The Purge

Pt. 14

The night was long and sleepless for Alissa. The sound of the wind howling and the slow drip of water from a leaky pipe was unsettling to say the least. She sat up and shivered slightly, only just registering how cold it was in the abandoned building.

Alissa decided that since she couldn't sleep, she'd explore the warehouse. Climbing out of her sleeping bag, she exited the room she had claimed as hers, instantly missing the little warmth the sleeping bag provided. She wandered over to Sam's car to grab a hoodie - one of Tyler's old football ones - when she noticed Max sitting on a windowsill, her face illuminated by a laptop screen.

Alissa made her way over to Max, and leant against the wall.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Max asked, keeping her gaze fixed on her laptop.

"Yeah. Yeah, you know how it is," Alissa replied, fiddling with the edge of the jumper sleeves.

"You wanna talk about it?" Max tentatively asked, peeling her eyes away from the screen to look at Alissa.

Alissa did want to talk about it. She wanted to confide in someone about her problems. Someone other than Lucas. But a little voice in the back of her head was saying that nobody wanted to hear her complaints. That nobody actually cares about her at all. And even though Alissa knew that there are people out there who care about her, there were seedlings of doubt. Like, her parents don't care about her, and Tyler's 50/50, so why would anyone else?

"No, no I'm fine," Alissa offered a small smile.

Max returned the smile and continued typing. The two girls stayed there, the sound of wind and the clicking of a keyboard filling the empty air.

"What about you?" 

Max looked up from her laptop, a quizzical look on her face. "Sorry?"

"Why are you awake?" Alissa asked.

"It's nothing, I don't want to trouble you," answered Max, about to go back to typing.

"It's ok, you can vent and I won't judge." 

Max scoffed slightly. "How the fuck were you considered the queen bee at school? You're way too nice for that shit."

"I guess I learned how to cover up many things," Alissa replied, shaking her head sadly. "Whatever, don't try to change the subject. You can talk to me. We're part of a team, remember?"

A sigh escaped Max's lips. "I'm scared for my family, you know? I've got three younger siblings, one sister, two brothers, and god are they a handful. Dad's gone and Mom, being a nurse and all, is rarely around. It's up to me to look after the kids, which is a lot to ask of a sixteen-year-old. The youngest is seven and the oldest is fourteen, so I have no idea how they're coping without me. I guess now mum doesn't have to work so she can at least look after them. I love them to bits, and it's taking everything in me not to run back home and look after them. It's all I want - to be there for them." Max explained, her voice quavering.

Alissa felt a pang of jealousy that she tried to supress. Max has something Alissa so desperately wanted but could never have. Max has a family she cares about, and one that cares for her. 

Not being able to bring herself to words, Alissa simply nodded as Max spoke.

"I guess the hardest part is that they don't even know if I'm still breathing, you know?" Max's voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't even know if they're still breathing now."

"Max they're-"

"No, Alissa. You don't get it, ok? They could be on the floor, bleeding out. They could already be dead, they're faces cold and pale and I wouldn't even know!" Max stopped, suddenly realising that she was shouting and left the warehouse echoing the end of her sentence. She swallowed and looked down embarrassed. "I wouldn't even know." 

Alissa reached out a slightly shaky hand and touched Max's shoulder gently. Max shrugged it off and returned to typing. Alissa decided to give her some space and began to walk towards the car.

 "Wait," called Max in a harsh whisper. 

Alissa spun around to face her, "Yeah, what's up?"

Max slowly closed the lid of her laptop. "Why me?"

Alissa walked back towards the windowsill, a puzzled look plastered on her face. "What do you mean?"

Max took a deep breath and repeated her question, her eyes steely and solely focused on Alissa.

Alissa was somewhat taken aback by the intensity of the question. "I'm not sure I quite understand."

"Why drag me into this mess?" Max asked, her jaw clenched. "I never asked for any of this. I barely know you guys."

Alissa's heart ached as she realised what she once believed that her decision to include Max into the group was the right thing to do, was purely delusion. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise you felt that way. I just-" she paused to steady her increasing heart rate. "I just thought that maybe we could work together. I thought we were, I don't know, friends or something." Alissa looked down at her hands and the ring she was spinning around her finger.

"Yeah well-" Max faltered, reaching for the right thing to say.

Alissa took this as her chance to try and persuade Max to stay. Not only was Max an interesting dynamic to their group, she was also an important asset. "As much as you don't want to be a part of this group, you're probably safer off with us. I mean, have you seen Ava with a knife, she's insane! And I can pretty much guarantee you that Sam could do some pretty decent protecting with that gun of his." She offered.

Max's eyes flicked across the room as she rung her hands, thinking over Alissa's statement. She knew Alissa was correct. What protection would three kids younger than fifteen have? But there was still a tug - an inclination - that she needed to be with her family. It was as if her brain and her heart were fighting each other as she puzzled over Alissa's explanation. 

Alissa sighed. "Look, I'll let you think over it, there's no rush. Just know that you're safe."

Max nodded and opened her laptop once again, Alissa's words echoing in head.

A/N

Crazy to think that I started this story a year ago and I'm only on chapter 14, love that for me. Sorry for the delay getting this out, September was a shit month for me.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and if you guys want, vote and comment coz I love reading comments.