Ghost - Elmax

Chapter 10 : Lunch

When they arrived, everybody's cars were already here. They were, apparently, the last ones. Max parked her car and waited a moment.

- "You're ready?" asked the redhead.

- "I guess..."

- "If you prefer coming back to the hotel and waiting for me, it's fine."

- "No, I can do it," sighed Jane, a bit stressed.

- "It's just friends inside, okay? They are here because they like you, they won't hurt you. And, if you wanna leave, you tell me, and we go back to the hotel, okay?"

Jane nodded. She was exhausted by all of this, but she convinced herself to do it, to not fall in depression, she thought she could do it by trying to live, but it wasn't working very well, she was still feeling dead inside.

The two girls got out of the car and approached the door. Max gave a quick look to Jane, to check how she was, and knocked. Joyce immediately opened the door and took Max in her arms. Two hugs in a day, it was more than usual since Jane came back! The mother broke the hug and took Jane in her arms, not knowing the struggle she had with it. The girl's body tensed, but she didn't reject her. Joyce finally broke the hug, freeing the girl, and invited the two girls to enter. Everyone was there: Mike and his girlfriend, Will and James, Dustin and Suzy, Gabrielle and Lucas, and Moussa and Beverly.

- "I'm so happy to see all of you!" told happily Joyce.

- "Yeah, we're happy to be here too," said Mike. "Thanks for welcoming us!"

- "It's nothing, you're all family for me."

The teens were activated and began to help Joyce with the lunch. Gabrielle moved Lucas to the table, while Dustin, James, Will, Mike, and Julia –Mike's girlfriend- went to the kitchen with the mother. Moussa stayed with Beverly, near the couch, and Max managed to convince Jane to come with them. The two girls arrived at the kitchen, Max let Jane at the table and joined her friends. She didn't think letting Jane with Lucas was a good idea, with Bev it was worse than she thought, but she hoped it would be fine.

Jane stayed in front of the table without moving, avoiding eyes contact with Lucas. The boy was closing his fists, feeling his nails sinking in his palms.

- "Why you're so happy!?" grumbled Lucas between his teeth.

- "I'm not," answered Jane, sharpening the kitchen knife.

- "Why you came then!?"

- "'Could ask you the same!"

- "You really think I can do everything I want with just one fucking leg!?"

- "Many people have one leg, and they are capable of living!"

- "Said the girl who has two legs!"

- "(leans to him with the knife next to his face) you want me to take off the other one!? Like that you'll have a good reason to cry like a baby!"

The others around felt the tension between them and stopped doing what they were doing, watching them. Max and Gabrielle approached their lovers, Max grabbing the knife, and Gabrielle the wheelchair.

- "You don't wanna take some air?" said softly the redhead.

Jane clenched her jaw. She wanted to say something mean to Lucas, but she preferred keeping it for herself. She nodded and went outside, while Gabrielle rolled Lucas to Will's room.

- "It's always like that?" asked Joyce.

- "Majority of the time, yes, but we try to keep them far from each other," sighed Max.