Chapter 21

Max was sitting at his desk, doing some school work that Steph had brought him over. But it wasn't going too well with that, and that out of two different reasons. First, he still had a headache and felt dizzy from the concussion. And secondly, he missed Rachel over everything.

It was now over a week since that incident, and in all that time, Max hadn't heard one word from her. And it wasn't like he hadn't tried. Rachel already had gotten a new phone right after the holidays, yet whenever he had called, his girlfriend either had canceled the call or turned off her phone entirely. The situation was even so bad that Rachel had cut off contact with every other person as well, even her mom. A condition that concerned him very much.

Unable to focus anymore, Max eventually threw his pen on the table and slammed closed the book, only to end up staring at a framed picture of him and Rachel on his desk.

'I miss her so much!' thought Maxine, brushing over the glass. If anything, the young woman inside a boy's body knew that she had fallen helplessly for this blonde. 'I just can't let her deal alone with this! Even if this is what she wants.'

Having made a decision, the teenage boy jumped up and changed into some warm clothes before he snuck out of the house. Actually, he wasn't supposed to leave on his own, because of his injuries, but Rachel was far more important to him than his well-being.

The weather wasn't as pleasant as it had been around New Year. The dry, snowy coldness had soon been replaced by a wet one, turning the layers of snow into slush during the day and then into slippery ice during the night. It was this sort of climate that let somebody freeze to the bones, and Max was no exception.

Not even ten minutes outside, he had to wrap his arms around his body in dire need to prevent his warmth from escaping. No wonder that not many people were roaming the streets. Just a few pedestrians here and there, but not the usual crowds.

Max had almost reached Rachel's and Sera's apartment building as he began to hear a constant clicking.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

Wondering what the source of this noise might be, he turned around and got stunned. Focused on a butterfly-knife in her hand, which she opened and closed again and again, Max recognized his girlfriend right away.

"Rachel?" he asked with a frown, causing the young girl to quickly stare at him in shock.

"Max?!" she gasped, putting the knife back in the pocket of her coat. But her first surprise was quickly gone and replaced by anger. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Being a bit intimidated by this unexpected, hostile outburst, Max flinched a bit while he felt a sting in his heart. "I, uh...I-I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. I was worried so I thought…"

"Maybe there was a reason I didn't answer, how about that?" she blurted back, hurting Max even more with her harsh words. "I just wanna be left alone, okay!"

"B-but I thought I…"

"You can't help me, okay! I don't need help! I'm fine."

Gathering all his courage, Max held his ground, answering "You're not fine, Rach. Damn, everybody is worried about you, especially your mom. And I…"

Suddenly, Max's eyes started to spill tears. He knew that Rachel had the tendency to lash out, but he never had experienced such an outbreak. This was different. More violent.

"I. Am. Fine! Fuck, doesn't it fit into your freakin' brain?! Now fuck off!"

"Rach…" spoke Max quietly with a sob as he couldn't endure this hurt anymore. But everything he received was even more harsh words.

"Oh fuck, stop crying!"

But he didn't stop and what happened next was unexplainable to him.

"STOP CRYING, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Rachel screamed right in Max' face and pushed him aside as she ran past him, leaving the poor, heartbroken boy behind.

'Why?' asked Maxine herself internally. 'Why's she acting like this? Why's she pushing me away? And what's up with this knife? Rachel never had such a knife before. Does she want to…? Oh no! Oh please, no! I've to stop her!'

Gathering once more all the strength and courage he could muster, Max turned on the spot and sprinted after Rachel. He wasn't the most sportive guy, yet managed to catch up with her. Of course, this didn't stay unnoticed to the blond girl.

Swiftly she spun around, yelling "I TOLD YOU TO FUCK OFF!"

"NO!" screamed Max back, now closing in on her with slow steps. But Rache didn't let him get close, withdrawing at the same pace. At that moment, there was no anger in her demeanor anymore, yet desperation and sadness. She was spilling tears and sobbing constantly.

"Rach," Max then said with a calm yet shaky voice as he witnessed his beloved Rachel in so much pain. "You need help. Shit, I can really understand…"

"You can't," she returned, shaking her head. "You can't understand."

"Maybe not. But I'll try! You just have to speak with me."

He took a big step towards the young girl, trying to finally make contact, but once more she backed away and drew her knife.

"Don't!"

"Rach," he whispered, ogling the knife in her hand. He knew that she wouldn't hurt him, still he kept his distance. "Why?"

"I can't go on like this," she whimpered. "Not until he's gone. School, the town, on the streets...he'll be there. I need to finish this. One way or the other. It's him or me."

Now Max understood her intentions. He understood her fears. And he understood that she needed reassurance that she wasn't alone with this. And though the knife was still pointing at him, Max closed in once more, ignoring the danger.

"Rach, I know that this is fucked, but Nathan is still in hospital. And my mom wants to make sure that he stays there."

"You don't know that! What if he comes out and…"

Her voice broke for a moment as her sobs got heavier.

"I felt him, y'know. I felt him down there. And I'm still feeling him. And...and I-I'm afraid that if you touch me, that...that…"

Max used this chance to bridge the last few feet and reached for Rachel's hand that was holding the blade, embracing it softly with his cupped hands, which caused the girl to flinch a bit. But she didn't try to get away anymore, yet finally dropped the knife.

"But you know I'm not him! And if it takes years for you to gain trust in touches again, then so be it. But I'll never despise you for that. I love you, Rach, and I'll never let you down!"

Under strong and loud sobs, Rachel wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, crying into his shoulder as she was finally able to let out her emotional stress.

It was cold. Very cold. Still, Rachel and Max kept on sitting on a wall that was separating the beach from the town, arm-in-arm, watching the ocean in silence.

Both didn't know how much time had already gone by, but honestly, they didn't care. It was a peaceful moment. A moment Rachel desperately needed, evident as she was still holding Max tight as if she never wanted to let go of him ever again.

"I wanna go away," whispered Rachel out of sudden, her voice barely audible through the winds.

"We can go to my place, if-..." Max wanted to answer, but got interrupted as Rachel broke the tight embrace.

"No! I mean really away. Just the two of us, nobody else."

Max knew that his girlfriend was serious about this, yet he couldn't suppress a scoff. "What? But how and...and where to?"

A fire started to glimmer in Rachel's green eyes. A fire of anticipation and adventure.

"Let's take that old truck in your parent's garage. I can drive. And I've enough money on me to keep us afloat for a couple of days. C'mon! For once, let us do something totally crazy!"

For a few moments, Max simply gazed into Rachel's fiery eyes, and though there were like a million reasons to say no and at least as much strong arguments against this plan, stealing Chloe's truck and their parent's rage on top of it, and as much as he wanted to contradict, the young boy eventually got caught in her enthusiastic wave and got carried away.