Max and Hailey: A second chance

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*Max's P.O.V*

After a few wrong turns here and there, I eventually made my way southeast and until I could see my dad waiting for me on his four-wheeler. As soon as he saw me, he got off and started walking towards me. I pulled up to him and took off my helmet seconds before he engulfed me in a tight hug.

"Thank God, you made it. You took forever to get here." Dad said to me.

"Yeah, I made some wrong turns. Everything looks all the same when you are riding a motorcycle compared to walking through." I explained.

"The important thing is that you made it. Now let's go home." He replied as he finally let go of me. "Just follow me back to the house." He told me before getting back on his ride.

"Okay, let's go," I replied and put my helmet back on. Dad quickly sped off and I struggled to keep up at first with all of the roots and rocks getting in the way, but I was able to follow him all the way home. As we pulled up to the house, I could see Mother standing outside waiting for us. As soon as I parked on the side Mother came running over to me and hugged me like her life depended on it.

"Max, you scared the life out of me! Don't go off outside of town like that without telling anyone! Do you understand?!" Mother yelled at me.

"Yes, I'm sorry Mother," I replied patting her back.

"Good. Now let's get this helmet off and get you inside." She said and yanked my helmet off.

"Mother! That could have hurt. You can't just yank that off my head." I told her as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Hey, at least she isn't grounding you. She originally wanted to take away your keys to the motorcycle so you can't leave the house." Dad said as he came over and gently pulled Mother into his arms.

"Seriously?" I asked surprised.

"Yes! I almost had a heart attack. I don't know what I do with myself if I lost you." She said sadly.

"He's right here though honey, so we don't have to think like that. Now let's go inside." Dad said calming her down. She nodded and I followed them inside. When we got into the living room I looked around and realized Hailey wasn't there waiting for me. I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that she wasn't. She had spam texted me asking where I was and now that I am back, she isn't around. I plopped down on the couch with a sigh. I looked at my parents to see them standing together staring at me with concern.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing." Mother answered with a shake of her head as she stepped away from Dad. "I am going to make some of your favorite cookies. I will be in the kitchen if you need me." She said before rushing off into the kitchen. Dad walked over and sat down next to me on the couch.

"Since it's just the two of us guys here, why don't we talk." He suggested.

"Talk about what?" I asked confused as to where this was coming from.

"Well, I...I know about what has been going on between you and Hailey." He struggled to say.

"W-w-what? How?" I asked surprised.

"Hailey and your mother told me. I know that you probably left to go on that ride because of her. So...do you want to talk about it?" he asked me.

"um, are you comfortable talking about it if I wanted to?" I asked back and he sighed rubbing his head.

"Yes, I am. At first, I struggled with it but I just have to remind myself that we are not biologically related to her despite being an uncle to her for her whole life." He answered.

"Okay... what exactly did they tell you?" I questioned.

"Hailey only told me about last night and this morning. She said you both have feelings for each other." He answered. "Is there anything else I should know?" he asked in return.

"uh, I don't know if I should get into the details. I've never had these types of talks before." I answered feeling a bit awkward.

"I haven't had these types of talks as a parent before either but I do have some experience talking about this with Alex so I think I can handle it when you are ready. Can you tell me what made you so upset?" he asked.

"I got upset because I felt like Hailey was giving me mixed signals. Last night we were fine and then this morning she was almost scared to see me lying next to her in her bed." I explained and looked away. "I started to wonder if she was starting to think that I was a monster like the men from the cult. I'm nothing like them and I don't want to scare her. I just didn't know what to do."

"And do you know what you want to do now?" he asked.

"Yes, I wanted to sit down and talk with her. When I came inside, I was hoping she would be here waiting for me but she wasn't" I said hanging my head.

"Hey, while you were gone, she was really worried about you. She even got testy with me about getting everyone from the cult arrested. I have no doubt in my mind that she likes you just as much as you like her. This is all new to her too. Her father never let her hang around with boys or have a boyfriend. That's probably why she reacted the way she did when she first woke up. You have the right idea to talk to her though." He said and patted my shoulder.

"I don't even know where she is right now. Maybe she is avoiding me." I said as I finally looked back at my dad.

"She is not avoiding you. She wanted to give you space when you got home. She is in the backyard sitting on the bench. Go and talk to her. I think you both could use a good talk." He told me reassuringly.

"Okay," I said with a sigh, unsure if this was the best time to talk. I got up from the couch and made my way to the backyard. I saw Hailey sitting on the bench, her hair waving through the wind that went by. She didn't notice me yet, but I could see on her face that she looked worried and I can't lie and say that it didn't make me happy to see that she does care. With some new confidence about having the talk, I started walking over to her.