Max walked into his apartment and ran up to Gwen, who was lying down on the couch.
"Gwen! You'll never believe what Neil just told me!" Max exclaimed.
Gwen yawned. "What did he tell you?"
Max chuckled. "He's gay."
"I know," Gwen said.
Max lit up. "That's exactly what I said. Actually, Nikki and I said it in unison. It was hilarious."
"Oh, you two weren't rude about it, right?" Gwen asked.
"No of course not," Max shook his head. "We were nice and supportive. But we still joked a lot."
Gwen smiled. "Well I'm glad he's finally out."
"Oh, but don't tell David. And don't tell Neil I told you he's gay," Max told her.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Why can't I tell David?"
"Because he'll overreact," Max rudely replied.
Gwen shrugged with defeat. "Yeah, he probably will."
"Yep," Max cracked his knuckles and sat down. "Where's Eva?"
"Oh, David took her on a little road trip to go meet his sister," Gwen replied. "I had no interest in going. His sister hates me."
"Oh god I fucking hate Aunt Danielle. She's always so petty and passive aggressive," Max scoffed.
Gwen snorted. "You used to be the same way."
"True. But she's literally David's polar opposite. I've never seen her smile!" Max exclaimed
"Well Max," Gwen started, "She had a really bad upbringing."
Max rolled his eyes. "So did David."
"David had Camp. She never really had anything she was good at. She just got depressed and coped with it by being a total bitch. But David conquered his sadness by focusing on things like school and music," Gwen explained.
Max looked down. "Is that what I do?"
"What?" Gwen asked, confused.
Max shrugged. "I mean, the reason I was a complete asshole when I was younger is because I was coping with... everything. Even now when I'm sad I just like..." he trailed off.
Gwen exhaled. She didn't know what to say. So, she improvised. "Look, it's different Max. You're not anything like that anymore. You were ten and had a reason to not trust anyone and have issues. Your birth parents are shitty people. Their actions fucked you up. No offense."
"None taken." Max leaned his head on his mom's shoulder. "I try not to think about that stuff."
"Me too," Gwen sighed.
Max sat up. "Mom, yesterday something happened with Nikki and it kind of ruined my night."
"What?" she asked.
"She raised her arm while we were screaming at each other during monopoly and I raised my arm in defense and flinched. I didn't even think she was going to hit me. It was a natural reaction. And it was really awkward for like 2 minutes. And I'm just embarrassed and anxious..." Max started tearing up and Gwen took his hand.
"Hey hey hey," she squeezed his hand. "Don't cry. You'll be okay."
"Okay..." he hiccuped. "It's all just been coming back to me ya know? Like I had a lot of repressed feelings and I hate this feeling of pain."
"I get it," Gwen sympathized. "But I promise it gets better though. I went through some stuff in my childhood too. Granted, it wasn't as bad as what you went through. But it gave me anxiety and trust issues. David was the first person to get that. He was the only one who didn't get awkward when talking about my life, even though I was the exact opposite when he told me about his childhood."
Max chuckled through tears. "Eva's gonna be the only one in this family who won't have a crappy childhood."
"True," she giggled. "I'm glad I can give her what I didn't have when I was growing up in foster care."
Max wiped his tears. After a bit of awkward silence, Max said, "Thank you."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"Just thanks for everything. I'm really happy that I'm not with my biological parents anymore. I can't even imagine my life without you guys. I don't know what would've happened if I had stayed with them. The thought scares me." Max smiled sheepishly and Gwen flashed a smile.
"I'm really proud of you for talking about this, Max. But... I kind of think you should talk to a therapist about your issues," Gwen admitted.
Max groaned. "Can't I just talk to you? You're a therapist."
"No!" Gwen rolled her eyes. "That's not gonna help you. You need to see a real therapist."
"I'll try it," Max agreed.
Gwen sighed in relief. "Oh thank god. David would've been upset if I didn't convince you."
"Wait," Max cringed. "How long have you guys wanted me to see a therapist?"
"Oh, well we've been discussing it for a few years," Gwen answered.
Max buried his head in his hands. "Fuck..."
Gwen looked up, trying to find the right words. "Don't take it the wrong way. We've just always been worried that you might get depressed." Max didn't respond. "Max. You probably have PTSD or something like that. I know that may sound like a harsh assessment, but you show a lot of the signs." Once again, no response. "I'm so sorry, Max."
"I just don't like talking about it," he slumped over and Gwen tried her best to comfort him.
"I know you don't like talking about it, but I think you need to," Gwen put her hand on his shoulder and he smiled.