Not Letting Go

Chapter 3

When Kate got back, she remembered to enter quietly, in case Max did indeed fall asleep. As she held the drinks awkwardly in one hand and arm, the other opened the door to the sound of Max talking. Kate was immediately concerned with the frantic tone, and realized what was happening when she looked inside. Max was asleep, but her head turned back and forth while she slurred, "No...stop...Chloe...no! Please, please...not again...don't take her...one more rewind...all I need...one more...please...oh god..."

Kate felt helpless and a little horrified. Fresh blood was streaked below Max's nose, over the crusted remnants of before. She nearly dropped the drinks as she put them down and rushed to the bed. Kate held her friend while shouting in concern, "Max!? Max!? Wake up! Max!"

Max screamed and her eyes shot open and darted around. She sat up with a confused and startled expression. "Kate?"

Kate held her friend close. "Yes, I'm right here."

Max's face contorted into anguish and she sobbed into the blonde's shoulder, holding her tight with one arm, while the other clutched to herself closely. She cried a lot longer than Kate expected. After she was sure the tears had stopped, Kate pulled back just enough to check if the blood had stopped too. She was also about to speak, but then realized her friend had fallen asleep. Kate let Max ease back into her embrace again. She felt compelled to let the poor thing sleep, so the blonde slowly brought her friend down to rest on the bed on their sides. Kate was about to slip out of their hold when Max started whimpering and squirming. The slightly older girl automatically smoothed back the sleeping girl's hair and said, "Shh, shh, Max. You're okay. You're okay."

Max's body rapidly relaxed and her movements and murmurs soon ceased completely. Kate felt that if she left, Max would go through the same nightmare trauma again. She would need to stay so her friend could sleep peacefully. In truth, while acting partly out of duty, it felt good holding Max, keeping her safe. It was not comfortable enough to stay this way though, with her arm under Max. Kate turned her friend to lay on her back and drapped half over Max. Kate stared at the younger girl's now serene face. The blonde was lost in many thoughts and was not was not tired enough to fall asleep quite yet. Max was obviously reliving the horror of witnessing her friend get muderered. She talked about rewinding. As in, going back in time to stop her death? Everything is possible in dreams, she thought. Your mind does not always give you what you want though.

Kate knew she could not always be here to comfort Max, but she also knew that if she ever witnessed her friend in distress like this again, she would always hold her as long as Max needed. She could not help it. Kate's heart compelled her. She eased her head onto Max's shoulder. Looking across Max's body, she noticed a long fuzzy ear still popping out under Max's arm that she had held closely to herself the whole time. Her friend managed to keep little Kate close. Max is tenacious, even in her restless slumber, thought Kate.

After hours of drifting thoughts, and her friend's peaceful rest assured, Kate also felt sleep take her.

When she woke, she propped herself up a little on her elbow, lifting her head up and looked down to Max staring up. She smiled back at Max's sweet gaze on her. Max softly said, "You're a good friend, Kate."

Kate realized she was still draped over her friend, but did not feel compelled to move. She yawned and said, "You'd do the same for me."

"I would," Max admitted.

Kate hesistated to speak her next thought, but then said, "Is this why you're avoiding sleep? The nightmares?"

Max just nodded guiltily.

"And does that always happen with your nose?"

Max looked puzzled at first, but then felt below her nose as the realization hit her. When her finger came back with fresh flakes of blood she said, "Fuck, not again. I didn't even mean to-" and stopped herself as she sat up while looking worriedly back to Kate.

"It's okay, you can swear around me," The blonde said, not knowing Max's deeper worry. She also sat up and continued, "If anyone deserves to, it's you. I'm so sorry, Max. You don't deserve to be going through any of this. To keep going through this." She put a hand on her friend's own blood-free one.

Max's lip trembled, but she held herself mostly together as she replied, "That's one of the reasons I need to see Joyce. Maybe talking to her will give me more...closure? Or something, I don't know. I'm so selfish, Joyce needs more comfort than me." Max was frowning.

"Don't think like that. You would be comforting each other."

"I guess..."

"Of course you would. I know she'll be so glad to see you."

"Maybe."

"She will, I know it."

Max's face looked doubtful, but she said nothing else.

"Oh!" Kate said in sudden realization. "I almost forgot. I ran into Victoria when I got our drinks."

"Yeah?" Max said with apprehension.

Kate decided to leave out what Courtney and Taylor were saying about her. That would only hurt her. "No, it was good. Well, sort of. She wanted me to tell you sorry...and thanks...and that she owes you her life?" Kate seemed uncertain of her memory since saying it outloud sounded unbelievable even to herself.

"Wow. She said that?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, she did. She even apologized to me."

"Good," Max said with a sudden sharpness that soon subsided. "That's the least that..." She changed her wording mid-sentence. "...that's the least she can do."

"She thinks you don't want to see her."

"She's right, I don't. It's exhausting just thinking about that conversation."

"It's nice though, right? What she said?"

"You think she meant it?"

"I do. I really do."

Max pondered this. "Well...maybe someday I'll talk to her. Not today. Actually..." Max pulled out her phone and checked the time. "11:56, are you cereal? Today's almost done."

"Hmm, yeah, almost midnight. Time to head to bed, ha. I know, might be hard to now but we didn't get a full night's sleep, so we should really try still."

Kate pondered asking to stay and sleep in the same bed to make sure Max would be okay, but was not sure if that would be too weird or not. She just hoped that a new chance for sleep would go better for her friend.

Max sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Not sure if will happen."

"You'll try, at least?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Okay, well...I will head back then, but call or text me at anytime. I will be here."

"Thanks, Kate."

"I mean it. Don't you dare worry about waking me."

"I promise." Max gave a slight smile at her friend's caring persistence.

Kate turned in the bed to give Max a firm, but gentle hug and whispered in her ear, "I'm always here for you. Don't forget it." As she got up, she put her hands on Max's shoulders and said in a playful scolding tone, "Now go sleep."

It came off very cute, as always whenever Kate tried to act tough, but Max scrunched her face and looked down.

Kate sighed. "You already said you'd try. For me?"

Her friend guiltily turned back to look at Kate, but she relented and said, "Okay."

Kate smiled and then walked to the door. As she closed it she said through the opening, "Goodnight, Max."

At the same time, just before the door closed shut, Max said in a barely audible whimper that even she was not sure was meant to be heard, "Please stay."

Kate paused just outside the room before leaving, but was not certain why. She frowned and put a lingering hand on the door before walking away.