Intertwined

Part 12: What's Worse

He consumed the book as though he was a reader invested in their favorite series.

He didn't sleep at all.

He read every line- googled extra meanings behind some of those lines- and filled himself with the words of The Lord.

He read things in the past that gripped him—mostly the many compilations of James Patterson novels and the occasional stand alone books by random writers he found at thrift stores—but never had a book held onto him so tight and made him want to read through every page to see how it ends.

But the text is tiny and the verses knit close together- so as he sits in his living room with bloodshot eyes and having made it almost three fourths of the way through the book, Max has to actually put it down with a page marker.

Standing up, his whole body creaks and cracks as he does so. He feels so stiff from having sat, laid, and lounged all around his living room set reading.

Looking at the clock on his living room mantle, he finds its 9:45 a.m.

And he is exhausted.

But he can't sleep.

He has to pick up Luna and get going on with the day.

So he does that. He brushes his teeth after showering- which only pissed him off slightly as he stands in his mirror and looks at the dark bruising ring around his entire neck.

He literally thought Lukas was going to murder him yesterday- not that he could blame the poor boy.

But still- it angers him.

What if he wasn't a complete asshole and made Helen upset?

What if he literally was only there to help her out and make her better and she just randomly had an attack on her own?

He would've been strangled for no reason.

Yet knowing what he does about the boy's past- Max doesn't harbor any hatred towards the boy.

Feeling he should remember the verse he learned about yesterday- about forgiving others because the Lord has forgiven him.

So he fully intends on forgiving Lukas.

After getting dressed and grabbing a single piece of toast, Max heads out of his house and makes his way to Iggy's.

Ring!!

"Hey, Ig—I'm heading over now."

"Oh! So Harper and Samara really wanted to do this carnival out in Jersey and asked if Luna could tag along."

"Um...sure. I'll send you some money over the app. If you're cool with that. Luna hasn't really been out there lately- since she's been..." He dies off and Iggy can feel Max's cheery mood slipping back into the darkness.

A typical feature of Max's that makes everything worse.

"You gonna go talk with Sharpe?"

"Um...I don't really think she wants to see me any more." Max says sadly and Iggy sighs heavily- knowing Max will only begin retreating back into the shell of a man he used to know.

"I think you should....but hey- what do I know. I'll talk to you later, Man." He hangs up and Max stands frozen in his spot- unsure as to what to do now.

Opening Venmo- he sends Iggy a decent amount of money for Luna and slowly heads back in the direction of his house.

On his way there, he finds himself moving as though he's trudging through waist high sludge.