Stuck Between Them

Chapter 22: Here we fucking go again.

Max POV:

Sarah to be there, but the space was empty. Should I call her? No. She doesn't owe me explanation for where she goes. She's older, and I'm just twenty. Still, the thought nagged me as I got ready for bed.

The door creaked open. Sarah stepped inside.

"Max," she said, her voice steady but unusually serious. "I need to tell you something."

Chills ran down my spine. Did she know about Alex? About me? I stood frozen.

"don't panic." she said as I looked at her there were fresh bandages on her arm.

"What happened?" I rushed toward her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said with a faint smile. "It's just a scratch. A guy carrying a glass pane slipped. The corner caught me, but I had it patched up."

"Why didn't you call me?" I asked, panic creeping into my voice. "What if it hit your eye or your head?"

Her expression softened. "Max, I've had worse," she said, trying to downplay it.

" I know it might be normal for you to be injured, but I'm still allowed to worry," I said firmly.

She raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like I'm immune to feeling pain," she said. "Remember when you got hurt last month, defending that bitch from your class? I could barely breathe when I heard you say, 'You know how to do bandages, right?' over the phone."

She placed her hand over her heart and leaned back sarcastically.

"Yeah," I said, grinning. "And you patched me up and immediately said, 'I need to teach you how to hurt people without hurting yourself.'"

"How is that not worrying about you? I don't want you to hurt. Simple as that."

"Fair point," I admitted. "But while insisting I learn how to hurt others."

"Only if the situation demands it." She said while crossing her hands around my neck.

"Careful you are hurt". I softly held her.

"It's a graze," she insisted.

"Graze that needed bandages. That counts as hurt," I said.

Sarah rolled her eyes, but her expression shifted. "Anyway..." she began, her tone changing. "Tell me about Lisa."

I blinked. "Wow. Gear shift," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "We should probably sit for this one."

We settled on the couch, and I ran a hand through my hair, gathering my thoughts.

"It happened about two years ago. A man was running down the sidewalk one day, full speed, with a woman chasing him," I began, my voice distant as I felt myself slipping into the memory. "I didn't think. I just stuck out my foot and tripped him. The guy went flying."

Sarah smirked. "That sounds like you."

I shrugged. "Turns out, she was a bounty hunter. He was skipping a court date, some felony charge. She slapped cuffs on him before he even got up. I thought she'd chew me out for interfering, but instead, she offered me coffee as a thank-you. And that's how it started. One thing led to another—coffee turned into dinner, dinner turned into a kiss, and before I knew it... we ended up in her hotel room."

Sarah's smirk faded, replaced by quiet curiosity. She didn't interrupt, just waited, the silence coaxing me to keep going.

"I was nineteen," I said, my voice softer now, almost like admitting it made the story more real. "She was my first —first love. Lisa... she was electric. She made me feel alive in a way I didn't know was possible back then. She was smart, fearless, and she had this way of making the whole world feel small when she looked at me. the sex was amazing."