"Zoe's been discharged." Robyn told Max as he walked through the ED reception, having finished his shift. Connie had offered him time off to deal with all that had gone on and to look after Zoe and yet he'd refused, unable to properly face his wife.
"Well I guess I'll go out then." Max replied as he continued to walk out of the building.
"You'll have to face her eventually." Robyn called after her step-brother as she followed him into the chilly air of a British summer evening.
"Eventually, that doesn't mean right now."
"She made a mistake Max."
"No Robyn, a mistake is forgetting to put the washing on or leaving the balcony doors open. What she did is mess up on a big scale, she slept with someone else for god sake."
"Yeah she did, and do you know what, she hates herself for it. She was honest about it though, it would have been a lot easier for her to lie to you, telling you took a lot of guts and you were the one who chose to still marry her after that. Now you can stand there and tell me you hate her and call her every name under the sun but you love her."
"Whatever, I'm off to get very drunk before I stumble home to the spare room where my wife didn't sleep with someone else."
"Because everything worked out perfectly last time you got plastered."
Max ignored his step-sister and continued to walk away, heading slowly in the direction of Holby town centre, for one night he wanted to be so drunk that he forgot all about his wife and his wedding day, he wanted to get his revenge.
The pub that he walked into was busier than he'd expected, it was a Saturday night but he'd picked one of the quieter pubs. He walked straight to the bar and immediately ordered several shots, the things that would probably get him to his aim the fastest. 12 shots later, he could barely remember his own name let alone the events of the previous couple of weeks.
"Are you alright?" A woman asked as she approached the bar and chose to sit at the bar stool next to Max. The woman looked to be in her early twenties, her face was plastered in far too much make up and her skirt was more like a belt than a skirt.
"Never been better, and you are?" Max asked, knowing that this woman was as good as any for his revenge plan.
"I'm Georgie, you?" She asked, after she'd ordered herself another drink.
"Well hello Georgie, I'm Max." Max smiled, trying to flirt in his drunken state. "You're beautiful."
"Thank you, you aren't bad looking yourself." She replied, smiling at him.
"It's loud and hot in here. I need some fresh air and a fag."
"Mind if I join you?" Georgie replied, winking at him.
"The more the merrier."
"I'd rather it was just us." She whispered.
"So Max, I can't believe for a second that a guy as good looking as you would be single." Georgie said as she lit her cigarette, and for a moment Max remembered his wife and couldn't get the image of her in her wedding dress out of his mind.
"I could say the same to you."
"So we're both single, how about you and me have a bit of fun?" Georgie asked, getting closer to Max until he could feel her breath against his neck. For a second he was ready to put his plan into action, he wanted to sleep with someone else to get back at Zoe.
"No! I'm so sorry, I can't do this. I wanted to but I'm married, she cheated on me and I wanted to get back at her but I can't do it." Max replied as he broke down in tears.
"Maybe it's time you went back home to your wife and actually spoke to her instead of trying to get back at her."
"Max?" Zoe whispered as the lights turned on in the flat, she was lying on the sofa covered in blankets, having clearly set up her bed on the sofa. Immediately she noticed the tear stains down his cheeks and yearned to hug and kiss him to make the pain go away, but she knew that the pain was solely down to her.
"Why are you on the sofa?" He asked, throwing his keys down on the table as he spoke, he might have hated Zoe at that moment but he still worried about her.
"I don't want to be in our room and I see you're in the spare room and I didn't think you'd want to share a bed with me right now so I thought I'd take the sofa."
"Have the spare room." Max told her bluntly. Next thing he knew Zoe was beside him.
"I don't know how to make this better and I know there's no quick fix but I'm so sorry Max. It was a mistake that meant nothing."
"Do you know what I did tonight?" Max asked, for a moment Zoe considered bringing up that he stunk of alcohol but instead just shook her head. "I went out to get back at you, to sleep with someone else to make you feel the same hurt that I do. Do you know what though?" She wasn't able to speak, instead she shook her head again, preparing herself for what was to come and knowing that she fully deserved it. "I couldn't, all I could think about was you and how much I love you. I think if you loved me like I love you, then you'd never have been able to do it either. Clearly I'm not enough for you Zoe."
"You are enough. So enough. It's unbelievable how enough you are." Zoe told him as she too broke down into tears. "I love you so much Max, I know right now you probably hate me and that I deserve that. I know that it's not going to be easy and that this isn't going to fix overnight and that you probably won't be able to trust me for a while but if you want this then say the word and I'll show you how committed I am to us. I'll show you that I love you like you love me."
"I don't want to lose you Zo'."