Away With Him

18 - Icing On The Cake

I could have screamed out loud. I wanted to. I wanted to scream a lot. But I didn't. Very calmly I got dressed. I was well aware of Max sitting right behind me. I was lucky that he was speaking to his mother in French because that was easier to tune out. By the time I was all dry and dressed Max was still on the phone. His elbows were rested on his knees and he stared down at the floor. He was sitting on the very edge of the wooden bench. I left and waited in the car.

My leg was shaking so much that the entire car was probably bouncing up and down. In the rear view mirror, I stared longingly at the door that Max would be coming out of in a few minutes. I wanted to talk to him. I needed to understand why the hell he answered the call. I knew I should have just blocked Camille's number after the first call but Max said no.

As much as I wanted to confront Max about the call, when he finally did come into view in the car's mirror, I panicked. My palms became sweaty and I could barely look at him straight. When he climbed into the passenger seat I didn't say a word. Neither did he. He leaned over the centre console, turned my head towards him and kissed me. Everything's fine, I told myself.

Max didn't even mention the phone call again until after dinner. I had almost forgotten about it by that point. We were lying on the couch watching a re-run episode of Modern Family. My head was resting on Max's chest and our legs were intertwined in a tangle of limbs.

"My mom wants me to go back home," Max said blandly as he combed his fingers through my hair. Mom, who was sitting at the other end of the couch, put down her phone when Max spoke and gasped. The sudden intake of air caused her to cough a little.

"What?" she managed to say, as she finally cleared her throat.

"She was crying on the phone earlier. She told me she was sorry for what she did," Max disclosed. I sat up on the couch and spun to face my boyfriend.

"You're not gonna go back, are you? You can't really believe her," I blurted.

"Riley!" Mom hissed, shooting me daggers with her eyes. Max just shrugged his shoulders.

"No. I don't think so. I don't know," Max exhaled, "I think I was getting a bit homesick which is why I answered the call in the first place. I wanted to hear what she had to say. And she did sound genuinely sorry."

"But remember what she did to us. The terrible things she said," I remarked.

"Every time I close my eyes I hear her words," Max nodded. I muted the TV and the three of us went silent for a while. I looped my fingers around Max's and traced circles on the back of his hand with my thumb. He was still staring downwards but I could see the smile on his face.

"I want to see Violette," Max broke the silence and continued, "I want to know that she's okay. I never even got to say a real goodbye to her."

My bottom lip puckered when I heard Max say this. I knew I couldn't have Max all to myself, but I didn't want him to go back to parents that didn't love him. Parents that were happy to see him leave his home. Then again, I knew that I could never fully understand what a proper parent and child relationship should be like because my parents were detached for most of my life.

"It's completely your choice if you want to go back," Mom offered her opinion. I hated that I agreed with her. At the end of the day it was Max's decision. And I would have to support him, no matter what he chose. "You seem really happy being here. Especially when you're with Riley. Can you compare your life now to what it used to be? If you did go back, you might not have Riley with you."

Max's face was impossible to read. It was emotionless. He eyes swayed from Mom to me then to the floor. His fingers fidgeted anxiously and his body posture looked uncomfortable. His mind was probably racing furiously.