I don't know if any of you have ever ridden a motorcycle really fast in the rain without a helmet, but it's not always pleasant. The water droplets stung my face and made me squint to see, the street signs flashed past me in a blur of colors, and I was getting more than a few irritated honks as I weaved through the lanes.
But I didn't care.
I knew the bridge Max was talking about. It was outside of town; not too far. But you had to go through the rougher side of town, where Maya was mugged. Max was lucky she wasn't hurt, especially if she was so out of it she didn't know where she was.
My hands started cramping, and only then did I realize I had been white knuckling the handles. I bit down on one of my piercings and sped up even more.
I don't know how long it took me to finally get to the crappy one lane road. Not too long, I hoped.
It was raining harder here. To the point where I couldn't see from all the water splashing on my face. So rather than risking death, I pulled my bike to the side of the road. I didn't bother pulling my soaked hood up over my wet hair before I started running.
My sneakers made squishing sounds as they thumped against the ground. I had to keep wiping water out of my eyes every few seconds to keep from going blind, although it wouldn't have made much difference anyway. It had gotten so dark I could barely see a few feet in front of me.
I dashed through a deep puddle, sending freezing water splashing up my legs. At that moment lightning arced across the sky, illuminating my surroundings for a brief moment. I could see the bridge now, and a shape hunched over the railing.
The peal of thunder followed just as I reached the bridge, and I could feel the wood vibrating underneath my feet from the sound.
Max was braced against the railing, shoulders hunched, the strands of her soaked hair falling over the sides of her face. As I ran towards her, she started to pull herself up and swung one leg over the railing. Before she could get the other leg over, I was grabbing her around the waist and yanking her backward.
We tumbled to the ground together and landed in a puddle with a splash. I spat out muddy water as I sat back up, my back even more soaked and freezing now. Max was laying next to me, not even bothering to pull herself out of the water. So I grabbed her hands and did it for her.
I stood her in front of me and pushed her wet hair back from her face, frantically looking over her for any signs of injury, self inflicted or otherwise. I let out a huge sigh of relief when I didn't find any and clutched her to me.
She was shaking, from either cold or tears, or maybe both. But she was ok. She was alive.
Max's hands came up and fisted into my shirt.
"I-it was my fault." she sobbed out.
"Shhhhhh, shhhhhh. It's ok." I tried to hush her and calm her down by stroking her hair, but she kept talking.
"I should die, I don't deserve to be alive, I-"
I grabbed her head in both my hands and made her look up at me.
"Don't say that." I said, my voice coming out slightly choked. Her words were far too familiar, and memories were returning to me unbidden.
"Leave me here." Max whispered. "Please."
I just shook my head mutely, making her face crumple with more sobs. I needed to get us off this bridge, before Max tried something again.
I shifted so that I was standing beside her instead of in front of her, taking one of her hands in mine and wrapping my other arm around her shoulders.
"Come on." I muttered to her, starting to move forward while steering us back towards the road. Max's feet dragged over the ground and sloshed through the puddles, but otherwise she didn't resist. I could feel her shoulders shaking still.
A few dozen steps later, another flash of lightning lit up the road and revealed my bike. I steered us across the street towards it. Max started to balk, but I forced her all the way across the road before stopping. She leaned against the motorcycle and put her hands on my chest, stopping me from getting on.
"Don't take me back. Ella doesn't want me to come back."
"To hell with Ella!" I shouted, the sudden intensity of my voice drowned out by thunder. "I won't let you do the same thing Sam did!"
Max blinked, her brown eyes staring up at me in shock, obviously remembering what I had told her about him. "I won't lose you too." I murmured, pushing some of her wet hair behind her ear. She shivered and crossed her arms, eyes flicking down to the ground.
"I hurt her." she whispered, barely audible.
I tilted her chin up, but she still refused to look at me. "They were your parents too. You lost them too."
"But it was my-"
"Max, please. Please stop saying that. It wasn't your fault."
She just sighed, long and tired, her arms dropping back to her sides. Drops of water fell from the tips of her fingers and the edges of her wet sleeves.
I took one of her hands gently and pulled her closer, letting her lean against me. Her skin was cold and clammy to the touch.
The rain was still pounding down on us, and the cold was starting to seep into my bones.
"Let's get you home." Max didn't fight me anymore, she just climbed onto the bike without a word. Before I got on I cupped her face in one hand and ran my thumb over her cheek, feeling warm tears.
"Make sure you hold on." I told her. She nodded robotically, her eyes fixed on something in front of her. I swung myself onto my motorcycle with a sigh.
The drive back to Jeb's took a lot longer than the first trip, mainly because I wasn't speeding like a mad man. The rain started to relent about ten minutes from Jeb's, and continued to lighten up as we got closer, until eventually it stopped altogether.
When I turned onto Jeb's street, I could see two shapes waiting for us on Jeb's lawn. Angel and Gazzy.
As soon as Max was off the bike, the siblings were rushing forwards.
"Are you okay, Max?" Gazzy asked anxiously, his hands twisting together, unsure if he should touch her or not.
Angel inhaled nervously on the cigarette she had clenched between her fingers. "I heard what Ella said to you. I wanted to kill her. Do you want me to kill her?"
Max chuckled, but there was no humor in her voice. "No thanks, Angel."
Angel huffed, looking disappointed, and puffed on her cigarette again. I barely restrained my cough from the smoke and the horrid smell.
Then a raindrop plummeted to the concrete between us with an audible plop, making Angel frown up at the darkening sky.
"Shit." she swore, smoke shooting out of her mouth. "It's raining again. Let's go inside."
Max hesitated, but I grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the front door.
Angel shoved open the big creaky front door while inhaling on her death stick again. She was about to step inside when her brother grabbed her arm and shook his head at her.
She rolled her eyes, but dropped the cigarette and crushed it under her sneaker before entering the house.
We made it inside just before the rain started up again; the door muffling the sound as it clicked shut.
The living room was dark and empty, making my cold clothes feel even colder.
Max stopped right inside the door, her eyes flicking up the stairs.
"Is Jeb here?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," Angel answered. "He went to church a few hours after you left. He came back about twenty minutes ago. Went upstairs to talk to Ella."
Max shifted her feet anxiously, her wet sneakers making an obnoxious squeaking noise.
"Come on, we need to talk." I murmured, glancing at Angel. She understood and nodded. She and Gazzy wouldn't bother us.
I sighed and began leading her across the room to the stairs, still holding her hand. Our shoes squeaked incessantly until we reached the carpeted stairway; the sound bouncing forlornly off the empty walls.
I could hear Ella's voice from down the hall as she talked to her father, but I couldn't understand her words until we were passing her bedroom door.
Of course, she chose that precise moment to exclaim, "I hate her!" in a shrill, angry voice.
Max's hand nearly pulled out of mine when she flinched, but I managed to keep my grip on her and usher her into her bedroom.
This was going to be a fun conversation.
(A/N Ok, this chapter went back and forth between me and my beta a few times before I uploaded it, so I'm hoping it's an improvement. New chapter of Devils Daughter coming soon.
UNC-
Silence)