The Change|| BxB

13. The Ties That Bind

By the time they were done at the restaurant, everything was bloody and a big mess. It reminded Max of when he walked in on his father in the garage. Not a very good memory, he'd say. He didn't miss his dad, he thought. His dad was a bit of a wrongen, he had realized, with the whole drug-dealing, restaurant-mafia shit and killing a man in Max's safe place. It didn't feel too good to be related to someone who did that.

He hated his family more than he already did. His mother was as bad as his father. She had killed someone once; thank God Max didn't see it this time. The only decent person in Max's family was his older sister, who lived far away from them. He understood that now. She didn't get involved with the mafia or anything; she was good. He wasn't quite sure about her these days because he could never seem to reach her on his phone. He could never send her a message or call or whatever these days. She was too busy or got a new number or died. The sad thing was, he didn't even know if she was alive anymore. He hoped she was still alive. Her name was Alixa. She had (or has, he wasn't sure) short shoulder-length brown hair with blonde tones in it, freckles absolutely everywhere since he last saw her, which was a year or two ago. Not that long ago, but still. She was about 5'10"-5'11" with a small frame. She was very pretty and could quite possibly get anything she wanted with a bat of an eye.

He couldn't stop thinking about the night with his father murdering some guy. It just kept replaying in his mind, it wouldn't go away. The blood, the lifeless body, his father's cold expression. It haunted him.

Valentino noticed Max's distress. "You okay, kid?" he asked, his voice gruff but concerned.

Max couldn't respond. He felt suffocated by the memories, by the sight of the blood in the restaurant. He ran out of the restaurant and down the street. He didn't know where he was going, but he just knew he had to get out of there as soon as possible, or he might just collapse and break down all at once.

He ran to the closest alleyway and slid down the wall onto the grubby concrete, wet tears rolling down his face, soaking his cheeks. The weight of everything he had been trying to keep inside came crashing down on him. His father's betrayal, his mother's crimes, his sister's absence—it was all too much.

He cried for what felt like hours, the sound of the bustling city around him a distant hum. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to feel the pain he had been bottling up. He thought about Alixa, wondering where she was, if she was safe, if she even knew what was happening to him.

Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Valentino standing over him, a rare look of softness in his eyes. "Max," he said gently, "I know it's hard. But you can't let this consume you. You're stronger than this."

Max shook his head. "I don't know if I am, Val. I don't know if I can do this."

Valentino knelt down beside him. "You can. I've seen it in you. You have a strength that your father and mother never had. You have the strength to break free from this."

Max sniffled, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "What if I can't find Alixa? What if she's gone?"

"Then you keep going," Val said firmly. "For her, for yourself. You don't let this world take you down."

Max looked into Valentino's eyes and saw the determination there. It gave him a glimmer of hope. Maybe he could be stronger. Maybe he could find a way out of this life, to be the person his sister believed he could be.

They sat there for a while, the noise of the city fading into the background. Max took deep breaths, feeling a little bit lighter. He wasn't alone in this. He had Val, and maybe, just maybe, he could find Alixa and start over.

As they stood up, Max felt a new resolve. He would find his sister. He would escape this life. And he would prove that he was stronger than the darkness that surrounded him.

Valentino clapped a hand on his back. "Come on, kid. Let's go home."

Max nodded, feeling a spark of determination ignite within him. He wasn't sure what the future held, but he knew he wouldn't face it alone. And that made all the difference.

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