34. Maxon
Sixteen Years Ago
Paige Knox just punched me.
And I think I’m in love with her.
She’s been here for two weeks and already she’s got Theo and Aspen wrapped around her finger. I am not that easily persuaded though, at least not when it comes to letting her win at games just because she’s a girl.
Which is why I accused her of cheating at Monopoly.
And that’s why she punched me.
Now neither of us own Park Place and Theo and Aspen have booted us from the game, dividing up our properties between the two of them.
This is anarchy.
Paige steps up to me while I sulk in the corner of the playroom, watching outside the window as it rains outside, and holds out an ice pack. “I’m sorry I punched you.” She says sullenly, a slight pout on her lips, her eyes swollen from her own crying over the game.
I eye the offering, trying to keep the smile from my face. “I guess I deserved it.” I say, taking the ice pack from her and holding it up to my eye. “I’m sorry I said you were cheating.”
She shrugs, plopping down next to me and watching as Aspen takes his turn rolling the dice.
“You know,” I say. “If we team up, I bet we could take them out.”
She huffs out a little laugh and something within my stomach sparks to life. Like I just ate a firecracker and now it’s going off inside me. Paige glances to me out of the corner of her eye, then back to the boys playing the board game. “Maybe next time.” She says before standing and going off to a different corner of the room and settling in one of the bean bags to read.
I sigh, realizing for the first time that I wish I had Paige’s attention instead of one of her books.
Ten Years Ago
“I just don’t understand why you got into a fight with that guy.” Theo’s lecturing me as he drives Aspen and I back from the hospital.
He doesn’t need to understand though, because Mike got what he deserved and I don’t care that I got a busted eyebrow in the process.
It only needed six stitches.
Paige should never have been dating that loser anyways. Personally, I don’t think she should be dating anyone. At least not anyone who isn’t me. But she won’t date me, not openly, not when Aspen and Theo could find out, and it’s driving me crazy. She doesn’t know how I have to fight telling my best friend about the girl that’s gotten inside my head and under my skin. Why I don’t want to ask anyone to homecoming because the only girl I want to take is his pseudo-sister. Or that I only come over to their house to “study” in order to get some chance at spending time with Paige, and that I’m always too distracted to get any actual work done.
But this is how Paige wanted it, these are the terms she set when things started spiraling from “just hanging out” to something more when the Bennett’s would leave for any length of time. We act like all is normal when Aspen and Theo are around even though all is very far from “normal.”
And the crazy part is that it’s worth it. Just getting those few short days of Paige’s undivided attention is worth the turmoil of the rest of the year. The side glances and secret smiles are worth her ignoring me the rest of the time.
That our quick kiss over summer break was worth the torture of watching her date some jerk like Mike.
Nine Years Ago
I curse at the car in front of me, it’s annoyingly yellow and bright and I hate its brakes. Or, more accurately, its brakes hate me.
“Hey, be nice to my car.” Paige says from her perch on my worktable, and I glance to her, wiping the sweat from my brow and I’m sure that I left another grease mark on my face going off the way a slow smile spreads across her lips.
“I’ll be nice once it actually starts cooperating.” I say back, stepping towards her and placing a hand on either side of her, boxing her in on the bench. Even with her added height though, she still has to look up at me slightly when I put her in this position and that’s part of the reason I do it.
She shoots me a smug look. “Oh, so that’s the rule huh?”
I chuckle. “Only for the car. I kind of like it when you’re mean.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re such a masochist.”
I laugh. “I take offense to that. Do you want me to fix your car?”
A pout springs to her lips but the mischievous glint is still stuck in her eyes that I love. “Yes, please. I love my car.”
“Yeah, well, I love you.” I say it before I realize it. Before I can snag the words back and shove them back inside where they belong because I have never said that before.
And going off her expression and silence, it was the last thing Paige expected too.
We stare at each other for a long moment, stuck in the deafening silence of shock before I push off from the bench and run a hand along the back of my neck. “Max… I…” She hesitates and I know that whatever she’s going to say isn’t something that I want to hear.
“Don’t worry about it Pages, you don’t have to say anything.” I tell her and turn back to her yellow bug, trying to stop my brain from the racing thoughts it’s having and focus on something I CAN fix.
Because I have a feeling I just messed everything up.
Eight Years Ago
I’ve never been one for dramatics… but I think Paige is quite literally trying to kill me.
“Don’t do this.” I say, and I run my thumb over her knuckles, a motion that would normally settle my nerves, but this time it feels different.
Like it’s the last time I’m ever going to do it.
Paige’s gaze darts between me and the line for security, a backpack slung over her shoulder and she shakes her head. “Max, we’ve been kidding ourselves for too long. Things would never actually work out between the two of us.” She says and another piece inside me cracks. She told me yesterday not to follow her to the airport, but I didn’t listen, and now I’m starting to wish that I had…
At this point I’m not entirely sure what’s holding me together.
“I love you, Paige. And I know you love me.”
She pulls her hand from mine and it’s like she’s literally stabbed me. “I used to Max… but we’re not kids anymore.” She says, hanging her head slightly so she doesn’t have to see my anguish before turning her back to me and starting towards the security line. “Goodbye Maxon.”
Five Years Ago
Aspen is laughing at his own joke, because honestly, it wasn’t that funny. But I’m entertaining him and chuckling slightly myself, taking a slow drink from my cup.
It’s Mr. Bennett’s 50th birthday and Aspen is taking full advantage of recently being of legal drinking age. Which is apparent in the quality of his jokes. Around us the Bennett’s estate is decorated in black and gold, and I can’t help but like the color theme. A subtle elegance hangs about the ballroom, with large poster boards hanging throughout, covered in pictures from different eras of Mr. Bennett’s life.
Whoever Mrs. Bennett hired to decorate did an excellent job.
“I think I’m going to throw up.” Aspen suddenly says, snapping my attention back to him and his sudden ashen complexion.
Mrs. Bennett is going to kill me.
“Come on buddy.” I hoist one of his arms over my shoulder and we start toward the restroom.
If he throws up on my tux, I’m going to dump him in the hallway to fend for himself.
We step out of the ballroom and I take a quick glance down the hall to make sure neither his brother or mom are waiting for us. When I’m satisfied nobody is there, we start down the long hall, heading towards the bathroom that’s tucked beneath the stairs. It’s not the best suited for this kind of situation, but at least it’s the closest.
Aspen mumbles something that I don’t understand as we stagger down the hall and I have to fend off a laugh at my friend. I’m trying very hard not to take pleasure in his misery, but it’s kind of hard not to when he started the evening by saying he wasn’t going to overdo it. We’re coming up to the bathroom when the door into the kitchen opens suddenly, and out steps the last person I expected to see…
Paige.
I drop Aspen and he lets out a groan as he crashes to the floor, snapping Paige’s attention from the clipboard in her hands to her pseudo-brother and I. When her steely grey eyes meet mine, I feel like the world has come to a crashing stop. Toying with this moment, slowing time to an excruciating halt as we stare at each other in the hallway like we were the last two people on Earth.
My mind spins, what is she doing here? When did she get back? Was she ever going to tell me?
I gulp down the lump that’s formed in my throat, and I’m actually thankful when she tears her attention from me and back down to Aspen who’s curled into the fetal position. “What’s wrong with him?” She glares down at my best friend by the toes of her shoes.
I can’t take my eyes off her though, especially not in the black, flared dress she’s wearing, with her hair curled and laying around her shoulders, begging me to run my fingers through it. So, I’m left there, staring at her as she crouches next to Aspen and assesses him, her soft features focused and eyes narrowed. She’s grown harder since the last time I saw her in the airport, her skin is paler and something changed in the way she’s holding herself, like she has a job to do and I’m in the way.
“Maxon?” She snaps and it kicks me from my study of her, and my gaze darts to Aspen on the ground.
“He’s drunk.” I say quickly. “I was trying to get him to the bathroom.”
She straightens and lets out an aggravated sigh. “Great, just great, he was supposed to give a speech.”
I pull a face. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
She lets out another huff and turns her attention to the clipboard. “I’ll just make Theo say something.” She mutters and I knit my brow at the weird way she’s talking.
Her eyes snap back to me, then down to Aspen. “We should get him somewhere before he gets sick all over the hallway.”
I nod and together Paige and I manage to get Aspen back on his feet and I start him towards the bathroom once again, leaving Paige in the doorway to the kitchen with her clipboard.
“Hey,” I say, glancing over my shoulder before dropping Aspen off in the restroom, she arches a brow in question at me and I shoot her a soft smile. “You look good.”
Two Years Ago
“Just come and hang out before I have to go and suffer through this stupid reunion.” Aspen’s voice comes over the phone speaker and I roll my eyes.
“Why don’t you just tell your mom that you can’t come this year?” I ask, toying with the pen in my hands.
He lets out huff. “How about you call her and tell her that and let me know how it goes?”
I laugh. “Okay, fair enough.”
“So, you’ll come to Paris?” His voice is hopeful, and I stifle a sigh. Honestly, I’d really rather not… I just got the new tiles for the cabin’s kitchen in and was planning on working on that this weekend. I glance to the calendar on my desk, it’s been a week since I”ve been out in public, which meant I needed to be seen soon, and partying in Paris would be a good spectacle I suppose. I run a hand through my hair, I’d need a haircut before leaving…
“Okay, fine. I’ll come.” I say and shake my head when Aspen lets out a whoop of excitement.
We say a quick goodbye and I tell him I’ll let him know when I’m supposed to get in before hanging up and I don’t even have a minute of silence in my office before Devon pokes his head through the door. “Is your call over?”
I arch a brow at him. “Yes…?”
“Your father is in his office, he’d like to see you.”
I let out a groan before standing from my desk and starting towards Devon with a sour look. “You know, we need a code word for the next time I need to lie about what I’m doing.” I say and my assistant simply shakes his head as he follows me through the office.
“Hello Mr. Grant.” My father’s newest intern greets me, batting her eyelashes and I suppress an eye roll. This is why I’ve started keeping male secretaries around, Devon never tries to flirt with me.
“Hi, is my father in?” I don’t wait for her to answer though, and instead open the door to find my father behind his desk, engrossed in something on his computer screen.
“Oh! I can-”
I close the door before the girl can finish what she was saying. Taking the few steps that span the distance between me and my father’s desk, I plop down in one of the leather chairs that are far less comfortable than they look. “You wanted to see me.” I say after a moment of silence other than the tapping of his keys on the keyboard.
My father’s dark eyes travel from his screen to me, the usual dissatisfied frown causing the wrinkles on his forehead to look like craters that belong in the Grand Canyon. “Yes, I did. I want you to take a look at this case.” He pulls a file from one of his drawers and tosses it on the desktop in front of me.
I shake my head, refusing to even look at the case. He’s been trying to get me into more criminal cases like he takes, and I haven’t ventured into that specialty of law, not to mention I have no desire to. “Thanks Dad, but my schedule is full.” I shrug my shoulders as if it was completely out of my control.
His frown only deepens. “Is that so?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m actually going to be away for a while so, I wouldn’t even be able to take care of the case if I did have the time. Which I don’t.”
He lets out a groan, rubbing at his temple for a moment. “You’re not leaving for those silly publicity stunts again, are you?”
I hold my arms out wide in a “what can I do” gesture. “The people want what the people want.” I say.
My father just shakes his head though. “I swear, after all the effort Fiona put into getting rid of that girl and you still turned out to be such a disappointment.”
Within me, my blood goes cold, my knuckles turning white as I ball my fists on the armchair, but I keep my voice even and playful. “Which girl? There are so many of them.”
But there’s only one that ever mattered.
He waves a dismissive hand. “Oh, that one you were going to go travel with after high school, what was her name? Paper or something?”
“Paige.”
“Yes. That one.” He shakes his head, turning his attention back to his computer. “After all we did to get you into a decent college and you still insist on throwing your life away for pathetic pursuits.”
With great effort, I take a steadying breath and stand from my seat. “Yes, well, I’m sorry I’m such a continued disappointment. Out of curiosity, what did Fiona say to Paige?”
He makes a dismissive noise like it was the least of his concern, and I know I only have half of his attention when his eyes start darting left and right while he reads something on his screen. “Oh, I don’t know. You’d have to ask her that.”
Oh… I plan to.