Thief(10)

“Can we do it on our date?”

He chuckles deeply and kisses my cheek, whispering in my ear, “Yes, and I can’t wait.”

Max walks over to us and raises his eyebrows at me. “I leave you alone for five minutes, Vi, five minutes.”

I hide my smile behind my hand, while Max narrows his eyes on Dash. “We’ll be having a chat soon, dude.”

Dash’s mouth tightens, but he nods, probably accepting that he’s going to have to put up with Max if he wants to go on a date with me. Suddenly feeling in an extremely good mood, I stand up and say, “I’m pretty sure dancing was promised tonight.”

We dance.

We laugh.

It’s two am when I’ve finally had enough.

“Max, can we go now?” I ask him, pulling on his t-shirt. “Dash says he’s ready whenever you are.”

A very drunk Max wraps his arm around me and grins. “The night is still young though, Vi.”

I roll my eyes. “Come on. We’ll get some food on the way home.”

“I can get him home,” Liam says, hearing our exchange. “Matt is our designated driver and is dropping us all off. We’ve got room for Max too.”

I look at Max. “Do you want to do that? I’d rather you came home with us, though.”

He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll stay. We’re going to play some soccer in the backyard.”

“Drunk soccer doesn’t sound like a good idea,” I decide to point out, pursing my lips. “Message me as soon as you get home, all right?”

“Promise,” he says then looks to Dash. “Get her home safely, yeah?”

Dash nods and takes my wrist, pulling me out of Max’s arms and next to him. I wave bye to Max again and then walk with Dash to his car, hand-in-hand.

“He really doesn’t need to tell me to look after you,” he says softly. “You know I’ll do it anyway—one, because I want to, and two, because any good man would.”

He opens the passenger car door for me, and I boldly stop him from moving with my hand on his chest. Going up on my tip-toes, I kiss his lips one more time then pull away and smile. “I know, Dash. You don’t need to tell me. Max is just being Max.”

AKA overprotective.

He tips my chin up, and then kisses me again.

Best night ever.





Chapter Six


I wake up with a smile on my face, replaying last night in my head. Dash and I had gotten some food together, chatted and flirted, and then he dropped me home and walked me to my door, where we kissed for a few magical moments. I reach over and grab my phone, frowning when I see no messages from either Max or Dash, when I told them both to message me when they got home safely.

I have a quick shower, some breakfast, and then head next door to annoy Max. Last time he was hung over, I jumped on his bed until he actually picked me up, deposited me at his front door, and then locked me out. It was even funnier, because his mum yelled at him for it afterwards. I knock on his front door, hoping his parents are home to open it for me; otherwise, I’ll have to climb the wall and jump through his window. It’s been done several times before, but only in emergencies, because it takes a hell of a lot of effort to get up there. The door opens and I breathe a sigh of relief, but then I get a look at Leah’s, Max’s mum’s, face.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her, wondering why it looks like she’s been crying. Her eyes are red and swollen, and what’s worse than that, is that they look lifeless. A horrible feeling creeps up on me, spreading through my body and settling in my stomach.

“Leah?” I ask, my voice breaking.

She pulls me into her arms and starts sobbing.

I start to cry too, because I know something bad has happened.

Is Max’s dad okay?

“He’s gone, Vi,” she says through her tears. “He’s gone. What am I going to do without my baby?”

“Who is gone?” I manage to get out, not understanding. I know Max is okay. He’s in his bed, fast asleep. I know he is. I step away from her and run up the stairs to his room, slam the door open, and stare in disbelief at his untouched sheets.

He must have stayed with a girl overnight.

Max is fine; he has to be.

“Their car crashed,” she says to me, crying so loudly that I can’t think. “He didn’t make it.”

“No,” is all I say, shaking my head from side to side. “No!”

“Max is gone, Vi,” she says, glancing around his room. “He’s gone.”

As I absorb this information, my body shuts down.

My heart freezes.

My soul perishes.

Max isn’t the only one who died that morning.

*****

Sometimes, emotional pain can hurt worse than physical.

Sometimes, emotional pain can feel like physical pain.

My chest hurts, feeling tight and constricted.

I can’t breathe.

When will I breathe easy again?

My head hurts.

My heart doesn’t feel like it will ever beat again.

Pain…all I feel is pain.

Grief.

Loss.

The most excruciating, hopeless pain I’ve ever felt.

I will never be me again.

I won’t make it out of this unscathed.