"Shit." was the only word that Martin was capable of saying when he awoke at nine o'clock the next morning. "Shit, shit, shit."
He stumbled out of bed and ran into the bathroom, sick with his hangover.
Why did I tell her I loved her? Why did I tell her I loved her?!
As he rested his elbows on the toilet seat sweating, the only person he thought of to ask for help was Emily.

When Martin returned home at 4am after meeting Zoe for the first time at the club he was wildly drunk, as he approached the door he saw Emily stumble out of a taxi and a man walked over to help her, he watched him kiss her lips, and the only thing that Martin felt was jealously- even though he had done just the same to another girl, he felt that he almost owned those lips, as he had been the only man and the first man to kiss them. They were engaged, he and Emily, yet their relationship was that of no more than friendship- they had agreed on that, although there was certain points, that neither of them ever admitted, that they felt a connection.
After Emily walked away from the man and towards the door she spotted Martin coming too.
"Hey." She greeted him with a smile.
"What's his name?" He asked her, smirking,
"I don't even know." She replied,
"How much have you had to drink?" He asked her, unlocking the door and putting a hand on her back, helping her inside.
"Haha- a lot, Martin." She told him, plonking her bag down on the sofa. "Did you catch one?"
"I found someone." He replied, helping her up into the bedroom.
"Ooh was she pretty?" Asked Zoë, turning her back to Martin as he unzipped her dress.
"She was." He replied, unbuttoning his shirt and climbing into bed.
"Oh my gosh Martin, you're inlove." Said Emily, sliding into bed beside him and looking up at him.
"No I'm not." He laughed, looking up at the ceiling, but the truth was that he couldn't stop thinking about Zoe.
"She's been kissing you a lot." Emily deduced, swiping a makeup wipe across her face and then onto Martin's neck, "you've got lipstick stains all over you."
"Oh shit, really?"
"Only one colour, you obviously found the one."
"I'm still your fiancé, Emma." He told her.
Zoe gave off a sigh, "Martin.. I love you.. but we should be allowed to have that much freedom all the time, not just when our parents aren't about.. I mean, we're twenty three.."
Martin nodded as he saw her slip on her engagement ring again,
"I mean- you should be able to go back home with your girl and I should be able to go home with that guy without feeling guilty."
"Then why don't we just tell our parents?" Offered Martin, "we could stand up for ourselves."
"They've got our bank accounts at hand, if we don't get married then we don't have a home." She sighed.
Emily rolled onto Martin's chest and put her hands onto his cheeks, Martin felt shocked and uneasy,
"When he did this to me I didn't feel scared." She told Martin before pushing her lips up against his, "I didn't feel anxious when he kissed me."
"Do you feel anxious when I kiss you?" Asked Martin, surprised.
"Nearly every time." She replied, making Martin feel so incredibly guilty, but he kept thinking of Zoe.

"Martin? Martin are you awake?" Called Zoe, knocking on the door to his hotel room.
Martin didn't even want to speak to her, he felt so embarrassed, like he had just given himself away completely.
After a cold shower, Martin walked out onto the balcony and soaked in the warm air before noticing that Zoe was sitting on her balcony adjacent to his.
"You okay?" She asked him, looking over with sympathy.
Martin nodded, turning around to go back inside,
"You were drunk. It's fine. I say weird things when I'm drunk too. Let's just move on." Said Zoe,
Martin turned around, sitting back down on the seat, not looking directly at her.
"Martin.. you need help." Said Zoe, looking over to him.
Martin shook his head in response,
"Martin! Why do you have to be so reluctant all the time?! I want to help you!"
"I don't need help!" Yelled Martin back at her,
"Well I do!" She called. Her eyes wide and red.
Martin took a breath, looking down, he knew that he was in the wrong.
"Put yourself in my position, Martin." Zoe began, her eyes watering, "I can't leave this baby. I can't separate from it. I've got to take care of it no matter what. And you, the father of this baby needs just as much care, if not more. I can't sleep because I'm terrified that you're gonna kill yourself- then what am I gonna be seen as? The slut who got off with a new widower who killed himself a week later? This could have been so easy for me! I could have not gone on this stupid trip and I could have went off to America and lived for myself! I wouldn't have to worry about the guy I hooked up with at college and I wouldn't have to be a mother!" Tears were streaming down Zoe's eyes now as she leant her elbows on the table and buried her face into her hands.
"Zoe.." Martin sighed, standing up and looking over, "oh Zoe.."
He walked back into his room and put on a t shirt and shorts quickly before running out of his room and opening up the door to Zoe's room.
She was still out on the balcony as he walked out and sat beside her, reaching out and embracing her, gently stroking her back.
"It's okay, Zoë. It's okay." He soothed as she buried her head into his neck.
I've gotta stay with her.. I can't let her go through this alone.. I love her. I love her far too much to let her go.