Max Gates

Chapter 8 : Secrets and Silence

       
After a brisk drive, Maddie halted her Panamera in front of Max's house. "Max, we're here," she announced, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.

Max's mind, now a whirlwind of "what if" questions, was so consumed that he hardly noticed when Maddie glided past his gate, coming to a stop at his house. "Thanks for the ride," he muttered as they stepped out.

Bounding through the front doors, Max unleashed a series of urgent calls, "Mom, Aunt Liv, Richard!"

Rosie, the family maid, met him with a puzzled expression. "Max, where've you been?"

"Where's mom?"

"Um," Rosie hesitated.

"Or Aunt Liv, is she here? Where is everyone?" Max fired questions with a palpable urgency.

Before Rosie could respond, Max bolted to the living room, with Rosie, Maddie, and Ethan in tow. The atmosphere crackled with unspoken tension, leaving the air thick with anticipation as the impending revelation loomed.

"Is that Max?" His mother's voice, laced with a mix of concern and frustration, echoed through the living room as she entered alongside Richard. "Goodness Max, where have you been, why didn't you call and inform anyone if you you were going to be out this long?"

"I'm sorry," Max stammered, his apology hanging in the air as he fumbled for words.

His mother's gaze intensified, "what, is that glass in your hair?" she exclaimed, narrowing in on glass fragments scattered in Max's hair.

Her eyes flickering between him and the unexpected company of Maddie and Ethan, sensing an unspoken tension.

"Is something wrong?" she questioned, directing her inquiry to Rosie.

"I don't know. They all came in looking like this," Rosie calmly explained.

"Max, are you okay?" His mother's concern deepened, her maternal instincts on high alert.

Feeling the weight of her gaze, Max gravitated toward the fireplace, his eyes fixed on the dancing flames. He grappled with the daunting task of explaining the inexplicable, torn between revealing the truth and confronting questions he wasn't yet ready to answer.

His mother, searching for clarity, glanced at Ethan, an unfamiliar faces that had entered their lives with an air of secrecy. She hoped he would offer some explanation, but Ethan's silence added to the growing tension in the room.

After a few measured breaths, Max turned to face the bewildered trio of his mother, Richard, and Rosie. The room buzzed with unspoken questions, waiting for the revelation that hung in the air.

As Max began to explain, his words spilled out in a disorganized torrent, a reflection of the tumult within him despite his outward attempt to calm his breathing.

Yet, his mother remained unwavering, absorbing every fragmented sentence with an intensity that belied the casual chaos of Max's account. When he finally finished, she regarded him with a stoic expression, as if the revelation he'd just shared was merely common news.

"Mom, is Maddie right? Am I... endowed?" Max ventured, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

His mother's gaze flickered briefly toward Maddie before returning to him, a studied neutrality in her eyes, as if she awaited a response from within him. The room hushed into a profound silence, the weight of the revelation hanging palpably in the air.

Max, fixated on his mother, awaited her answer, his anticipation echoing in the quiet room. Rosie, standing by the side, felt an almost tangible tension and contemplated a discreet escape without drawing attention.

However, Richard, with a firm and deadpan stare, seemed rooted in place, his expression inscrutable.

"What's going on?" Max's aunt, Liv interjected, breaking the stern silence as she approached, a book clutched in her hand.

Max's mother looked up at Liv, her eyes conveying a mixture of weariness and acknowledgment. "It happened; he knows," she stated, prompting Richard to escort Rosie out discreetly before strolling back into the room with casual precision.

"What?" Liv's exclamation hung in the air, a blend of disbelief and concern etched across her face as she walked toward them, seeking answers. "When? How? Where?" she inquired, her gaze shifting to Max.

"He had an incident at school," Max's mother explained, attempting to distill the complexities of the day into a succinct sentence.

Ethan, adding to the narrative, approached Liv. "That's not all. Some strange lady barged in with a couple of agents and attacked us. She made it very clear she wanted Max."

Liv, sinking into a seat on the white sofa, uttered a soft exclamation. "We're running out of time."

Maddie, her voice carrying the weight of recent events, added, "They almost killed us."

Liv turned her attention to Maddie, expressing concern. "Are you kids okay?"

"We're fine," Ethan assured.

Kate, gesturing to Richard, suggested, "Richard, could you get them something, anything? Perhaps something to drink, maybe."

"We're good, really," Ethan insisted.

"Please, I insist."

"Okay, thank you," Ethan conceded, and Richard courteously escorted them to another room.

As they left, Liv turned to Max, sensing the weight of unspoken questions. "I'm guessing your friend Maddie told you something. So, what else do you want to know?" she asked, turning to him with a gentle yet probing gaze.

Max, stepping away from the fireplace, took a seat opposite them.

"Everything."