Aftermath [Discontinued]

Small Shock

~Chloe~

"Tess!" Max rasps, chasing the twins as they flee from the car and take refuge behind whom I can only assume is their father before running inside.

 Max stops a few feet from the car, watching as the young, built man comes closer. 

"Hey, Lil sis. I thought I told you to keep the kids 'till 3, and it's barely 8," he says somewhat aggressively. He doesn't seem to realize that she has a passenger, so I lay low and keep my mouth shut.

 "Fuck off, Derek, I'm seriously not up to dealing with your shit today, okay?" Max replies sternly, "And don't call me 'Lil sis'...". 

"Aww, did someone forget to take her pills this morning," Derek taunts, "Well, in that case... let me cry you a river". 

I'm stunned that make is putting up with his douchiness because the way I know Max is that she doesn't take shit from and lets them get away with it. 

At least... I knew her...

 Max doesn't seem at all phased by his childish behavior, she just sighs and walks away. 

"Yeah, that's right... run away. Just like your girlfriend did".

She freezes in place and balls her fists.

 "Uh, oh. Did I make poor, helpless little Max sad?" Derek taunts even more, "If you ask me, she's lucky she got out when she did cause no one could ever love a psycho like you". 

Max take another sharp breath before turning around and throwing a punch in his direction, but Derek's too fast. He grabs Max by the wrist before she can even lay a finger on him. 

"Do you want me to break your wrist again, bitch?".

 He begins twisting Max's hand at a painfully unnatural angle, making her cry in pain. 

Every cell in my body is screaming at me to jump out of the car and beat this guys ass down to a pulp, but I can't. If I try to engage, Derek might hurt Max even more or I can get arrested for assault.

 I sit and watch helplessly as the once brave and fearless Time- Warrior falls to her knees in defeat. 

Finally, Derek releases her, shoving her further back.

 "You're fucking weak," he says as Max tries squirms away, kicking up dust from the gravel road. 

She somehow manages to get to her feet, rubbing her wrist and scrambling to get the car door to open. Derek lunges at her and Max can't help but to let out a small pathetic scream and cover herself as if he was going to hit her again.

 "Yeah, that's what I though". 

The door opens and she jumps in, starting the engine and peeling out of the driveway, leaving him in a thick cloud of dust. 

Once we're out on the open road, Max lets out a broken sigh, "I- I'm s-sorry you had t-to see that, Chloe" she says, her words uneven and shaky. 

I can tell she's really on edge (I mean, who wouldn't after that?) her knuckles are turning white from gripping the steering wheel too hard.

"Are you alright?" I ask a few minutes later, listening as Max quietly whispers to herself.

 She nods slowly and absently, putting all her focus and attention on the road ahead. I can tell there's something else bothering her but I am in absolutely no position to pry.

 It isn't until five minutes later when Max's nerves seem to get the best of her.

"Fuck it. Uh, do you mind if we swing by my place for a second? I- I need to get some things I forgot, She asks anxiously. 

I nod, watching as she continues to rub at her wrist, wincing and cursing softly in pain.

 "Are you sure you're okay?". 

Max nods, "I'm fine," she says a bit more harsh than she intended, "I - I... sorry".

 Once we roll up to a stop sign on a quiet street, she lets me look at her hand. It's read and a small bit swollen... it's sprained at the least, or maybe even just bruised. 

I hold her hand tenderly, savoring this moment. 

Too long, Max pulls her hand away and blushes.

 "Well?".

 "You're fine" I reply as she continues to drive. 

We pull up to a small building about fifteen minutes late and shuffle out of the car wordlessly. 

Max's apartment is a lot smaller than the one we shared years earlier and as we walk up to the door, a familiar sound catches my attention.

 "Is... Is that?".

 Max nods and smiles, "Yup, she's gonna flip when she sees you," she says, unlocking the door. 

The moment I step inside the dog jumps on me, trying to lick my face.

 "Haha... Holy shit, Blue!" I mutter, pinning myself against the now closed door. 

Blue is massive, I mean, she was basically still a puppy when we took her in and now when she stands up on her hind legs she's almost as tall as me. "Ha, It's good to see you too, girl," I say as the dog continues to lick at my face with her warm rough tongue. 

"Down," Max commands, seeing that she's getting over excited.

 Blue immediately drops to the ground (seeming to forget I'm even there) and trots over to her owner.

 "Uh, g-go ahead and make yourself comfortable... I'm going to be a while".

 I nod and sit down on an old leather couch, looking around the small space. 

Max's apartment is... well, messy. The room is cluttered with old newspapers and boxes. 

"Did you just move?" I ask, watching as Max rummages through a pile of clutter on the counter.

 "No, the boxes have books in them".

 "So you're a writer now?".

 She shakes her head, "Kate wrote the book, I just took the pictures".

 Out of the corner of my eye, I see Max has found what she's looking for.

 It's a pill bottle which she struggles to open.

 "Uh, you alright there," I ask shyly. 

She jumps a bit, making Blue's ears shoot up. 

"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine... just have a bit of a headache,".

 Finally, the bottle opens and Max takes a pill with a glass of water that sits nearby. 

She looks down at Blue and pats her head.

 "You've got her really well behaved, huh?" I say realizing that Blue hasn't left Max's side since I got here.

 "Well, she has to be if she's gonna do her job, huh, speaking of. Blue, sit".

 The dog sits on command and allows Max to place a vest-like harness on her back. 

"The dog's got a job? Pfft, what does she do?" I ask. 

"A lot of things... but she's specially trained to help people deal with severe anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD... people... like me".