Spoilers: This is the third in my series of stories. The first
was Shattered Trusts and Whispered Confessions. The second,
which I only just finished, is Remembering to Forget. This
series is set after Hello Goodbye but does reveal spoilers from
the rest of the season, as I incorporate it into the story.
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine except for some minors. The ideas are pretty much mine though but I just want to say thanks to those who have reviewed my previous works, it keeps me writing!
Authors Note: If you really want to understand this story and enjoy it, then be sure to read the original parts one and two.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER TWO:
0930 hours
"Sketchy?"
"Max?"
The phone crackled and she frowned at it, though happy to hear her friend's voice,
"You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. I ran out of there like I was in the race of a lifetime. I... I am so glad that you're okay!"
"I'm fine Sketch, really. Alec is too."
Silence.
"Sketchy, what is it? What's wrong?"
"Alec. He's the one who handed me over to those guys."
"That wasn't Alec. That would've been his twin brother Ben."
"Alec has a twin? Right...okay, well then why did he hand me over?"
"I don't know. I think you were bait for Alec to come see him. Those two had some serious issues."
"Great. Glad I was of help."
"You weren't hurt were you?"
"Nah just watched TV most of the time and ate. Slept a heap too so really it wasn't different to usual. But I was there for like a month."
"You okay now that you're back?"
"Yeah getting there. Melinda ran off with some guy. Her dad was just happy it wasn't me."
"Melinda?"
"My girlfriend."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I've got you and Alec back in my life and now that you've taken him out of the game, that's more ladies for me to sniff out."
She laughed, relieved that he wasn't asking too many questions about all of this. But that was Sketchy, always believing everything she told him, no matter how weird her excuses were. They chatted idly about other stuff, before promising to meet at Crash that night. Max stretched out lazily on the couch; she and Alec didn't have to go back to work until later that day. Sketchy had decided to go in ASAP so as to persuade Normal to give him back his job. She knew he would, they were short staffed as it was. And if he didn't, Alec would be able to convince him otherwise, because Sketchy really couldn't rely on his journalistic skills.
* * * * *
Seattle; Joshua's House; September 6th 2022
1000 hours
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean seriously Max, dog boy hasn't seen us for a good 6 months. He might be really angry. Or he could over- excited and we'll have to flick him on the nose."
Alec anxiously rubbed at the back of his neck, looking at Max as she moved her hand to open the door. She rolled her eyes at him and he hissed in response,
"At least knock!"
Her eyes made a circular motion again and she gave a smirk,
"Fine, whatever."
Max knocked loudly, a deep pounding, which echoed throughout the house.
Nothing.
She repeated the motion and Alec joined in, both slamming their fists against the wood,
"Joshua, open up - its Max and Alec!"
Nothing.
She turned to Alec, her eyes glinting,
"Happy now? We knocked. Now we go in."
She stormed inside and he followed, his eyes adjusting to the murky and dusty surroundings,
"You know it's normally customary for people to wait until their knocking has been answered."
"I did wait."
"Yeah a whole minute."
"Shut up!"
"You're always so angry. Especially with me. I thought you didn't want to fight."
"I don't. But I can't help it if you're being a dick."
"Max, I.."
"Alec, I said shut up!"
* * * * *
Flashback:
Max's voice was loud, menacing, as she angrily spoke to Alec,
"Read my lips, pretty boy. Get a life, get a job and stop sticking your nose into mine. Don't make me kick your ass!"
Alec remained undeterred, his comeback quick and smooth,
"You know, this whole tough chick act thing is really unbecoming. 'I'm gonna bounce you on your ass. I'm gonna smack your bitch head.' It's so unfeminine."
* * * * *
"You know sometimes I wonder why I put up with this shit."
Max whirled around to face Alec, her arms crossed protectively on her chest,
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me. As my memory has nearly returned to normal, I'm starting to remember all the shit you've put me through."
"All the shit I've put you through! Oh my god, there could seriously be an ongoing series of all the crap that you've done and do you hear me complaining?"
"Yes, that's just it, I do hear you complaining! That's all you ever do! Bitch, moan, bitch, moan. I'm trying my best Max, just coz Logan isn't around any more doesn't mean I step into the shoes of roller boy AKA Captain Courageous in your eyes."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Forget it, you wont understand, you never do."
He stopped, breathing loudly and stared at her through slitted eyes. Max resisted the part of her brain telling her to back away and moved forward, preparing to engage the enemy...
* * * * *
"Alec. Wait, please don't get angry."
"Too late Max."
"So that's it huh? I get it then. You had your little taste of freedom, being away from me for a few weeks, while I sat here in worry. And you liked it without me, so now you're picking a stupid fight about I don't know what so that you can leave me. If that's how it then do the honourable thing."
She smacked him in the face with her fist and he took the blow, despite that he could have easily ducked. Max felt his face connect with her knuckles and watched as his eyes rippled with pain. Not from the punch, he was designed to withhold much more than that. She suspected it was her words.
"Max...what the hell?"
She hit him again, following it through with a sidekick to his gut. He doubled over, clutching his waist. Max moved to kick him again, yet he grabbed her leg, pulling her into him,
"What the hell are you doing? Can't find the right words, so you'd rather beat your message into me?"
She gave a pitiful sob and pounded at his chest, her fists balled. Alec took the strikes; letting her wash out all her rage, even though he knew that she'd make him bruise, possibly bleed. As her hits became softer, he grabbed at her hands, leaning his head back to meet her eyes,
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
"Tell me the truth Alec. You picked the fight. But all I want is for you to tell me the truth. Now that you have your memory back. It was what I suspected all along."
"What?"
"Tell me you never wanted me."
Alec was stunned, his handsome face confused by her display,
"Why would you think that?"
She wailed again, her voice racked by sobs,
"Because you didn't tell me! When your memory was gone, you kept trying to tell me and now that its back, you haven't."
"Tell you what?"
Max pushed away from him, ignoring her bodily instincts to stay close to him,
"I can't do it anymore. I can't do this. It's too much. I've come to rely on you in a way that just isn't right. X5s were supposed to be independent, but I've allowed myself to depend on you and I can't do it anymore. It's too dangerous. We've come to close and we shouldn't of. We just have to walk away from this."
"Max..."
"No Alec! I've come to depend on you. I can't do that. I've become weak and I can't constantly have you protecting me. I was fine until you came along. Until you happened!"
She walked out, her eyes noticing the note on the table addressed to her. Snatching it, she looked back at Alec, whose face was overcome with confusion and what looked like sadness. Max pulled her gaze forward and left, willing herself not to cry again. He watched after her, his eyes downcast and troubled,
"What the hell was that?"
* * * * *
To be continued...
Author's Note:
Two down, so many to go. Review me, I dare you! He he, only if you want to. But I figured that since I don't know how long this sequel story is gonna be, I wont be uploading it all at once like I usually do. But I will be doing them in bulk chapters. At least two at a time. So don't get all grumpy on me!
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine except for some minors. The ideas are pretty much mine though but I just want to say thanks to those who have reviewed my previous works, it keeps me writing!
Authors Note: If you really want to understand this story and enjoy it, then be sure to read the original parts one and two.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER TWO:
0930 hours
"Sketchy?"
"Max?"
The phone crackled and she frowned at it, though happy to hear her friend's voice,
"You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. I ran out of there like I was in the race of a lifetime. I... I am so glad that you're okay!"
"I'm fine Sketch, really. Alec is too."
Silence.
"Sketchy, what is it? What's wrong?"
"Alec. He's the one who handed me over to those guys."
"That wasn't Alec. That would've been his twin brother Ben."
"Alec has a twin? Right...okay, well then why did he hand me over?"
"I don't know. I think you were bait for Alec to come see him. Those two had some serious issues."
"Great. Glad I was of help."
"You weren't hurt were you?"
"Nah just watched TV most of the time and ate. Slept a heap too so really it wasn't different to usual. But I was there for like a month."
"You okay now that you're back?"
"Yeah getting there. Melinda ran off with some guy. Her dad was just happy it wasn't me."
"Melinda?"
"My girlfriend."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I've got you and Alec back in my life and now that you've taken him out of the game, that's more ladies for me to sniff out."
She laughed, relieved that he wasn't asking too many questions about all of this. But that was Sketchy, always believing everything she told him, no matter how weird her excuses were. They chatted idly about other stuff, before promising to meet at Crash that night. Max stretched out lazily on the couch; she and Alec didn't have to go back to work until later that day. Sketchy had decided to go in ASAP so as to persuade Normal to give him back his job. She knew he would, they were short staffed as it was. And if he didn't, Alec would be able to convince him otherwise, because Sketchy really couldn't rely on his journalistic skills.
* * * * *
Seattle; Joshua's House; September 6th 2022
1000 hours
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean seriously Max, dog boy hasn't seen us for a good 6 months. He might be really angry. Or he could over- excited and we'll have to flick him on the nose."
Alec anxiously rubbed at the back of his neck, looking at Max as she moved her hand to open the door. She rolled her eyes at him and he hissed in response,
"At least knock!"
Her eyes made a circular motion again and she gave a smirk,
"Fine, whatever."
Max knocked loudly, a deep pounding, which echoed throughout the house.
Nothing.
She repeated the motion and Alec joined in, both slamming their fists against the wood,
"Joshua, open up - its Max and Alec!"
Nothing.
She turned to Alec, her eyes glinting,
"Happy now? We knocked. Now we go in."
She stormed inside and he followed, his eyes adjusting to the murky and dusty surroundings,
"You know it's normally customary for people to wait until their knocking has been answered."
"I did wait."
"Yeah a whole minute."
"Shut up!"
"You're always so angry. Especially with me. I thought you didn't want to fight."
"I don't. But I can't help it if you're being a dick."
"Max, I.."
"Alec, I said shut up!"
* * * * *
Flashback:
Max's voice was loud, menacing, as she angrily spoke to Alec,
"Read my lips, pretty boy. Get a life, get a job and stop sticking your nose into mine. Don't make me kick your ass!"
Alec remained undeterred, his comeback quick and smooth,
"You know, this whole tough chick act thing is really unbecoming. 'I'm gonna bounce you on your ass. I'm gonna smack your bitch head.' It's so unfeminine."
* * * * *
"You know sometimes I wonder why I put up with this shit."
Max whirled around to face Alec, her arms crossed protectively on her chest,
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me. As my memory has nearly returned to normal, I'm starting to remember all the shit you've put me through."
"All the shit I've put you through! Oh my god, there could seriously be an ongoing series of all the crap that you've done and do you hear me complaining?"
"Yes, that's just it, I do hear you complaining! That's all you ever do! Bitch, moan, bitch, moan. I'm trying my best Max, just coz Logan isn't around any more doesn't mean I step into the shoes of roller boy AKA Captain Courageous in your eyes."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Forget it, you wont understand, you never do."
He stopped, breathing loudly and stared at her through slitted eyes. Max resisted the part of her brain telling her to back away and moved forward, preparing to engage the enemy...
* * * * *
"Alec. Wait, please don't get angry."
"Too late Max."
"So that's it huh? I get it then. You had your little taste of freedom, being away from me for a few weeks, while I sat here in worry. And you liked it without me, so now you're picking a stupid fight about I don't know what so that you can leave me. If that's how it then do the honourable thing."
She smacked him in the face with her fist and he took the blow, despite that he could have easily ducked. Max felt his face connect with her knuckles and watched as his eyes rippled with pain. Not from the punch, he was designed to withhold much more than that. She suspected it was her words.
"Max...what the hell?"
She hit him again, following it through with a sidekick to his gut. He doubled over, clutching his waist. Max moved to kick him again, yet he grabbed her leg, pulling her into him,
"What the hell are you doing? Can't find the right words, so you'd rather beat your message into me?"
She gave a pitiful sob and pounded at his chest, her fists balled. Alec took the strikes; letting her wash out all her rage, even though he knew that she'd make him bruise, possibly bleed. As her hits became softer, he grabbed at her hands, leaning his head back to meet her eyes,
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
"Tell me the truth Alec. You picked the fight. But all I want is for you to tell me the truth. Now that you have your memory back. It was what I suspected all along."
"What?"
"Tell me you never wanted me."
Alec was stunned, his handsome face confused by her display,
"Why would you think that?"
She wailed again, her voice racked by sobs,
"Because you didn't tell me! When your memory was gone, you kept trying to tell me and now that its back, you haven't."
"Tell you what?"
Max pushed away from him, ignoring her bodily instincts to stay close to him,
"I can't do it anymore. I can't do this. It's too much. I've come to rely on you in a way that just isn't right. X5s were supposed to be independent, but I've allowed myself to depend on you and I can't do it anymore. It's too dangerous. We've come to close and we shouldn't of. We just have to walk away from this."
"Max..."
"No Alec! I've come to depend on you. I can't do that. I've become weak and I can't constantly have you protecting me. I was fine until you came along. Until you happened!"
She walked out, her eyes noticing the note on the table addressed to her. Snatching it, she looked back at Alec, whose face was overcome with confusion and what looked like sadness. Max pulled her gaze forward and left, willing herself not to cry again. He watched after her, his eyes downcast and troubled,
"What the hell was that?"
* * * * *
To be continued...
Author's Note:
Two down, so many to go. Review me, I dare you! He he, only if you want to. But I figured that since I don't know how long this sequel story is gonna be, I wont be uploading it all at once like I usually do. But I will be doing them in bulk chapters. At least two at a time. So don't get all grumpy on me!