A new direction
Kate Marsh was being led through one of the many corridors of Acadia Bay hospital by a doctor. Once Kate heard about Max's apparent suicide attempt she knew that she had to be there for her, as Max was once there for her when she thought about ending it all herself.
"Is Max ok? She's not hurt is she?" Kate asked in concern.
The doctor flipped through some papers on his clipboard. "Physically Maxine Caulfield is uninjured after her attempt. But we have some concerns about her mental health. Therefore she will remain here for a few days for observations before we release her."
"I understand," Kate replied, "Thank you for letting me see her so soon."
The doctor and Kate then stopped in front of a hospital room and the doctor pointed into the room with his pen. Kate nodded in acknowledgement, waited for him to leave and looked into the room and spotted Max looking out the hospital window towards the ocean.
Max was dressed in a pair of beige hospital pyjama pants and a plain white T-shirt and and her arms crossed and her right hand up against her mouth in a fist.
Kate knocked softly against the door frame and caught Max's attention. "Kate?!" Max asked in surprise.
"Hello, Max. Can I come on?" Kate asked softly.
Max nodded and rubbed her hands together nervously as Kate slowly approached, "Kate I... I don't know what to say about all this, I'm so embarrassed and ashamed after what I-"
Kate then embraced Max in an unexpected hug and held on, "Max. Your childhood friend just died. I'm sorry. You must been in so much pain... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you sooner. I truly am. But I'm here now and I won't let you suffer through this alone anymore. I promise."
As Max continued to be hugged by Kate, she looked all around the room. Looking at her 'Get Well Soon' cards and balloons she had received from Warren, Brooke, Alyssa and so many other Blackwell students. To her phone that had unread text alerts from her parents, to the notepad and pen sitting on a table nearby.
"It's the opposite... Only now... Kate is where I once stood... Shes's here for me." Max realized, in this reality Kate was the strong one and Max wasn't. Their roles completely reversed.
Max's body trembled, tears welled up in her eyes and she slowly reached up and hugged Kate back. And they both cried into each other's shoulders as their sad embrace continued.
A short while later, after their tears were dried, Max was sitting on her bed, crosslegged and Kate took up a seat on a nearby chair.
"Max, if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know I'm always here for you, right?"
Max nodded, "I know, thank you, Kate."
"Visiting hours will be over in 10 minutes. I repeat, visiting hours will be over in the next 10 minutes." Rang out the loud speakers.
"I promise I'll come by tomorrow to visit you again Max. Before I leave, do you need anything?" Kate asked.
Max fidgeted, then got the courage to ask, "Can you go to the library and check out as many books about Mermaids as you can and bring them to me tomorrow?"
"Mermaids? Why?" Kate inquired.
Max just shrugged, "I'm here for a few more days. Might as well have something to occupy my time."
Kate nodded, "I understand. I'll go to the library for you as soon as I can tomorrow."
"Thanks, Kate." Max responded.
"Well, I better go now." Said Kate as soon as another final visitors announcement rang out.
Max waved goodbye, then looked after at her phone, then dreaded what was to come next as she dialled her parents number.
It rang a few times then her mother answered, "Hello?! Maxine?!"
Max sighed, "I told you, just Max. Never Maxine."
"Max... Why?" Max's mother asked, "If you were suffering that much then you should have just come home!"
"Mother, I just... felt so lost and alone. You know how much Chloe meant to me and how long we were friends for. When she died I felt I lost everything.
But believe me when I say that my faith and will to live has been restored. By my friends and by recent events in my life.
I want to live. More than anything now." Max reassured her mother.
"Alright, Max. I believe you. One thing that you've never been is a liar." Max's mother replied in relief, "Your father and I will be there as soon as we can to visit you."
"Thanks, and when you do... I want to talk about enrolling in a new class or two. Outside of my Blackwell Academy courses. But I'll need your help and credit card number to do so."
"What classes?"
Max then looks down at a sheet of paper she used to take notes, on it was written 'Arcadia Bay snorkelling and scuba diving classes' along with a website address and phone number.
"Just something I've become very interested in. Something to go right along side my love of photography." Max replied with a smile.