MAX

10

Emily and Max left the home quietly. Emily hadn't spoken since Max had talked to his friend, Dawson. Emily knew what was next. Max was finally going to get some rest.

Dawson stood at the door, clutching Max's small note in his hand. He watched as Emily made her way toward her car, but she stopped when Max was not following. When she turned back around, Max was hugging Dawson as his friend. Emily's eyes began to burn as tears swelled in her eyes.

Even though Dawson could not see Max, he could feel his presence. He hugged his friend back, tears falling down his face. When they let go, Dawson had a new look on his face. Through his puffy eyes and the tears he brushed away, Emily could see that he was healing. He wasn't feeling guilt anymore. He was better, knowing that his friend was okay.

Max turned and looked to Emily. He walked down the steps of the front porch. "Thank you, Emily. For everything."

Emily smiled. "Of course. Take care of yourself, Max."

He gave Emily a slight nod and looked down at the ground. He closed his eyes, and Emily watched as his body dissolved into a bright light.

Max was at peace.

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One Year Later...

Emily walked down the halls of her high school, eager to get out of the place. She reached her locker and opened it, grabbing her backpack. She ignored the looks that the people nearby gave her and closed her locker, heading down the hallway again through the crowd of students. She couldn't leave yet. She had to see a friend.

Emily turned the corner and saw Dawson net the end of the hallway at his locker. She walked with confidence she hadn't had before down the hallway and reached his locker. "Hey, Dawson."

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, Emily." He finished piling his books into his locker and grabbed his backpack.

"Anything new?" She asked, walking with him toward the exit.

Dawson sighed. "Not really. My science class keeps getting more boring, but it's better. What about you?"

Emily sighed. Her life had been much more quiet than before. Her siblings didn't talk about her behind their backs anymore, so that was one thing. "I haven't seen a single ghost inside my house. Although... I have seen some more. But like you said, it's better."

Dawson nodded. They pushed through the doors to the school and were greeted by a valley of yellow buses waiting for all the students. Neither Emily nor Dawson rode the bus. It just wasn't their thing. "You know the thing I told you... about my mom?"

Emily's eyes widened. "She's not going to..."

Dawson nodded. "She wants me in therapy. It's because of the note Max left. She's seen me with it, and she doesn't believe me."

Emily frowned. "No one believed me either, but you did." She took a deep breath. "You don't need to go through therapy. If anything, I should be the one going."

Dawson shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It'd only be a couple days a month anyways." He began heading toward the parking lot. "Bye, Emily." He waved.

Emily waved back and began heading toward her car. Since Max had left, Dawson and Emily grew closer as friends. Not only did Max leave Dawson in a better place, but he also allowed Emily to gain a friend who didn't give her weird looks. She felt bad for Dawson. At the very least, his mother cared for him. Emily's pattens cared for her too, but more in an ignorant way. The other siblings always came first. Emily couldn't blame them. She could see ghosts and they couldn't, so they had a reason to treat her differently.

Emily reached her car and got inside. She started the engine and was about to pull out of her parking space when her stomach dropped. In the passenger seat next to her, there were drops of blood. Emily looked in the backseat and saw that no one was there. Not even a ghost was in her car. She took a shaky deep breath and put her backpack in the backseat. She eyed the blood on the passenger seat. It wasn't blood, she repeated multiple times in her head. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

Emily pulled the car out of the parking space and drove onto the main road back to her house. She stopped at a red light and looked over at the passenger seat again. The blood was gone. She took another deep breath. She was just imagining things.

The light turned green and Emily began driving down the road. She still could feel someone watching her, and she looked at her overhead mirror at the backseat. Emily yelled out in fear when's eh saw someone sitting there. She pulled the car roughly over to the side of the road and slammed on her brakes. She turned in her seat to look at the man with wide eyes.

The guy was laughing hysterically. In between breaths he said, "That was... the best thing I... have ever witnessed."

Emily cocked her head to the side. She hadn't heard that voice in a long time. "M-Max?"

He smiled. "Took you long enough."

Her eyes widened in confusion and happiness. "It's you? What... what are you doing here?" She paused. Then, she added, "Why would you care me like that? That was rude!"

He laughed again. "I thought it was pretty funny."

"How are you here?" Emily asked.

"What, I can't visit?" He frowned. "I can't stay long, but I just wanted to check in. I'm gonna see Dawson after this."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "You're gonna see Dawson?"

Max nodded and looked down at the floor of the car. "Is he better?"

Emily nodded. "He is. You really helped him, Max. You helped us both."

"Yeah." He said quietly. "Do you know where he is?" He looked up at Emily with curious eyes. "Is he at home?"

Emily bit her lip. "He should be at home soon. If not, he's heading there. It's good to see you, Max."

Max nodded. "Likewise."

"Is it peaceful?" Emily asked.

Max smiled slightly. "Yeah. It's nice. I'm not exactly alone anymore, in a good way."

Emily nodded. Now that Max was here, she had so many questions in her head. "Do... do you still get the feeling of when you were shot?"

Max shrugged and looked back down at the floor. "The wound's still there, but it doesn't feel like anything anymore. How's your arm?" He asked, changing the subject.

Emily looked down at her arm where three large scratches once were. "It's healed. How's your back?"

Max smiled as if he thought being thrown against the wall by a demon was funny. "It's healed."

Emily took a deep breath. "Will you visit again?"

Max shrugged. "Probably. How long has it been?"

"A year." Emily said.

Max's jaw dropped, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion. "A year? Oops." He muttered.

Emily laughed. "'Oops?'"

Max shrugged again. "I lost track of time. But yeah, I'll visit here and there."

Emily smiled. "Take cafe of yourself, Max."

He nodded. "Same goes for you."

Slowly, his body dissolved into a bright light.

Emily will never forget him. The ghost that saved her life. The ghost that 'just knows things.' The ghost that loses track of time. Max will never be forgotten. Not to Emily, not to Dawson, not to his family. He was alive, not dead. Alive and well.