Heat Wave
Amends
______________________
Max didn't even wait for Zack to help everyone out of the elevator before walking quickly to the staircase and making her way downstairs and outside. She crossed the lobby in quick strides and slammed the hotel doors open. She sat down on the sidewalk, took big gulps of fresh air and willed her body to calm down.
"Max, are you still feeling dizzy?" Zane sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm starting to feel better."
"Pregnancy and small spaces don't mix uh?"
"Small spaces I can deal with. Pregnancy and a flatulent Sketchy, that's what doesn't mix."
Zane chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Well the cat is halfway out of the bag now, Logan knows you didn't cheat on him."
"He still cheated on me, it doesn't matter if he knows you are just my brother." Max mumbled.
"JUST your brother? Oh yeah baby, I feel the love."
Max rolled her eyes at his attempt to make her feel better. "Well I still don't want to talk to him."
Zane sighed "Well I can give you a ride to Durango on my bike so that you can catch a plane back home but only if you promise to talk to Logan when you cool down."
Max buried her head on her folded arms and whispered "I don't want to talk to him, ever."
"Max, you have to! He's the father of your child!"
"I know that Zane! But he cheated on me, don't you get it? How will I ever be able to trust him again?"
Silence fell between them for a few seconds "If you hadn't caught him kissing someone else, would you still trust him?"
"Of course."
"Would he be able to trust you?"
"Why wouldn't he?"
"Well the thing is Max... if Zack hadn't walked in on us when he did I'm not sure I would've stopped, if we hadn't been caught you might have been the one cheating on him."
Max looked up then and Zane noticed she looked pissed "It was a very different situation Zane! I connected with you because you are my brother, I felt at ease with you because I've known you since birth!"
"And he was drunk, he thought you were cheating on him."
"Oh so you are making excuses for him now?" Max stood up and yelled at him.
"No! No Max, what he did was very wrong! You have a right to be angry!" Zane took a few steps towards his sister and Max's chin shook.
He sighed, wrapped his arms tightly around her and stroked her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder.
"I'm sure you'll find it in your heart to forgive him someday Max, for the good of your baby." He whispered into her ear.
"I'm just so confused." Max whispered back between sobs.
"I know baby sis, I know. Look, let me take you to Durango. Go home and think things through before you see Logan again. I know you'll figure this whole thing out sooner or later."
Max sniffed, nodded and followed Zane to his bike just as Logan ran through the lobby, trying to get to her before she left but with no luck. He stepped outside as Max and Zane drove away.
Zack came up behind him and growled "Watch your back miracle boy. All Max has to do is say the word and you'll have a dozen of expert killers on your ass. There will be no place on this planet that you can go where we won't find you."
Logan closed his eyes as Zack walked away and grabbed his own bike. If Max didn't take him back it wouldn't matter what the X-5's did to him.
****************
Max hid her face on Zane's back to avoid the strong winds. He felt her wrap her arms around him a little tighter and slowed down in fear she might be feeling faint.
Zack secretly thanked Zane for slowing down, they were almost halfway through the sierra and he had just heard something on his portable radio that he didn't like. He sped up and closed in on Zane in one of the many dangerous curves.
Zane looked up when he sensed someone besides him. His visibility wasn't the greatest since the sky was incredibly clouded, there was fog all over the road and yet he had to wear sunglasses to avoid the discomfort of the wind, yet it was too light out for his night vision to kick in so he had to squint to be able to make out what Zack was trying to signal to him.
Zane stopped the bike per Zack's request and Max frowned.
"Why are we stopping?" She asked.
"I'm not sure..." Zane hopped off the bike and waited for Zack to join them. "What's going on big brother?"
"A storm is coming, a huge one."
Zane raised an eyebrow "The big black clouds sorta gave that away. Why are we stopping?"
"The roads are too narrow, regular humans are too stupid. I think we should crash on the motel a few miles ahead until the storm clears up."
Max groaned "Oh come on Zack! I think we'll be pretty safe."
"I just don't think we should be traveling in this rough weather with your... condition."
Zane took off his sunglasses and rubbed his forehead "We'd lose a whole day."
"There's no hurry. Besides, Max could use the rest."
"I'm fine!" Max exclaimed.
Zack walked up to her and touched her forehead. Despite the chilling winds and the low temperatures she was warmer than usual.
"You need to rest."
"I am pregnant, not sick!"
"Nevertheless, we don't know much about X-5 pregnancies and I'd like to play it safe if you don't mind."
Max rolled her eyes "Fine, we'll check into that disgusting motel for the night but tomorrow we are off, no matter what the weather is like."
Pleased with his won battle Zack nodded and mounted his bike.
**********************
The car was silent except for Sketchy's occasional body sounds. His odor prevented them from rolling up the windows, even though they were freezing.
Logan drove submerged in his thoughts. Original Cindy, sensing he was fading away into his own mind, had offered to drive an endless amount of times but Logan refused to hand over the wheel.
Kendra sat on the back, as far away from Sketchy as the small car would allow, and stared at her hands. She seemed to be thinking hard about something but no one could muster the energy to ask her what it was.
OC had at first refused to get in a car with Logan but since she was almost out of cash and no other option for traveling she decided to give him the cold shoulder for most of the ride. Finally, after a few hours of driving, she turned on the radio. She couldn't tune in anything in English but she could make out the words 'grande' and 'tormenta'. The voices seemed alarmed and she just knew they were going to have to stop.
"Logan, there is a huge storm coming this way, I think we should spend the night at the motel."
Logan didn't seem to hear her.
"Logan!" OC shook him and he jumped, as if he had forgotten he was in a car with three other people.
"Uh?"
"We need to stop, a dangerous storm is coming."
Logan nodded "We'll stay at the motel."
Original Cindy rolled her eyes "Hey great idea! How do you come up with this things?"
Logan either ignored her sarcasm or just didn't hear her.
**********************
"I like number eighteen." Max sat down on the bed and took off her shoes.
Zack looked around the room and sighed "I'll take the floor."
"It's a king sized bed Zack, I think we can all squeeze in." Max took off her socks and unbuttoned her soaking wet pants.
"We should've just taken the other room as well." Zane closed the door and the curtains.
Max snorted "Yeah right, like you would've left me alone."
Zack watched as Max peeled off her pants and jacket. "Get under the covers Max, you need to stay warm."
Max gave him a look and said "Yes mom."
Zane smiled and removed his shirts and jeans. Zack shook his head "I'm going to get a drink, want anything?"
"Vodka, straight up please." Zane responded.
"Get me a bee..." Max stopped mid-sentence and looked down at her flat stomach. She bit her lip and looked teary for a moment before she cleared her throat and said "A coke would be good."
Zack nodded and left.
Max crawled under the covers and laid down on the middle of the bed with Zane next to her. He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes.
Her even breathing told him that she'd fallen asleep by the time Zack came back with the drinks. His big brother handed him his Vodka and placed Max's coke on the bedside table. Then he stripped down to his boxers, laid his clothes on a chair to dry and joined his siblings on the bed.
Zane turned off the light and said "Good night bro, get some sleep."
Zack nodded, placed a protective arm over Max's sleeping form and dozed off.
************************
Logan ran into the lobby trying to cover his face from the water with his jacket.
The man there looked up and asked "May I help you?"
Logan was thankful for the english-speaking man "Yes, I'd like two rooms please."
"I have only one. It has a king sized bed though."
"Just one bed?" Logan frowned at how the man seemed to think this was a good thing. He looked outside at the wild storm and sighed "I'll take it."
The man handed Logan a key and warned him "Be sure to bolt your door, our locks are very old and sometimes a key will open different rooms. You have room number..." a loud clap of thunder startled Logan then "...teen. Have a nice stay."
Logan frowned and looked down at his key. It was either a six or an eight.
He sighed and shook his head "It's an eight."
************************
Logan, OC, Kendra and a smelly Sketchy made their way to room number eighteen. Logan fumbled around with the key for just a moment. A strong wind slammed the door open and they all jumped at the noise.
Logan slapped the lights on just as he heard a man's voice yelp "What the hell?!"
When the lights came on every single occupant of the room seemed surprise.
Sketchy saw what appeared to be two very lucky guys. Original Cindy saw trouble. Kendra saw two bare cheated males and a twisted relationship. Logan saw his girlfriend in bed with two guys. Max, Zack and Zane saw the person Max least wanted to see right then standing on the doorway.
"What the hell is going on?!" Zack finally asked.
Max's jaw dropped "You were following me? What gives you the right to break into our room like that?"
Logan groaned "Max, I was not following you! The keys..."
"Tell me Logan, how much money did you give the man for the information uh?" Max asked while she dressed.
"Max please, I swear I'm not..."
Max, now fully dressed, grabbed her jacket and growled "You are pathetic." She whispered as she shoved him away from the door on her way out.
"Max! Max wait!" Logan sighed and ran after her.
Zane was about to run after them but Zack stopped him with a shake of his head.
"Let them work this one out." He whispered.
Zane nodded, he just hoped his stubborn little sister would let the man get a word in.
***********************
The storm was going full blast, Logan took off his glasses as he ran after Max simply because the water was making it impossible to make anything out.
"Max! Stop!" Logan finally caught up with her just before she entered the woods. He was so relieved to have caught her he didn't even stopped to think how unusual that was.
"What Logan? What is it that you want?" Max screamed at him. She seemed tired and out of breath.
"Max, Max listen to me. I am so sorry. I know I screwed up! I know I should've asked you about your relationship with Chris before jumping to conclusions and I know I shouldn't have taken it out on you by running to someone else."
Max opened her mouth to speak but Logan kept going "I was hurt Max, and I was very drunk. I know it's no excuse and I am not trying to make an excuse! I'm not even asking you to forgive me or understand! I just want you to give me another chance."
He seized her by the shoulders and stared into her deep brown eyes "Please Max, just one more chance. I am so, so sorry."
Max's eyes filled with tears and she said in a voice so small Logan had trouble hearing her "It hurt Logan, it hurt so much."
"I know Max, I know. That's how I felt when I saw you with Chris. I felt like my insides were burning up! Like..."
Max looked up to meet his eyes, they were both drenched and panting by then. "... like I'd never be happy again." She whispered and he nodded.
"Please Max, give me a chance to make this right."
Max blinked the water away from her eyelashes. The raindrops mixed on her cheeks with her salty tears as she gave him the slightest of nods.
Logan sighed in relief and hugged her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back. She clung to him as the pieces of her life started to fall back into place. It felt right.
"You must be freezing." Logan whispered and removed his coat to place it on her shoulders but as he did so he felt something brush against his leg and remembered.
He reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet box "I wanted this to be perfect and normal... but I don't think normal agrees with us."
Max stared at him in confusion until she noticed the box. Logan got down on his knees and Max gasped.
"Max, you are the light of my life, a life that has no meaning without you. I'd like to spend the rest of it by your side if you'll have me. Max Guevara, will you marry me?"
He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring and right then, in the middle of nowhere, soaking wet, Max said yes.
__________________________________
It's not the end yet people! Don't look at me like that! ;)
Amends
______________________
Max didn't even wait for Zack to help everyone out of the elevator before walking quickly to the staircase and making her way downstairs and outside. She crossed the lobby in quick strides and slammed the hotel doors open. She sat down on the sidewalk, took big gulps of fresh air and willed her body to calm down.
"Max, are you still feeling dizzy?" Zane sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm starting to feel better."
"Pregnancy and small spaces don't mix uh?"
"Small spaces I can deal with. Pregnancy and a flatulent Sketchy, that's what doesn't mix."
Zane chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Well the cat is halfway out of the bag now, Logan knows you didn't cheat on him."
"He still cheated on me, it doesn't matter if he knows you are just my brother." Max mumbled.
"JUST your brother? Oh yeah baby, I feel the love."
Max rolled her eyes at his attempt to make her feel better. "Well I still don't want to talk to him."
Zane sighed "Well I can give you a ride to Durango on my bike so that you can catch a plane back home but only if you promise to talk to Logan when you cool down."
Max buried her head on her folded arms and whispered "I don't want to talk to him, ever."
"Max, you have to! He's the father of your child!"
"I know that Zane! But he cheated on me, don't you get it? How will I ever be able to trust him again?"
Silence fell between them for a few seconds "If you hadn't caught him kissing someone else, would you still trust him?"
"Of course."
"Would he be able to trust you?"
"Why wouldn't he?"
"Well the thing is Max... if Zack hadn't walked in on us when he did I'm not sure I would've stopped, if we hadn't been caught you might have been the one cheating on him."
Max looked up then and Zane noticed she looked pissed "It was a very different situation Zane! I connected with you because you are my brother, I felt at ease with you because I've known you since birth!"
"And he was drunk, he thought you were cheating on him."
"Oh so you are making excuses for him now?" Max stood up and yelled at him.
"No! No Max, what he did was very wrong! You have a right to be angry!" Zane took a few steps towards his sister and Max's chin shook.
He sighed, wrapped his arms tightly around her and stroked her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder.
"I'm sure you'll find it in your heart to forgive him someday Max, for the good of your baby." He whispered into her ear.
"I'm just so confused." Max whispered back between sobs.
"I know baby sis, I know. Look, let me take you to Durango. Go home and think things through before you see Logan again. I know you'll figure this whole thing out sooner or later."
Max sniffed, nodded and followed Zane to his bike just as Logan ran through the lobby, trying to get to her before she left but with no luck. He stepped outside as Max and Zane drove away.
Zack came up behind him and growled "Watch your back miracle boy. All Max has to do is say the word and you'll have a dozen of expert killers on your ass. There will be no place on this planet that you can go where we won't find you."
Logan closed his eyes as Zack walked away and grabbed his own bike. If Max didn't take him back it wouldn't matter what the X-5's did to him.
****************
Max hid her face on Zane's back to avoid the strong winds. He felt her wrap her arms around him a little tighter and slowed down in fear she might be feeling faint.
Zack secretly thanked Zane for slowing down, they were almost halfway through the sierra and he had just heard something on his portable radio that he didn't like. He sped up and closed in on Zane in one of the many dangerous curves.
Zane looked up when he sensed someone besides him. His visibility wasn't the greatest since the sky was incredibly clouded, there was fog all over the road and yet he had to wear sunglasses to avoid the discomfort of the wind, yet it was too light out for his night vision to kick in so he had to squint to be able to make out what Zack was trying to signal to him.
Zane stopped the bike per Zack's request and Max frowned.
"Why are we stopping?" She asked.
"I'm not sure..." Zane hopped off the bike and waited for Zack to join them. "What's going on big brother?"
"A storm is coming, a huge one."
Zane raised an eyebrow "The big black clouds sorta gave that away. Why are we stopping?"
"The roads are too narrow, regular humans are too stupid. I think we should crash on the motel a few miles ahead until the storm clears up."
Max groaned "Oh come on Zack! I think we'll be pretty safe."
"I just don't think we should be traveling in this rough weather with your... condition."
Zane took off his sunglasses and rubbed his forehead "We'd lose a whole day."
"There's no hurry. Besides, Max could use the rest."
"I'm fine!" Max exclaimed.
Zack walked up to her and touched her forehead. Despite the chilling winds and the low temperatures she was warmer than usual.
"You need to rest."
"I am pregnant, not sick!"
"Nevertheless, we don't know much about X-5 pregnancies and I'd like to play it safe if you don't mind."
Max rolled her eyes "Fine, we'll check into that disgusting motel for the night but tomorrow we are off, no matter what the weather is like."
Pleased with his won battle Zack nodded and mounted his bike.
**********************
The car was silent except for Sketchy's occasional body sounds. His odor prevented them from rolling up the windows, even though they were freezing.
Logan drove submerged in his thoughts. Original Cindy, sensing he was fading away into his own mind, had offered to drive an endless amount of times but Logan refused to hand over the wheel.
Kendra sat on the back, as far away from Sketchy as the small car would allow, and stared at her hands. She seemed to be thinking hard about something but no one could muster the energy to ask her what it was.
OC had at first refused to get in a car with Logan but since she was almost out of cash and no other option for traveling she decided to give him the cold shoulder for most of the ride. Finally, after a few hours of driving, she turned on the radio. She couldn't tune in anything in English but she could make out the words 'grande' and 'tormenta'. The voices seemed alarmed and she just knew they were going to have to stop.
"Logan, there is a huge storm coming this way, I think we should spend the night at the motel."
Logan didn't seem to hear her.
"Logan!" OC shook him and he jumped, as if he had forgotten he was in a car with three other people.
"Uh?"
"We need to stop, a dangerous storm is coming."
Logan nodded "We'll stay at the motel."
Original Cindy rolled her eyes "Hey great idea! How do you come up with this things?"
Logan either ignored her sarcasm or just didn't hear her.
**********************
"I like number eighteen." Max sat down on the bed and took off her shoes.
Zack looked around the room and sighed "I'll take the floor."
"It's a king sized bed Zack, I think we can all squeeze in." Max took off her socks and unbuttoned her soaking wet pants.
"We should've just taken the other room as well." Zane closed the door and the curtains.
Max snorted "Yeah right, like you would've left me alone."
Zack watched as Max peeled off her pants and jacket. "Get under the covers Max, you need to stay warm."
Max gave him a look and said "Yes mom."
Zane smiled and removed his shirts and jeans. Zack shook his head "I'm going to get a drink, want anything?"
"Vodka, straight up please." Zane responded.
"Get me a bee..." Max stopped mid-sentence and looked down at her flat stomach. She bit her lip and looked teary for a moment before she cleared her throat and said "A coke would be good."
Zack nodded and left.
Max crawled under the covers and laid down on the middle of the bed with Zane next to her. He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes.
Her even breathing told him that she'd fallen asleep by the time Zack came back with the drinks. His big brother handed him his Vodka and placed Max's coke on the bedside table. Then he stripped down to his boxers, laid his clothes on a chair to dry and joined his siblings on the bed.
Zane turned off the light and said "Good night bro, get some sleep."
Zack nodded, placed a protective arm over Max's sleeping form and dozed off.
************************
Logan ran into the lobby trying to cover his face from the water with his jacket.
The man there looked up and asked "May I help you?"
Logan was thankful for the english-speaking man "Yes, I'd like two rooms please."
"I have only one. It has a king sized bed though."
"Just one bed?" Logan frowned at how the man seemed to think this was a good thing. He looked outside at the wild storm and sighed "I'll take it."
The man handed Logan a key and warned him "Be sure to bolt your door, our locks are very old and sometimes a key will open different rooms. You have room number..." a loud clap of thunder startled Logan then "...teen. Have a nice stay."
Logan frowned and looked down at his key. It was either a six or an eight.
He sighed and shook his head "It's an eight."
************************
Logan, OC, Kendra and a smelly Sketchy made their way to room number eighteen. Logan fumbled around with the key for just a moment. A strong wind slammed the door open and they all jumped at the noise.
Logan slapped the lights on just as he heard a man's voice yelp "What the hell?!"
When the lights came on every single occupant of the room seemed surprise.
Sketchy saw what appeared to be two very lucky guys. Original Cindy saw trouble. Kendra saw two bare cheated males and a twisted relationship. Logan saw his girlfriend in bed with two guys. Max, Zack and Zane saw the person Max least wanted to see right then standing on the doorway.
"What the hell is going on?!" Zack finally asked.
Max's jaw dropped "You were following me? What gives you the right to break into our room like that?"
Logan groaned "Max, I was not following you! The keys..."
"Tell me Logan, how much money did you give the man for the information uh?" Max asked while she dressed.
"Max please, I swear I'm not..."
Max, now fully dressed, grabbed her jacket and growled "You are pathetic." She whispered as she shoved him away from the door on her way out.
"Max! Max wait!" Logan sighed and ran after her.
Zane was about to run after them but Zack stopped him with a shake of his head.
"Let them work this one out." He whispered.
Zane nodded, he just hoped his stubborn little sister would let the man get a word in.
***********************
The storm was going full blast, Logan took off his glasses as he ran after Max simply because the water was making it impossible to make anything out.
"Max! Stop!" Logan finally caught up with her just before she entered the woods. He was so relieved to have caught her he didn't even stopped to think how unusual that was.
"What Logan? What is it that you want?" Max screamed at him. She seemed tired and out of breath.
"Max, Max listen to me. I am so sorry. I know I screwed up! I know I should've asked you about your relationship with Chris before jumping to conclusions and I know I shouldn't have taken it out on you by running to someone else."
Max opened her mouth to speak but Logan kept going "I was hurt Max, and I was very drunk. I know it's no excuse and I am not trying to make an excuse! I'm not even asking you to forgive me or understand! I just want you to give me another chance."
He seized her by the shoulders and stared into her deep brown eyes "Please Max, just one more chance. I am so, so sorry."
Max's eyes filled with tears and she said in a voice so small Logan had trouble hearing her "It hurt Logan, it hurt so much."
"I know Max, I know. That's how I felt when I saw you with Chris. I felt like my insides were burning up! Like..."
Max looked up to meet his eyes, they were both drenched and panting by then. "... like I'd never be happy again." She whispered and he nodded.
"Please Max, give me a chance to make this right."
Max blinked the water away from her eyelashes. The raindrops mixed on her cheeks with her salty tears as she gave him the slightest of nods.
Logan sighed in relief and hugged her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back. She clung to him as the pieces of her life started to fall back into place. It felt right.
"You must be freezing." Logan whispered and removed his coat to place it on her shoulders but as he did so he felt something brush against his leg and remembered.
He reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet box "I wanted this to be perfect and normal... but I don't think normal agrees with us."
Max stared at him in confusion until she noticed the box. Logan got down on his knees and Max gasped.
"Max, you are the light of my life, a life that has no meaning without you. I'd like to spend the rest of it by your side if you'll have me. Max Guevara, will you marry me?"
He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring and right then, in the middle of nowhere, soaking wet, Max said yes.
__________________________________
It's not the end yet people! Don't look at me like that! ;)
