The Ride of a Lifetime

11. Insensitive

Max and I walked into the house with a tense silence. From what, I'm yet to find out. We greet my mother in her makeshift office. She's a web designer, always saying that creativity comes best through the heart.

Guess who didn't receive any of her genes.

We climb the stairs with me a mumbling an apology when I step onto Max's heel.

I fling myself onto Max's bed, still with my smelly gym clothes. His room resembled any typical teenage boy's room.

A chair stacked with clothes, clearly not useful for its sole purpose anymore, was next to his desk which was filled with more clutter. A cupboard full of clothes that were barely hung was to the foot of the bed. The shelf, where in my room is lined with books, is stacked with strange little objects he'd picked up from the Connie's thrift store. He might despise her, but he loves the surprising treasures every time I forced him to visit.

I sit up expectantly as he rests on the foot of the bed.

"You lied, huh. You do know I won't go haywire if you had a boyfriend."

I cringed. "We're not exactly a thing."

"That's what they all say." He scoffs, somewhat sadly if that was even possible.

"What's wrong between you and Jayden, anyway? Be careful what you say next or my foot will end up down your throat." The change in topic seems to work.

He sighs, and for the first time in a long while, he seems so weighed down. "She's just too good for me, you know?" I curl my legs up to give him some room to lay back but he remains sitting, shoulders slumped. "She's perfect; smart, kind, tolerant. She doesn't question why I do things. She just accepts it all."

It was a very strange considering I've literally heard Jayden spill about how charming, sweet and caring Max is to her. It was like seeing two ends of a pocky stick and just trying not to eat the piece of shit.

And then Max's voice cracks and so does my heart. "What if I hurt her one day? What would you think of me? How would you even continue to be close to her?"

Despite it all, my brother would always spare a thought for me. "No one's perfect, Max." My voice sounded odd trying to provide comfort.

"She's perfect to me. That's how it works, sometimes, for some people. They see the flaws but it's all just background blur. The person in front of them has taken centre stage and that's all that matters."

The dreamy element to his words undeniably made me question my own beliefs.

I keep quiet, not sure if there was anything I should be saying. He had turned to face me, slight relief showed now that he was able to share his troubles.

"Bro, my mind is literally whirling with you two telling me how amazing one another is." I joked. But the shock on his features made me mentally step back. "Hold up, you don't actually tell each other these things, do you?"

Max's silence was my answer.

"Holy shitting cheeseballs. Please, do gather the guts to actually say this shit to her face. As happy as I am to be a sounding board, I'm not going to be the wingman here."

My brother just looks at me blankly before erupting into giddy laughter.

People sure did weird things to each other.

Remind me why people allow their hopes to climb too high and then are made to watch the thing fall and shatter to pieces on the ground?