Beyond Eighteen Read Online Free PDF Page B

and yet
unnoticeable until now.
    “What happened?” I gasped.
    “Nothin’,” Max spat as he pulled away and
repositioned his jacket collar to cover his neck.
    “That’s not nothing , Max. Did Nick do
this to you?” I demanded as I reached over to pull away his
collar.
    “It doesn’t matter. It’s over and I’m fine.
Come on,” he tried to convince me as he clutched my hand and pushed
it away from his neck.
    A chill shot down the back of my spine. His
cut up hands and bruised neck were my fault. Suddenly my ability to
breathe and think clearly vanished. The temperature in the car
became unbearably hot and every inch of my skin was drenched. I
flung the door open, hoping to find relief from the scorching,
crowded space enveloping me.
    Before I could welcome the refreshing winter
freeze, Max stretched his arm across me, grabbing the door handle.
He pulled it closed and pushed down on the lock.
    “What are you doing?” I asked, stunned.
    “Don’t leave! You can’t walk away from me,”
Max growled. His eyes slowly traced my expression as he inhaled
heavily.
    “What? I wasn’t leav—”
    “I just buried my dad; I can’t handle losing
anyone else I love. I can’t lose…you. Again,” Max said
apologetically.
    A simple expanding pause encompassed us
until I broke the silence.
    “Then I don’t understand why you didn’t come
for me,” I carped. I knew my words were going to pierce his heart.
But I had to find out why. His earthy green eyes constricted. His
cheeks flushed while his ears burned red. He dragged his hands
across his head, pulling back on his silken hair.
    I continued with my accusations, pummeling
him with every question I had. “Why didn’t you come for me? Why
didn’t you call me, or at the very least text me. I need you to
tell me why!”
    “Wilson, I did. I called you but Nick
answered your phone. He told me that you’d finally fallen asleep
and that I needed to give you time. I had to believe that you were
okay and that you’d call me when you were ready,” Max steamed.
    “You called?” I mumbled.
    “Yes, several times. When I didn’t hear back
from you I felt myself tilt back into that spiraling mess I was in
before. Wilson, the thought of losing you…” he paused. “So I tried
one last time; I had Calvin text Nick and ask him to bring you to
my father’s funeral. I thought if it wasn’t me asking…maybe you’d
come. It was my last attempt to get you back. I waited for you to
show up. And when you never came…” his voice trailed off. He shook
his head as he lowered his eyes.
    My heart melted into a puddle of complete
sadness. And to believe I didn’t think he wanted me.
    “Nick never told me you called. He never said anything to me about your father’s funeral. If I
had known, I would have been there for you in a heartbeat,” I
cried.
    I could feel the heat rush to my face as I
thought about the words Max was saying to me. If they were true,
then Nick intentionally set out to ruin my relationship with Max. I
tried to push the button to lower my window. The oxygen in the car
suddenly disappeared and I couldn’t breathe deeply enough to keep
from hyperventilating. The only thing I could do to avoid either
throwing up or passing out was to fling the door open and get out.
So that’s what I did.
    The freezing evening air sliced across my
skin. I hopped out before Max could reach across to close the door
again. An ache built steadily from the back of my neck all the way
down to the soles of my feet. My body temperature plummeted. The
uneven snow under my boots shifted and I fell against the car. It
felt like the world kept going and I was left behind. Everything
was swirling around me. It wasn’t the death of my grandparents or
Frank that hurled me over the edge, but the betrayal by Nick. My
world came crashing down.
    I heard the car door slam and the snow
crunch under Max’s footsteps as he came around to me. I looked up
at him through my tear-filled eyes. I felt