MAX

9

"Can the other ghosts kill you?" Emily asked, sitting Criss-crosses on her cluttered floor.

Max took a deep breath, folding his hands over his wound. "They can't kill me, but they can hurt me." He replied.

Emily frowned. Even in death, she would get hurt. She felt out of place now. The house was quiet. Her father was sleeping, and no other ghosts were wandering around in the hallway. It was too quiet for comfort, but it was peaceful. "Thank you for helping me." Emily said. "I can't express to you how much I am grateful for that. You saved my life for than once."

"You saved mine." Max said. He sat up in the bed and looked down at the ground. "I need to ask you a favor."

Emily held her breath. This was it. Max was leaving. "What is it?"

He hesitated for a moment, deep in thought. "I need you to come with me to my friend's house. I want to tell him something."

Emily stood from her spot and walked over to her desk. She grabbed a piece of paper and pencil. "Of course. What's his address?"

Max told her the address and she wrote it down quickly. He seemed more sad than usual, and this bothered Emily. "Are you okay?"

"Once I see him, I think I'm gonna get some rest." He looked up at Emily. "I'll never forget you, Emily."

Emily bit back the tears that were stinging her eyes. "I-I'll miss you too, Max. But I'll see you again. One day."

"One day." He repeated, looking back down at the ground. "Can you drive?"

Emily looked at her bedside clock. It was already eleven in the morning. "Yeah." She said, opening her door. For once, the hallway was empty.

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Emily rang the doorbell twice and waited for the person on the other side to open the door. She looked over her shoulder and saw Max looking at the ground, rubbing at a rock with his foot. He would have looked so innocent if it wasn't for his gunshot wound.

The door opened, and a woman with short brown hair was looking at Emily with confusion. "Can I help you?" She asked politely.

Emily cleared her throat. "Hi. I'm Emily Nickerson. I go to the high school down the street."

The woman frowned slightly when the school was mentioned. "Oh?"

Emily lowered her voice. "T-There was a shooting at the middle school last week. A... A friend of mine died."

The woman's face paled. "I'm sorry." She said.

Emily swallowed. "His name was Max."

The woman's eyes widened, and it looked as if she was about to cry. "Max?"

Emily nodded. "He was a friend of your son's."

A tear slipped down her face. "Yes." She said quietly. "My son has been... he's been locked up in his room. He said he watched Max get shot." She whispered.

Emily's here broke. The situation was too sad. "I know this may sound a little... odd, but Max told me a few things he wanted to say to your son."

The woman tilted her head to the side, but moved aside so Emily could come in. She woman closed the door, but Max entered through it anyways. "You say he wanted to speak to my son?" The woman asked. "Was this... before he died?"

Emily paused. Slowly, she nodded her head. "Ma'am, I know how crazy this sounds. But Max... he spoke to me when he died." She looked to him, who was looking intently at the mother. "He wanted to say goodbye to your son."

Another tear fell down her face, and she cleared her throat. "Dawson, can you come here please?" She asked loudly.

Emily heard a door open, and she looked toward the source of the noise. A boy shorter than her walked out of his room and slowly approached his mother. He had dark hair and glossy, puffy eyes. He looked from Emily to his mother, confused.

His mother smiled down at her son and wiped her tears away. "Dawson, this is Emily." She said. "She would like to speak with you for a minute." The mother looked to Emily cautiously before returning down a hallway.

Dawson sat down on his couch and looked up at Emily with curious eyes. Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Hi, Dawson." She smiled politely. "I'm Emily." She said. Her smile faded. She looked toward Max, who had tears coming down his face. He was looking at his friend. Emily continued with a shaky breath. "Dawson, I'm... im a friend of Max's."

Dawson's gaze fell, and his face paled.

Emily frowned. "Max... he sent me to tell you a few things."

Dawson looked up at her, a tear falling down his face. "Max sent you?"

Emily nodded. "Dawson, do you believe in ghosts?"

Dawson wiped away the tear that had fallen down his face. "Sometimes."

Emily sat down in a seat across from Dawson. She watched as Max sat on the table directly in front of Dawson. Emily took a deep breath. "When Max died, he came to me. He... He wanted me to come here so I could tell you what he wants to say. He's here, right now."

"Can you prove it?" Dawson asked.

Emily watched as Max stood from the table. He looked around the room and grabbed a piece of paper. He crumpled it up into a ball and threw it at Dawson. It landed in his lap. Dawson eyes the ball as a tear slipped down his face. "Max?"

"I miss you." Max said, looking down at the ground. "It's lonely here."

Emily cleared her throat. "He said he misses you, and that he's alone."

Dawson frowned. "I... I miss you too." He whispered. "I haven't been back to school yet. I'm afraid, and I know I'd be alone."

Max looked up at Dawson with sad eyes. "What happened to the Dawson I knew?"

Emily told Dawson what Max had said.

Dawson smirked through his tears. "I don't know. I... I lost my best friend. I should have... I should have stopped it."

"There was nothing you could have done." Max said. "None of this is your fault."

"I know." Dawson said. "It's just hard."

Max bit back the tears that threatened to come. "I know it is. But it will get better. Be the Dawson I knew. Do it for me."

Dawson smiled and wiped his tears away. "I will." Then, he looked to Emily. "Do you know... where he is standing right now?"

Emily looked to Max. "He's standing in front of you."

Dawson looked up to Max, somehow looking directly at his eyes. "Does... does it hurt?"

Max took a deep breath. "No. I'm okay." There was a pause before he spoke again. "I'll wait for you. But take your time. I'm in no rush."

Dawson nodded. "Thanks, Max. I... I needed to hear this."

Max gave a small smile and began looking around the room. Emily watched curiously as he grabbed another paper and a pen. He scribbled something down and set it down on the table. Dawson and Emily both leaned forward to read what had been written.

'DAWSON,
DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME.
MAX.'