Grown (Lumax) COMPLETE

Personal Attack

TW: Mentions of sexual abuse, racism, homophobia, suicide, and physical violence.

The first night of winter break was rough, to say the least. Everyone was spread around the house, having their own hell. Max was in the guest bedroom, Lukas was in his room, Susan was in the bathroom, Erica was in her room, Sue and Charles were in the living room. Everyone was desperately trying to pull themselves together for the sake of the holidays.

The first one to come around was Lukas, mostly because he wanted to check on his girlfriend. He knocked on the guest room before opening the door just a crack. "Hey, beautiful...you okay?"

"Mn..." Max was under the blankets, trying to shut out the world. "Go away."

"Okay...I'll be here when you need me again." Lukas shut the door to give Max some more alone time. They all needed to process their own problems.

Next, Lukas knocked on Erica's door. He waited for her to give him permission before he opened the door. "You still alive?"

"Unfortunately." Erica responded with a bitter sarcasm that didn't fit her typical personality.

"Are you still pissed because I told mom?" Lukas walked into the room and shut the door.

"It's the one thing I didn't want you to do, asshole." Erica huffed.

"I'm worried...Erica, I know you're not dumb. You know how serious this kind of bullying can get." Lukas didn't want his sister to be remembered as a statistic.

"Thanks for putting that thought in my head." Erica already had the thought in her head, but it was comforting to blame things on her brother.

"I'm sorry..." Lukas stood in the middle of the room awkwardly. He hadn't anticipated that the day would ever come, that he had to act like a parent to his sister. "You know, I went through something similar once."

"You're straight, dumbass." Erica hissed at him.

"I know– but what I mean is, I've been harassesed over who I love too." Lukas slowly sat down on the bed next to her, praying he didn't get slapped into next week.

"People have something against gingers these days?" Erica rolled her eyes.

"No, Erica...you're not stupid, come on." Lukas rolled his eyes back at her. "What's the biggest difference between me and Max?"

"She's got a brain and you don't?" Erica insulted him.

"No- Erica, seriously?" Lukas was getting a little impatient, but managed to get through it. "We're two different races."

"This isn't the 1900's anymore." Erica argued, even though she knew some people still acted that way.

"I know, but people are still obsessed with race. They just have different ways of showing their racism. In highschool, when I played basketball...the amount of guys that would come up to me and make weird comments because my girlfriend was white, was crazy. Even the guys that thought they were being nice, were being weird."

"What are you trying to say?" Erica glared at him.

"Well...maybe the harassment you and Tina are facing is... racism in disguise of homophobia?" Lukas suggested.

"Either way, it's not right!" Erica huffed.

"I know, I know." Lukas tried to calm her down. "Just be careful, and really pay attention to what people say to you. Sometimes the ones you think are friends, are actually on the other side."

"Whatever..." Erica gestured to the door, suggesting she wanted to be alone again.

Lukas stood up and headed out of the room. He went to find Susan next, but she found him first.

"Have you checked on Max?" She asked, worry across her face.

"Yeah, just did?" Lukas quickly started walking back to the guest room. "Why?"

"Barb just called me. Said Max is texting her concerning things." Susan rushed to the guest bedroom with Lukas.

"Go away!" Max insisted.

Lukas stayed by the door, letting Susan approach first. Even though he was her safe person, he was also a guy. In a bad situation, be could trigger her if he invaded the personal space she desperately wanted.

Susan pulled the blanket away from Max and sat on the bed. "Baby, what's wrong?" She wiped Max's face, which made Max resist more. Susan took Max's phone, with a fight. Looking at her messages to Barbara was probably the best way to figure out how to help her.

Barbie 🏳️‍🌈

Max: Please answer

Barbara: I'm here, you okay?

Max: Don't have the baby!

Barbara: That's my choice, Maxi... I'm sorry if it upsets you.

Max: Why would you let him win?!

Barbara: He didn't win, he's in jail...and I have decided to have the baby so something positive could come from this. You told me yourself I should be a mother.

Max: Not like this! Please, don't do it! I'll kill myself.

Barbara: Max, take a deep breath. I know this is really hard for you to accept, but it's my choice. It may not feel right to you, but it's right to me.

Max: I refuse to live in a world where you have JONATHAN'S child.

Barbara: Max, I love you. You know that. I'm not trying to upset you on purpose. Please, you're not being very supportive right now.

"Maxine!" Susan yelped after reading the texts. "What's gotten into you? Don't harass that poor young lady."

"It's not fair!" Max sobbed. Barb and Max had a good bond surrounding their trauma. However, Max now felt attached to Barb in a bad way. Barb getting pregnant felt like a personal attack. Now that Barb wanted to keep the baby, Max felt like she was having a baby.

"Max...it's her decision. I don't love the idea either." Susan put the phone down and rubbed her back.

"I don't want her to have to have a baby because of that asshole!" Max didn't care if Lukas' family could hear her. All she cared about was Barb.

Lukas couldn't watch his girlfriend deteriorate any more, he approached the bed. He slowly sat down and put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Baby, it's okay." Lukas didn't usually call her that, but he was mimicking her mother subconsciously in attempt to soothe her. Unfortunately, it was not the right time to do that.

Max turned and hit Lukas in the face before she could even think about doing it.

"Max! What the fuck?!" Lukas covered his face.

Susan and Max both stared in horrified shock. The worst part is, Sue was just on her to the room to check on them.