Chapter 57: Drugged Up On Hydro-Codeine

Frigid wind bit Max and Lilly's faces as they ran towards the park.
Max's rib cage lit on fire as he laughed and gasped for air. Their
shoes kicked up gravel as they ran to the swings. Lilly leaped onto one
and ascended high into the air. Max collapsed into the rubber seat and
leaned his head against the chain. His arm and neck and ribs burned.
Stupid Duncan, he thought.
Overhead the moon watched them as the clouds swam over it. Max looked
up at Lilly and grinned. Her long hair beat her back as she swung back
and forth, back and forth, back and. Max had to look down. All the
back and forthing made his stomach sway.


"What's wrong Maxi?" Lilly asked. Her feet dragged in the gravel and
she slowed to a stop.


"This stupid codine or hydro-codine or what ever it is, is making me
nauseous," he said.


"Oh," Lilly said sliding the back of her hand down the side of his
face. "Poor Cowboy."


Max felt his eyes cross and he leaned his head against the chain nearer
to her. He shut his eyes and she continued to stroke his face.
Everything felt so heavy. A pounding started at the center of his
forehead and before he knew it a heavy pain shot through his back and
all of the air in his lungs whooshed out through his mouth. He groaned.

"Max, are you okay?"


He opened his heavy eyes to see Lilly staring down at him. He tried to
sit up but everything felt so heavy, and his ribs hurt.

"Yeah sure, can I just lie here for a while?"


"Well, if it wasn't snowing I sure would let ya cowboy, but as it is,"
Lilly pulled him to a sitting position. "We should probably get home."


They tried to stand. Max grabbed the chain of the swing and with a
little help from Lilly he managed to stand. But the world continued to
move in odd directions. All he wanted to do was lie on the ground and
sleep, but Lilly was right, they needed to get out of the snow. With
only a few major spills he and Lilly reached the car.

"Thank goodness you're driving," Max said. "I think I might kill someone if I did."


"If you're lucky it might be Duncan," Lilly said.


Max laughed. It sounded funny, like it did when he had downed one too
many drinks.

"Take me home Lilly." He put his hand on hers, and his eyelids sunk to meet each other.


An idea popped into Lilly's head. She slid her hand around behind his
head and brushed her long nails across the back of his neck. Max rolled
his head to face her.

"Is it time Lilly?" He asked. He grinned-the codine had taken over his brain.


Lilly leaned over and brushed his neck with a kiss and blew in his ear.
Max laughed a goofy laugh. He pointed a finger at her.

"You're trying to get me to mess up aren't you? Well it's not going to work miss
Beckham, I'm strong and I can resist your temptation you vile temptress you." He giggled.


"Max, you just giggled," Lilly said.


"Did I?" He giggled again.


Lilly slid her hand up his thigh and continued to blow in his ear.
Max's eyes started to cross and he felt himself fall again. This time
he collapsed over the stick shift. His head landed in Lilly's lap. The
smell of her kiwi mango perfume filled his nose and then his lungs.
This time, he did not make any attempt to move.


"Max, are you okay?" Lilly asked.


"I've resigned myself to the painkiller," Max mumbled.


"Well, you're not going to be any fun tonight are you?"


Max said nothing.


"I'll just have to go find Pietro Maximoff, what do you think?"


Still nothing.


"Or maybe Duncan."


Silence.


"I hate you!" Lilly smacked him on the head. "You take all the fun out of teasing you."


Max lay there completely still.
She took his cowboy hat off slowly and laid it on the dashboard. Still
no reaction. Lilly grinned and started to run her nails through his
hair. It felt so soft between her fingers, each strand ran right back
into its original place. She lifted her fingers to her nose and inhaled
the scent of shampoo. Max rolled onto his left side so that his right
arm no longer lay wedged between his chest and the seat. In the dark
one of the signatures glowed on his cast. Lilly Beckham-Get well soon
cowboy. The words seemed deeper tonight as she read them in the dark.
Their connotation meant the same thing, but not so much as just a
friend. True, Max was arrogant, and promiscuous, and probably a liar,
but still. At times, like today, when he stood up to Duncan, he seemed
almost. heroic. Lilly laughed. Wow, that sounded corny, she thought.
But as her fingers traveled over his scalp the truth of those words, the
deeper truth, shone right along with the glow in the dark letters. She
felt something for him. Stop it Lilly, this is ridiculous, she
thought. You said no falling in love. But he is very cute, so keep
playing with him; besides, there's no way he loves you.