FRAGILE

Chapter 27: I'll Fix It

Maximus stood by the window, watching the rain pour down outside, the soft patter against the glass an almost cruel contrast to the storm raging inside the house. He let out a shaky breath, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he glanced toward the corner of the room where Levi was scrubbing the floor with a desperate intensity. His mate's hands were red and raw, blistered and cracked from the harsh chemicals he insisted on using, despite Maximus's pleas for him to stop.

Levi hadn't stopped in days. He was a constant whirlwind of motion—cleaning, scrubbing, organizing—but not in a way that could be called productive. It was frantic, obsessive, a way for him to drown out everything around him. Maximus had tried to reach him, had tried to pull him out of this spiral, but each time Levi only muttered about "failing" some rule Thomas had drilled into him, retreating further into himself with each passing hour.

Maximus's heart broke a little more each time he saw Levi glance up at him with wide, panicked eyes, expecting punishment for breaking some invisible law that only existed in the twisted world Thomas had created. The worst part was that Levi never asked for guidance—he just assumed he was doing something wrong.

Today had been especially brutal.

Levi had woken up before dawn and immediately set to work, scrubbing the kitchen floor until his hands bled. Maximus had come downstairs to find him curled in a corner, gnawing at his fingernails with feverish intensity, as if punishing himself for an imagined infraction. Several of his nails were gone now, torn off by his own teeth when he couldn't think of a better way to atone for what he thought were his failures.

"Levi," Maximus whispered softly, taking a step forward, but his voice was swallowed by the frenzy of Levi's movements as he continued to scrub at the floor. The smell of bleach filled the air, sharp and stinging. Levi's shoulders were trembling with exertion, his breathing shallow, but he didn't stop.

Maximus knelt beside him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, trying not to startle him. "Levi, please stop."

Levi flinched at the touch, recoiling as if Maximus had burned him. His hands froze for only a second before he went back to scrubbing, his gaze fixed on the floor. "I'm sorry, Master," Levi muttered under his breath, his voice mechanical, emotionless. "I'll clean it better. I'm sorry. I'll be better."

Maximus felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. He reached for the cleaning rag, gently pulling it out of Levi's hands. "Levi, please. You don't have to do this. You don't have to serve me like this. You need to rest."

"I can't rest," Levi said in a flat, detached tone, his hands immediately reaching for something else to clean. "I have to be useful. I have to be good."

Maximus clenched his teeth, frustration and helplessness swirling inside him. He had tried everything—talking to Levi, reassuring him, holding him through the worst of the panic attacks—but nothing had worked. Levi wasn't just caught in a spiral; he was stuck in an endless loop of obedience and self-punishment, and Maximus was running out of options to help him.

Levi's eyes darted around the room, and Maximus could see the anxiety building as Levi started picking at his nails again. His fingers were already bloodied from earlier, but that didn't seem to stop him. He muttered under his breath, the words barely audible, but Maximus could hear the fear in them.

"I broke the rule," Levi whispered, his hands shaking. "I touched your things, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—I just had to clean them. I'm sorry, I'll fix it, I'll fix it..."

"Levi, no," Maximus said, his voice breaking as he grabbed Levi's hands, stopping him from further harming himself. But Levi struggled against him, pulling his hands free, desperate to atone for the mistakes only he could see.

"I have to fix it!" Levi cried, his voice rising in panic as he wrenched himself away from Maximus's grasp. "I have to be good! Please, Master, let me be good!"

Maximus's breath caught in his throat as Levi stumbled back, his legs giving out from sheer exhaustion. He collapsed onto the floor, his body trembling violently. Maximus rushed to his side, but Levi was already pulling himself up, determined to keep working.

"I can't stop," Levi mumbled, his voice weak and broken. "I have to serve you. I can't... I can't stop. Please don't make me stop."

Maximus swallowed back his own tears, his hands shaking as he grabbed Levi again, this time holding him tight against his chest. "Levi, stop. Please stop. You're hurting yourself."

But Levi continued to struggle, his body shaking with the effort of trying to escape Maximus's hold. His mind was trapped in the rules and punishments Thomas had burned into him, and no amount of gentle words or reassurances seemed to reach him.

Maximus had no choice. He had to make Levi rest, even if it meant doing something he never thought he would do.

"Levi, I'm so sorry," Maximus whispered, his voice choked with emotion as he carefully restrained Levi's arms with soft, padded straps he had retrieved earlier. He hated doing this—he hated seeing the fear and confusion in Levi's eyes—but he had no other choice. Levi needed rest. He needed to stop before he hurt himself more.

Levi whimpered softly as the restraints locked into place, his chest heaving with shallow breaths. "I'm sorry, Master," he whispered again, his voice barely audible. "I'll be better... please don't punish me."

Maximus felt his heart shatter at the sound of those words, but he gently stroked Levi's hair, trying to soothe him. "You're not being punished, Levi," he whispered softly. "I just need you to rest. You're safe here, with me. You don't have to do anything. Just rest."

But Levi didn't understand. His mind was too far gone, too consumed by the fear of disobedience and punishment. He squirmed against the restraints, his body tense as he struggled to break free.

Maximus could feel his mate's fear, his wolf howling in despair at the helplessness of it all. Levi was still trapped in that horrible place inside his mind, and Maximus didn't know how to pull him out.

Hours passed, and Levi's energy finally gave out. His body went limp in the restraints, his breathing shallow and uneven as exhaustion overtook him. Maximus gently unbuckled the straps, carefully cradling Levi's exhausted form in his arms.

He pressed his forehead against Levi's, his own tears slipping down his cheeks as he whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Levi."

Levi didn't respond. His body had shut down from the overwhelming exhaustion, but even in sleep, he trembled, his dreams haunted by the same demons that had driven him to this breaking point.

Maximus held him close, his heart aching as he realized just how far Levi had fallen—and how much farther they had to go to help him heal.

And as the night dragged on, Maximus swore to himself that he would never give up on his mate, no matter how long it took to bring Levi back from the edge.