Saving Max

Chapter 7

"Have a good day at school Cadey- Wadey! Make sure you don't forget to pack yourself a lunch!" I yell to him happily as I make my way towards the door, his face set in to a scowl.

"Ha-ha." he deadpans, shaking his head at me as he walks to the door, seeing me out of the house.

"It's been a whole week and that still hasn't gotten old." I say with a small laugh, turning around to face him, a lazy grin on my face.

"I'm glad that my new job brings you so much enjoyment." he grunts, shoving his hands in to his pockets.

"Oh, it does." I assure him with a small nod. "I want to come in one day and see how you interact with little kids other than Max. I think it would be very entertaining." I tell him as we reach my car, me opening the door and throwing my book bag in.

Caden's hand is on my shoulder, turning me around to face him, a soft smile on his face now.

"I'm not that bad with kids." he says, not removing his hand yet, just letting it rest softly on top of my shoulder, while my heart starts to pound harder than I would like it to.

"I know. But everyone else in town doesn't. What would they think if they knew the bad boy was turning in to a softie?" I ask sarcastically, which causes him to bark out a short laugh.

"If anyone makes fun of me for trying to stay close to my brother I'll beat their ass in to the ground." he says lightly, causing me to visibly flinch away from him, even tough I know in the back of my mind he's joking.

I don't have a problem with violence if the person deserves it, but it makes me uneasy when people just go around beating others up for fun, or for petty, stupid reasons.

"Don't talk like that." I mumble, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"I didn't really meant it, Bella. I'm not that kind of guy, contrary to popular belief.' he says bitterly. "I would yell at them though, that's for sure. If they have a problem with me they can go to hell. I'm not the same guy I was before I left. I'm not that person anymore. The only person I'll ever think of beating is that asshole of a guy that Max had to live with for his entire life." Caden tells me. At the end, his hands are balled in to fist, his knuckles turning white as he leans his back against the car.

"I know you're not that person anymore. I just don't like it when people talk about hurting others. And if you ever see Max's foster dad, I'd be okay if you beat him until he died, to be quite honest. That bastard deserves every punch that you would give him, Caden." I tell him, slowly taking his hands in mine and prying his fingers apart, making him let out a loud sigh.

"I hate him." he manages to grit out, turning his head to give me a hard glance.

"I know. I do, too." I mumble, giving him a weak smile.

We stand like that a moment before I clear my throat, taking a step back. "Well, as fun as this conversation has been, I really have to get to school. And you really need to wake Max up, or you'll both be late for school." I tell him, finally managing to put a smile back on his face.

"Don't worry. Now that I work there, I can sign him in late any time I want." he says with a shrug.

"That doesn't mean that you should! It's not good to be late for work." I tell him in a mock stern voice.

"Whatever. The reading program doesn't even start until an hour in to the school day. I just help out in the office before then." he explains, making me smile.

This is the first real information he's given me about his new job other than telling me what the different kids he worked with were like. His face always lit up when I asked about them, and he would pull me over to the couch and tell me all about what they did that day, and if they'd made any improvements. I remember his first day on the job perfectly. He talked to me for two and a half hours that night, and I hung on to every word.