The Usual... A Max Schneider Fan Fiction

Chapter Four: Late at Night

~ You showed me how to see that nothing is whole, and nothing is broken ~

Chapter Four: Late at Night

"Daddy!" I laughed, throwing my arms around my father. He laughed deeply, lifting me into the air and spinning me in his warm embrace, his strong arms comforting around my body. I heard Lucas chuckle at my father and I as we pulled away, watching Dad press a kiss to my forehead, his green eyes smiling.

"Hey sweetheart," he smiled, ruffling my hair. I stepped away so he could hug Lucas, watching my dad give my best friend a couple of strong pats on the back.

"You still taking care of my baby girl?" my dad asked Lucas. "Making sure she stays out of trouble?"

Lucas grinned. "Always, Dad," he laughed. My father laughed and put Lucas in a headlock, giving him a knuckle sandwich as Lucas laughingly fought him off.

Lucas moved out of the house where his mom and dad lived when he was seventeen. His dad was an abusive drunk and their family was honestly a lot better off without him, and his mom was a worthless woman who yelled constantly at Lucas whenever the mood struck her. Lucas to this day still has tens of light pink scars across his back where his father would mercilessly beat him with his belt, and Lucas would lay there and take it, always afraid to fight back. He'd always somehow manage to make it to my house on those nights, and he'd hide out in my room for days at a time, refusing to speak to anyone but me, and on occasion, my dad. He'd always go home a few days later, much to my displeasure, refusing to let me or Dad call the police to save him. On Lucas's seventeenth birthday, however, I'd taken matters into my own hands after an especially brutal beating that'd had Lucas in an absolute bloody mess in a hospital. While he was sleeping, Dad and I had told one of the nurses about Lucas's situation, and she helped us get into contact with the right people, and eventually freed my best friend from the hell he'd been forced to call home. Lucas had been mad at first when he found out what I'd done, but after about an hour and a half of being angry he'd broken down sobbing in my arms, thanking me for giving him the best birthday present he could ever wish for... After a month of staying with us, he moved into his aunt's house across town, and Lucas got a thousand times better, my dad becoming his father figure for all intents and purposes, and they'd gotten really close. And now, four years later, his physical scars have almost faded away, and most of his emotional scars have too... Though some of them still stand, and probably always will.

To this day, Lucas refuses to wear any kind of belt.

"How've you guys been?" Dad asked, finally releasing my best friend as we walked further into the house. My father lived just a town away from Chicago, about an hour drive, so we didn't get to see him as often as Lucas and I would've liked, but he absolutely hated living in the city; it was part of the reason why we left Seattle to start the shop.

"Awesome, actually," I told him, plopping down on the couch in the living room. Lucas lovingly scoffed, rolling his eyes as he sat beside me.

"You would say that," he teased, watching me respond to a new text from Max. I rolled my eyes and thwacked Lucas's chest, making him grin.

"Why would she say that?" Dad asked curiously, raising his eyebrows as he sat in his old recliner. Lucas's eyes sparked with amusement, my cheeks flushing.

"Symphony's got herself a crush," Lucas informed my father. Dad laughed and I huffed, hitting Lucas again as I got another text.

"It's about time," my dad chuckled, leaning forward. "What's his name, pumpkin?"

I rolled my eyes, my cheeks still hot. "Max," I mumbled, scratching the back of my neck. "He's a regular at the shop."

Dad raised his eyebrows, smirking. "A regular, huh?" he asked. "Has he asked you out yet?"