voyager // max mayfield

TWENTY FIVE: HEALING HOMOSEXUALS

It had been three days since Max had heard from Eve, and the last time was when she found out Eve was going to see her parents.

She didn't get a call that night, so in her head that meant it had gone wrong.

Over the year that they'd been together, Max had learned how Eve dealt with her issues. She would need space, time on her own to sort out her thoughts, but within a day or two she always called Max to come over - they wouldn't talk, Max would just hug her, and that's all she needed.

Of course Max was worried about Eve, after losing billy she became protective of who she loved - Eve was obviously no exception. So when she gave her a call only to receive no answer, her anxiety grew.

She'd called on the second day to see if Eve was alright, but upon ringing again on the third day to no answer, she knew she had to take matters into her own hands.

Grabbing the small teddy no bigger than the size of her hand from her nightstand, she left her house to go over to Eve's. The small teddy always brought Eve a form of comfort, Eve using it as a stress ball when things got a little too much.

The walk was short, they only lived a couple houses apart, but it felt like forever, Max's anxiety growing as her walk turned into a slow jog, arriving quickly.

She walked up the porch steps and towards the door, knocking quickly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Upon no answer, her eyebrows furrowed, and she knocked again, louder this time.

When no answer came, she went to the flowerpot by the door and grabbed the spare key, going to open the door only to find it unlocked. She put the key back, opening the door to silence.

"Eve? Steve?" Max called out, closing the door behind her as she walked inside. She was met with silence again, and her heart sped up. What the hell was going on?

Her heart dropped when she entered the small living area, only to see Steve sat at the table, his head against it asleep, surrounded by leaflets that she didn't understand. She grabbed Steve's shoulder, shaking it softly to make him wake up, he groaned, his head raising slightly.

"Steve? What's going on?" Max asked him, and at the sound of her voice, Steve's head snapped up, suddenly aware. He grabbed the newspaper clippings and leaflets from around him and shoved them towards him quickly, trying to hide them from Max, who's eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"Oh, hey! Max!" Steve tried to fake enthusiasm, continuing to shove the papers into his hands and away from her, "What a surprise! What are you doing here?"

She grabbed a leaflet from the group in his hands, making Steve drop everything to try and snatch it off of her.

"Florida conversation camps..." Max began to read aloud, making Steve freeze as he watched for her reaction, "What is this? Dustin singing you up for one?"

"Give it back," steve said simply, trying to grab it; but max moved back, chuckling to herself as she tried to read down, "Max, I'm serious!"

"Steve there's nothing wrong with going to camp!" Max chuckled, reading on, "a programme created to..." she paused, her face dropping, "heal homosexuals... Steve.. what is this?"

"I can explain," Steve began, watching as Max's anger grew.

"Homosexuality, lesbianism, prostitution... what does gods word say on these subjects?" Max cuts him off, reading on, "The bible clearly states that these practices are detestable unto god. But even though he hates these sins - he longs that all who participate in such immorality should depend and turn from their evil ways..." Max stops, looking up at Steve with tears in her eyes, "you said you didn't care about this shit! What the fuck is this, Steve!"

"It's not what it looks like!" Steve shouts back at her, upset she would think he would do something to hurt Eve.

"Where is she?" Max yells at him, "we're getting out of here!"

Max pushes past him towards Eve's bedroom, opening the door to see the room untouched, she yells for her name, running through each room of the house, trying to find her, "Eve! Where are you!"

"She's not here," Steve stops her, making max turn to him quickly, anger and sadness clear in her eyes as she pushes on Steve's chest.

"Where is she? What did you do to her!" She screams at him as he makes a desperate attempt to grab her arms, trying to calm her down, "where is she, Steve! You fucking asshole!"

"She's gone," Steve yells at her, making her freeze, watching as his face crumbles, tears overtaking him as he says the words out loud for the first time, "she's gone, Max."

His voice cracks as he speaks, tears falling as a loud sob leaves his throat, Max stares at him in shock, her own eyes filling with tears as she watches a man she used to call a hero fall to his knees, as if his own words pain her.

"What happened, Steve?" Max says, bending down to her knees so she's on his level, grabbing his arm so he would look at her.

"We went for dinner at our parents," He says to Max, his words tumbling out, tears flowing freely as he fails to put himself together, "it was a set up."

"What do you mean 'a set up?'" Max asks him, confused by his words.

"They got her," Steve mumbles, "she's in Florida, I don't know what part, it's some form of conversion torture because she's gay. And I couldn't do anything to stop them."

At that, Max feels her soul leave her body, her body falling completely to the floor as tears fall, no sound able to leave her mouth.

If there was one thing worse than heartbreak, it would be this.

"I've been looking for three days," Steve continues to cry, "I've called everywhere asking for her, none of them do! I don't know what to do, Max! She's not safe there, I don't know when she's coming back... if she's coming back. I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do."

"We'll find her," Max says, but it's like she can't even hear her own voice, her shock and sadness overpowering everything else, "did your parents give any clues?"

"No!" Steve cries again, "They said she'd be gone until she was fixed, and the programmes on the leaflets go from a month long to a year."

A year.

No.

Max felt her brain shut down. A year of torture, even a month is too much.

"I should've seen it coming," Steve mumbled.

"There's nothing you could've done," Max instantly tells him in hopes he'll find comfort in those words, "and I don't think there's anything we can do, Steve. She's technically under your parents care, we can't get them to change their minds."

"So what are you saying? We wait it out?" Steve asks her incredulously, "you know she's gonna come back traumatised, she's probably already traumatised - fuck, this is all my fault-"

"It's not," Max reassures again, "I don't know what else we can do."

"You know she's not gonna come back the same, right? She's not gonna be Eve anymore."

"I know," Max sighs, "that's what I'm afraid of."

But she knows there's nothing they can do.