TANGLED PLANS

47

The things I knew:

Max had a mother who walked away from her marriage with his father. While doing that, she had also left Max and hadn't bothered to keep in contact with him. Max went three years without a single exchange from his mother. He hadn't talked to her or seen her.

After he had told me and I had, in return, told him how he should get in contact with her, he thought about it. Maybe it was the fact that there had been three whole years without contact and that he had missed her that made him want to see her. I also knew that he didn't want to talk to her first because he was afraid, she could hang up on him.

He had a point there. It was a sad point, but it made sense. If he called her, she could decide not to talk to him, and there would be that. So, he had planned on going over to her house, and that would ensure that it made her talk to him. This way, they could talk again and create the bond they once lost. This way, Max would have a mother again, one that he wants.

He needed a mother, and maybe it was because he was going to be considered a "child" for one more year. In one year, he would be eighteen, which would make him an adult. He didn't need a mother, then. While he had the chance, he wanted to form that connection between his mother and him now.

The things I didn't know:

What had happened to Max during the three months of summer that made him come back with a changed attitude? What happened to him that made him no longer positive? What made him want to drink and push people away? What was it that happened that changed everything for Max?

The good thing about what I didn't know was that I was fifty percent sure that he would share that with me. I was also fifty percent sure that he could get off my bed and walk out of the door.

Max does the former as he wraps the blanket tighter around his shoulder and takes a deep breath out. I hope I'm not staring at him too intently as he gets ready to share more with me.

His eyes are trained on his hand when he says, "So, I got on a plane. It took me to Italy. Then I followed my dad's instructions to my mom's apartment."

"It was pretty. From outside, the place was the best thing I've ever seen. Better than my house here," Max adds in the last part when he sees my expression. "So pretty. It was up a lot of stairs that I had to go up, and I counted every step until I got there. I had 73 chances to turn back and leave, but I stayed. I got onto the doorstep and knocked on the door."

Max shakes his head softly before he continues. "When I knocked on the door, I was met with my mom. It's like I knew exactly who she was as soon as I landed my eyes on her. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at her. There was a flash of unrecognized expression in my mom's eyes until she knew. When she knew, she stared at me for the longest time."

I thought that Max looked rather sad as he told this part of the story.

"After she freaked out, she just held the door open for me. I was afraid to say a word that would cause her to break. Instead, I got inside the house and studied my mom. She was exactly the same as I remembered, only having bleached her hair. There was something about her face that made me think she grew younger. How was that possible? Or maybe it was just my mind assuming she would be so much older."

The tips of Max's hands touch mine, and I feel myself jolt up straight. I didn't know how his touch could make me feel that way again. His eyes lift to mine when he says, "It was so awful, Daisy. My mom and I stared at each other for around five minutes. Then she said, 'What are you doing here?' For a second, I thought that was something negative in her tone. She didn't want me to be there. But I pushed it away and only said hi. I was too nervous to come up with anything smarter."