Broken Wings

Part Eleven - Life and it's complexities

Chapter Eleven

Aaron woke early, he wasn't the best sleeper anyway, but the presence of his house guest seemed to make him even more alert. She'd been drunk the night before, very drunk...and that sadness he sensed in her back in London came out, but he was still none the wiser. She was running from someone, something...he shouldn't care, shouldn't want to know more, but he did. Luke knew something, he'd hinted at that at his engagement party, but it would be ultra stalkerish to contact him. He had to get over the need to control things; he couldn't manage her like he managed work. Sighing he rolled over in bed, checking his emails...the never ending list had grown hugely over night.

Tom had text him an hour earlier - he was an even earlier riser, the entertainment magazine had agreed to pull the images, cancel the story, which was a relief. He liked being private, he did his work, and went home. That was all he wanted out of life. His legal counsel had once again worked wonders. Tom lived out of the city with his wife and new baby, hence them rarely seeing each other outside of work. But he had stayed in town the previous night to sort this out. And now he was inviting Aaron for breakfast at his central hotel.

Normally he'd rush at the chance to spend time with Tom, but something made him feel he needed to hang around at his home Julia had been in town less than a week, she didn't know anyone...he needed to be around for her...and her hangover. But he hated blowing off his friend.

Tom was genial about it all, in reality he was heading home to his wife and little boy sooner, which was a win for him. The two C's, his collective name for his dogs, were getting rather antsy. It was still early, there was no way that Julia was about to wake anytime soon, so he jumped up and strolled into his dressing room.

He ran when he could, and the dogs nipped at his heels as they ran through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Half an hour that was no exception, the dogs thought it was fun to try and trip him up, but it gave them a good run which they missed on other days. When they both started to pant, he knew this was going to a brief jog. Stopping at a kiosk he bought water, then stopped to give them a treat, he always stuffed a few in his pocket. The walk back to the apartment was longer, and he ended up carrying them the last part.

As he got into the elevator, he glared at them, "you two are spoilt. Do you know that?" He lowered them to the floor then rolled his eyes as they started to nip and yap again.

"Come on, troublemakers."

The dogs skipped alongside him and raced through the front door when he opened it.

Feeding them breakfast in the kitchen, he was reaching for a towel to wipe his surprisingly sweaty brow, when he felt a presence behind him. Turning he met the rather green face of Julia.

"Hey," he offered. "You ok?"

She shrugged, and he felt for her, he really did, he had had a few horrendous hangovers himself in the past. "Think I drank too much last night."

He chuckled, "as long as you had a good night..."

She stared at him for a long moment, "I woke you?"

Grimacing, he offered, "you fell in the hall...I helped you to your room."

She groaned, covering her eyes, "oh my God. I am so sorry..."

Shaking his head, he filled the coffee machine, then turned to her, "don't even think about it. Though I am glad that you found your way back here."

She sighed, "I think one of the guys who I work with lives this way...he called the Uber anyway."

The thought of her being drunk, unaware of her surroundings worried him, he had no idea who she worked with, but this was a big City, and she didn't even know half of it. Not your business, his inner voice told him quite firmly.