Okay, I lied these won't all be under 1,000 words. That's what I originally thought most chapters would be like, but clearly I was wrong. This chapter is 1,200 words.
Day 2: Hunger
Chapter Summary: David notices Max hadn't been eating.
Camp and just started and Max was already hating it. David had adopted him almost two years ago, and camp was still something the 12 year old dreaded. After getting up and dressed for the day, he'd meet up with Nikki and Neil to plan their daily mischief. Today Max was thinking of rolling Space Kid down a hill. David had told him they were going hiking for the days activity. Having an adoptive dad as a councilor did have its advantages.
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All the campers were now gathered outside near a large mountain side. Some had water bottles, others had hats. Most were prepared for a long hike and, knowing David, it was going to take a very long time to get back to camp once they started. "Okay kids! We're going on a surprise hike today!" David threw his arms in the air in excitement, trying to make the campers do the same. Of course, Max had already ruined the "amazing surprise" and none of the children reacted as positively as David had expected.
"Yeah, we all know. Just get on with leading us up a mountain and making us sit there for 5 hours." Max waved his hand dismissively. David's smile didn't falter. He simply grabbed a sack full of the afternoons lunches and pointed to their destination on the side of a mountain. "And what a great five hours those with be!"
Hiking wasn't nearly as hard as listening to David talk about how much fun it was. "What a great way to exercise!" "This is such a perfect day for a good hike!" "Gee, who wouldn't love a view like this?" No kid was necessarily suffering, but most of them would jump of the edge of the mountian if given the chance.
After nearly an hour, David decided they find a good place to stop, rest, and eat a good lunch. "Alright campers, how about a break and some snacks?" Every camper simultaneously sighed in relief. "Uhh… yes! We're all happy we've stopped. Now let's get to eating!" David handed each kid a paper bag with their name on it and every one sat in a circle to eat. Except Max.
He was seated between David and Neil. Both of which noticed he wasn't eating. "Max? Aren't you going to eat? Remember how hard we worked making sure there was enough food for everyone?" David asked. Max glanced up at him. "I ate a lot before we came up here. Fuck off."
David hadn't seen how much he had eaten before the hike, so he had to assume Max was telling the truth. He knew the kid had problems with his eating in the past. For a long while after living with him, he always had to make sure Max ate at least three times a day, which had been difficult.
Half an hour had rolled by, everyone had finished eating, and David was ready to drag everyone higher up the mountain. "Maybe one more hour? How about it kids?" Protesting groans were heard, and David quickly changed his plans. "Or we can head back to camp?" Which prompted loud cheers.
They had made it halfway down when Max started to fall behind. David turned to make sure everyone was still in a group. The moment he noticed Max at the very back instead of a couple feet behind him, he stopped everyone and called to the back of the group, "Max! Are you doing okay?" He was given a glare. "I'm fine, just keep walking so we can get off this fucking mountain."
Of course David was still concerned. But Max was difficult and wouldn't be very happy with others knowing he wasn't doing so great. "Gwen? Can you lead the group for a while? I'll stand at the back and keep Max from trying to run off." Gwen raised an eyebrow. "He's still doing that? Fine, I'll lead them." David smiled and ran to the back of the group.
"Hey Max. Do you want your lunch from earlier? We can stop if you-"
"No, no goddamn it I don't want to eat anything." Max snapped at him. What had set him off so easily? David held his breath, choosing his next words carefully. "I-it wouldn't take long. Just you and me, we can stop here and maybe Nikki and Neil if you'd like?" Max shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "No, we're not stopping because you're fucking worried about nothing. It doesn't matter and you're not helping me. You're just being annoying. Go back to the front of the fucking group."
"No, Max. I'm staying at the back with you. Even if you don't want to stop, I'm staying with you." He smiled down, which was returned with an angry glare. "Fine."
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Ten minutes had passed, and Max was clearly getting worse. His face would occasionally twitch and his body would stiffen. David had not forgotten about the boys obvious distress, but was trying to lift his spirits a bit with some facts on the trees they passed. "Oh! And this one-" There was a sound of knees hitting the dirt. David stopped walking a turned to Max, who was now curled up on the dirt. He was holding himself tightly. "Max! I knew we should have stopped I'm so sorry!" David knelt down beside him and tried to turn his head up to look at his eyes. At this point the rest of the group had stopped and were quietly watching David try to get Max to sit up.
"Uh, kids! Let's continue, we've got more activities to do and only 7 more hours to do them all!" Gwen tried to distract the campers from the sight in front of them. Knowing Max never liked being the center of concern, she had to move each kid to keep walking.
David had finally managed to get Max to sit back up. He was holding his stomach from under his sweater. He was clearly uncomfortable and shaking, at this point. "Max..." David started, already knowing what was causing this. "How long has it been since-"
"It's been almost three days and you didn't notice until now." Max whispered harshly. David bit his lip and tears pricked at his eye. "I'm so sorry, I didn't notice. But you need to eat something, you're so young you can do this to yourself." David pulled a sandwich out of Max's paper bag lunch. "Eat." He held the perfectly made sandwich out. "You need it. I don't care if your parents made you go days without eating, you aren't with them and you need food." Max's eyes were full of tears that refused to fall and he turned away. "I can't."
"You need this. I know you do. Please. You've doing so well, don't stop now. You told me you felt better after I made you change your eating habits" David offered the sandwich again.
"Eat."
Max grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. The tears that had threatened to fall finally rolled down his cheeks and were quickly wiped away. He realized David was right. He knew skipping meals for days was making him feel horrible, but his parents making him feel disgusting for eating was something he thought of every day. David had helped him.
Once the sandwich was gone, David carried Max back down to camp. It wasn't too far and, despite Max's protests, David has always been able to effortlessly hold a child in one arm.
There were no questions about what had happened from the other kids at camp. David guessed Gwen gave each kid a dollar to not say anything.
David kept a close eye on Max for the next week, but was sure to give the kid his privacy.
'Same as when we're at the house.' he thought. Keep Max from doing something to hurt himself, and always care for him if he does.
My poor son.
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