Saving Max

Chapter 15

Important Author's Note at the End! Please Read!!!

"It's so lonely in the house without Josh around anymore. And with you always at Caden's, I feel like I don't have any children." my mother pouts, an exaggerated sigh falling from her lips as we stand together, washing the dirty dishes from dinner.

She's been complaining ever since he went back to college a few days ago, calling me almost every our to see when I'll be home next. At first it was nice, that she cared so much, and I guess it still is, but she'll need to accept it eventually.

"I'm here now." I grin, reaching over to give her a lazy side hug, a few drops of water soaking through the sleeve of her shirt from my hand. "And you'll have Max tomorrow night. It'll be like when Josh was little all over again."

She shakes her head at the memory of Josh always getting in to things, somehow managing to break more knickknacks than I ever imagined possible. He was a destructive little guy, and that's putting it nicely.

"I'm sure Max is a lot better behaved than Josh was. It'd be hard not to be. Josh was quite a handful." mom mumbles, scrubbing hard at the frying pan that's set in the sink.

I nod to her words, having heard all of the stories from when Josh was little many, many times. It's almost hard to believe, just because he was such a normal teenager. Well, normal enough. He was the cool, way too over protective older brother that always wanted me to play baseball with him in the front yard or help him take out the trash.

But Max is a good kid, and I have no doubt that he'll be on his best behavior for my parents when he spends the night tomorrow. He's far from what Josh was like, at least, and that's more than enough for my parents.

Tomorrow's Halloween, and my mom has offered to watch Max for the night, taking him out trick or treating with the kids from a couple houses down. They're about Max's age, and their parents are friends with my mom, so it all works out great.

She thought that Caden and I could use a night off, just because she knows how difficult it is to try and take care of a kid, and she wanted to give us a much needed break. Always making sure they're ready for school, helping with their homework, keeping them busy, and getting them in bed at a decent hour is hard enough, but it's even harder when you're barely an adult, no where near old enough to be taking care of an eight year old all by yourself.

Caden and I quickly jumped on the opportunity of having a night to ourselves, only asking once if she was sure that she wanted to take him for the whole night. After she confirmed, it was pretty much a set deal. Max was exited because he hasn't been trick or treating in a few years during the time that Caden was away at military school. The idea of having all that candy for himself was definitely exiting for him, too. He's be on a sugar high for days.

Even though I'm not going to be spending the night in my own bed, something I haven't done in awhile, I'm still pretty happy. I'm spending the night at Caden's, after much deliberation between my mom and myself. I actually told her that I was fine staying home, that way I would be able to say goodnight to Max and hang out with him a little bit, but she wasn't having any of it. She wanted both me and Caden to have the entire day off, not wanting us to have to worry about anything at all.

Personally, I thought it was strange for a mom to want her daughter to spend the night alone with a boy, but that's just me. Caden didn't mind, and I guess I didn't either, but I was kind of hoping that I'd get the chance to sleep in my own bed for the first time in a loge while. I used to alternate between spending the nights at home and at Caden's, but soon it just became easier to stay over there with him.

"Thank you, for taking Max tomorrow night." I tell my mom, drying my hands quickly on the dishtowel, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug.

We've just finished the dishes, me trying to get through them as quick as possible to get back to Caden and Max who are sitting in the living room, patiently waiting for me to be done. We have to go in to town and find Max a last minute Halloween costume.