Infernal | b×b

|ＯＮＥ| |𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮|

Max slowly stuffed his mouth with the last bite of his burrito. He lifted a napkin next and wiped his lips clean.

"Why did you have to say anything at all, boy? I fail to understand."

"It's OK. You don't have to," Max replied softly.

"Like hell I don't. You were days away from being the richest man in the city. What the hell went wrong? Mrs. Ermann called us all today, said Master Max will be gone and all the employees should only focus on the rest of the family from now on. After she went away, all of us stood frozen. Nobody could fucking understand what was happening," screeched Dave in an annoying high pitched voice. "Then you're telling me you told them, those absolute fucktards, that you're gay. Why, my man?"

Max lifted his face. He looked at his former driver and let out a deep breath. Why, indeed? He didn't have a clue. He was eight days from being the man he had always been told he would become, but he just couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?

Max let out a frustrated sigh. He just wanted to cry.

"I was stupid, Dave. Very stupid. That's  all. Can I sleep at your place tonight?"

Dave looked at Max at that moment and he wanted to punch and hug the boy at the same time. His detest for the Ermann family was higher than the tide that night.

"I will inform my wife, boy. Don't worry about that."

Dave went to his car and Max followed suit. Dave fired his engine, while Max comfortably nestled into his seat. He looked out the window and the palest cloud was hanging from the dark night sky.

In silent moments of driving, Dave would turn his head slightly and gaze at the boy beside him.

Small drops started falling from that pale cloud and ran watery lines on the car's windows. Max's eyes were also filled to the brim for the umpteenth time that day. The tears would swell, but wouldn't fall. Then they would dry again like paint, a promise of abandon.

"They were going to marry me off to Rosaline," Max's voice quivered in the sound of rain outside. Dave threw a look at his side to urge him to continue but Max wasn't looking at him.

"I couldn't do it, Dave. Not to Rosaline."

Dave's face was contorted with emotion.

"And I couldn't do it to myself."

Dave gulped. "As much as you won't believe me right now Max, you did the right thing."

Max fell quiet. The raindrops clattered. A silent minute passed.

"Max, my sweet boy, although I'm a nobody, you have earned my respect. I can't imagine the battle you must've fought inside for so long. And as much as the situation right now would make you believe otherwise, you did nothing wrong."

Dave gripped the steering wheel with force. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to. He didn't have any words left to let the boy know the truth, that he was in the right.

Then a few muffled quivers sounded in the car. Dave spun his head and found Max shaking with sobs. Dave was suddenly hit with a mountain of empathy.

"Max..." he called out softly.

"They said, they," Max raked between violent sobs, "Said that if I didn't go to therapy, they would disown me. I-I-I thought they were joking Dave, but they were not. T-t-they really disowned me. I don't want the inheritance, fucking hell I don't, but I would be lying i-i-if I said I don't want my family."

This time Dave let the boy let himself go, for he really didn't have anything to say. What do you tell a boy, who has just lost everyone and everything, that it is going to be fine. Everyone knew it wasn't.

Dave pulled over at his house and helped Max into his house.

It had been two weeks that Max had been at Dave's.

He hadn't even left his room during his stay. He didn't want to face the reality. His phone was completely discharged, had been for the majority of those weeks and lay on top of his side table, abandoned as the boy.

Everywhere, it was his name. The famous Ermann boy who lost everything. The tabloids, the city newspaper, the people and twice on tv, they showed pictures of his former life and how he had vanished. The reason for being disowned was never disclosed. The media sparred between him being a womanizer or a druggie. Funny as it was sometimes, it wasn't most of the time.

Just as Max lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling fan, there was a knock at his door with Dave coming in after.

"Max, boy, get up," Max said, too loud for Max's liking.

With great difficulty, both physical and mental, Max sat up and looked at Dave.

"I found you a job," Dave said, his teeth shining like his tone. Max's eyes widened a tiny bit.

"They'll attack me in public, Dave," Max pointed.

Dave smiled, as if was expecting that question. "In another city. They won't know who you are there at all."

Max blinked. Dave smiled again.

"You need to shake this sadness off while you still can, boy. Otherwise, you'll get caught in its spiral and never recover. Trust me with this one. I love you like a son."

Max opened his mouth but Dave interjected, "Now get up, take a shower, eat something healthy and I'm going to take you there."

Max didn't question this time.