Chapter 17: Death of Innocence, part 2
Kate
[Kate]: Hi, my love! Thought we would meet after classes, but you probably had to get away from Blackwell for some time. It's cool. Wells sucks!
[Kate]: Dana asked me to go shopping for some clothes for the evening. You're still not back, so I guess we meet in town?
[Kate]: Max, are you mad at me or something? I'm worried! Please, gimme a sign!
[Max]: I'm ok.
Kate stares at the display of her phone, reading these last messages over and over again as she and Dana are driving through town in search for a parking space.
"I wonder what's going on with her," she mumbled to herself, but Dana caught her words right away and responds.
"Maybe this whole crap pissed her pretty much off. Wells is such a stupid asshole! I still can't wrap my head around it that he suspended Max and gave you detention for taking a swim in the pool."
"At least he suspended Victoria, too!" adds Kate.
"Yeah," Dana huffs as she pulls into a parking lot, "Though I still could kill this cunt fir kicking me out of the Vortex Club."
"I'm actually glad that you're not in this stupid club anymore!" comments Kate, touching her friend's shoulder soothingly and adds with an encouraging smile, "Hey, maybe you should open up your own club and give these suckers some competition!"
For a moment, Dana sits quietly in her seat, gazing into empty space as she thinks about the blonde's suggestion. "Nah," she eventually says, shaking her head, "I think I could never compete against parties and drugs with charity projects and How-to-make-the-world-a-better-place-discussions."
"Well, you'll never know if you don't try!"
Both girls now disembark Dana's car. While the cheerleader wears a black skirt, thighs, high-heels and a red jacket over a black girlie-shirt, Kate is newly clothed in a colorful, checkered long-sleeve button-shirt combined with a blue jeans and converse sneakers. Previously, Dana had suggested that Kate should change her hairstyle as well, but for the Christian girl it would've been too many changes for one day.
Both walk down the street towards their destination. The whole town's dipped into a beautiful red-orange color by the setting sun. Soon, they've reached the bar, called Last Call. Normally, people under the age of twenty-one aren't allowed to enter such establishments, but because of Blackwell Academy, which houses a lot of underage, mostly bored students, the owners had decided to divide their bar into two sections: One that serves alcohol, and the other one which only serves non-alcoholic drinks in order to give the students a place where they could hang out in the evening and have some food. Of course, the rules and security measures inside this bar are heavy and regularly the police comes by for an inspection to make sure that no alcohol's served to a person under the age of twenty-one
As they're about to approach the bar, Kate sees Max standing in front of it, leaning against the wall. Instead of her normal clothes, the black-haired girl wears a skinny black jeans and a long-sleeved, tight sweater, which highlights her muscular body. Because she hasn't seen her girlfriend since lunch break, the small blonde sprints towards her beloved Max and takes her in a tight embrace.
Kate inhales deeply as she feels her girlfriend's warmth, enjoying her fragrance as well.
"I missed you so much!" she whispers, but as Max's grip tightens even more and she receives no reply, Kate immediately knows that something's very wrong. Therefore she breaks the hug to gaze at Max's freckled face only to see that her eyes are slight puffy and red from crying. "Hey, what's wrong?" she speaks calmly with a concern-filled voice, brushing over her loved one's cheek.
At first Max doesn't answer and turns away to hide the pain that's about to crawl up again, her faked nonchalant tone not able to hide that there's a lot going on inside her mind. "Nothing," she answers, "It's…"
"Max," Kate interrupts her, knowing her way too well, "I'm okay if you don't wanna tell me right now, but please, don't lie to me!"
Her lips are trembling for a moment, until Max inhales deeply to regain her composure. "I-I can't." she says quietly, her voice almost failing.
Although it hurts her a bit that Max doesn't share what's bothering her, Kate nevertheless manages to give her a warm smile, followed by soothing hug and a softly spoken "Okay!"
"Hey Max, I'm sorry that you got suspended," now adds Dana, trying to give her friend some comforting words, "You really don't deserve this!"
"Thanks D," replies Max, giving her a wry smile after breaking the hug, followed by a sigh, "I guess, I just need some chill and…"
"Maybe a fucking bottle of booze!"
All three girls turned around and see Chloe approaching, who gives them a toothy grin. She wears the same clothes as always, only her top got exchanged for an old red-black checkered button shirt. "Heya girls," she then adds, giving Max a tight hug, Kate a soft embrace and Dana an slight awkward look, like she didn't know what to do, "Damn Dana, long time no see and you still look…uhm…yeah…"
Luckily for Chloe, Dana takes over the conversation, saving it before it gets too embarrassing. "Hi Chloe, it's been a while since we hung out. Last time was after The Tempest, right?"
"Yeah…kinda," the bluenette responds, indicating that she feels uncomfortable by scratching the back of her neck, "Ugh, just…don't remind of that fucking play. I'm still pissed about that I let myself get talked into it."
"You were amazing, Chloe! You literally rocked the shit out of that role without any acting classes. You're a talent and I was kinda sad that you didn't take the role of Romeo in Romeo & Juliet. You and Rachel were such a sweet stage-couple."
Immediately, Chloe's expression darkens and if she wouldn't have learned to control her temper, the bluenette would've gone all berserk on the cheerleader, but instead just keeps calm. "Okay Dana, I don't wanna be rude here, but Rachel's a fucking cunt and the only couple I need right now is a couple of freakin' beers! You all got your fake IDs?"
"Yes!" answers Dana, her face slight blushed because she seems to have hit a sore spot as she had spoken about Rachel Amber.
"Got it right here!" is Max's reply, and then it's Kate's turn.
"Uh…n-no. I-I…" the blonde stammers, almost expecting everyone to be disappointed in her, because she would ruin the evening, but a soft touch and mischievous smirk by her girlfriend, who's holding up an ID card, let her stop talking.
"Happy Birthday, Katie! You're twenty-one now!"
Gasping, Kate grabs her new ID, turning it several times in her hands. "H-how…?! Isn't this illegal?"
"As illegal as breaking and entering into the pool," says Max with a shrug, "It's also way cheaper than giving the bouncer a hundred bucks every time, and…" then she closes in on Kate, almost too close for public, "…it opens the door for way more concerts!"
Feeling absolute joyful about how Max wants to make her happy and gets her out of the comfort zone, Kate wraps her arms around her girlfriend's neck and gives her a soft, yet to other people seeming like a friendly, peck on the cheek. "Thank you!"
"Now c'mon girls, let's relax and drown these last shitty days in some alcohol!" speaks Dana, taking the lead by guiding her friends inside, directly towards the no-teenagers-allowed section.
Without any problems they pass the security guy and sit down in one of the booths. The bar itself looks modernized, yet old-fashioned, and the same could be said about the background music and the guests. Everything is a mixture of old and young.
"Okay, I'm gonna get us some drinks," says Dana as soon as Max, Kate and Chloe have taken their seats, "Any wishes?"
"Beer! Lotsa beer!" answers Chloe immediately, followed by Max.
"Coke with a shot vodka."
"Beer and coke with vodka, got it! Kate?"
Now everybody looks at the small blonde, who just nervously fumbles with her fingers. "Uhm…I-I'd…I'd like a…uh…a-a virgin Sex on the beach, please!"
"You mean the cocktail or the activity after we're done here?" Chloe teases with her characteristic smirk, making the heat crawl up into Kate's face. But she isn't the only one blushing.
"Chloe!" Max chides, giving her a stomp on her foot to indicate that she shouldn't do such jokes right now.
"Ouch dude, what the fuck?!"
"No cool, 'kay!"
"Ugh, sorryyy!"
Seeing all three other girls blushing now, Dana giggles. "Okay guys, I'll be back in a jiff!"
For some minutes, Chloe, Kate and Max are sitting quietly in their places, until the black-haired girl breaks the silence.
"So, you played a role in The Tempest?"
Once more feeling uncomfortable, Chloe averts her friend's gaze. "Uhm…yup!"
"How come?"
"Yeah, you don't seem like the type for acting in a Shakespeare drama," adds Kate, leaning forward in anticipation of an answer.
"Well…" starts Chloe, pausing for a moment as she tries to find the right words, "Rachel kinda talked me into this shit. Juliet was supposed to play Ariel, but her parent's car broke down in the middle of fucking nowhere, so that she couldn't be there in time and these fuckers had no understudy for her, sooo…ugh, the play was about to be canceled and I was so head over heels into Rachel that I ended up doing this shit, okay!"
"Damn, I would've loved to see this. Chloe Price, rocking Shakespeare!"
"Me, too!" adds Kate with an honest smile, "But as D said, why didn't you take another role, if you're so talented?"
"Because I fucking hated it!" blurts Chloe furiously, "I'm just not the person who likes to stand in the spotlights, and…Rachel…ugh! Can we please talk 'bout something else or I'm gonna lose it, okay?"
Both taken aback by this outburst, Max and Kate share some glimpses. Luckily, Dana returns right on time with the drinks, handing them to their friends, before she takes a seat and raises her glass that contained a cocktail Kate didn't recognize.
"Okay girls, here's a toast for Max and Kate, the first and only cool badass gals who're making a stand against the Vortex Club and shithead Wells. Cheers!"
"Hear, hear!" Chloe falls in, instantly emptying her entire bottle of beer in one big draw. "Yeaaaah, that's the ticket!" she calls out after her bottle hits the table with a loud thud. "Say Katie, why's there no booze in your drink? I mean, aren't you catholic folks drinkin' during your church stuff all the time?"
For the next minute, everybody just stares at Chloe. Dana with one arched eyebrow, Max with a frown and Kate with both eyes wide open.
"Uh…" is the only thing the small blonde is able to muster at first, before she's able do shake off the first surprise, "A-actually we just have a small sip of red wine during the last supper, a-and the kids only get some grape juice. That's it."
"Well, shit! And there goes my chance to become a believer."
"As if you ever believed in a god, Chlo." Max simply points out, rolling with her eyes.
"Do you believe in a god?" Dana asks towards Max, making her go stiff for a moment. She exchanges some glimpses with Kate, who gives her a warm smile that tells her, no matter the answer, she will always love her.
"I…uh…no, never believed in a god, but if there is one, then he's an asshole!"
Once more there's an uncomfortable silence as Dana and Chloe are shifting their sights between Max and Kate.
Max, surprised by her own, actually rude comment, looks at her girlfriend with wide open eyes. "Kate, I…" she begins with a shivering tone, "I'm…shit, I'm sorry…I…"
Before finishing her sentence, Max jumps up and leaves, probably towards the bathroom, but Kate doesn't know. She just stares at the empty seat beside her, feeling desperate upon her beloved Max's strange behavior.
"Katie," Dana asks worried, touching Kate's shoulder softly, "What's going on?"
"I-I don't know," she answers, her voice almost failing, because she's unaware of what's bothering her girlfriend, "She's acting that strange since this afternoon. But…I don't think that it has anything to do with her suspension, 'cause she'd already expected this to happen since last night."
With a loud sigh, Chloe gets up too, about to follow Max.
"Where're you going?"
"Well, since I fucked up in becoming her girlfriend, I can at least try to be her best friend and figure out what's goin' on."
"You think she'll tell you before telling Kate?" mentions Dana with a frown.
"Listen, sometimes shit's hitting the fan so hard that you simply don't wanna tell the people you love, 'cause you just don't wanna worry them. Got it?"
With one last encouraging wink, Chloe leaves, while Dana and Kate remain in their places. The young blonde buries her face in her hands and exhales deeply, the worries about her beloved Max almost crushing her. Eventually, a soft touch on her shoulder let her gaze into Dana's eyes.
"Don't worry, Katie. I think Max is just a bit stressed out by all this bullshit and Chloe's the right one to talk to her. I mean, who knows bullshit at Blackwell better than she does?"
"I know," Kate sighs, knowing that her friend is probably right. Chloe and Max seem to get along very fine and it wouldn't surprise her if both share some secrets on their own. "So, you know Chloe since she was a student at Blackwell?"
"Yeah," Dana begins to tell, looking a bit dreamily into empty space, "The first time I met her, she mostly kept to herself, mainly because she was bullied by some of the school's uber-bitches. Later, when Rachel Amber attended the Academy, she got into more and more trouble," then she in- and exhales deeply, "Everyone at school knew that Rachel was using her and I…I felt really bad for Chloe. Gosh, I should've said something."
"It's not your fault!" Kate encourages her with a soft smile, "Rachel's gone and Chloe has us now. Things will definitely get better for her!"
"Maybe you're right, Katie." Dana answers back with a smile, "Sometimes I wish I could be like you."
"A shy, catholic lesbian?"
"No dummy, so kind-hearted and positive. How did you become like this?"
"Just be yourself and don't see people with prejudice."
Max
Her heart thumps in her chest and she has to fight down the need to break down on the spot. Since the incident with Jefferson, Max's darkest memories had dug their claws deep into her mind, making her feel edgy. Every wrong word or situation could now easily trigger another panic-attack. Just like this one right now.
'I need to calm down! I need to meditate! I…I need…No, I WANT to forget!'
Finally, the young black-haired girl has reached the toilets, approaches the closest sink and splashes some cold water in her face. Then, she tries to control and steady her breathing. Very slowly, Max is able to calm down again, but she still feels this darkness inside, waiting to emerge some other time soon.
As the bathroom door opens, Max gazes into the mirror and sees Chloe standing there, giving her a worried expression.
"Sorry for running away, I…uh…I just needed to piss…uh…" Max babbles with a wry smile as she tries to act normal, but her friend's crossed arms and the slight arch of her eyebrow tells her that she isn't that convincing.
"Max, stop shitting me. Everyone knows that something's pretty off with ya." The blunette closes in and lays one hand softly on Max's shoulder, which makes her avert the bluenette's gaze. "Hey Maxi, what happened today?"
For some moments there's silence. Eventually, Max sighs and speaks up.
"Today, when I was waiting for Katie's classes to end, Jefferson saw me and asked me to follow him into his office so that we could speak about the upcoming contest. He…he told me that, because of my suspension, I wouldn't be able to participate it, unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless I…unless I'd give him a blowjob."
"Dude, what the fuck?!" Chloe suddenly yells out, almost losing her temper, "Blech, I hope you didn't…"
"Fuck no, Chloe!" Max retorts with disgust, "I almost ripped off his dick and told him, if he'd sexually harass other students, especially Kate, I'd castrate him. But…"
And then, Max goes silent again as she gathers some strength in order to suppress a new wave of dark memories.
"It…it brought back some memories. Memories I thought I'd forgotten, but…they came back. I…had a break down and…and…"
Out of a sudden, Max wraps her arms around Chloe's neck and hugs her as she starts to cry. The bluenette answers the embrace by caressing her friend's back.
"I feel so ashamed. So dirty and spotted. I'm afraid that Katie will be disgusted by me…that she won't touch me anymore."
Slowly, Chloe puts the pieces together and as she finally understands another dark part of Max's past, she presses her even closer and sheds some tears of her own.
"I'm so sorry!" she whispers with a brittle voice and only after five minutes of constant crying, Max has calmed down enough so that Chloe could ask her a question, she already expects to stay unanswered.
"Wanna tell me about it?"
Of course it's only logical that Chloe would eventually ask her about it upon the fact that she really cares about her friend. Maybe it would help, but Max couldn't bring up the courage right now. Even thinking about this horrible event almost pushes her over the edge. So, the smaller girl backs away and shakes her head.
"Sorry Chlo, I…I just can't."
Then, she feels a soft touch on her cheek, which makes her look into Chloe's welled up eyes.
"I…I understand, y'know. I…" the slight older girl says, sighs deeply and then turns around. She locks the bathroom's door and rests her head against it. This action surprises Max so much that, in her turn, she now lays her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Chloe?"
"Max," Chloe begins, facing the black-haired girl with a stern expression, "What I'm gonna tell you now, I've never told anyone before." She takes one last deep inhale and summons all her strength to overcome the barrier which she had build up around this topic, and begins to tell.
"It was about a year ago. Rachel and I still had our thing going on, though it sucked sometimes. I mean, I already knew that our relationship was, at this time, mostly based on sex and not love, but…it was okay. We gave each other what we needed and that's cool as long as both sides agree with it.
One night, Rachel came over for a…well, sleepover. Mom and step-shit had the graveyard-shift and weren't home, so everything was settled for an entire night of fun. And, at first, it was actually fun. We smoked weed, had some drinks, watched a trash-movie, played some of Rachel's improve games to it and had a big fucking pizza. Of course, we ended up in bed as planned, but before we really went at it, Rachel pulled out one of those strap-on dildos.
She said that she wanted to try something new and…uhm…yeah, I agreed. I mean, I already had the one or other dick inside me, so why not? And it actually felt good, but…after we'd finished our first round, Rachel asked me, if…if she can fuck me in the ass…and…"
As a sob escapes her mouth, Chloe pauses, fighting for her composure. Max could see that it takes a lot of her to talk about this and soothingly embraces her for a short moment to give her some hold until she's able to speak again.
"You're okay?" Max asks her with worry, receiving a nod as reply.
"Sorry! This shit's really fucked."
"Take your time, Chlo!" she then says with an encouraging smile, rubbing Chloe's arm softly.
"Anyway," the blunette sighs, "Everybody thinks that, just because of how I look, I'm totally into this hardcore sex stuff. Well, I'm not. I don't like getting fucked in my bum or having an entire fist up my pussy. I like it soft, slowly, romantic. I want to be treated nicely and not fuck until my body hurts. That's why I told Rachel that my ass keeps its virginity forever and ever. And she…surprisingly she just said that it's okay." Chloe pauses for another moment, taking another deep breath. "At this point I should've known that something wasn't right. Normally, Rachel kinda freaked if she wasn't getting what she wanted, but I was on such a sex-high that I just didn't care. I didn't even give a shit that she'd stopped fucking me, thinking that she simply wanted to eat me out or somethin', but then…"
Now Chloe began to stare into empty space, obviously reliving the traumatic event.
"All I remember is pain. A stinging, hot, indescribable pain down there. Rachel…she…she had just…stuck this fucking dildo into my ass with such force, I…I just can't…"
Once more, the bluenette's face grimaces as a new flood of tears rolls down her cheeks, but this time she signs Max to keep a distance by holding up her hand. After a few seconds she then was able to continue, but now she almost yells her words.
"How could she do this to me after everything we had? I literally had done everything for her, but this…?! I still hear her fucking moans. How she got herself off while I cried my pain out and pleaded her to stop. You know what she did, after she was done? She really asked me, if it was fun for me. Can you believe this shit? And…and you know what she did to me as I couldn't give her a satisfying answer? She had beaten me up and yelled at me that I was a killjoy and the worst girlfriend ever!
Then she left and I was alone. I don't know how long I cried, but as I realized that my sheets were soaked with blood, I knew that I needed some help. So, I got up, put on some random clothes and drove to the hospital, where they stitched me up again."
"Did no one ask you what had happened?"
"Of course," Chloe answers with a shrug, "the doctors, the police, Mom, even step-fucker…everybody wanted to know who split up my ass. And I simply told them that some stranger in the streets had beaten the shit outta me and then fucked me."
"Chloe, what Rachel did was sexual abuse, maybe even rape. You should've told the police!"
"And then what, Max? Do you really think that they would've believed me, the all-time-troublemaker of Arcadia Bay, that the star-student of Blackwell; that the DA's daughter would be able to do something like this?! No. Believe me, it was the best way to deal with this."
"And what about Rachel?"
"Rachel?" Chloe scoffs, "Of course she came back to me a few days later and wanted to apologize, but…" she pauses for another moment, "You need to understand that I felt pretty fucking lonely at that time and I…I still kinda felt attracted to her…I didn't want to, but…"
"You forgave her."
"NO! I never forgave her, but I let this cunt back in my life; hang out with her. Yet…I refused to have sex with her ever again, though it brought me a lot of rage and bruises."
As Chloe had finished her story, Max pulls her in for another tight hug. She knows that telling her this had cost her friend a lot of strength and she's so grateful that the bluenette had shared this part of her past.
"I'm so sorry, Chlo!" Max speaks quietly, followed by some sobs as she couldn't hold back her tears anymore and Chloe joins in.
Both girls are crying now, arm-in-arm, entirely ignoring that other people want to enter the bathroom.
"Max," Chloe then says, backing away a bit to look into Max's eyes, without breaking the contact, "I know it's so fucking hard to talk about such shit…and I'm fine that you don't wanna tell me, but…tell Katie, she'll understand!"
For a long moment, Max gazes into Chloe's watery eyes. Then, she leans in and plants a peck on her lips, making her back away out of surprise.
"Thanks for sharing!" the black-haired girl then speaks quietly with a soft smile, and as Chloe remains stunned by the kiss, she chuckles and gives the bluenette a soft push, "Chill Chlo, it wasn't meant that way!"
Still, a hint of doubt upon her true motive behind this peck remains as Max walks past Chloe and leaves the bathroom.
Max
As she returns to their table, Max finds Kate and Dana chatting with each other, but as soon as they spot Max their talking stops and both look at her with worry filled eyes.
Instantly, Kate gets up and embraces her girlfriend.
"Are you okay?" she asks quietly and to her relief, Max gives her a smile and a nod. Then, both sit down again, and not a minute later, Chloe takes her seat, too.
For the next thirty minutes, the four girl talk about different topics. School, their past and experiences in Arcadia Bay, other people and students, and, of course Blackwell.
"Hey, wanna hit the dancefloor?" Dana suddenly suggests, pointing at the free space in the middle of the room, where some people are already getting their freak on.
"Sorry D, not a dancer," Chloe dryly states with reluctance, but Dana just grabs the bluenette's hand and pulls her out of her seat.
"C'mon Chloe, I already saw you and Rach gettin' freaky at a Vortex party."
Having no argument left and lacking any motivation to resist the joyful cheerleader, Chloe let herself get dragged onto the dance area with a groan and rolling eyes, which makes Kate and Max chuckle in amusement.
"Wanna join?" Kate then surprisingly asks her and for a moment Max hesitates until she gives herself an internal push.
"Sure! Wanna see you shaking this sweet behind for me!"
Giggling once more, Kate and Max make their way towards Chloe and Dana, joining them in their dancing activities.
Unlike during the concert, Kate immediately let fall all her insecurities and goes wild, moving to the rhythm of the song. Max watches how her beloved girlfriend swings her hips and moves her body. A big wave of happiness and yearning rushes through her entire being as she's recalled how much she loves Kate. Barely able to take her eyes off the blonde, she also glimpses shortly at Dana and Chloe, and while the cheerleader dances like a pro, the punk's moves seem clumsier than anything else. But who cares? They are here to have fun, not to participate in a dance contest.
Sadly, being distracted, Max realizes too late that Kate accidently bump into a skeevy guy, who wears a base cap and some old worker's clothes.
"S-sorry!" Kate apologizes quietly to the man, who gives her a wry smile back.
"No prob, girl! Actually, it was my fault and I'm the one who has to apologize. Can I make it up to you by buying you a drink?"
Now all alarm bells begin to chime in Max's head as she realizes what's actually going on.
'Fuck! This asshole tries to hit on her. It's a cheap trick, but Kate has no experience with such dicks and I bet he won't accept a No for an answer. I better intervene before things get ugly.'
"N-no thank you, I…" Kate now says, trying to end the conversation, but the guy stays very persistent.
"Oh c'mon little girl, you can't just leave me hanging with an unfinished business. Just one little…"
"She said no, asshole! Now beat it!" Max intervenes, getting between her girlfriend and the now not anymore so happy man. She gives him a dead-serious glare and thinks that he would take the hint and leave, but what the black-haired girl hasn't anticipated are the other two men who're dressed in the same garments and emerge from the dancing crowd, taking position beside their friend, but that doesn't intimidate Max at all. She holds her position, ready to defend her loved one against those men.
"What did you just call me?" the first man speaks provokingly, trying to sound like he owns the place.
"I called you an asshole, motherfucker! Now, fuck off!"
"Leave them alone, Matt!" then Chloe's voice chimes additionally as she and Dana join in, "They're not your type. Y'know, waaaaay too intelligent for your cheap ass, butthead!"
"Well," the man called Matt scoffs, followed by a devilish grin, "If it isn't Arcadia Bay's number one fucked up slut, Chloe Price! How's your virginity doin'?"
"You took it after you filled me up, so you tell me, dick!"
"Ha-ha, oh yeah that was a great score, but as much as I love lingerin' in the past and recall how I stuffed your young, hairy cunt, I'd rather continue to buy this nice, little blonde there a drink."
Almost unable to believe what she just heard and seeing in Chloe's facial expression that this comment has mentally hurt her, Max almost loses it. All the stress, the pain and the frustration of the entire day are screaming for a release. She has already clenched her hands into fists and focused, ready to throw a punch right into the guys face as, suddenly, Dana intervenes as well.
"Listen…Matt; we're just here to have a nice, little girl's night, not to pick up some guys, okay?"
Now even the dancing crowd realizes that trouble's in the air and forms a circle around the opposing parties. Max, Kate, Chloe and Dana on one side. Matt and his two friends on the other. The tension is almost unbearable, and while the skeevy guys stand their ground, the girls wish for nothing more than to retreat, except Max, who even takes another step towards Matt, confronting him face-to-face.
"Listen fuckface, I don't give a damn that your two tiny balls finally showed up, but if you don't take a hike, I'm gonna show you the way out!"
Upon this threat, the three men burst out into loud laughter. "You…You think you can take the three of us?"
But Max doesn't even flinch. She stays dead serious, even intensifying her glare. "Get some more friends to make it a fair fight, asshole!"
Everyone around knows that only a small spark is missing to turn the situation into a real fight. Once more, Kate tries to calm down her girlfriend by embracing her arm, but only a deep, male voice that chimes through the room eventually cuts through the tension filled atmosphere.
"What the fucking hell's goin' on here?"
A broad, big, muscular man with white, long hair and a beard stomps through the mass of people and positions himself between Max and Matt.
"Matt Baker, are you lookin' for trouble again?" he speaks, giving Matt a stern glare.
"No Tim, just had a nice conversation with this fine woman there, before this cunt here made a fuzz 'bout it."
Tim Kreller, the bar-owner then gazes at Max, wordlessly signing her that she shall tell her part of the story.
"This asshole harassed my friend and I just told him to fuck off."
"That's a lie, isn't it, boys?" Matt then tries to defend himself, "I simply ask her for a drink."
"Liar!" then Kate throws in, "He wouldn't take my no for an answer and kept on molesting me!"
"What the fuck are you…" Matt once more tries to talk himself out of it, but is interrupted by Tim right away.
"Spare me your fucking lies, Matt! This isn't the first time you bothered young women in this bar and I'm sick of it, because it scratches my bar's reputation. I want you and your friends out of here, right now and don't ever show up again, or I'll call the cops. Now, get out!"
With clenched fists and a sour expression, Matt Baker and his friends turn around and leave, without saying a word. Actually, nobody says a word, except Chloe, who calls after them.
"Goodbye, asshole! Give your dignity my regards, if you find it in the gutter!"
Then the broad man shifts his gaze towards the four girls, his face still radiating anger.
"I hope I made myself clear to you all, too! I don't want any troublemakers in my bar!"
"W-we don't wanna cause any trouble, Sir!" Kate immediately answers with a quiet voice, hoping that her attire and shyness would cool him down, but the tall man just crosses his arms and bobs his head towards Chloe and Max.
"I wasn't referring to you, but to Chloe and little Maxine Caulfield here."
"Do we know each other?" Max asks with a frown, entirely puzzled why the owner of the bar should know her.
"Of course, Maxine. Ten years ago, when I was still at the Force, I worked with your father on a case together. Well, I certainly looked a bit different at that time. But I and your dad have still contact with each other."
For long moment, Max gazes at Tim. In her imagination, she cut his hair short, trimmed the beard, let him become ten years younger and thinner, and added a police uniform.
"Lieutenant Kreller?"
"Lieutenant?!" Chloe adds a gasp of unbelief.
"The One and only!" he then chuckles.
"You…uhm…you've changed and…well…own a bar now. Why?"
"You see, Maxine, time changes us all. I just got tired of being a cop, because we only caught the small fishes while the big sharks got away and that made me so sick that I retired and fulfilled my dream of becoming the owner of this bar. It's a decent job that actually makes fun as long as people play by the rules and don't cause any trouble."
"We didn't cause any trouble, Tim!"
"You provoked, Maxine!"
"I defended my friend!"
"No, you challenged him instead of just going away or calling me. Maxine, Ryan told me about you and what you did in Seattle. Fighting's not always the answer. Sometimes it's better to retreat and avoid further problems."
"And sometimes it's necessary to teach bad guys some manners!"
"And which bad guy did you teach a lesson as you played their dirty game by participating in deadly cage fights?"
"What?!" gasps Kate out of surprise, her wide open eyes fixed on her girlfriend as she couldn't believe what she's just heard.
Max, now even more infuriated by this chiding of a person who doesn't even know the slightest of her past, however, just turns around and storms off. She literally let herself drop onto her seat and gulps down her vodka-coke in one blow, trying to suppress a new wave of emotional pain. But it doesn't work. Not even her beloved Kate's soothing hug, which follows a moment later, isn't able to cheer her up a bit.
For some time, the four girls are sitting at their table in silence, just sipping on their drinks from time to time, until Dana tries to break the heavy atmosphere.
"Well, that was really fucked back there. I almost shitted my panties as those guys threatened us."
"Nah," answers Chloe nonchalantly with a wave of her hand, "Max would've beaten the shit outta them, before they would've gotten their dirty hands on us."
"Yeah," Dana scoffs, and then turns to Max, "I bet nothing can scare you. I mean, cage fights, the thing with Nathan and now those assholes. I wonder if you have any fears at all. Take me for an example, I'm afraid of…"
"Darkness," it suddenly chimes from Max, who's staring into empty space, making everyone stare at her. Unable to suppress the dark memories anymore, the black-haired girl's body begins to tremble and her voice becomes an eerie whisper. "To be alone in the darkness. Hurt and humiliated. Just waiting for a soothing death. To…to imagine how rats are gonna eat the rotting flesh off my bones."
As panic additionally takes over, Max begins to hyperventilate. Feeling trapped and scary, she jumps up, her panicky gaze shifting between her worried friends. But she doesn't want to simply run away again. She doesn't want to be alone right. Therefor, she musters all her composure to speak again.
"K-Katie, I-I need some…some fresh air. C-can…can you…?"
"Of course!" her girlfriend answers immediately, gets up in an instant and flings an arm around her girlfriend's waist. Not wanting everybody to see her loved one's meltdown, Kate guides her to the backdoor, which leads into the dark alley behind the bar, which was typically filled with dumpsters, crates and scrap. There, both girls embrace each other tightly, but the hug doesn't last for long.
Feeling that the closeness wasn't enough to calm her down, Max backs away, reaches with her trembling hands into her bag and brings forth an old, scrunched up pack of cigarettes, takes the last one out and lights it, inhaling and exhaling the smoke with her still shacking breath.
"Since when are you smoking?" Kate asks cautiously, not wanting to upset Max, but the strong girl just answers calmly.
"Since I'm thirteen, but I quit as soon as I started my training. I just…I just kept this last pack for emergencies." With a scoff she flicks away the half-smoked cigarette and shakes her head. "It's so stupid, y'know. I hate smoking and yet…it's the only thing that can calm me down enough."
"But maybe this helps even better," Kate adds, closes in and gives Max, who immediately embraces her tightly, a long kiss.
Slowly, their lips part and Max keeps her eyes closed while a soft smile is forming on her lips. "Yeah," she whispers, "that's way better!"
As much as Kate wishes for keeping the soothing atmosphere going, she eventually remembers everything she'd just learned about Max and decides that she needs to know more, even if it would put her loved one under more stress.
"Max," she begins, her gaze dropped, "I know, I said that I'm okay if you don't tell me everything, but…I need to know! I mean, deadly cage fights, your meltdowns! All those mysteries about your time in Seattle! Sam!" She then shakes her head slightly, her eyes welling up as she brushes over her girlfriend's freckled cheek, "I'm worried sick about you, Max. It literally hurts me to see you like this, yet I can't do anything about it until you tell me what's going on. I wanna help you!"
For a short time there's silence as Max gazes into her girlfriend's beautiful, watery eyes. Eventually, she nods and gives Kate another kiss.
"Alright, I'm…I'm gonna tell you. Can we…can we just get back to Blackwell first? I don't wanna talk about this in public, 'kay."
Sternly, Kate agrees with a soft "Okay!" Just happy that Max hasn't freaked out and is ready to share her past. "Let's just tell Dana and…damn!"
As Kate wants to open the backdoor again, she realizes that it couldn't be opened from this side without a key.
"Well, looks like we have to use the front door again." Max states with a shrug. But as both girls want to leave the alley, four men are suddenly blocking the exit, slowly closing in. It's Matt, who evilly grins at them, with his two friends, plus another man.
"Well, Well! So, we meet each other again."
Remembering Tim's words and the fact that she has to protect Katie, Max decides to retreat this time. "Listen Matt, we don't want any trouble. Just let us go and…"
"A-hahaha!" he suddenly laughs out in amusement, his buddies joining in. "So, you don't want any trouble?" Immediately Matt gets serious again, "Then you should've kept your pie hole shut in there."
Looking for a way to escape, Max gazes around the dark alley. Unfortunately, it has only one exit, because the other side is blocked by a high fence. No problem for Max, but, even with her help, Kate wouldn't be able to climb over it before their attackers would've reached them.
Kate now even tries to knock on the backdoor, but because of the loud music inside nobody hears her. Eventually, both girls have the fence in their back and the chances to end this without a fight are reaching zero. Max was already preparing to attack as out of a sudden the backdoor opens again and Dana and Chloe emerge.
"Hold that door open!" Max yells, seeing a way to escape the situation. However, entirely taken aback and needing some time to assess the situation, Dana reacts too late and once more the door closes with a loud click.
"Shit!" Chloe hisses at the same time as she stands right in front of Matt Backer, receiving a strong slap on her cheek by him. Even hearing the sound of such a hit, let Max's dark past come alive again. She now utterly fails to suppress it again. Not that she wants to, now that the situation is doomed to escalate anyway. Slowly, she begins to move towards the four men with clenched fists and an emotionless expression.
"Who lost his dignity in the gutter now, slut?" Matt says to the now on the ground laying bluenette, who gets helped up by Dana.
"Protect Kate!" both are getting told as Max walks past them and Chloe instantly knows that shit was about to get serious. Therefore, she grabs Dana's hand and retreats towards Kate, who's already about to follow her girlfriend but gets stopped right away by the taller girl.
Now Max is the one standing only a few feet away from Matt and his crew.
"Look at her, guys!" Matt jokes, "Seems like this walking inch wants to give us some heat."
Her voice is without any emotion and not even her, now restrained appearance doesn't show that she's a threat.
"I wanna make a deal with you!" she says, making everyone look at the black-haired girl in surprise.
'If your enemy outnumbers you, try to lure him into safety,…'
"What deal?"
"If you guys wanna have some fun, then have some fun with me, but leave my friends out of it."
For a moment there's silence, only broken by Matt and his cheering pals a second later. "Well guys, looks like we got ourselves a gangbang with this little whore here tonight! Deal!"
'…distract him,…'
She strips off her long-sleeved shirt, revealing her muscular upper body, only covered by a black sport-bra.
"Max, no!" she hears Kate's pleading, but ignores it to keep the focus on her opponents.
'…divide him,…'
Now entirely shutting down her emotions, Max perfectly fakes a seductive tone as she leans against a close-by dumpster. "So, who of you guys wants to go first?"
"C'mon Matt, lemme have the first shot. I totally dig dikes like her!" one of Matt's companions pleads, almost drooling.
"Alright Al, but don't spray your spank all over her, 'cause I wanna touch this little cunt without gettin' dirty!"
The southern-looking guy, named Al, closes in on Max, already fumbling with the zipper of his pants, while his pals are cheering and encouraging him. "C'mon girly, get on all fours and suck my cock!"
'…and then strike hard without any mercy!'
Without another word, Max rams her knee into Al's crotch, hurting and surprising him so much that he couldn't even bring forth a scream, but instead falls onto his knees, ready to receive an additionally hit onto his neck by Max's elbow, which knocks him out ice-cold.
'One down, three to go!'
At first unable to believe what just happened, the other three guys stare at their unconscious comrade with dropped jaws. Matt is the first one who gets a hold of his composure and yells a "Get her!"
But Max already moves in on the next guy, hitting him in the stomach with a kick, which let him stumble a few feet backwards until he fell over a piece of scrap.
Matt and his last standing companion take some steps back to bring some distance between them and the raging girl. Out of instinct, Matt Baker picks up a long stick that once probably has been a broomstick, and wants to use it as a weapon.
This changed the entire situation and as the other man draws a knife, Max stops for a few seconds in order to assess the new circumstances.
'If the enemy's too strong, go into defense and wait for the right time to take over the initiative!'
While Max holds her ground and waits, Matt and his friend come closer, trying to encircle the girl. But Max won't leave anything to chances and slowed down time a bit. She watches every movement of her opponents and then she sees it. Just a tiny twitch in Matt's shoulders tells her that he's about to strike.
The taller man swings his stick in a predictable trajectory, making it easy for Max to catch it mid-air. What follows is a hard punch through his wide open defense directly into his face that lets him stumble backwards. During this time the second guy is already about to stab Max in the back, but she's also predicted this and, in her turn, swings the stick at the knife-holding hand, breaking it on impact. The blade drops to the ground and the former armed man screams in pain and holds his damaged hand.
With a loud yell, the second man, who fell over the scrap, has managed to stand up again and attacks the strong girl clumsily. Big mistake! She simply takes a step aside, grabs his arm and sends him against the dumpster. His head leaves a big dent and he hits the ground, too. Unconscious, like Al.
Last but not least, Max breaks the stick by smashing it against the third guys head, also sending him into a rather uncomfortable sleep, until only Matt remained.
Slowly, Max closes in on him, but instead of running away, he tries to assault her once more. The smaller girl easily swipes away his attempt, grabs Matt by his collar and slaps him so hard in his face that he spins around on the spot and goes down.
"How does it feel to be on the other end of the food-chain? Hope you enjoyed that slap, asshole!" she says, gazing down on him.
"Ugh…fuck you, cunt!" he groans back, still a bit confused.
Realizing that Matt shows not even a glimpse of guilt, Max rests her right foot on his chest and puts some pressure on it.
"I hate fuckers like you," she hisses, "because people like you made me the person I am today." Then her emotionless expression falters and is replaced a pain grimaced face. "People like you strapped me onto a table and cut the clothes off my 13-years-old body, not caring if they cut fabric or my flesh." Tears start to flow down her cheeks in a constant stream. "People like you raped me with a piece of rubber until I couldn't even scream anymore and then left me alone in the darkness, making me wish for a soothing death." Then her voice becomes calm, yet it trembled. Her eyes are now gazing into empty space. "But I survived. I became stronger." And eventually, she gave Matt an eerie death-stare that would almost make him beg for mercy, if Max wouldn't have placed multiple hard punches onto his head. This barrage of blows only stopped as Kate embraces her girlfriend from behind and pulls her away from her victim.
"Max, stop it!" the blonde yells, almost unable to hold the grasp she has on her beloved one. Luckily, Chloe and Dana assist her right away.
Snapping out of it in the end, Max gazes on her blood-stained, shaking hands, whispering a "What have I done?!", before she eventually breaks down in a constant sobbing.
Chloe
After they had told Tim, the bar-owner, what had happened, he told the girls that he would take care of that mess and let the girls leave.
They drove back to Blackwell in Dana's car, since Chloe didn't want to leave Max's side right away, plus that she didn't want to go home, because her mom had already forgiven David and he's about to move back in. The entire way they had all stayed silent, only the car's engine and Max's sobs had been a constant background sound. All-in-all, this evening had reached new highs on Chloe's fucked-up scale.
Right now, she's standing with Dana in the hallway of the dorms in front of Max's room, thinking about the last events and especially what Max had said to Matt before beating the shit out of his brain.
"Okay," Dana suddenly blurts out, obviously on the edge, "I know it's none of my business, but what the fuck happened back there?! These…these assholes and…and Max…she went totally berserk on 'em and…what the freakin' shit did she say to this Matt-guy?!"
"Well," Chloe nonchalantly responds, "I guess we just got a glimpse into Max's fucked up time in Seattle."
"But what she said was just sick! It…"
Dana isn't able to finish her sentence as Kate emerges from Max's room and draws both, Dana's and Chloe's attention on her.
Being worried about her best friend, the bluenette immediately takes a step towards the blonde. Despite the dimly light in the hall, Chloe could see her red-cried, puffy eyes and the wet lines on her cheeks. "How's she?"
"Asleep…finally." Kate responds, slightly absent. Then there's quietness for a few seconds, before she continues to speak her next words in a low, almost whiffed tone, "How could somebody do such a horrible thing to her? I-I mean…she was just thirteen and only wanted love. I-I just can't…"
Her voice breaks and a sob escapes the small girl's mouth. Immediately, Chloe embraces her tightly, brushing soothingly over her back, while Dana – now even more shocked upon the truth – covers her mouth and cries on her own.
"For fucks sake, can't there be just one night without you stupid cunts disturbing my beauty-sleep?" Victoria's voice rudely cuts through the sad atmosphere, making everyone look at the in a violet silk bathrobe dressed girl in anger.
Out if a sudden, Kate frees herself from Chloe's embrace and yells angrily at the Queen-Bee.
"Why can't you stupid bitch just shut your fucking pie hole for once?! Don't you see that we're not in the mood for this shit? If you have any piece of dignity left in this cold, black heart of yours, then just turn around and leave us the freakin' hell alone!"
Taken aback by this outburst and lacking any other words, Victoria goes back into her room, but not without giving Kate one last evil glare over her shoulder.
"Wow! That was pretty badass!" Chloe remarks, but doesn't get a respond by the blonde, who instead keeps on hugging herself.
"I'm gonna go back to Max now. I…I wanna be there for her when she wakes up."
"Do that, Katie!" now Dana says, embracing her friend warmly, "Have a good night and take care of your girl. God knows she needs it!"
"Yeah…" Kate simply scoffed and then goes back into Max's room, once more leaving Dana and Chloe in the hall.
"Well, I'll better hit the Sack, too. G'night, Chloe!"
The tall cheerleader had almost reached her room, as Chloe's soft touch makes her stop and turn around right away.
"Dana," she starts, trying to find the right words, "I-I know it's kinda awkward, but…can I stay in your room for the night? I mean, my truck's still in town and…and my mom's about to forgive step-prick and…ugh! I just don't wanna go home right now!"
"It's okay Chloe, c'mon in!" Dana answers with a smile, signing Chloe to come in.
Kate
Sitting on the couch in Max's room, Kate stares at the golden cross in her hand. She remembers how her mom and dad had given it to her on her fifth birthday. How proud she'd been as her dad had told her that she was now old enough to wear it. Since that special moment, not one day had passed on which Kate wouldn't have worn said cross around her neck. It had accompanied her literally everywhere and she'd always been proud of it, because it reflected her faith.
But for the last two hours she only feels doubts and started questioning the very fundaments on which her life has been built on so far.
'How could a kind god let such cruel things happen to someone so innocent like Max?' she asks herself internally and shifts her gaze to her sleeping girlfriend. 'She has such a good soul, such a kind heart. She never deserved something like this.'
Once more, Kate's face grimaces as a new wave of sadness rushes over her, making her shed tears. One last time she gives the golden cross an angrily, blurry gaze.
'Maybe Max was right! If there's a god, then he's an asshole!'
With her hand clenching around the necklace, Kate eventually rips it off her neck and tosses it in the opposite corner of the room.
Seattle, May 2009
The warm sun shines brightly on this beautiful day, while birds sing in the trees and squirrels hunt each other around the stumps. But Max isn't in this park in Seattle to watch nature or to take some photos. For the last hour she's watching a building at the other side of the street, which parts this piece of nature from civilization.
The building in question houses one of the most prestigious and expensive private schools in the entire Washington state.
During the last two months of their separation, Max has used every possibility to find Sam's new school, which hadn't been easy since Sam had broken every possible contact with her. She'd even changed her phone number. But if the time without her best friend and crush has taught her anything, then that she's in love with Samantha Brighton and would do anything to bring her back into her life.
Nervously, the 13 years old girl gazes at her watch and sees that school's almost over.
'I hope my research was right and this is her school, otherwise I'd have skipped classes for nothing. Well, I could always fake Mom's signature, if necessary.'
Then the school's bell chimes, indicating the end of classes for the day. Now even tenser, Max's damp, shaking hands fumble with the strap of her bag, and then she sees her, Sam.
While others walk along with their friends and laugh about stuff, Sam keeps for herself and seems to be pretty depressed. According to her research, the blonde has to walk right through the park in order to get to the bus that would bring her home. And Max guessed right.
Sam crosses the street and walks right towards the park's entrance. The more she closes in on Max's position, the more details the brunette can see. Her beautiful face, the cute nose with some freckles on it, those lips she'd love to kiss again, her body. Everything just makes Max's heart beat faster and faster, until the young girl isn't able to endure it much longer.
"SAM!" she calls out, making the blonde turn towards her immediately.
"Max?!" she responds in surprise, right before Max literally jumps at her crush and hugs her tightly. Both girls enjoy the embrace for some time, sobbing happily in each other's shoulder.
After they part again, both gaze into their watery eyes, holding hands and staying quiet. For a moment Max asks herself, if Sam would allow her to kiss her again, but she hasn't even made a decision or mustered the courage to ask as she suddenly feels her loved one's lips on her own. And once more, the young brunette sheds some joyful tears, because now she knows that Sam shares the same feeling like she does.
A minute passes until Samantha breaks the kiss, her cheeks flustered and her breathing a bit heavier. "How did you find me?" she whispers, brushing over Max's freckled cheek.
"I-I followed your FB profile every day and cross-referenced some of the photo's you'd uploaded. It was a shitton of work, but…it was totally worth it!"
"Word, Caulfield!" Sam replies with a smirk, "You're such a cute and badass geek!"
Once more, the two girls share a soft kiss, before Max gets serious and lowers her gaze.
"Sam, why did you break contact with me? I-I mean, it's obvious that you share the same feelings as I do, so why?"
"Max," Sam starts and turns away, "the reasons are my dad and my brother. They…they don't agree with us being a thing and…" For a short moment she pauses, obviously fighting to hold her composure. "Max, I had to do it. I…I don't want you to get hurt! I just love you too much for this!"
Although Max's heart wants to make a backflip, because Sam just told her that she in fact loved her, it sank deeply instead. How can they have a blossoming relationship if one side doesn't agree? Max has already read about peoples whose relationships broke, because some stupid relatives didn't play along and here it's the same problem. But she isn't willing to give up her beloved Sam so easily, which gives her the power to speak her next words with enthusiasm.
"I don't care who's against our relationship! Sam, I love you so much that I only see us together, swiping away all obstacles!
But Sam just turns around with a shaking head. "It's…it's not that easy. Max, my dad and…" Then she freezes and her face turns pale as she watches over Max's shoulder. "Max, run!" she says quickly, her eyes filled with fear.
"Sam, what the…?"
"RUN!" the blond yells, shoving her away. Max, trusting her loved one without any second thoughts, does what she's told to, even without glancing over her shoulder.
As she hears Sam's screams behind her, the young girl thinks about to turn around and help her, but how could a 13-year-old girl be of any help? No, she needs to call her dad. He'd know what to do.
Now that she has left the park, Max runs for a quiet place to catch a breath and call her father. Suddenly a big figure emerges from a nearby alley, grabs Max by her collar, and tosses her into the darkness of said alleyway. The brunette hits the ground hard with a groan and needs some time to orientate again, but is violently lifted up before she could do so, only to be face-to-face with Sam's brother, Mike.
"One single scream, fag, and I'll rip your gay head off, got it?" he hisses into her face and Max, being entirely intimidated, could only answer with a nod.
Together, they leave the alley and walk towards a black van. As the rear door opens, Max spies Sam, who starts to cry as soon as she sees her friend. Before, the brunette had the plan to scream for help, but now she fears for her beloved one.
Reluctantly, she embarks the vehicle, sitting down right beside Sam, while Mike takes a seat right across from them. Immediately, another guy put a bag over the brunette's head, making her blind.
Now Max's fear increases tenfold and she starts to sob, almost panicking on the spot. Only as she feels Sam's warm hand on her own, she's able to calm down a bit, until she receives a hard slap on her head and her tiny hand is taken into a violent grip, which let her cry out loud. And once more, Mike's hissed voice chimed in front of her face.
"If you touch her ever again with your filthy fingers, I'll break them!"
"Leave her alone, asshole!" Sam intervenes, followed by another slap and a "SHUT UP!" by her brother.
Max doesn't know how long they were already driving, but it must've been quite some time. Then she feels that they are getting slower until the van comes to a halt. The rear door gets opened and Max is dragged out of the car by multiple persons. While she, at first, feels the warmth of the evening sun on her skin, it soon gets replaced by a wet coldness. The once mostly fresh air becomes filled with the smell of mold, oil and old machinery. Only Sam's sporadically spoken words are soothing her a bit. Then they stop and the bag gets ripped off her head.
Max is standing in, what seems to be an old office in an old industrial building. The walls are made of red brick stone and water drips down from a hole in the roof. Scrap and dirt is scattered everywhere and only a big, dirty, partially broken window lets in some of the day's last light. The only thing intact is an old, sturdy desk in the middle of the room.
For now they are seven people. Four unknown, bulky guys, probably Mike's friends, Mike himself, Sam and Max. One of the guys, a black-haired man, is guarding Max, holding her tightly, while another one takes care of Sam. And now they are waiting, until they hear some steps approaching and Alexander Brighton, dressed in an expensive suit, enters the room, gazing into the round sternly.
As his eyes fall on his daughter, Mr. Brighton closes in and takes her into a warm hug. Sam on the other hand instantly frees herself from his embrace, yelling a "Don't touch me!"
"Aber, aber!" he replies in German, "Möchtest du deinem Papa nicht wenigstens eine kleine Umarmung geben?"
"Fuck you!"
SLAP!
After he hit her in the face, Alexander grabs Sam's jaw tightly and forcer her to look at him.
"Wenn ich mit dir Deutsch rede, dann hast du auch auf Deutsch zu antworten, verstanden?"
With tears in her eyes and her cheek already turning deep-red, Sam nods and says with a shivering tone, "Ja, Papa!"
"Gut!" he then states with a self-satisfied smile before he shifts his attention towards Max. "And now to you, Max!"
As the tall man approaches her, the young girl feels so intimidated that she fixes her gaze on the floor, but with a touch on her chin it is raised again, which forces her to look into a pair of blue eyes.
"You know, Maxine, the first time my little Samantha mentioned you, she spoke so enthusiastically of you that it made me happy. I thought that she finally had found a good friend, but…" From one moment to another his expression darkens, startling Max even more. "…then Mike told me that he saw you kissing with my daughter and I became very, very disappointed in both of you." Letting go of her chin, Alexander Brighton walks over to the table and leans against it. "You need to know that my family has the duty to uphold a certain heritage; a reputation, if you want to call it like that and what you're doing to my dear daughter is damaging it. It literally breaks with our tradition and stomps on everything my grandfather had fought for and I should punish you for that. But…I'm a business-man. I'm a reasonable man. And I've no interest whatsoever to hurt you, so…" He then gets up and moves towards Max again. "If you promise me, on your mother's life, that, in future, you'll stay away from my daughter and won't ever try to contact her again, then this little shindig here will be over and we'll all going home again, unharmed and without speaking of this again. Deal?"
As Mr. Brighton reaches his hand to Max, the young girl just stares at it for a while, thinking about her options. Looking at the current situation, the answer is pretty simply, but as she moves her sight over to her beloved Sam and gazes deeply into her grey eyes, Max swipes away the tall man's hand, sealing her fait.
"Fuck you, asshole! I love Sam and I'll do everything to keep her at my side, so take your fucking deal and shove it into your fucking ass!"
"Alright," he sighs deeply, "I really wished that you'd take the offer, but you want to learn the hard way. Mike!" Alexander then walks towards the exit, glimpsing one last time at his son. "Sorg dafür, dass sie versteht wie ernst mir das Wohl deiner Schwester ist!"
"Alles klar, Papa!" Mike replies with a nod and a wry smirk.
Before her father is able to leave, Sam jumps forward and grabs him by his hand, pleading under tears. "Bitte, Papa! Bitte, tu ihr das nicht an! Ich verspreche dir, dass ich sie nie wieder sehen werde!"
"Oh, meine kleine Samantha!" he replies, brushing a wet line from her cheek. "Wie soll ich dir glauben, wenn du doch schon einmal dein Wort gebrochen hast? Ihr beide müsst eure Lektion lernen! Und nun benimm dich wie eine anständige junge Frau und höre auf zu heulen!"
Then, he's gone again, leaving Mike Brighton in charge.
"Strap her onto the table!" he eventually commands, and while Sam screams in desperation, three guys bind Max onto the desk. Of course, she tries to resist by flailing out, but the way stronger guys are just pressing her onto the desktop and fixate her limbs. After she has no strength anymore, Max stops to fight against the restrains, breathing heavily.
Walking slowly up and down the room like a teacher who's giving a lesson, Mike begins a monologue.
"I once read that homosexuality is nothing more than a disease; an infection; a plague, and you little fag infected my poor sister with it."
"She didn't infect me with anything. I had and will always have a thing for girls, and if it's only to piss you off, fuckhead!" Sam throws in, which earned her another slap in the face.
"Sam!"
"SHUT UP!" her brother shouts, grabs his younger sister by her collar and hisses into her face, "Today, you will learn to behave like a real woman!" He then let her drop and approaches Max, pulling a box cutter out of his pocket. "Since you little cunt have a disease, I'll try to cure you, because it's my duty to prevent our race from being further infected."
"Get…the fuck…away…from me!" Max speaks with a shivering voice, but only receives a devilish grin as Mike ignores her words.
"Y'know, Maxine…" he says calmly, gazing at blade in his hand, "…I always tried to figure out how you fags work; what's wrong with you. And I've a theory. I think most of you dikes forgot that you're girls. Not boys, girls! But, nowadays you can't be sure, so…let's see what we've got here!"
As the sharp blade cuts through Max's clothes and deeper, the young girl cries out in pain, once more fighting against the restrains, but without any success.
Sam has to watch under tears how her brother cuts more and more fabric from her friend's body, leaving deep, bleeding cuts on her entire body. She wants to intervene; wants to throw herself between her brother and Max, but she's held tightly by one of his friends.
Eventually, the last piece of fabric drops to the ground and Max lies naked on the desk, whimpering out of agony. Red lines are now drawn all over her pale skin.
Mike throws the bloodstained blade into the next corner and wipes away the red liquid on his hand with a piece of Max's clothing, admiring his handiwork with a smirk.
"Well, she's obviously a girl. So, the problem must be deeper within you. Lucky for you, I'm not done yet!"
"Mike…bitte!" Sam now pleads again, the emotional pain now unbearable as she suffers with her loved one, "Bitte hör auf! Sie ist erst dreizehn. Bitte, Mike, ich tue alles, was du willst!"
With an even eviler grin on his lips, Mike violently grabs his sister by the back of her neck and pulls her closer towards her friend, which made her groan in agony.
"Look at her, sis'! Does her body make you hot? Do you wanna fuck her, huh? Would you love to lick her tiny cunt? Of course you want, because you never had sex with a boy and don't know how beautiful it is to have a cock inside your pussy! Well,…" He tosses Sam away and she's taken into a tight hold again, while Mike Brighton rummages through a backpack and brings forth a huge dildo. "…Your little friend here will soon know how it feels to get fucked by a dick. She'll show you how great it is and you'll be grateful that I taught you this lesson!"
"You sick motherfucker!" the blonde replies, then shifting her gaze to Max. "I'm so sorry, Max. I love you!"
With trembling lips, the young brunette answers with a weak "I love you!", before an infernal pain emerges from nether regions and her deafening screams chime through the entire building.
Max doesn't know how long she has been tortured, but she actually doesn't care. Since Mike had raped her with that piece of rubber, she'd been in a trance-like state anyway. Right now she lies alone in the pitch-black darkness, still strapped onto the table, feeling numb. She already got used to the coldness and is aware that life is draining out of her young body.
Mike had taken Sam with him and left Max here to let, how he said, the therapy sink in, but Max already knows that she won't survive the night and she actually doesn't care about this, too. Her life is hell anyway, so why bother to lose it?
She hears a sound. It's a scratching sound on the floor. Probably a rat, already waiting to feast on her flesh. But there's another sound! A door? Steps? And then there's some light, which get's brighter and brighter.
"Max!" Sam's voice chimes through the room as she approaches her wounded friend. The light falls on the brunette's body, blinding her, because her eyes aren't used to it. "My god!" the blonde gasps, covering her mouth and shedding some tears as she sees the devastation Mike had caused on Max. Now crying again, Sam cuts the restrains and lifts her loved one up. Already prepared, she brought a blanked and covers Max's cold, naked body with it, before she drags her under mobilization of all her strength to the car she'd stolen from her father. Cautiously, she drapes the almost unconscious brunette onto the passenger's seat and drives with her into the city.
On the way, all she can do is crying, her sniffs and sobs interfering with the noise of the car's engine.
"Max," she then says, mustering her willpower to bring out the next words, "I'm…I'm gonna bring you to a hospital, but…I can't stay with you, 'kay? My dad…he would kill you, if he sees us together ever again. And I…I love you so much and…I'm so sorry! I'm…" Then her voice breaks.
Eventually, they reach the closest hospital. From her surroundings, Max only catches some glimpses, sounds and fractures of dialogues.
"…goodbye, my Max…"
"…I'll always love you!"
"…critical condition…"
"…hypothermia…"
"…low blood pressure…"
"…OR, stat!"
Before everything falls into darkness, one last thought rushed through Max's mind.
'Sam!'
[Incoming call: Unknown number]
[Male voice]: "Yeah?"
[Nathan]: Am I speaking to a Mike Brighton?
[Mike]: Who wants to know?
[Nathan]: Doesn't matter, I'm calling to offer you a deal.
[Mike]: (angrily) Listen, you fuck, I don't play this kinda games! So, tell me your fucking name or get lost!
[Nathan]: Hmm, that's a shame! And I thought you had some open business with a certain Max Caulfield.
Silence.
[Mike]: (now calmly) I'm listening.