Chapter 2

Max blinked twice at Kaneki, he was sitting up and staring into nothing but air. His clear gray eyes voided of anything. Was he mute? Max wondered then she went by his side, his gaze started trailing her face, familiarizing her so he wouldn't forget until their eyes locked. She said softly, trying to appear gentle, "I'm Maxine but you can call me Max like most people did. And I'll be taking care of you from now on," she said but he only nodded without a word.

And that was the last conversation she had with him the whole day. His communication consisted of a nod that meant 'yes' and a slight shake on the head from left to right that meant 'no'. The silence was always present, except it wasn't deafening to her because she also preferred it that way than go around in circles to figure out his silent whims, even so, Kaneki didn't ask much out of her. All she did was brought him his meals and medicine, his sponge bath and clothes, and when he seemed bored, she'd pass him the remote then he'd just watch TV in silence or read books from cover to cover. Max had it easy, she thought the job would be a punishment because he was a cripple and being a cripple meant crap. He could no longer made use of most of bony limbs and only machines kept him from withering away.

Then on the next day, that process of their interaction would repeat on the day after that and onwards. It wasn't entirely boring that every day was no different from the other but Max felt like she was slowly progressing with the serene fellow, at times he'd start to show a small smile but not to her but the books he read. He was happier that way. Which was a good thing if she was going to spend more than half her day with him, he seemed like a nice guy that never caused her trouble and she was an anti-social from middle school to college, so the least she could do was develop a small connection with Kaneki.

"Are you sleepy?" Max stood by the bed while she checked his medication charts, then after, she place it on the bedside table.

He just nodded at her.

For Kaneki, he had mistakes that weighed him down and he suffered in silence because he thought he deserved it. Because he was a fool. Because he didn't want to burden others for his weakness, but now that philosophy of his made him miserable and alone. Ayato took care of his expenses but he was no more than someone who was indebted to him and Kaneki accepted that, the younger ghoul insisted anyway.
He just lost far too much people he cared for and loved that he himself was afraid of making sparks of connections with others. He even thought that being a cripple would suit him and that the hospital was a new home to isolate him from making these connections. Even if he only had a year to treasure the remaining of his life span.

That's why he couldn't stand the way Max treated him like a fragile glass ready to be shattered, that's why the connection she tried to reach would better be off severed. And that's why he remained silent the whole time.

When he fell asleep, she left the room and quench her thirst with some soda then eat out for lunch. On her way to the lobby, she could see other nurses and employees chat harmoniously and she wondered what it would be like in that light where she could just talk to anyone normally without giving them a cold shoulder at some point.
But suddenly not having the appetite for anything, she headed back to Kaneki's room to check if he was awake but she crossed paths with Ayato, probably to visit the white haired male.

Ayato clicked his tongue to see that Kaneki was still sleeping when he arrived his room, "Why the hell is he always asleep when I'm here?" With the impatience crawling into his mind, he stormed by the bedside and swiftly kicked the bed post, producing a high pitched ting! from the metal, "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

Max immediately pulled him away by the arm, "Hey! Don't do that."

"Shut up."

"Okay."

With the force that shook the bed and into Kaneki's body, he slowly jolted upright. His eyes were still hazy from the sudden wake, " Ayato...?" he mumbled softly then rubbed the sleep off his orbs.

So he can talk... to Ayato though. Max told herself.

Ayato tossed a number of books atop Kaneki's bed, he scowled as he began to talk his way through, "Stop addressing those crap to mine. It's cramping my goddamn mailbox."

Kaneki lowered his eyes with a soft smile that lit up his thin face. It was a sad one, "Sorry, I tend to forget," reaching for the books by his feet, he chuckled weakly at Ayato. Max was fascinated at how his voice actually chimed for the first time, it was new and soothing in her ears, "I had them ordered right away because I know its movie adaptation would be next year and I won't be here anymore to see that."

Max felt a sharp ache bolted into her heart as soon as she heard him agonize over one of the things that seemed to keep him happy. She was told that he only had a year to spare and he spent his days reading books while strapped on the bed with slim tubes wired to his veins. He was just dull living his days like that.

He had to see that the world was a better place than be imprisoned in the hospital, that the world bloomed in different pretty colors despite being tainted in red. Max didn't have pleasant memories to bring with her but seeing Kaneki live as a gray soul was just unfair. He still had the chance to change his cradle to grave when she couldn't even reach for her own. At least she wanted to give him hope for a reason she didn't even know yet but she felt that she had to. Her mouth unfastened, "You can't just live your life in bed then..." both of the men looked in her direction, a bit bewildered at her sudden words, "Doctor said if you had enough strength one of these days, you could be on the wheelchair and be discharged right away."

Kaneki's gaze went from soft to cold just as his voice did, "... It doesn't matter anymore."