Chapter 16

"Chloe, wait!" called Max after his step-sister as she was running away. But either she hadn't or she didn't want to hear him.

'Fuck!' cursed Maxine internally, already regretting those words she had smashed into Chloe's face. 'But it was the truth. She needed to hear this, otherwise she'd never change.'

Despite this fact which legitimated her action, Maxine still felt a big chunk of regret. She had hurt Chloe's feelings and felt bad because of this. Being in need of some soothing words and wanting to hear her voice, Max decided to call Rachel. Maybe, with a bit of luck, he probably even was allowed to still spend the night with her.

He tried it once, twice. But every time the artificial voice told him that no connection could be established. More worries were now forming in Maxine's conscience, letting her almost scream in frustration.

'Crappers! Why's this night so fucked? Would Sera throw me out when I go back? Is she even there anymore? Will Rachel even see me after Chloe's mischief?'

Questions over questions, and none of them easily answered. Out of surprise, Max's phone began to chime. Of course, the call got immediately taken as it could be Rachel at the other end of the line.

"Rachel?!"

"Uh, no. It's me, Steph."

Though a bit disappointed, Max was still glad to hear the nerdy girl's voice, since she has always been a good friend and advisor.

"Hey Steph, 's up?"

"Not much. Bored, frustrated and in need of some company. Have you tried to call Rach?"

"Yeah, but she didn't answer."

"Same here. She must've gotten a lotta heat. Damn, I'm still so…so… Ugh, why the fuck did she do that?"

"I dunno. But I think she regrets it."

"I hope so, for her sake!"

A short pause occurred. Time, in which Max once more doubted his choice of words towards Chloe.

"I think I hurt her pretty bad, y'know."

"Why's that? What did you say?"

"I told her that she was fuckin' up all the time and that she'd die alone if she keeps on doing it."

Another pause appeared, signing that Steph was thinking about those words. Eventually, she said "A bit harsh, yet the truth. I think she needed to hear that, and if not from you, then I would've told her, eventually."

It was a bit of a relief to hear this reassurance from his friend, though it didn't entirely soothe his bad conscience.

"Still…I'm feeling pretty shitty because of it."

"Y'know… How about you come over? I think we both need some company right now. I've got some drinks and a shitload of movies to forget all this crap."

For another moment, Max thought about Steph's offer. He felt a bit down and had the actual need to be alone for the moment…or that was at least what good ol' Maxine would've done.

'Don't crawl back into your cocoon, Max! You know very well that you want some company and Steph is really a very cool friend who has some sorta relaxing aura.'

"Uh, okay. Yeah. You sold me! I'll be on my way, then."

"See ya in a bit, Max!"

She felt so done. Her head hurt and her eyes were swollen. Letting her gaze wander around the room, she saw many broken things: from the wall ripped posters, smashed trinkets, her former nightlight entirely destroyed and then she also remembered what she had done with her phone.

Actually, it felt like she was awakening from an intense nightmare. Her memories being a big blur of random scenes.

"Shit!" she eventually groaned, sitting up on her bed and rubbing her temples. To be honest, Rachel wasn't even sure what or how this had happened. She just knew that something inside had taken over and had turned her into a raging fury.

Slowly, the young girl tried to get up, standing eventually on wobbly legs. It took her a few moments to be able to walk towards her door, the ground spinning. Honestly, it took her more steps than usual to reach the living room, where Sera was sitting at the table, head sunken into her folded arms and a half-full bottle of wine right beside her.

"Mom?" the teenage-girl said cautiously, approaching the dining table, where she eventually said down, too. And for a while both, mother and daughter, sat opposite from each other in silence, until Rachel couldn't endure it anymore.

Swiftly, she got up, walked around the table and hugged her mother from behind, whispering with a trembling voice "I'm so sorry, Mom!" And her mother reacted by embracing the arms of her daughter, before both intensified the hug.

"I'm sorry, too, darlin'! I shouldn't have pressured you by taking the hate on your father as leverage."

"Yeah, dick-move!" replied Rachel with a scoff, getting softly shoved away by her mother.

"Where the heck did you learn such words?" she chided jokingly and all Rachel did was to shrug with her shoulders.

"School. Where else?"

And all Sera could reply was a concurring, chuckled "True!", before she took a glass that was a remnant from the crashed party, not caring who it once belonged to, and filled it with wine, reaching it to her surprised daughter eventually.

"Since our parties went to hell and midnight's long over, let's make the best out of it," the blond woman announced, raising the bottle. "To another New Year!"

"Hopefully with less bullshit!" added Rachel before emptying her glass in one giant gulp. And to her surprise, it got instantly refilled again. "Uh, Mom...isn't that kinda too much?"

"Pft!" she just replied, however, taking another swig from the bottle. Her heavy voice made it more than clear that she was already beyond a slight buzz. "If you don't tell, I won't tell."

Rachel knew her mother's background. Her drug-filled past. How, once, being high had become a daily routine in her life. And she didn't want her to become like that again. Albeit their fight before, the young girl enjoyed living with her mother and she'd do everything to keep it that way. So, she didn't even dare touch her glass, yet grabbed the bottle and ripped it out of her mother's hand.

"Hey, what the…?!"

"Mom, please, don't!"

At first, Sera was about to get furious again. How could her daughter dare to forbid her to drink?! But then she saw this worried look in her green eyes, which cooled her temper right away and let reason settle in.

"Fuck!" the older woman sighed, covering her face with her hands. Immediately, she got up and gave her beloved daughter a tight hug, saying "I love you so much, darlin'!"

Both then gazed deeply at each other. There was this mother-daughter connection that both felt, which let them know that they were taking care of each other, in good times as well as in bad ones.

"I think mommy needs a big snooze," spoke Sera eventually, giving her daughter one last kiss on the cheek. "Have a good night, hon'!"

She was already about to leave the living room as Rachel said "I'm glad that I have you, Mom! Please, don't become the old mom again, who abandoned me!"

One last time, Sera turned around, saying determinately "I won't, promised!"

And to make sure of that, Rachel discarded every drop of alcohol she could find after her mother had gone to bed.

Cautiously, it knocked on Steph's door. Knowing who it was, the nerdy brunette jumped up from her sofa and opened up.

"Max!" she spoke joyfully, immediately taking her best friend into a short hug, before guiding him in. "Welcome to my humble dungeon! Just make yourself at home. Want something to drink?"

"Uh, thanks, Steph! Whatcha got?" answered the young boy, taking off his thick winter garments.

"Well, I got soda, water, some juice, vodka…"

"Vodka?!" Max gasped in surprise, his eyes fixed on a big bottle, containing a clear liquid, whereas his friend's reaction was just an arched eyebrow.

"Just because I'm a nerd, doesn't mean that I play by the rules all the time. You just have to be subtle."

"Tell that Chloe."

"Yeah, subtlety isn't her skill," she answered with some bitterness as she was mixing two drinks. "At least...not outside the bed."

Blushing upon this comment, Max just managed to gasp "O-oh!" before getting handed his drink.

"Good gosh, Max, you're so shy when it comes to sex. I mean, it's pretty clear that Chloe and I are doing it, and sooner or later, you and Rachel will do the same. Now, cheers!"

While Steph sat down beside him and took a big swig from her glass, Max simply wrinkled his nose upon the intense smell of alcohol.

'Yuck!'

Drinking, strange behavior, paired with saltiness. Something was wrong with Steph, besides her obviously being tipsy already, and though Maxine didn't know her as long as Maximilian did, she knew that something was off. Which was understandably after what had happened at Rachel's place. Still, Maxine was worried about her friend, especially as she witnessed how the young girl was about to kill her drink in one big gulp.

"Steph," Max spoke timidly, gaining his friend's attention. "You okay?"

"Do I look okay?" she returned cynically, which got answered with an honest head-shake, which - once again - got returned with a heavy sigh. "What do you expect, Max? Chloe just embarrassed Rachel's mom in front of us and…ugh, why can't she be like you?"

"A shy geek with anxieties?" frowned Max, thinking that this might be a joke, but eventually got proven otherwise.

"Of course! You're nice, care about others, are a hopeless romantic, cute, desirable…"

"Gosh, you're so drunk, Steph! You praise me higher than I really am and totally forget that I'm a guy."

At the start, Steph simply chuckled, which soon peaked into a cacophony of laughter together with Max, and it took them both several minutes to calm down again.

"Busted!" she eventually admitted. "Sorry for wasting your time with my stupid whining. I just...I think I just needed someone to get rid of my frustration.

"It's okay, y'know," replied Max with an honest smile. "I'm glad that I'm here to help you. Better than sitting at home, throwing darts at Chloe's picture."

"You actually do that?" was Steph's scoffed answer, making her chuckle again.

"Actually, no. But sometimes I consider it."

After a few more snickers, silence settled in as both teenagers gazed at the ceiling, which soon got colorful illuminated by the countless fireworks outside.

"Happy New Year, Max!" said Steph, searching for and holding her friend's hand. At first, he was overwhelmed that she was holding hands with him. But sooner than he thought, he got used to and even enjoyed it.

"Happy New Year, Steph!"