Paint the town blue

Chapter XXXVII

Charles's POV

It's been a couple of days since that night when I finally found out who this "secret" accomplice of Max is. Was I shocked? Yes. Was I angry? Sure. Was I disappointed? Of course. But I still didn't understand who disappointed me so much: myself, since I didn't understand it before; Max, who never told me about it, or... or, damn it, Esteban, who knew perfectly well what was going on here all the time, but didn't even think about to help me somehow!

For some reason, the first thing I thought about at the time was why Esteban wasn't helping me escape, but rather helping my captor clear his tracks. And for some reason, it was this thought that made me feel doubly bad. After all, lately I trusted Esteban more than anyone else, and I told him everything that happened to me and how I felt. Hell, I even cried and slept on the couch at his house after I saw Max and had another breakdown, and it turns out that he helped to figure out the escape plan and my abduction due to my mental anguish.

—Flashback—

I stared at the man who had barely finished casting my leg and just couldn't believe my eyes. At first it even seemed to me that I hadn't fully recovered from sleep, but the harsh reality came crashing down on me like an avalanche and I finally realized that this wasn't a dream.

"You?! What the hell is going on here?!"

"Charlie, he—"

"Max, shut the fuck up! What the hell are you doing here?! Were you aware of everything initially?! Why didn't you tell me about the plan back at the station?! And why the fuck didn't you help me in any way now?!"

"Actually, I'm helping you right now, so shut up and lie still."

"No, you're both going to tell me everything now.—"

I jerked my leg sharply and screamed loudly from the piercing pain all over my leg. Max looked anxiously at Esteban, then at me, as if asking "what should I do?", and Ocon just shushed and gently returned my foot to his makeshift workplace.

"Just let me finish first."

He nodded towards the cast and told me not to twitch, otherwise it would freeze crookedly and he would've to redo it. I was angry and wanted to incinerate not only Esteban, but also Max, who was still holding me. What the hell is going on here? I don't understand.

Esteban tried his best to pretend that he was calm, but I could see a slight tremor in his hands as he fixed another plaster cast. Max seemed to have zooned out and was sitting silently next to me, still holding me to the bed, but not with force, but as if just for show. My head was starting to hurt because of the anxiety and a whole swarm of questions, but I knew that if I started talking now, my speech would consist of either a swearing or unrelated words, because I couldn't even mentally just make up an adequate sentence.

After waiting for Esteban to finally finish with the cast, I immediately freed myself from Max's hands and assumed a sitting position. Estie began to calmly collect his tools, Max still sat silently next to me, and I waited for answers. None of them even tried to look at me, or say anything in their defense. But this stupid silence went on too long, and I couldn't wait any longer.

"So, I'm waiting. What the fuck are you doing?"

"Charles, calm down. Your head hasn't completely healed yet, but you already—"

"Cut the crap, Esteban. I'm waiting for answers to all my questions."

Esteban sighed, they exchanged glances with Max and began to talk about the whole situation. He said that he indirectly helped Max escape and hide all this time, but, unfortunately, he couldn't completely control him no matter how he tried, and sometimes he walked freely around the city and looked for a meeting with me. Esteban tried to tell him that it was wrong to take such a risk, but Max didn't care – he wanted to see me, so he took such a risk. And, as it turns out, it didn't seem to me on the street then, and I really saw him. I saw him, but after a second he seemed to disappear into thin air. After that, I had my first serious panic attack, which I still remember perfectly well.