Manage Me

I didn’t wake up until 4:00, and I still felt like shit even then. I dug the bottle of Advil out of my underwear drawer and dry swallowed three of them. I stretched, my joints popping. My phone buzzed on the table next to my bed. I snatched it, ignoring the quiet voice in my head that desperately hoped it was Holly. I knew it wouldn’t be. She hadn’t answered any of my texts or calls so she wasn’t going to be the one contacting me, obviously. It was a message from Zack and I grinned as I read it, forgetting every thought of Holly.



I felt the excitement build inside of me. Drinking alone was pretty pathetic, and Zack was the most understanding out of all the guys. After all, Rian had Cass and Alex had nearly every hot girl in Baltimore on speed dial. And I was still mad at him. I grabbed a towel I hoped was clean and entered the bathroom attached to my room. The shower was extremely soothing and I felt the knots in my back release in the steam. It had been over a week since I had last showered, which was pretty disgusting, so I stayed underneath the water for longer than usual, taking the time to shave and wash my hair twice. I stepped out, feeling clean and refreshed. Tonight would be good. With the towel wrapped around my waist, I descended the stairs to get something to eat.

A noise back by the bathroom startled me. I turned to see a tiny girl. It was Katie, at least I think that was her name. Fucking hell, why did I always forget about the maid? She was bobbing her head and I noticed the iPod peeking out of her apron pocket. For some unknown reason, I stood there and watched her. She was on her knees scrubbing the toilet. Her face was focused, but her body was relaxed, swaying to whatever was playing through her headphones. She started singing softly and I actually felt a small smile steal across my face.

It shocked me. I hadn’t really smiled in months. Most of the time they were forced or angry, but the sight in front of me actually had me smiling in happiness. It was kind of adorable, which also shocked me. Sure, she was hot. She was hot as hell. I had noticed that the first time I had seen her. But there was also something about her that was cute, childish even. Not that it made her less attractive. Given the opportunity I would have her in my bed in three seconds flat. Creepy as it was, I didn’t really want to stop watching her. She stood, wiping a piece of fallen hair away with her shoulder. The doorbell rang and I snapped out of the trance I had been in. She looked up and blushed when she saw me standing here. I was suddenly aware of my half naked state and spoke before she could.

“Uhhh, I’m just gonna get that.”

Her cheeks turned an even darker shade of pink and she nodded. I watched her return to cleaning the toilet, her posture stiff, before going to open the door. Zack was standing there and I grinned in anticipation. He returned it, completely unfazed by the fact that the only thing I was wearing was a towel.

“Dude, you’re clean!” He laughed, coming inside.

“Fuck you.” I punched his shoulder and he grinned. “I’ll be right back.”

He nodded and strolled into the living room, plopping down on the couch. I disappeared upstairs and dug through the growing pile of dirty clothes. After I finally found something that didn’t smell completely disgusting, I bounded down the stairs. Zack gave me a funny look when I made it back into the living room. He stood up.

“Who’s the chick in the apron?” He whispered, nodding towards the bathroom.

“Alex hired a maid.” I sighed. “Her name is Katie.”

He stifled a chuckle and patted my shoulder.

“Probably a good idea.”

I glared at him. A soft beeping noise sounded from somewhere. Katie looked down at her iPod and a look of relief washed over her face. She stowed the device and stood up. She started when she saw Zack and I standing there and I realized I was staring at her again.

“Mr. Barakat?” She said quietly. “It’s the end of my shift. I’ll be back tomorrow. How does 1:30 sound?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

She smiled slipping past Zack and I and out the door quickly.

“Mr. Barakat?” Zack raised his eyebrow.

I stared him down for about 10 seconds before we both burst out laughed. I shoved him.

“Whatever, bro. It’s just what she calls me.”

“How old is she, like 15?”

I thought about it for a second. I actually had no idea how old she was. She had to be older than 18 though. I made a mental note to ask her tomorrow. Not that I was interested in her, but it was a good idea to know who was cleaning my house after all. I shrugged and Zack chuckled again before heading out the door, shaking his head. I followed after him, not bothering to lock the door.