girlfriends | elmax

VI

On her way home, Jane thought back to what had just happened. Had she said something wrong? She must have done something, right? Max had been flirting with her all day, she wouldn't just go cold for no reason. She had decided to take the route home that she walked with Max yesterday, remembering the day they had spent together. When she thought properly about it, Jane hadn't felt that happy since her mom passed away.

Even though she was 2 when her mum passed away, those 2 years were some of the best years she'd had. However, when her mother was taken by cancer, her older brother Liam who, was 10 at the time, ran away. Even though the police set out to look for him, they shut the case after a few years. As mad as Jane and her dad were, they had almost lost hope too. That was now 13 years ago, he would have been 23.

Too lost in her thoughts, Jane hadn't realised she had begun to cry. A single tear fell down her cheek as she tried to stop thinking about her mom and brother. Quickly wiping it away, she turned a corner and spotted the coffee shop her and Max went to yesterday. Walking towards it, she found some change in her pocket and remembered what she got yesterday, a caramel frappe. Pushing open the door, a big gust of heat met her freezing cold face, shocking her a little. The bitter scent of coffee filled her nostrils, and the sound of small talk and machines whirring filled her ears. Walking in, she joined the small cue and counted out the change to make sure she had enough.

As the person in front of her left, she walked up to the counter and ordered, not even paying attention to the cashier. There was an awkward silence, before she heard some shuffling, and saw the figure step out from behind the cash register in the corner of her eye. She didn't take much notice, and was about to repeat her order when she noticed the fiery red hair cascading down the cashiers shoulders. Shifting her vision, she saw a very red faced, freckled girl staring back at her.

"Max? You work here?" Jane questioned confused. Beginning to stutter, Max tried to answer but nothing came. Eventually, she sighed and gave Jane a sad look and glanced at the clock.

"My shift is over in an hour. Meet me at the park then and I'll explain." she muttered, handing Jane her drink. "It's on me." she added, avoiding eye contact with the girl in front of her. Sensing it was a sensitive topic, Jane just nodded calmly and left in silence. Not having anything to do, she decided to just hang around the park and listen to some music.

Crunching the crisp autumn leaves beneath her sneakers, Max crossed the frosty grass and made her way towards the tan girl sat at the bench. She admires how the older girl was swaying to the music, and how fucking cute she looked doing it. After a while, the redhead sat next to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Swiftly turning her head, Janes eyes lit up as she saw the freckled girl, before taking out her earphones.

"Uh- so I'm sure you- I mean, I think- I jus.." Max began, but was cut off by the smaller girl pulling her into a warm embrace, nuzzling her cold face into the redheads neck and wrapping her arms around the younger girls waist. Shocked, Max remained still for a second, before returning the gesture and pulling Jane closer.

"It's okay." the caramel haired girl whispered into Max's hair, sending shivers down her spine. "She's so fucking perfect, her hair, her body, her lips... Max. Stop." the fiery haired girl thought to herself. Unravelling her arms from the 14 year olds waste, Jane gave her a soft smile, searching the eyes of the girl in front of her. Max took a deep breath, and began to explain things from the beginning. She told Jane about how they left her dad in California and moved in with Neil and Billy, how Neil was an abusive drunk, how Billy had always stuck up for her and was planning to take custody of her when he was 18 and how the reason they had jobs was because Neil and her mum were never around so they had to fend for themselves. Jane sat silent through it all, purely shocked by all of this. Once Max was done, she was lost for words.

"Shut Max.." she said in a hushed tone "I'm so sorry-" she looked up at Max, and only just understood how hard it was for her to open up about all of this. Unsure of how to comfort her, Jane decided to slip her hand into Max's bigger one, and squeeze it tight. Both girls felt immense butterflies, but refrained from saying anything. After sitting like that for a while, Max plucked up the courage and finally broke the silence.

"Uhh Jane?" Shit. Had she done something wrong?

"Yeah?" she asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she really was.

"Would you wanna maybe come over? Neil said he's gonna be out which usually means he won't be back till early hours if the morning. Don't feel like you have to though, with what I've told you and everything.." Max trailed off. "Your so fucking stupid Max, there's no way she'd come over after what you jus-"

"Yeah, sure" replied the older girl, hiding the nerves in her voice. She really hoped Max was right, and Neil was out. Still hand in hand, the two teens left the park and made their way to Max's, sharing Janes earphones to listen to music.