Max's Faith & Fury [COMPLETE]

Chapter 30

All night, Max dreamed about driving. Waking with adrenaline rushing through her veins made for a productive workout. The high she felt lasted all morning and slowed down after she helped in the kitchen and still hadn't seen or heard from Elliot about her car. This made her anxious. That wasn't the worst of it either.

Since she spent the day with Nicky and Jane, they were getting curious about what she was doing there. Not that they didn't want her there, at least that's what they claimed. Nicky was particularly curious, watching Max more than usual. It didn't help when Oquirrh got home that afternoon and joined in the curious snacking on what little answers Max would give.

After enduring the longest Monday she could remember, Max needed to get out of there. She cooled off on the trail that Oquirrh had shown her the day before. It was a nice, quiet summer evening. The sun still warm in the sky over the Oquirrh mountains and Great Salt Lake. The sound of gravel scraping beneath her shoes was soothing, her breathing steady and her pace nice and slow.

The trail went up the mountain all the way, leading to a large house that she avoided. She wasn't curious enough to know whose house it was. She went about halfway up the trail before stopping, glancing at the house at the top and then turning around to catch her breath. She shouldn't have stopped, but her legs ached, even if her lungs and heart didn't protest.

She scanned the empty fields around the property, with the city far off in the distance, filling the space between the Oquirrh mountains behind her and the majestic Wasatch mountains across the valley. The high mountain breeze whistled solemnly around her, picking up strands of her white-blonde hair in a high ponytail. The loneliness reminded her of a place on the other side of the Wasatch mountains.

The wind picked up, taking her pointless thoughts with them. So, Max headed back down to the house. When she saw a black BMW coming up the road, she picked up the pace, running down the mountain trail now. Her legs screamed at her while her heart asked where this determination was earlier. Didn't matter. Once she made it back to the garden, she walked around to cool off, so she wasn't gasping for air when she got back inside.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead before going in. She found Elliot in the kitchen getting something to eat. She hadn't thought about eating, so she didn't feel hungry. The fact that he barely acknowledged her with a glance made her hopes drop.

"Did you hear anything about my car?" She asked, walking to the dining table.

"No."

"You sure?" She raised her brows hopelessly.

"No."

She scowled now, "it's been a few days. They should've at least called by now." She said while turning and watching him leave the kitchen. She sighed with disappointment when he took his food with him to his room. She didn't care what he had going on, but apparently he wanted to be left alone. Fine. She'll leave him alone. She needed a shower anyway.

She took her time picking out her clothes, wondering and listening to see if Elliot would come knocking. He never did. Max hated waiting and she couldn't help but feel like she'd wasted the entire day. Even as she let the hot water in the shower wash over her, she couldn't think of a single productive thing she did that day. Besides the morning workout. That was great, but that was all.

When she was done showering, she barely dried her hair as she stood in a towel before giving herself braids. She didn't want to deal with drying it, and leaving a towel on her head would only make her hair dry in the worst way possible. She left her bathroom naked, her skin shivered with goosebumps until she covered herself with the clothes she had on the bed waiting for her. She didn't want to stay in that night, so she didn't change into something she could wear to bed. White denim shorts and a black t-shirt over a set of red bra and panties were comfortable enough.