The Strength Hidden Within ( A Max Schneider Fanfic) Chapter 1

The Strength Hidden Within ( A Max Schneider Fanfic) Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The work day went as slowly as it possibly could, and the kid who kept playing the ukulele off key for about an hour didn't help. At six o'clock I finally with great enthusiasm clocked out for the weekend. I caught a taxi back to my apartment, because the subway would be crowded and I had to get ready. Dashing around my bedroom and starting a tornado of clothes in my closet led me, to finally choose the perfect dress (Dress Pic: http://www.lulus.com/products/x-tra-credit-cutout-coral-dress/87746.html)I grab my matching pink clutch and my phone before heading out the door.

Once on the curb I hailed a cab and made my way to The Park. I told the waiter my name and he led me to a table in the back away from everyone else. What he had neglected to inform me was that my date was already as it appeared on another date already. I saw Max with his back to me talking with some blonde and she was romantically reaching across the table for his hand. Suddenly I bumped into an empty table, and his eyes darted in my direction. A look of confusion and sadness appeared on his face.

Before I could stop myself I had retraced my way back out of the restaurant and ran around the corner. Finding a twinkling light covered tree, I fell to my knees and let the sobs rake over me. My mind was racing and I was getting a little sick to my stomach. Quickly pulling myself off the ground, I ran toward the subway entrance almost knocking into many people on my descent of the stairs. The whole ride back to my apartment I witnessed plenty of people staring at me, but they didn't know what it was like. Opening the door to my apartment I ran to my room and fell on the bed in despair.

The rest of the night, I received 8 messages from Max and at one point he had even tried to get me to buzz him in. "Lexi, please let me explain? It wasn't what it looked like." I didn't answer him, and eventually he gave up and left. After I heard him leave I put in The Notebook and made myself a bowl of popcorn. By the end, I was crying harder than I had been all night. Turning off the movie, I got in my pajamas and tried to get even an hour of sleep. Saturday morning, I groggily pulled myself out of bed and dragged myself into the kitchen.

Halfway through the cooking of my French toast the doorbell rang. At the door stood my ex-boyfriend Nick and he didn't look too happy. "Hey, bitch. What a nice place you have, you know you never let me see it when we were dating. What happened with lover boy you went to the restaurant to see? Was he with a different girl?" How did he know about all these things? Was he watching me?

"You aren't allowed in Nick", my voice quivered as I tried to sound assertive. He had no plans to listen to me, and pushed his way right in. Looking around, his eyes stopped on my disheveled outfit and hair. I knew in that instant what he was about to do. "You should take me back. I can give you what he never will be able to, and you can give me something too. What do you have to say about that, huh?" Suddenly, he reached for my arm and grasped me roughly. I tried to yank my arm away, but his grip just intensified.

"No, you have to leave," my voice squeaked with fear. "I am with Max now, he's my boyfr.........he is my friend"

"Oh, he's your boyfriend is he? Then where is he? Shouldn't he be rescuing you?" I heard a loud bang, and next thing I knew I was across the ground against the wall. My vision was a little blurry, but I could make out Max standing between me and Nick. "Yes, he should and he is. Hi, I'm her boyfriend. And you are?" Nick swung at Max missing his face and getting him square in the shoulder. Max retaliated with a punch to Nick's nose and trick of the leg, sending Nick to the floor. Max was now on top of Nick, and had him in a head and arm lock.

I stepped forward saying, "Stop fighting. Stop it you two. This isn't right." Both of them were oblivious to my yelling, and kept pummeling each other. Finally, I grabbed Max by the shirt and pulled him another corner of the room. He had a split lip, a huge bruise on his cheek, and most likely a broken hand. Nick on the other hand, was worse off. He was out the door and down the hall when Max finally spoke. "Are you okay, Lexi?" He whispered, trying to get up off the ground. You could tell he was in pain, but he still held himself up on the wall. "Did he hurt you? Can I get you anything for the pain?" Here was a beat up and bloodied Max, and he was trying to help me and I was fine. He cared for my needs before his own. "No, I'm okay. You're the one who needs to sit down. Can I get you anything? Water, Ice, Food?" He shook his head no, and made his way to the couch.

After I had bandaged his hand the best I could, I made him a cup of coffee and joined him on the couch. Putting my back to the arm of the couch, I pulled his very light and damaged body to my lap. He moaned and turned so his cheek was against my chest, and fell asleep instantly. Max was so peaceful looking while he slept with the faint smile on his face, most likely because he knew I was safe. I ran my hand through his hair, and kissed his head thinking about what the fans were going to say about his injuries. I disregarded the thought, and leaned so my head was on the back of the couch.

Light shining through the window woke me up immediately, and I noticed that Max and I had switched positions. My face was now against his chest and I was practically lying across the top of him. In that moment, all at once all of the events and memories from yesterday. I knew in that moment that I had to take a breath and think about what to do next. As quietly as possible I made my way off Max's chest and around the couch. "Where you off to?" A voice whispered in my ear, as strong toned arms wrapped around my waist.

"I need to go," I lied through my teeth, "to my apartment to shower then to work." I wiggled my way out of his arms and made it out the door, leaving Max with a look of shock plastered across his face. Dodging random people on my way down sidewalks, I made it to my front door in record time. My tear streaked face couldn't explain all the pain and hurt I was feeling inside.

Hundreds of questions raced through my mind. Why had he been with the other girl at the restaurant? Who was she? Why wasn't I the one for him? What had I done to cause this? When will my love life ever be normal? I became overwhelmed by all these thoughts racing through my mind. In an attempt to clear my head, I ended up in the bathroom in front of the mirror.

A sharp and shiny looking object caught my eye immediately. It was a blade from one of my razors, and at that moment a disgusting thought crossed my mind. If I was the one messing up Max's life, then I better not be in it. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, I brought my hand holding the blade up to my wrist. Blood red streaks fell down my wrist and the air hit the open wounds burning them. My vision started to blur as I lost more blood than I could manage. Before I blacked out I saw the blurry features of what I thought in that moment to be an angel. Boy, was I wrong?

Suddenly, my eyes opened and adjusted to the new amount of light being shined upon me. "Where am I?" I asked hearing a faint beeping to my left and the sound of voices to my right. "Hey, sweetie," a soft voice said in my ear, "You are at the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" I shook my head and what appeared to be an elderly nurse told me she would be back to check up on me later. As my eyes adjusted to the lighting of the room, I scanned around the small hospital room they had brought me to.

To my surprise, on the couch by the window was Max asleep with his head on his shoulder. Staring at him I thought about how cute he looked, when he stirred in his sleep and his eyes landed on me. I was a deer caught in headlights, and he could tell. "Lexi, I'm sorry about two nights..." I interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. "I don't want to talk about what happened in the past." His face lit up with a hopeful smile. "That doesn't mean I forgive you or trust you for that matter. You betrayed my trust, and I don't know why I thought you might be different than the others."

Turning to my side, I saw heard Max get up from his chair and leave the room with a faint mumbled goodbye. Tears started to stream down my face and I let everything pent up inside my heart go. After what felt like hours, I cleaned myself up and went to the park to think. Couples were everywhere talking, kissing, and just spending time together. Everywhere I looked there were couples, it reminded me too much of Max and me. I had to get some place where there would be no couples.

Ah, Rudy's music store. Perfect. No couples and no thinking about Him.