Saving Max

Epilogue

8 years later

Walking into the house I let out a deep sigh, taking a long look around the still messy living room. After an exhausting day of classes, this is not the sight I wanted to come home to. Blankets are still lying all around the floor, bowls of half full of ice cream and popcorn still sitting out from our family movie night yesterday. I can still smell the lingering scent of stale butter in the air, too, making me scrunch up my nose in disgust.

"Max!" I yell, throwing my bag down into the growing mess as I make my way further into the house, peeking down the hallways in search of him. I pull my hair out of it's bun as I walk around, shutting my eyes tight for a few seconds to try and collet myself.

Mumbled words sound from what seems to be his bedroom, so I quickly go back to take a look. Sure enough he's there, standing in front of his mirror with a frown etched onto his face. He turns and looks to me upon my arrival, puffing out a defeated breath as he let's a tie fall from his hands. "This is impossible." He grumbles, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair and taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

My heart falls a little at the sigh of his sunken figure, my anger almost forgotten as I walk over and take a seat next to him. "What's impossible?" I ask him, bending over to pick up the tie he dropped to place it softly in my lap.

"I've been trying to tie this stupid thing for a half hour, Bella, and it still looks like it was done by a kindergartener." He tells me, groaning to himself at his failure. Max brings his hands up to his face to hide himself away, leaning down to rest his elbows on his knees and peeking at me through his fingers. "I'm hopeless."

I immediately shake my head at this, picking up his tie with one hand and pushing at him with the other. Max gets my message and hops to his feet, following me back to where he stood before in front of his mirror. I place myself in front of him and get to work, trying to remember how to tie the thing myself while also trying to ignore Max's constant frown angled towards the ground.

It takes me a couple of tries, but eventually I get it right, a sense of great accomplishment coursing through me as I look at the final result. "Done!" I cheer, spinning myself around so that I stand to Max's side, shoving at his shoulder to get him to look up into the mirror.

When he does his mood instantly brightens, a big smile forming on his face and transforming him back into the happy Max that I know and love. He turns to give me a quick hug, only holding me for a small time before going back to admiring himself in the mirror. "Thank you, Bella."

I laugh at his excitement, shoving my hands into my pockets carelessly. "No need to thank me, you look great." I tell him truthfully, taking in his full attire of a black suit and dress shoes, his tie black like his coat to contrast the deep red shirt beneath it. "I'm just a little curious as to why you need to look so dapper tonight." I look to Max from the corner of my eyes, raising my eyebrows suspiciously.

His cheeks instantly turn a deep red, his gaze falling towards the ground in embarrassment. "I have a date tonight." He states softly, his words hushed and stammered as they leave his lips. "She's in the orchestra at school, and she loves playing the violin, so I'm taking her to go see the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra tonight." Max explains further, a wide smile appearing on my face at his sweetness. With every date I've seen Max go on, he has always seemed to put a lot of thought an effort into what he plans, and each time it never fails to warm my heart. It makes me think that Caden and I must being something right.

"She'll love it, Max." I assure him, giving his shoulders a tight squeeze. "You didn't clean the living room like I asked, though." I point out, changing the subject to make sure that I don't forget his fault in the midst of all of the cuteness.