Until the Last Breath

I turn around, admiring the fluffy white and gold sheets and pillows, the white calla lilies in a vase on top of the nightstand beside the large canopy bed. I run my fingers over the sheer white curtain surrounding the bed. Everything in this room is so elegant, so beautiful—way better than I imagined.

“So what do you think?”

A deep voice sounds behind me and I gasp, spinning around and facing Max. He stands in front of an open door, leaning a shoulder against the wall, fingers in his pockets.

“What the hell, Max?” I walk up to him, looking through the door behind him. In there is a room identical to mine. I then look up at him, narrowing my eyes.

“I said we had two different rooms. I never said they weren’t connected.”

“Wow. Well, I’m locking the door,” I inform him, walking to my bed and sitting.

“Do as you please.” He dangles the key in his hand. “I have a key, though. Someone has to keep watch over you.”

He sits beside me, quiet a beat, looking at the view of the tower. “Do you like it?” he asks.

“Max, I love it. Seriously. This room and this view are incredible.”

He looks down at me, his eyes shimmering in the sunlight. “I’m glad you like it. I wanted the best for you.”

“Well, you did great.” I look down at his hand and how close it is to mine. We’ve been way too close lately and it’s unsettling. Max, he’s always going to want more from me. He’s going to want to be near me, to touch me, but I can’t allow it. I stand, walking to the window to look out of it and to create some proximity.

A knock sounds on his door and he looks back at it, and I’m relieved instantly. “That’s probably our bags,” he says. “I’m gonna hit the shower. I’ll be back to see what you want to eat. I’m starving.”

I nod as he walks through the connecting doors to get to his room. He answers his door, takes the bags, pays the bellhop again, and then brings my suitcase to my room.

He’s gone again, clicking the connecting door shut behind him.

I sit on the bed, sighing. Grabbing the handle of my tote back, I dig through it until I pull out my cellphone.

“Finally,” I breathe when I see there’s a signal.

My phone buzzes just as I’m about to call John. He’s calling me. He must have been calling constantly. My heart jumps to my throat, but I tap the green button anyway, bracing myself for the backlash.

“Hey, babe,” I answer.

“No,” he snaps. “Don’t hey babe me. What the hell are you thinking, Shannon? Fucking Paris? I leave you for a few days and you do something as crazy as that? Don’t tell me Tessa got into your head about this!”

“No, John. This was my decision. I wanted to come here.”

“Why?” His voice breaks. “Why couldn’t you just wait until I got back?”

“John, listen, I know you’re upset,” I murmur, standing and walking to the window. “But I am fine and like I said in the voicemail, Dr. Barad said it was okay.”

“I know. I called him and chewed him the hell out about it,” he grumbles. “I’m cancelling the rest of my trip here in Vegas and flying out there. I should be there with you.”

“No.” My voice is abrupt. “Just…just stay there, John. Stop worrying about me so much, okay? Please. I’m not even staying here for long. I will be back before you even leave Vegas. It’ll be like I never even left.”

“I can’t believe this,” he grumbles.

“Do you trust me?” I ask.

“What?” My question has clearly caught him off guard.

“Do you trust me, John?”

“Of course I trust you. It’s Tessa I don’t trust you out there with. I know she’s your sister, but she pushes you too close to the edge sometimes, Shannon.”

I hesitate on how to respond. He should know I’m not with Tessa. I can’t have him thinking that this whole trip.

“John…you should probably know that I didn’t fly to Paris with Tessa.”

He’s quiet for so long I think he’s hung up. “Jesus, Shannon. Please don’t tell me you went to Paris with that Max guy.”

I don’t even know how to respond to that. I just close my eyes, waiting for him to take my silence as an answer.

“Are you kidding me? No—fuck that! This changes everything! I’m leaving right now to come and get you!”

“No, John! You cannot do that! You don’t even know where I am! I told you I’m fine! I want this!”

“Was this his idea? Huh?”

“No. I wanted to go,” I state, refusing to allow the opportunity for John to lay any blame on Max. “And I’m already here.”

“I cannot fucking believe this. I ask you not to do anything crazy and you fly off with another man to another country!”