Trust me. You will feel much better after you've gotten something to eat."

I peeked out from under the blankets. Megs hair was a tangled mess and her puffy red eyes were smeared with mascara. I could only imagine what I looked like. Glancing in the mirror above her dresser, I ran my fingers over the nest that was once my hair and wiped the black streaks under my bloodshot eyes. "Okay, let me take a shower first."

Meg jotted up and headed to my door. "I also need one. I will meet you down stairs in 20 minutes."

I grabbed random clothes from her drawers and trotted towards the bathroom. I turned on the water until it was almost scolding hot and stood under the cleansing streams.

Stop acting like a slut.
Ethan's hateful voice rang through my head. With my eyes clenched tight, I forced him away and scrubbed harder.

I tried to scour the feel of Max's hands on my body and the taste of his tongue in my mouth. When I turned off the water and stepped out the shower, I was still repulsed with myself.

°°°

A line awaited us when we pulled into the parking lot of the local breakfast spot. Thankfully, the line progressed quickly, and we slipped into a booth fifteen minutes later with our iced coffees and croissants.

Meg studied me from across the booth and shook her head. "I still can't believe you drank. You never drink."

I shrugged and mumbled, "Never again," as I took a big bite out of my croissant. The chocolate melted out onto my tongue and I don't think I've ever tasted anything that good. Meg's head dipped in sympathy and I turned my gaze out to a window. I've never been more thankful for a friend than what I was today.

"What time do you have to be by your dad to help load the truck?"

I sighed in remembrance of having to move to Carpenteria in California. I quickly wiped my hands clean with a soviet and pulled out my phone from my back pocket, "At three. I think."

She nodded and took a sip from her iced coffee. "What about Ethan?"

A vapour of memories and unfathomable heartache was released into the air. "I don't know." I answered truthfully. Meg was the only person who I had told about Ethan's abusive ways. "I better go. Still have to pack up the last bits of my goodies back at home."

Meg smiled and slipped out of the booth to give me a hug goodbye. She was expecting Cole in about five minutes. Unfortunately, this was the last time I would be seeing her until one of us could pay a visit. "I'll see you soon, hun."

I smiled and hugged her back. "Definitely."

°°°

"Why can't she move in with us?" I asked my father who was loading boxes into the truck while I lazily sat on the lounger watching him.