Imperfect

The Morning After

I didn't know what time it was but all I heard was a loud banging downstairs and someone cursing. I slowly got out of bed and crept out onto the landing. I flicked the light on and I shielded my eyes. There sprawled out on the floor in the hall was Finley. He had tripped over the shoes I forgot to pick up. I stood there and Finley looked up. Our eyes met and then before I knew it, Finley and I had rushed to each other and we were hugging. I was sobbing into his chest and he was sniffing trying to control his emotions. He stank of beer and I knew he had been drinking heavily.

"Are you sober?" I asked quietly through my tears.

" I was sober hours ago. I just wanted to make sure you were settled. I didn't want to upset you any more than I already have. You deserve better." He rubbed my back gently. I held onto him tightly, wishing things hadn't got to this. "Do you wanna talk about this in the morning?" He asked quietly. I nodded. My eyes were sore from crying and my head was fuzzy. I let go of Finley and turned to walk back upstairs. He gently took my hand and followed me. When we got into the bedroom Mr Boots was up and jumped off the bed to greet Finley. He wound himself around his legs and Finley fussed him, much to Mr Boots' delight. I slipped back into bed and pulled the blanket up under my chin. I watched Finley get undressed and into his pyjamas. He slowly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. He picked up his letter, which I had forgotten about and he looked over it. He grimaced slightly.

" I don't know what to say." He said quietly. I took the letter from him gently and placed it on his night stand.

"Don't say anything. Just come to bed." I said quietly. He stood up and slid under the blanket. He put his arm out and I moved over and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I rested my head on his shoulder and placed my hand on his chest. I could feel his heart racing and he placed his hand on mine. I kissed his cheek softly and he kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and Finley gently tickled my back. As I was nodding off to sleep I heard him whisper quietly,

" I love you Claire, and I am so sorry for putting you through this." I was too tired to respond and ended up falling asleep.

We were both woken by Finley's phone ringing loudly. It was twelve noon and my mouth felt like the Sahara desert. For a split second the events of the night before were forgotten, but they soon came flooding back.

"Hello?" Finley croaked down the phone. "How did you get this number? For fucks sake." Finley hung up and his phone immediately started going off again. He declined the call and turned his phone off.

" What's going on?" I asked.

" Those stupid bitches. They've doxxed me on Twitter. They've put my phone number out on the internet because I pissed them off." He said angrily. "So now my phone is gonna be going nuts. I'll have to get a new number. Can I borrow your phone quickly?" he asked. I grabbed mine from the night stand and gave it to him. He dialled someone and began talking.
"Yes I've figured it out. Can you sort it please? I can't use my phone until I get a new number. Thanks." He hung up and gave my phone back. I led back down and scrunched up my nose. I felt hungover even though I didn't get drunk. It was probably from all the crying. Finley got up and went to get us some water. I stayed in bed and flicked on the tv. I was watching the news and suddenly a picture of me walking out of the hotel flashed up. I turned the sound up.

" last night, leaving the after party alone. It's alleged that the couple had an argument after that Beckett's girlfriend had a heated exchange with the two make up mogul's. It seems they got their own back though as they posted what is allegedly Beckett's phone number on both of their Twitter accounts. So are the couple still together? It's anyone's guess, but from the rumours of an unhappy relationship swirling for the last few months a split may be on the cards in the near future. Back to you." I turned the TV off. I was so angry. The media and Hollywood were so pretentious and filled with people high on drama I was sick of it. I sat up in bed with a renewed sense of anger at Finley. He came back into the room with two glasses of water and I took one.