The next morning, Max was indeed in trouble. Not only was Billy mad at her for dating Lukas, but Neil was livid that she wasn't home when he needed someone helpless to abuse.
"WHERE WERE YOU?" Neil shouted as he struck her repeatedly.
Susan watched with her head down, tears welling but not spilling. She was used to this, she sometimes got beaten too. So did Billy. It was normal in this household.
Susan's head didn't snap up until she heard a snap, followed by Max letting out a sound no girl should ever make. It was like a cat being ran over by a car, or a teenage girl breaking her arm.
-
"Where's Mike and Will?" Dustin asked as he sat down with his tray of borderline prison food. "Usually they are here before me."
"Yeah, Mike texted the group chat. They have to go to the library." Lukas obviously had someone else on his mind.
"Oh, guess I didn't get the notification." Dustin ripped opened a chocolate pudding and indulged. "Guess it's just us then. Sucks that Jane is sick, and Max...maybe she's sick too?"
"Yeah..." Lukas wanted to go off by himself, maybe try to call Max. It was too loud in the cafeteria. At the same time, he didn't want to leave Dustin alone. That would make him a shitty friend. "So um... How's Susie?"
"She's great, did I tell you about the time we–"
Lukas nodded and occasionally smiled. He was not really paying attention. He was texting Max.
Max 😖🍳
Lukas: You okay?
Max couldn't answer her phone, she was sitting on her bedroom floor, crying so much she felt like she might drown.
"Maxine, honey." Susan whispered and walked into the room.
Max was just leaning into her mother's touch when Neil's voice boomed from the next room, "SUSAN, DON'T COMFORT HER. LET HER LEARN."
Susan got up and scurried out. Depriving her daughter of any warmth or comfort when she needed it most. Max held her arm close to her body and whined. It was definitely broken and she definitely wasn't getting to the hospital without a fight.
While Max cried on the floor, Lukas was complaining about his hamburger.
"This can't be considered food..." He poked at the dry bun.
"If you don't want it, I'll eat it." Dustin offered.
"I should try to eat it..." Lukas really just wanted to eat the burger to take his mind off of Max. He had a painful feeling of dread in his stomach, which made eating the burger harder. He took a couple bites regardless.
"So, do you have any plans for after school?" Dustin asked.
Lukas shrugged. "not currently?"
"Do you plan on making plans?"
"No?"
"Okay, then we should meet at Mike's."
Lukas chuckled. "Shouldn't we ask Mike?"
"He'll be down for it."
-
Lukas was at Mike's that evening, playing Jenga with Dustin, Mike, and Will. They used to be consistent D&D players but over years of bullying, they stopped enjoying it.
Lukas was midway through removing a block from a quivering tower when Max called. He knocked the tower down when he reacted, and the other boys cheered. "Agh! Not fair! Who the hell is calling?!" Lukas got out his phone and went dead silent.
"Who is it?" Will asked.
Lukas stood up and started excusing himself to the basement bathroom. "It's Max, hold on. Be quiet."
Dustin rolled his eyes and helped Mike restack the tower. "He's way too obsessed with her."
"You're obsessed with Susie." Will teased.
"That's different, Susie is my girlfriend. She likes me back. Max, she..."
"Well she called him, so she must not completely hate him." Will pointed out.
Dustin shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Not everyone can have such a perfect relationship, like me and Susie."
"If I hear the name Susie one more time–"
Will covered Mike's mouth. "Oh be quiet, you used to talk about Jane all the time."
Mike pulled Will's hand away and sighed. "That's different..."
"Wonder what Max wanted?" Dustin looked towards the bathroom door.
"I don't know, but it's not our business." Will reminded them.
Lukas was sitting on the edge of an old bathtub, it didn't even work properly anymore. "Just take a deep breath, I can't understand you. What's wrong?"
Max sniffled and steadied her breathing. "I'm in the hospital, I think I broke my arm."
"You think?" Lukas stood back up.
"I haven't gotten an x-ray yet. Can you come wait with me?"
"Who brought you?" Lukas was admittedly a little afraid of Max's family. Based on gossip he heard.
"Billy, but Neil told him to drop me off and let me deal with it." Max cleared her throat.
"Okay..." Lukas would curse Neil's name later. "I'll be there soon as I can. You're in the waiting area outside the x-ray room I assume?"
"Yes. Could be a long wait. There's another kid ahead of me that broke his arm."
"Aw, okay. I'm leaving now. Don't panic." Lukas hung up after she did and walked out of the bathroom. "I'm sorry guys, I have to go...Max needs me."
"Dude, really?" Mike groaned.
"She's in the hospital, Mike." Lukas said just to watch the look of regret form on Mike's face.
"What happened?" Will frowned.
"She broke her arm, I have to go." Lukas grabbed his jacket and rushed out of Mike's basement faster than he ever had. Before he knew it he was in his car and driving to the hospital.
When he got to the hospital he found a parking spot surprisingly fast and walked in. He asked a nurse where the x-ray room was, and he followed the signs and lines on the floor until finally he was in front of his soulmate.
"Thank God." Max breathed out like she had been holding her breath. "I hate a lot of shit, but hospitals are high on my list."
"I bet." Lukas slid into the seat next to her. "How did it happen?"
Max shook her head and gave him a look. She didn't want to discuss it, not here and now. "Just comfort me, asshole."
Lukas looked down at the arm Max was painfully holding tight to her body. "I've never broken a bone, how bad is it?"
"If I could kill myself, I would." Max looked Lukas in the eyes, wondering why he hadn't taken advantage of this opportunity, and threw his arms around her. "You don't have to be afraid to touch me, I'm already broken."
Lukas slowly put a hand on her shoulder. As if he were playing Jenga again, and didn't want to send the tower tumbling to bits. "I don't like hospitals either, I might be terrible company."
"No, you're fine." Max let her eyes close so she didn't have to look at his handsome face any longer. It was making her want to be his girlfriend again. Or maybe it was the pain making her think spontaneously. "I need to call Billy to pick me up when it's all over. You'll have to be gone by then."
"Okay, but why?" Lukas had a feeling he knew why, but asked anyway.
"My brother won't like seeing a boy with me..." Max left out the part where Billy now thought Lukas was Max's consistent boyfriend that she was sneaking out at night to see and make love to. "You'll get a lot of grief for it, it's just better you go before he comes."
"Okay..." Lukas started to speculate that Max was injured by her stepfather or maybe Billy, but he knew she wouldn't admit to it here. She may never admit it, but he had a better chance in his car. Alone, with her.
Max was just getting comfortable enough to lean into Lukas, when her name was finally called. "Great, my turn to get radiated. Can't wait to get cancer one day."
"Shh." Lukas hushed her insensitive joke and stood up to walk her to the door. "I'll be waiting out here, you'll be fine."
"Of course I will." Max acted like she was fine even though she wanted to cry and curl up into a ball in her mother's arms.
Lukas went back to his spot and sat down. He pulled out his phone and texted the group chat. Max would see it later, but he wasn't trying to keep it a secret.
The mostly gays
Lukas: She's okay.
Will: ❤️ tell her I love her and I hope she feels better soon!
Mike: 🥺
Will: 🥺 I love you too
Lukas: Not the time!
Dustin: What happened?
Lukas: Not sure yet, she hasn't mentioned it.
Dustin: Okay?
Will: It's not our business yet.
Mike: 🥺
Will: I can see you pouting across the room!
Lukas: Y'all are in the same basement, stop texting! 😭 I'll talk to you as soon as I know what's going on with Max!
Jane: I'm alive!
Jane: What's wrong with Max?
Will: she broke her arm.
Jane: 😖 HOW
Mike: Lukas will update us
Jane: Okay 🥺
Will: How you feeling?
Jane: I can't breathe through my nose 😃
Dustin: 🤢 get better soon. Just don't give us whatever you have.
Jane: I'm going to sneeze on you :)