Saving Max

Chapter 5

"Am I an animal?" Caden asks, looking between Max and I quizzingly.

"No!" we both yell, shaking our heads quickly with a small laugh.

"You're definitely not an animal." I say, looking at the card he's holding to his head.

Right now we're playing Headbandz-yes, it is spelled with a z, because we all got bored. Caden and I were just talking about stupid things, like what would we both do if the world was coming to an end. I said I would break in to every Taco Bell that I could find and eat all of their chicken stars. Caden said that he would go to Disney World and ride all of the rides, then probably just relax in a fancy hotel until he died. I personally think both of our plans are excellent.

Anyway, while we were discussing stuff like that, Max emerged from his room and told us he was done with his homework. We didn't really know what to do, so we decided to look through the piles Caden and I had made to find something to occupy our time. We're keeping some of the clothes, a couple of the stuffed animals for Max, the art supplies, in case any of the three of us want to take up art, which is unlikely. But who knows, maybe Max will be a great artist in the future. We're keeping some of the board games, too, because a few of them look really fun. We saw Headbandz and decided to give it a shot, only to find out that all of the cards are stupid and boring as hell. Who wants to be a mouse?

So instead, we decided to make our own cards. Caden is Rapunzel, thanks to my genius mind, and Max is Captain America.

"So I'm definitely not an animal." Caden repeats with a nod, turning towards Max.

"Am I rich?" Max asks excitedly. Last turn he found out he was a 'super cool person,' as he has phrased it. 

I look over to Caden with a shrug, not knowing what to answer.

"I don't actually know. I would think so, I mean, he saves the world, he should have money and- dang it." Caden says, cutting himself off.

"Caden!" I scold, frowning at him. "You just gave him a huge hint!"

"I save the world?" Max asks, his eyes wide. "Cool." he adds with a nod, leaning back in his seat.

Chuckling lightly at him, I ask my question. "Am I an animal?" I ask, looking at Max, who made my card.

"Yeah." he tells me quickly before continuing to think to himself, making me smile.

"This game is hard." Caden huffs, a small scowl on his face. "Am I a boy?" he asks, looking desperately at me.

"Definitely not a boy." I say quickly with a firm shake of my head, grinning internally.

"Are you serious, Bella?" he groans, a pout making it's way on to his lips.

I have to admit, seeing the town bad boy pout is definitely an amusing sight.

"Don't complain. It was your idea that we should all play a game." I tell him with a smirk.

"I don't know how else to entertain a kid." he grumbles, shifting in his seat.

"How about going outside?" I suggest, tilting my head to the side slightly. "Kids love to play outside."

"How come you didn't voice your idea sooner to save us from this misery?" he questions, pushing himself out of his seat.

"I wanted you to decided what you wanted to do with Max. I don't want to intrude more than I already am." I whisper, not meeting his gaze, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Caden looks at me a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"We'll talk about this later." he mumbles, turning his attention to an oblivious Max. "Hey buddy, do you want to go outside for a little while before it gets dark?" he ask, his voice gentle.