Somewhere Only We Know

II - Burden

Max jolted awake to a loud, frantic banging on her door. Groggy and half out of it, she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes just as her phone buzzed with a message from her sister Diane: "Don't open the door. It's Jesse, and he wants you to move to New York with him." Max blinked at the screen, the words sinking in. She hurriedly grabbed her phone to reply.

Suddenly, a deep, commanding voice rang out from the other side of the door. "Miss Davidson, please open the door before we have to kick it down. You are living alone illegally as a minor." The urgency in his tone made Max's heart race.

Carefully, she typed back, fingers trembling, "Dude, help me pls. There's a man outside tryna take me away. I think he's from child services or some shit. COME HERE NOW PLS."

The man's voice cut through the quiet hallway again, this time firm but somehow calm and reassuring. "Maxine Davidson, please open this door. I'm Agent Fisher, and I assure you, I mean you no harm." He paused, glancing suspiciously down the hall—as if expecting backup. "I have full consent from your brother, Jesse Davidson, to be here. I have the authority to take you to the New York Maryvale Guild. However," he added with a slightly softer tone, "your wonderful brother is more than happy to take you home with him."

Max couldn't help but giggle quietly at the mention of the name, the weight of all the years lost between them flickering through her mind; she completely ignored the mention of Jesse.

Then her phone buzzed again. The message slid across the screen: "On my way right now. Don't make any noise, you little shit." A tiny smirk tugged at the corner of Max's lips, despite the pounding tension gnawing at her inside.

Minutes ticked by, the silence thick. Just as Agent Fisher was about to send another warning, a woman's voice suddenly pierced the quiet. "Excuse me, sir. What are you doing in front of my apartment?"

"Are you Maxine Davidson?" the man asked.

Only silence followed until the woman burst out laughing, nearly hysterical. "Hell, no!"

Max's brain scrambled to make sense of the confusion, so she ducked behind her couch and grabbed the frying pan she had been using earlier.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a heavy thud against the door, then keys rattling in the lock. Her heart slammed in her chest as she grabbed a dull kitchen knife along with the pan. The door creaked open, and Max wasted no time — she swung the pan hard, and whoever it was hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Max? Are you okay?" a worried voice shouted. Max's confusion deepened. This woman didn't sound like Diane, not at all.

"Max! It's Micaela."

Max gasped, dropping the knife, tears welling up as she collapsed to the floor.

"Chase, get the fuck up and deal with the man on the floor," Mica barked, moving swiftly to Max's side and gently wiping her face. "Are you okay? I can't believe Jesse would go that far. That piece of shit needs to learn he's as irrelevant to us as Dad is. But are you really okay?"

Max stayed silent, overwhelmed and trying to absorb everything.

"It's okay, Max. You're safe now. I'm here, and no one's gonna hurt you," Mica reassured her softly.

From the hall, Chase spoke up. "Dealt with the Fisherman. Locked him in a janitor's closet. Hey, Em, you okay? Got some snot and stuff on your face."

Max nodded and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer to hand over to Chase. "Thanks, Em. Some bitch threw a pan at me — pretty sure they broke my fucking nose."

Mica gave Chase a deadly glare.

"So why are you guys here?" Max finally asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, Diane called and told me to get here ASAP," Mica said. "Guess she knew we were only a few blocks away."

An hour later, Diane finally showed up, slightly out of breath.

"Sorry, I was in the middle of mattress shopping when I heard about Jesse's plan," she said sheepishly. "Was also kind of finishing up some paperwork for-" she continued, only to cut herself off.

Chase grinned. "Hey, Didi. Long time no see!"

"Don't you ever call me that again, Chase. We're not kids anymore," Diane shot back, rolling her eyes, "Is Jesse here too? I-" She stopped again, gaining suspicion from the others in the room, "We, we need to talk about something."

"Whatever it is, it can wait." Mica followed. As the three went on to argue about the situation, Max quietly slipped back into her room.

"We just saved her ass, and she gives us the silent treatment?" Diane muttered.

"We? You showed up an hour late. Me and Chase saved her. Not you, busy shopping for mattresses," Mica sneered, laughing.

Diane scoffed, clearly in disbelief, "Don't even talk. Alerting you about the situation was a last resort. God knows you two would've brought more trouble here." She argued, fully knowing it would definitely worsen the already messy situation.

"Guys, let's chill," Chase said, trying to calm things down. "We don't know what Jesse's next move is. He might send another kid services guy. Let's just stay here with Em for a bit."

Max flung her bedroom door open, voice sharp: "I'm safe, you guys. Go home."

"Safe? Are you kidding? Have you tried looking outside?" She said, pointing her hand to the closed door behind them, "A whole ass man is dead in front of your door. Don't talk to me about safe. If I didn't know better, I sure as hell would just let you do whatever the hell you want." Diane yelled, stomping toward her.

"Hey, hey! Chill, Diane. Also, he's not dead, I think," Chase intervened, stepping in between, "But that's not the point!"

"I'm safe. Thanks for showing up late to save me. But I don't need you, Chase, or Mica. I'm safe as hell. Got Dad's gun under my desk. If Jesse sends another guy, I'll be ready. Now leave. I'm fine. I'll call if I need you. Just leave me alone, please."

"You're just a child. We're not leaving until you're safe. Jesus! What makes you think a gun would help you in that hypothetical, but very, very fucking possible situation? What, are you gonna shoot your way out of a problem? Do you even know how to use one? You're just a kid!" Mica shouted back.

"Hold on, the gun shit is right on, but you're kind of wrong." Chase said quietly.

"Finally, someone who gets it, I am not a kid-" Max said bitterly before getting cut off.

"Ah, ah! Shush," he tuts, scratching the back of his neck, realizing his remark would later on bite him back one way or another. "Technically, Max turns 18 this year," Chase explained.

"Okay, whatever. But that's in a month. Jesse won't wait that long to send child services again. Are we really going to wait for that?" Mica pressed.

"Oh my God. That's why we should give her to Jesse. Is anyone even thinking here? She's been a burden all our lives—that's why Dad won't take her back and why Mom keeps jetting off to other countries for those so-called jobs. And honestly? She and Jesse belong together. They're both a bunch of troublemakers," Diane spat bitterly, visibly realizing what she just said, "I finally have a shot at leaving this shit hole behind, and you," she pointed aggressively at each of them, "you are all holding me back! You always have! Especially you, Max!"

The room fell silent, heavy with everything unsaid.

"So let me just get this straight, yeah?" Maxine asked, clearing her throat to hide the pain heard between her words. "You've been planning on giving me up to Jesse? Did you even know he was going to send someone here to take me?" Max's voice trembled with hurt and disbelief.

YO YO, WHAT'S GOOD CHAT WELCOME BACK. I revised it a tiny bit lol.

word count is 1323.