𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 || baxter radic

20.

It's been a few weeks since the call with my mom. It's sat in the back of my head, but it only lingers to the front right as I'm about to sleep. She's talked with Summer's mom on the daily, but I still have yet to say anything more to her.

"Can we please go get you a new phone?" Bax groans, his chin resting on my shoulder as he stands behind me.

"Do you guys see how much of a jerk he is?" I joke. "He only wants me to get a phone so I can take cute photos of him." I shake my head, a giggle escaping as he digs his fingers into my sides.

"I can't take photos of myself now can I?" He places a kiss to my cheek as he snakes his arms around my waist. "I've got sponsors to appease."

"I still have no idea how anyone signs you Bax." Poppy pokes sassy at Bax's bad boy vibe.

"I'm the best, who wouldn't want me." I don't have to see his face to know he's smirking. His smug attitude has slowly started to slip back into full force.

When we first got together he had softened. A few rare times the sarcastic tone I had grown to love slipping in. It was appearing more frequently the longer we spent with each other. I think he feared doing or saying the wrong thing. He felt on thin ice, even though he never was.

"What have I signed myself up for?" I knock my head lightly against Bax's. "You know I'm not just your photographer? I have another title." Bax lifts his head off my shoulder.

"I think he missed the memo Belle." Summer chuckles. "He's been a little love sick lately." She winks at the two of us, shooing us off.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you're all trying to get rid of me!" I call over my shoulder as Bax drags me off. I don't think I had any choice in the matter. We were going to get me a new phone, but I knew it wasn't to take photos of Bax. That was an added bonus—getting to stare at his pretty face when he wasn't around.

I was a bit unpredictable. Not having my phone meant I could run off and not be found. I used to do it a lot after Max died. That was one thing my mom didn't lie about. I hadn't done it in years though. I didn't need to anymore. I knew that Max existed within me and not in his body buried six feet under. Summer still liked to know that if needed, she'd be able to find me. I'd always answer if she called. No one else, only her.

While were out buying my phone and getting it all connected again, Bax offers to take us out for lunch. I never turn down an offer for free food. Especially if it meant spending alone time with him. We had taken a step back from secluding ourselves. Both Summer and Bax thought that it was best to surround myself with friends instead of hiding away.

I listened to the both of them, spending more time with everyone as a group. It made time fly. I wanted time to slow down. I wanted to soak up as much of the good memories as possible. I wanted to pause time, rewind, and live the moments all over again. The drama had vanished like it never existed to begin with. Not between Bodhi and Poppy. Not better Summer and I. Not between Bax and Ari. Everyone's slate was wiped clean.

I see Bax snapping a few photos, lingering longer on his phone than normal when were together. I keep my watch on him, he's acting a little bit suspicious. I don't know why and I don't feel like he'd answer if I asked anyways. I'd end up with some smart remark like, "wouldn't you like to know."

"Can I re-dye your pink tonight?" I ask before shoving a fry—chip— in my mouth. His eyes jump from his phone, to me as the question pings his ears.

"You want me to trust you with that?" He takes a massive bite out of his burger. A bit of sauce sticking at the corner of his lips. My eyes lock to it as his tongue juts out to sweep up the contents.

"I did Summer's." I smile proudly. "Pleaseeeee." I beg, a pout forming on my lips. It doesn't leave until he finally gives in. But he doesn't agree to do it tonight. He agrees to soon. I'll have to take it for now. It was happening. Even if I had to do it in his sleep.

After a quiet lunch we head back to Ari's house. It's where we've spent a lot of time. Honey is a hoot and a great background addition to our hang outs. Her sarcasm, sass, and wit might even be worse than Baxter's. And that is saying a lot.

When we arrive, no one's around. I call out for Summer first, then Poppy, before a banner drops and my friends pop out from their hiding spots. "What the..." I look around before my eyes land on Baxter. "Did you know?"

"Oh I was clueless." He lies with a prized Baxter smirk appearing on his face.

"Oh definitely." I roll my eyes playfully before I'm swept up in Summer's arms.

"Happy Birthday Maxy." She whispers in my ear. I smile as her words tickle against my skin. "I know that you didn't want to mourn on this day. I thought celebrating him would make this day just a little more special for you."

"Thanks Summer." I look at everyone standing, arms over each other's shoulders. "Thanks guys."

I spent the morning at the beach with Bax, as I did every morning. I took photos of him out on the water, distracting my mind from drifting to the sadness this day normally brings. I thought no one but Summer knew what today was. I didn't even tell Bax. It was easier to keep it a secret. Then no one would bring it up. I didn't want to put a lull into everyone else's day. Little did I know they were planning to erase the sadness from me themselves.

"Because it would have been Max's eighteenth, I think we should do something special." Summer looks at me before her eyes shift toward Bax. I glance over my shoulder at him, but his back is turned before I have even a chance to catch the expression on his face.

The longer I sit and wait for his return the more my mind begins to wander. Then it clicks. I know exactly what Summer means. Max always hated that he practically had to share a birthday with me. He said when he turned eighteen and became an adult he'd get me back for stealing his birthday fun—that way mom and dad wouldn't be able to punish him.

As the moment clicks, I'm being drenched in ice filled water. I'm gasping for air, cursing Summer for remembering Max's plans all these years later. The coldness doesn't last long though. Bax's inability to let me be in pain stepping in before I suffer too long.

He wraps a towel around me mere seconds after dousing me in freezing water. His body warms me, making it all worth it. "I'll let you dye my hair tonight." He whispers in my ear as he tries to warm my frozen body. "I deserve payback for this."

"Oh you definitely do." I look at him—teeth chattering, body shivering.

"So your brother," Bodhi's voice echoes in the air, "why don't you let us get to know him? I mean we did put this party together for him." She smiles at me, trying to distract my mind from the goosebumps coating my skin.

I spend the next two and a half hours telling every single embarrassing childhood story I can think of. I let my friends into my life. I open up about things I haven't in years. I share my deepest memories. I show them a part of me that only Summer ever got to know. It gives an insight to who I am. It paints a better picture of why I—Maybelle Grace—live life the way I do.

Forgiving so easily. Letting people in so easily. Accepting things for what they are. Because sometimes there are things that we cannot change. There's no point on being upset over things that you can't change. Because that's just wasting valuable time we have. Time we don't have much of. The breath that I am taking right now might be my last. I have to give every second I'm living my all. Not just for me, but for Max as well.