DISCLAIMER: I do not own Max, or Jude or any Across the Universe characters. I do own Eliza.
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It was an hour or so before noon when I was awoken to the sound of someone pounding on my bedroom door. I live alone and immediately panicked. Who was in my house? How'd they get in my house? And what were they planning on doing?
I shook as I walked towards the door, grabbed a large hardcover book off the shelf, and got ready to attack if necessary. I opened the door a crack and peeked out.
"It's okay." Came a thickly accented voice. "It's just me – Jude."
I sighed in relief that it wasn't a stranger and opened the door.
"You scared the shit outta me man." I said.
"Sorry Liza." Jude said. He took a moment to look at me and noticed the book I had in my hand. "What's the book for?"
I quickly hid the book behind my back, not that it mattered since he saw it already, and answered, "Uhh…nothing."
He laughed. "You were going to hit me with it, weren't you?"
"Not you." I said. "But if it wasn't you…"
"So you mean if someone broke into your house who wanted to kill you, after knocking on your door first of course, you were going to attack them with a book?" He laughed harder now as he visualized a 5' 4" thin girl trying to defeat an intruder with a book.
"…Yeah." I said and laughed a little myself. It was pretty ridiculous. "So what are you doing here anyway? I mean, surely you didn't come here just to laugh at me."
"No I didn't." He stopped laughing and took on a serious tone. "Max got back from the hospital last night. His parents and Lucy picked him up and took him home. Not back to our place in New York, but here in New Jersey. Lucy argued with them at first, she wanted Max to be with her and I, but she realized that maybe he would be better off with their parents for a while. So we all stayed overnight."
"Why didn't you tell me you were picking him up?" I asked. "I went and drove the two hours up to New York to see him 4 to 5 times a week and you didn't tell me you were bringing him back here to Jersey!? I would have gone! I wanted to be there when he got home! I…Jude!" I argued.
"Calm down Eliza. Let me explain. We didn't tell you because we felt we pissed his parents off a great deal by arguing with them to let us take Max and –"
I interrupted him then. "But Jude, they wouldn't have cared if I went! Who spent the most time with Max besides you guys before he left? Me. Who was the one who knew him the longest besides his immediate family? Me. No offense Jude, I know he's your best friend, but who was his girlfriend for the last year before he left? Me. And you didn't tell me he was going home!"
"I know! We're sorry! But listen!" his tone got louder. "This is important!"
I gave him a stern look. I was pissed they didn't tell me. I love Max just as much as they do, no, more than they do. I wished at this point Jude would just cut to the chase and tell me why he was here.
"Anyway," he continued, "Max was acting much like he was when he was in the hospital. When we woke up this morning though he was still where we left him on the couch from the night before. He hadn't slept and he was visibly upset about something. We tried to get him to talk about it, but he still won't talk to us. We asked him what he wanted to do but still no answer. Then Lucy asked if he wanted to see you. Eliza, he actually responded. He didn't say anything, but he nodded."
I knew that was a big deal. Max hadn't spoke or even reacted to anything since he got back from Vietnam.
"He wanted to see me?" I asked.
"Yeah." Jude answered. "He's downstairs on the couch."
I had no words. I hugged Jude and practically ran down the stairs. He called to me as I left that he'd stay upstairs for a while.
I walked into my living room and smiled when I saw Max. He was sitting on the couch with his back to me. I walked around the couch and sat down next to him. Over the last handful of weeks I had visited him in the hospital and talked his ear off even though I knew he wasn't going to say anything back. This morning, I was just too happy to see him in my house that I didn't have anything to say. I simply moved close to him, put my arm around him, pulled him close and rested my head on his shoulder.
After a while of silence I kissed his cheek and told him, "I love you." I moved my hand up to play with his hair that was significantly shorter than it was when he left for Vietnam.
"I love you too." He whispered. His voice was hoarse from spending close to a month, or possibly more, without speaking.
My eyes went wide and I picked my head up off his shoulder to look at him. I hadn't expected him to say anything let alone tell me he loves me too.
"Max…" I whispered and a smile spread across my face.
He looked me in the eyes and pulled my face closer to his and kissed me.
"Sorry." He whispered after he pulled away.
"Sorry?" I asked. "For what?"
"Everything." He said. His voice sounded choked since he was now speaking without whispering.
I kissed his cheek again. "You have nothing to be sorry for." I assured him.
"I shouldn't have gone." He said.
"You had no choice." I stated.
"We should have run away." He said.
"We couldn't have." I argued.
"I should have talked to you." He said.
"You were out of it. You needed to get your thoughts together." I said.
"My thoughts still aren't back together. They won't be. I can't fix my mind anymore. I tried. It took all I had. I can't…" he was back to whispering now.
"Max. It's okay now. I'm not leaving you. I never did. And now, you're not leaving anymore. You're safe now." I said.
He pulled me close to him and buried his face in my shoulder. I felt the heat of his breath and a slight wetness from the tears that he was now crying. "I can still feel it. It's like I'm still there."
I held him. "Max…you're not. You're with me and I will keep you safe. I can't fix you. I don't know how, but I will help you."
"I love you." He said. "Please don't leave me."
"I love you too Max. And I'll never leave." I assured him.