WARNING: Contains Max x Jefferson in this story. I don't ship it and tbh it was randomly selected. I don't care for it at all. The same applies with Chloe/Max, but I'm doing it anyways. It's a personal challenge to see how long I can stand writing a story involving two pairings I strongly dislike. lol

Max groaned as she awoke from her slumber from the sound of her son's crying. She had spent the entire day working her butt off at her new job at "Click!" a successful photography business her husband had scored her a position at. The only downside was that the only position she could get was being an assistant. Even so it still was better than nothing. She enjoyed learning from a successful photography business, seeing the smiles of many people coming in to get their photos taken, and earning a decent amount of cash on the side despite hardly ever snapping a photo. Today was a particularly busy day since a lot of high school seniors were coming in for photos. Therefore Max spent the entire day running around helping customers with their clothes, changing backdrops, sweeping up the dirt of the result of the students not bothering to wipe their feet, and moving around the photography lights. On top of that, she had to stay late organizing pictures and close shop. Then when she got home and paid the babysitter, she had to cook dinner for herself and put the baby to bed. After taking a long, hot shower, she was finally able to curl up into bed. Now her child was crying, preventing her from getting much-needed sleep. Since she was the only one in her apartment, she had no choice but to tend to her baby. At moments like this, her husband should be the one tending to the newborn, not her. While she did enjoy caring for her child, she was much too tired to feel anything else but annoyance. It wasn't directly aimed at the baby but more so at her absent husband.

Mark was out of state teaching at a community college back in Oregon, much to her displeasure. At first he had been just teaching once a week, returning to their apartment in Seattle until needed but then it turned into to full time. The worst part was that he hadn't bothered to talk to her about it at all. He just took the extended job without hesitation, stating that it paid too much to ignore. Max had been furious that he had taken the opportunity without speaking with her first. Whenever her parents made decisions that could impact their family, they always spoke about it instead of going behind the other's back. Max couldn't help but to feel that with her being so much younger than him, he didn't trust her to make the right decisions or wouldn't be able to understand. It wasn't the first time he had done this. When they first got married, instead of spending their post-honey moon together, he ditched her the moment he got home to go on a business trip showing off his art to potential clients without telling her. Max had gotten worried and was tempted to call the police until he finally called back two days later to explain himself. She knew his career was important, but he didn't have to leave in the dark about what he wanted to do, especially when they were married.

Now he stayed much longer in Oregon, only being home for two days out of the week and stayed weekends. Sometimes, he'd stay for a whole week! She hated that he chose to take off for Oregon without her, leaving her home alone with their son. At the time he started taking the job, she had been heavily pregnant with their child and was advised to avoid traveling. She wouldn't mind so much if he'd call more. He often went long stretches at a time without calling her, causing her to worry. One day in particular, she had been worried about him more so than usual. When Mark hadn't come back the day he was supposed to, the brunette made an effort to contact him. When he didn't pick up, she was bothered he hadn't returned her messages yet didn't call the police. There was a bad thunderstorm that day, so it'd be a moment before he got home. As for his cellphone, he had the bad habit of not allowing it to charge. Still, he could always use the hotel phone line. There was also a chance he had fallen asleep after a hard day's work. The next day, Max tried calling and texting again, only to not get an answer. Panicking, she called the police later that night to file a missing persons report. Luckily he was found a week later though Max wished he had been found sooner. She was relieved her spouse had been, yet she felt frustrated as well. He was vague about his location over the past few days, only telling her that he had been working on side projects. When she asked, he just brushed her questions off, quickly changing the subject or the baby would cry causing a distraction. The young woman had developed a fear that her husband was cheating on her. She already had low self-esteem due to her body, weight, and appearance. Some days she felt ugly compared to the models her husband would take photos. They had the curves, the long wavy luscious curls, large breasts, and sleek figure that she lacked. Thoughts of her husband running off with one of those models made her stomach turn. At times like these she wondered why he chose her. She saw the way people adored and idealized him, most of them better looking than she, yet he chose to not only date her but he also proposed to her. She felt both lucky and cursed to have Mark Jefferson as a loving husband. He loved her, but she didn't feel respected enough. Maybe one of these days, she'd finally put her foot down and demand he find a job here instead of another state.

'No, I could never do that,' She sighed as she began breast feeding her child. He quieted down as he drank his mother's milk as she rocked him. No matter how pissed she was that he was not home that often, she didn't have the heart to pull him away from something he enjoyed. Still, she wanted to be selfish just this once and have her husband home.

Once the baby had been burped and placed back into his crib, Max heard the sound of the apartment's door. That was strange. He didn't expect him back until tomorrow. She couldn't really afford to look a gift horse in the mind since it wasn't often he returned home early. She made her way down the hall to find the man with a large bouquet of baby blue chrysanthemums. Max was surprised but pleased at the sight of the flowers. They were her favorite after all. However she couldn't' fully enjoy them as Mark only ever gave her flowers on two occasions; birthdays and when he had to tell her something she didn't like. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Let me guess, you've been offered an exhibit in New York and you're going to gone for a few weeks."

"Not exactly." He smiled at his wife. He didn't appear to be guilty of anything that would hurt her so what could it be? "You want to try again, Maxine?"

Max bit her bottom lip as she shifted one foot to the other. Normally when Mark was leaving town for a few days or even weeks, he'd always have this guilt ridden expression on his face. Today he was glowing with excitement, his mouth twisted into an eager smile. He looked about ready to burst into a million pieces as his wife tried guessing what he was so happy about. She guessed that he was taking up a different job nearby but he just shook his head. "Okay I give up. What is it?"

"I got a permanent job at one of the top Art academies in Oregon, Blackwell," When Max frowned, he quickly added, "And I got you in."

"Huh?" From what Max heard, that school was incredibly difficult to get in.* One must actually show some talent to get in. Talent Max didn't think she had. At first Max was enthusiastic about attending when she thought about it more. She only got in because of her husband, not on her own. Whenever the pair attended parties in her partner's honor, Jefferson would always make a show of bragging to his friends snd colleagues about his wife's photos. They all seemed to admire her works, a few even speculating that it wouldn't be long before she even surpassed him, Max felt as though they were saying it to be nice or because Jefferson was there. Even before she got married, she had been told wonderful things about her pictures. Even those never felt genuine. At least to her they didn't. The only ones she felt were genuine were the ones who supplied constructive criticism. She wished she had gotten the chance to speak with the head of the school herself. That way Mark's influence wouldn't persuade anyone.

"I know what you're thinking and I'm proud to say I didn't. I always have more promising students pictures on hand and I just so happen to have a few of yours on hand. The head says that you have a lot of talent, Maxine."

"Really?"

"Haven't I always said that?"

"Yeah but that's because we're together," she pointed out.

"When I met you, we weren't," She remembered that day fondly. She had been on vacation with her parents to Hawaii when Vanessa, her mother, found out about a photography contest and persuaded her daughter to enter. Max had begun to enter when she found out who was judging. It was Mark Jefferson of all the people in the world. She had been a long time fan of his works and longed to get the chance to impress him. Now that it was really happening, she quickly changed her mind out of fear of rejection. Eventually she gave in, entered, and received second place which was better than nothing. Mark had told her that she had talent, much to her delight, and he had faith she could make it big if she never gave up. And she didn't. Her photography skills had vastly improved over the years though she had so much to learn. Luckily for her, she had a great teacher.

"So when do we move?"

"Approximately 5 months," he informed her. He still had a week left with his students before summer rolled in. Then there was his newest project he needed plant the final touches on. "I've already spoke to Diana about it and you're off to help house hunt for the three of us tomorrow."

Normally Max would complain about him making decisions for her, but she could use a few days off work. As she curled back under their silky, black sheets, her mind drifted off to Chloe, an old friend of her's from her childhood. She hadn't seen her in years nor had the pair kept contact. Considering Blackwell was located in Arcadia Bay, there was a strong chance she'd catch her old best friend there. Chloe was always the smarter of the pair after all. There was a chance she'd be there unless she decided to skip a grade and was already in college by now. Once there, she'd pop in and visit her and Mrs. Price. Hopefully Chloe wouldn't be too mad about her falling out of touch.

That's all for now. Please review so I can see what you think. Thanks again for reading. =3