Breathe || Max X Reader - Camp Camp

XXVI

Y/N's POV
Word Count: 974

Max wasn't too far. After surveying the surroundings, at the end of the big clearing towards the woods I noticed a muddy footprint. It might not have been Max's, but I had sworn to've watched him exit close to that area, and I was willing to take my chances.
I stood at the edge of the forest, stroking my chin. What would Max do? Max would've ran forward and continued that way. I knew that he always acted before he thought, so I felt sure I'd find him if I just ran forward.
With my right thumb, I picked at the bark of the tree closest to me. The texture, as expected, was rough. The bark finally peeled away, only for a small bit of it to jab itself under my nail. "Shit!", I screamed. I'm not supposed to say that! I clenched my left fist and gritted my teeth as I kicked the tree. Okay, we've gotta' get this out now.
My thumb wasn't swollen, but it did look a bit different. It was redder than normal. The piece of wood that protruded from under the nail bed was about a centimeter wide, and just barely long enough for me to grab. My eyes were watering. One thing I had always struggled with was pain. I was in so much pain.
I tipped my head back and let out a few screams of agony. It wasn't even that bad, but I was so afraid to pull out the piece of bark. "Max!", I hollered. I knew he wouldn't come back, but it was worth a try. "Max!" My screams were different now, though. I wasn't begging for him to come anymore, I was begging for help. It was a shriek if hopeless defeat, which I prayed would lure him back. "Either way," I told myself. "I've got to get rid of this headache."
My thumb rested itself on my index finger. With my other hand, I latched onto the piece of wood. The feeling was terrible. It was like constantly being pinched, not being able to let go of the pinch. "Ah!", I screamed at the top of my lungs. The back of my throat was raw from my screaming, and my stomach muscles felt sore. But I yanked as hard as I could manage on that piece of wood, and it came out.
A bit of blood squirted from under my thumb. I watched as my nail turned red. As much as I wanted to go back to camp and have Gwen fix me up, I still had a mission to accomplish.

It had been ten minutes since that darn tree attacked me. And here I was, running through the woods. Sadly, I had only spotted two markers so far. One was a footprint in some mud that Max made, and the other was a gum wrapper. Other than that, there were no real signs that I was going the right way.
And even with that, I still wasn't confident that I'd find Max. I knew I was close, though. Max walked so slowly all the time, and I had been running, so I was bound to catch up to him.
As I ran, my flabby thigh skin jiggled up and down. Ew, that's pretty gross. Instead of continuing to belittle myself, I decided to focus on the task at hand. "Max!", I screamed. There was still no answer. The bottoms of my feet felt as if they had been bruised. I was hurting all over. "Max!"
Still no response.
Except for a stick. My eyes widened. I heard it once more. The sounds of crunching leaves was gaining on me. As blood continued to drip from my thumb, I steadied myself and fell silent. "M-Max.", I whispered. Part of me was considering that I might've been hearing coyotes, or some other woodland creature. The trees were so condensed that I couldn't see what was walking towards me.
Slowly, I seen a hand covered by a blue hoodie sleeve weave its way between two trees. It was Max. And finally, the entire body weaved its way to me.
His eyes were red, and his nose was puffy. "Y/N, you followed me.", he said.
I nodded. Without a word, he latched onto me and pulled me into a hug. His fluffy hair glided against the side of my head as I rested it on his shoulder. With my healthy hand, I tightly gripped his hoodie. "We have to go home.", I pressed. I hadn't even taken notice to the fact that I had finally called camp my 'home'. As I pulled away from Max, I seen a single tear trail from his left eye. He wiped it clean and just stood there.
"Your hand.", he mentioned. I looked down to my thumb. It was bleeding, and still throbbing in pain, but I was okay with it at that point.
I nodded. "Yeah, I know.", I replied. With my other hand, I grabbed Max's shoulder. "Listen. I can't go with you, okay? This is your last chance, Max. I don't want you to do this to me."
His eyes were twitching. He didn't say anything. The boy just grabbed my hand and started walking in the direction of camp.
So I followed him, and neither of us talked.
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A/N - As you can tell, this story is in fact coming to a close. Only a few more chapters left before I officially wrap this bad boy up and put a bow on it. The entire story is nearly done, but there's still some work left for me to do. Also, I hope my hiatus wasn't terribly unbearable for you. I wish I didn't have to do band camp, but we can't always get what we want. ☁️