Chapter Text
Roman parted her thighs and sat her on top of his knees. Embarrassed by the position, she tried to get up, but Roman had a firm grip on her waist. He took her breast into his mouth, nipping and sucking at it while grinding himself against her. Feeling faint, she held onto his head and rubbed her cheek against his soft hair.
Panting, Roman plunged into her. Sharp pain and pleasure coursed through her body as their bodies merged, their limbs entangled like snakes.
"Did you miss me terribly?"
She gazed at him through misty eyes. As their bodies began to pound against each other faster and faster, Maxine feared that her heart would burst.
"Tell me that you did."
"I m-missed you t-terribly," Maxine stammered in a daze.
Her body writhed in anticipation as his body melted into hers. Roman clenched his teeth and began to thrust deeper. Maxine clung to him tightly -
“Class.”
A voice sharp enough to cut stone rang in Maximilian’s ear, causing her to slam the lewd fiction book in her hands closed - loud enough for the people in front of her to turn and give her the stink eye. Professor Serbel only gives her a sideways glance.
“Describe the first stages of Eukaryotic Transcription.”
Crickets. Her professor looked around, unamused, as everyone shifted in their seats uncomfortably.
“Don’t disappoint me. This is first year Org Chem..” He grunts, before reaching into his coat.
The whole class inaudibly groans. One would think that college sophomores wouldn’t dread answering in class as much, but more than a year has passed and not one person has grown fond of Professor Serbel’s penchant for graded recitation.
He shuffles through the pile of palm sized flashcards in his hands - each one containing a name from his afternoon class - and pulls one out.
People watched as he looked at the card, pursed his lips, and placed it back in rotation. He pulls out another card.
“Miriam?”
A dark-haired woman stands up begrudgingly before giving Serbel an answer. “The… The promoters enter the nucleus, sir.”
Serbel snorts before gesturing to the class in a sweeping motion.
“Anyone got an answer more vague than that? To think I allotted you all three days of reading...”
Everyone began scrambling for their notes while Maximilian sighs and looks back down at the first edition of Under the Oak Tree on her armchair. It was one of her favorite books, revolving around the beautiful romance between a wizard and a knight. A fantasy - which Maximilian preferred, since her reality was depressingly grim in comparison. She wanted to go back to the guilt-inducing smut scene she was passing through but decided to passively stare at the board instead. Maximilian wonders, for the hundredth time, why Serbel bothered to keep her name in the pile of flashcards if he was never going to call her in the first place.
Class ends and everyone nearly bolts out of the room. It was nearly 6 pm and people were not exactly fond of night classes. Maximilian watched as everyone discussed their plans for the night amongst one another - things socially adjusted people her age usually do - as she headed out the door alone.
“Maximilian.”
Professor Serbel’s stern voice prevented her quick escape.
The man looked as dismissive and uncaring as ever as he leafed through a stack of papers in his hands. Calto Serbel had a reputation for chewing up students and spitting them out, much like gum against a pavement, so Maximilian naturally felt nervous as he looked up at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
“I am aware that lots of people fail this course.” He starts, she could already predict where the conversation was headed. “The university can practically run from its remedial school alone. It’s the reason why I can’t go vacationing in Livadon every damn summer like the other professors.”
Despite his snide and sarcastic tone, he wasn’t lying. Serbel taught second year Chemical Biology. Chemistry and Biology were already difficult enough on their own, and it was laughable that someone thought it would be a swell idea to put them together.
“You, on the other hand…”
Maxi’s eyes snapped to the piece of paper he slid across the table and towards her. A big fat “14/50” gleamed next to her name.
“Three tests in a row. Before this, you never got more than five mistakes.”
To be fair, she forgot to answer a few questions - by few, she meant almost a quarter of the test. Not that she cared, or even bothered. Maximilian weakly takes the test and stuffs it into her messenger bag.
“I was informed you failed your last Genetics exam as well.” Maximilian was then hit by the harrowing idea that perhaps the professors were gossiping about her. It made her feel like there were worms beneath her skin. At her surprised expression, Serbel gives her a crooked smirk.
“The drop in your performance is alarming. Did you honestly think the faculty would not notice? It’s like watching a sports car skidding off a highway.”
Then he does something a little strange. Serbel simply fixes her with a look, silent, almost like he was coaxing her to talk first. Perhaps he wanted her to tell him what was wrong, why she stopped caring. She could tell he was not the mushy type, that this was torturous for him as much as it was for her. She didn’t speak a word.
He sighs. “I’m not good at this stuff. I got the Guidance Counselor's number if you want. But if you’re struggling with comprehending the lessons, I am always willing to help. I know you are a bright student.”
She heads out, embarrassed that the professors might think she was some troubled teenager. Kind of like those high schoolers from Netflix movies, kids who sell drugs and commit arson with their friends.
It was different. Maximilian was in her second year of university and she was yet to have a single, proper conversation with someone. She was a grown adult, yet she felt like a toddler left alone in a giant house.
A few minutes later Maximilian was busying herself in a restroom stall when she heard a few familiar voices enter.
“Can you believe it? He skipped over her again .”
It was one of the girls in her class. Maximilian braces herself.
“Honestly Miriam, can you just forget about her? The graded recitation is just for extra points,” said another, more tired, voice.
“Hardly! You all know how much Serbel loves to humiliate students in public except for her. The bitch manages to stay at the top of our class despite not uttering a single word.”
“I heard she got a 3.9 GPA last semester too,” said another familiar voice. Maximilian silently sighs. It was a 4.0.
“ Exactly . It’s nepotism. Her rich dad is probably buying off the professors just to give her a good grade.”
“That’s probably true. But you’ve been gossiping about her since last year and nothing has changed. It’s unfair, but will it kill you to just not care about that Croix girl anymore?”
“I’m not gossiping , I’m just preaching for justice!”
Someone chortles. “Miriam’s just bitter that she answered wrong.”
“I am not!”
Maximilian didn’t realize she was holding her breath until their voices slowly became inaudible as they left the bathroom. Even when she finally let her lungs take in air, it was almost like there was a fist around her esophagus. She takes some time to gather herself and take in their words.
She noticed how her classmates seemed more resigned and uncaring towards the ‘special treatment’ she got these days, but Maximilian could never forget their initial reception. She remembers how angry they were that she never got called in class, or the fact she never had to speak during presentations, or that she was exempted from all group work. How she seemed to have flawless test scores and grades without even uttering a single word.
Then one day they finally found out her secret - she was the daughter of one of the richest businessmen in the country.
It was easy to view her as a spoiled rich girl who had connections and gained everything she wanted, and everyone did not even hesitate to see her as such. They already alienated her in the first place because she refused to utter a single sound to anyone. Initially people thought she was strange - at most, disabled or mute - but once they knew of her family people started assuming that she was too stuck up to talk to anyone. It only got worse when professors let her pass on oral presentations or group works, or when she continuously got the highest scores of the class on her exams. People started assuming that her father was buying the university off.
Maxi stifles a bitter smile. The professors all know in their hearts that she got those scores on her own.
Nonetheless, they were right. Her father was buying the school off, but for a reason that none of the other students could imagine.
She leaves the restroom and quietly makes her way to the parking lot. Her mind was already racing with things to do as a way for her to delay going home. Her father recently returned from a business trip and she dreaded seeing him.
On the way there she passes by the university’s large field. The sun was beginning to set and yet Team Remdragon seemed to be still in the middle of their drills. Maxi couldn’t help but look at them in their sweaty gym clothes and flushed faces, slightly enraptured.
One man always seemed to stand out from all of them.
He was standing at the forefront, barking orders that Maximilian couldn’t even bother to comprehend. And the light hit him just right , making him look like a reel from a movie.
When Maximilian first saw Riftan Calypse, she knew he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
He would have been, if only Maximilian didn’t immediately feel frightened every time he gave her a glance. His eyes were intense and dark and angry , so angry, and he seemed to have a permanent scowl on his full lips. Maximilian knew that he had a notorious reputation for being cold and brusque, yet that didn’t stop nearly every straight woman, gay man, and bicurious jock boy in the university to fawn over him.
She stared as he wiped the sweat off his brow. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, exposing his muscled arms and solid shoulders, as he then ran a hand through his tousled, sweaty hair. His golden-brown skin looked glorious against the setting sun and his muscled body stood tall and strong amidst his peers. Maximilian is reminded of one of the men on the covers of those 90’s romance books.
And then, like always , he manages to feel her gazing at him. He returns the look with a glare.
Stifling a squeak, Maximilian walks faster.
He was a skilled athlete and single handedly brought the university’s sports department into heights it’s never even dreamed of. The university paper even waxed lyrical and called him a knight in his previous life, with having the strength and reflexes that men could only dream of.
And he always felt it when Maximilian was staring at him, like he had eyes on the back of his head. It was strange. He often looked back at her with a piercing gaze like no other.
Maximilian couldn’t bring herself to like him. Not when he looked at her with so much hatred.
She figured that out of all the people in the university, no one else had a bigger right to hate her other than Riftan Calypse.
He was a classic underdog story, and Maximilian’s family was the villain in his tale. Maximilian heard he came from a poor background and managed to climb his way into one of the most prestigious schools in the world. Judging from his humble beginnings and mixed race, there had been talks of how Ezion Croix has made it hell for Riftan Calypse to enter the university. Now he was one of the most important people on campus, leaving the Croix family to be branded as a typical elitist and racist family.
She supposedly symbolized everything that kept him from reaching his own goals and dreams. Corrupt and entitled. She could do nothing as the rumors festered and grew. College wasn’t like high school, where people gossiped like their lives depended on it, but her reputation stayed sour despite it all. Maximilian wasn't bullied or picked on, but in turn, she was helplessly alone.
Maximilian decides to delay her trip to her car and instead heads for the university’s vast, expansive library. Given that it was evening already, there were little to no students. It was perfect.
She gives a nod to Rudis, who was at the front desk, and she smiles back. The middle aged woman was one of the few people who were actually pleasant to Maximilian - maybe it was because Maximilian always put the books back on their proper shelves or the way she always pushed back her seat when she left. Little unspoken stuff like that.
An hour or two has passed with Maximilian sitting by the corner table, engrossed in her fantasy book. Unlike her usual anxious self, she didn’t feel the intense need to prepare for her next classes. She reaches a point in the book where the main couple, Roman and Maxine, began to doubt each other and fight, and Maximilian felt oddly uneasy. She looks up from the novel and tries to pretend she’s alright.
On the bulletin board, by the far off wall, Maximilian makes out a peculiar looking graphic. She squinted as she read the strange sentences
Learn how to ski!
Ask my crush out on a date.
Experience a mosh pit -
“They’re items from bucket lists.”
She nearly jumps at the voice. Rudis smiles down at her, putting a few books back on a nearby shelf.
“They’re for career day. All the corporate talk was bumming everyone out, so we asked some students if they had any goals outside of working or their careers. Dreams they want to achieve in their lifetime, you see.” She continues, before looking at her peculiarly.
“You want to put up anything on that wall? Anything you want to do before you die?”
Maximilian grew less afraid of dying recently.
It was always in the back of her head, but with Rudis’ question, it began to crawl its way onto her frontal cortex. The cause of her dark thoughts wasn’t really a mystery. She had always been miserable and lonely. That, and the fact that Maximilian couldn’t give Rudis an answer. Anything you want to do before you die? She didn’t know. Maybe she was too tired to do anything. Maybe she was too tired to keep on living.
She bids Rudis a silent goodbye around 8 pm, still unable to answer the woman’s question. She didn’t even have the urge to eat, and when her stomach started to growl painfully, she resorted to eating some bread rolls she packed from home. She ate in her car, shoveling the food into her mouth emotionlessly.
Maximilian was as quiet as a mouse as she entered her father’s luxurious, ten bedroom home. The mansion was speckled with white plaster and gold trimming, outrageous statues and expensive paintings dotted the surroundings as chandeliers hung from the ceilings, but it resembled a museum rather than a home. There were no family portraits on the walls.
She enters her bedroom, evading the un-intrusive housekeeping, and shuts the door behind her.
It began to rain.
Maximilian attempted to pass time by doing her backlogs. She opened her textbooks and stared at the lessons she failed to keep up with these days, yet her mind continued to stray.
She wondered why things seemed bleaker than usual. She thought she had been doing well.
As she grew up, Maximilian rarely had anything to look forward to. It was difficult when all she’d ever known was dread. Her father repeatedly told her that she was worthless and had no future while simultaneously punishing her whenever she decided to accept that he was right. It was a constant push and pull between knowing that she will never be enough while doing everything she could just to appease her family. While the feelings of hopelessness began to intensify now, they have always been ever present. There was no future for her.
Then she managed to dream, for a while. She thought she was finally going to be alright.
For the first time, she wanted to be something. She wanted to be a doctor. She learned that being one was hard , very hard. That it included a lot of rigorous and torturous studying. She was very good at that, at least. Also, the road to becoming a doctor involved sacrificing social and romantic relationships. Which was perfect for Maximilian, who had never had such things in the first place. She had nothing to lose. Her father raised a hateful eyebrow, but deemed medical school a prestigious enough career path for his failure of a daughter.
She did well for a moment or two. Chose Medical Biology as her premed. It was tough, but distracted her well. Her courses were difficult enough that it occupied her to the point she didn’t have the time to think about how miserable she was. Maximilian was aware she was being a hypocrite because she didn’t have to think of student loans and whatnot. Yet that’s what she was - a hypocrite.
Maximilian really thought she was doing well.
Yet as she stared down at her textbook, the words started to blur.
Within her, she desperately looked for the first spark she had whenever she thought of finishing medical school. Now, she doesn't want to do anything anymore. Maximilian didn’t know why it began to set in now; such a feeling of doom and regret was sudden and yet expected. Nothing really happened to her. No emotional epiphanies or massive depressive episodes. She just began to accept the inevitable outcome of her life, which was simple, bleak nothingness.
So what if she became a doctor? She was too weak to speak to anyone now, let alone a future patient. Hell, she might even kill someone. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe she should just die.
Much like light through foliage, Rudis’ voice gently resonated in her head.
Anything you want to do before you die?
She startles out of her self deprecating episode. Like she had been doused with water.
The bleak, depressive voices in her head quiets down for a moment, making way for a single, quiet question.
Do you really want to die?
She didn’t have an answer yet, which gives her both hope and dread. Though, she thinks that something will kill her. Maybe the monster under her bed, or perhaps the demon that bore the skin of her father. Things to point a finger at other than her own cowardice.
Her hand finds a pen and a stray piece of paper. It’d be a shame for her life to take up so much space, only for it to be worth nothing in the end. Before she knew it, she had written down four words.
Go on a picnic.
It was a simple, nonsensical task. Toddlers had picnics. Yet Maximilian never had friends to invite her to such things. She wished to experience it, even if it meant for her to be alone. She wanted to sit down among the flowers and feel the sun on her face. Maybe even read a book, or perhaps have some fruit. It was stupid and childish. Maximilian wanted it to happen on a beautiful day.
She smiles to herself despite it all. What was she doing? She knew she wasn’t taking the list seriously. Maybe that was why she began to write down more things.
Her mind started racing, and for the first time in a while, she felt exhilarated . She began to write more things. Knit a whole sweater . She could go on Youtube and wing it. Learn a new skill . Vague, but promising. Get a pet. Stray cats used to visit their backyard and Maximilian often played with them. Then her father hired pest control and built a higher fence. Visit a dance club. Knowing how introverted and reclusive she was, the chances of her going to such a place seemed unlikely. Her bucket list began to become more absurd as time went on, yet she continued to write almost erratically as she wrote random, nonsensical tasks she wanted to complete before her untimely demise. Tasks that were easy. Tasks she probably would never accomplish.
Something in the corner of her eye gleamed. The gold and red hardcover of Under the Oak Tree winked at her almost teasingly from her desk. Her face bloomed crimson, but her hand moved nonetheless.
Have sex with someone.
She was so pathetic she couldn’t help but cover her blushing face with both hands.
Even though she was a virgin, Maximilian was no stranger to sex. Her favorite books consisted of the most graphic, toe-curling smut humanity will ever see. As vulgar as they may be, what Maximilian liked was the intimacy. The couples she read about loved each other, and that in turn, made sex more pleasurable. The heavy moaning and incessant thrusting was overshadowed by the cuddling and sweet proclamations of love afterwards. Upon reading, Maximilian felt less horny and more empty, like there was a hole in her chest. She knew nobody would love her that way, so she’d settle at losing her virginity. What’d it matter if it was shameful for the daughter of a millionaire to think of such a thing? She was going to die anyway.
As the dark thoughts begin to resurface, she looks down at the paper and realizes something.
The things on her list were normal, everyday tasks.
Normally people would list down grandiose experiences, like skydiving or traveling. Meanwhile, Maximilian wanted to go on a damn picnic. A harsh laugh escapes her as she realizes how empty she was. She had barely lived.
On cue, there is a knock on the door. The maid tells her that they were aware she didn’t eat upon returning so they made her a late dinner.
“I-I’m… I’m not h-hungry.”
There was silence for a moment or two. And then Maximilian hears her sigh.
“Your father wants you to come to his study after you have eaten, miss.”
A familiar chill echoed down Maximilian’s spine. Suddenly the door seemed far away, miles away .
She sits by her desk for a moment, unsure of what to do. Her makeshift bucket list winks at her, as if mockingly. She’d have to complete it soon, or else the opportunity would be taken from her.
Then it was like she teleported. Or perhaps she blacked out - which prisoners often do as they trudged towards their executioner, and before she knew it she was standing in front of the doors to her father’s study. No matter how scared she was, Maximilian oddly never ran away. Other people would have run and hid, but it was like her father had a leash on her in one hand and a whip in the other. Control and fear,
“Your professors informed me of your shortcomings.”
He cut to the chase.
Maximilian could tell he was already in a sour mood. His brows were pinched and he was gritting his teeth. Usually her father was calm despite his cruelty. Perhaps a business meeting had gone wiry or someone pissed him off. Either way, he always turned to Maximilian as an outlet for his rage. She could do nothing but endure his misplaced anger.
The man gestures for her to come forward to his desk with a single, bony finger, and Maximilian nearly floats towards him. He fixes her in place with a hateful expression.
Slam! Report cards and tests were laid out in front of her in one fell swoop. She wonders how he even managed to get those documents.
Maximilian didn’t think that her father was paying such close attention to her grades, given that he rarely cared for her outside of punishing her for her flaws. Plus, she had always been a perfect student - save for the horrid social skills. She had only been slacking for more than half a semester and it already got on his radar. Maybe if she knew he paid close attention to her academics she would be scared enough to keep on studying.
But she was tired. Tired enough to not care. Tired enough to not even fear her father.
He could sense her lack of fear, which only seemed to fuel his anger.
“The only thing you haven’t failed in your life is your damn academics. Is this a form of rebellion?”
She shakes her head no.
“Then what is the meaning of this? Are you using drugs?”
Somehow she wishes she was. Still, she shakes her head no. The lack of fear on her face was starting to grate on him, she could tell, and yet Maximilian couldn’t bring herself to tremble from fear just yet.
“Do you take great pleasure in defying me?”
For a final time, she shakes her head no.
“I think you do.”
Her lips were steady as she spoke, despite her stiff tongue. “I d… don’t.”
“Then explain this!” He yells, throwing one of her tests at her. Maximilian flinches at the impact of the near-weightless paper. “Explain the humiliation I faced when your professors informed me of your failures! As if I hadn’t seen enough of them! Explain!”
Suddenly, Maximilian felt the familiar feeling of dread fill her. Her lips quivered, but no sound left them. It only infuriated the man further.
“Speak, you imbecile! It pains me to see you dawdle like a fool!”
“I-I…” She feels like a wrung out towel.
Should she be honest? That she felt hopeless and lost? Would the man who hated her most understand her?
Maximilian knew it was going to be a bad idea, and yet the strange urge continued to bother her. Desperately, she tried to think of a lie. It was difficult since she had always been studious and focused - also the fact that she never dared lie to her father before. She jumps when he slammed a hand on the desk, angrily demanding for her to speak. The hatred in his voice basically grabbed the words out of her mouth.
“I-I think I… I’m d-d… depressed.”
Her father freezes, and Maximilian regrets the words the minute she said them.
After a moment or two - which, in Maximilian’s perspective, felt like an eternity - her father slowly stands. She almost takes a step back, watching his adam's apple bob up and down as he slowly speaks.
“You’re depressed.”
She says nothing further, only looks down at her barely trembling hands. She knew it was a bad idea.
“I th… think, if I get h-h… help, I might do w-well in… school, a-again." She utters out, scrambling to find solutions so her father won't think she was merely complaining. "I-I could get a psych... psychiatrist, so - “
Next thing she knew she was on her hands and knees on the floor.
Her father’s limbs were long and nimble, meaning he was able to smack her full force on the face despite the table between them. Maximilian wheezed as the pain began to spread from her cheek to the entirety of her skull.
As she gathered her bearings, Maximilian could hear her father angrily round the table. She looked up to see him looming over her like the grim reaper.
“You want help?!” She yelps when he grabs her hair and pulls, angrily bringing her face close so she would see the pure hatred on his expression. “The thousands I spent on your speech training! That’s help! Or maybe the additional thousands I spent just for your professors to keep quiet about your disability! Is that still not help to you?! Do you need more help?!”
Maximilian began to full out sob as he kept tugging at her hair, pulling so hard she thought her scalp would disconnect from her skull. When she tried to remove his hands he sent a solid kick to her side. She could do little but dangle, tears pouring down her cheeks from the pain and humiliation. Her father continued to yell.
“You ungrateful, useless child! With all the resources I’ve given you, you continue to embarrass the family with your failures! And now you tell me you’re depressed ?! You ingrate! You - “
As he continued, despite the obvious rage in his voice, Maximilian could see in his eyes that he was satisfied. He was satisfied that she was shaking again, that she was afraid and on her knees. He was happy he could knock her down. The little defiance - if one could call it that - she had was met with a thousand blows from the man she called father, ensuring that she wouldn’t dare to not fear her again.
Her eyes prickled with tears as his harsh tugging on her hair intensified, with his hands almost practically dragging her across the floor. She suddenly registers that he was going to resort to beating her with his cane soon. In a fleeting moment of self preservation, Maximilian manages to wrench herself free before bolting out of the room.
She could hear him yell her name, which only caused her to run faster. So rarely did she find the strength to run from her father. Maximilian knew that if he caught her now, he would punish her severely .
Maximilian finds her room and shuts the door behind her, wiping away the tears that gathered in her right eye. When she did, she reeled at the pain. It was the side of her face her father directly hit. Surely she would be bruised come tomorrow.
Her name echoes down the hall. Angry. Unfinished. Maximilian freezes, before hurriedly getting her car keys.
Usually, after every beating, she would be drained and static, gloomily curling up on her bed and lamenting on how miserable she was, before eventually returning to routine. This time, however, she felt like she was walking on hot coals. Suddenly the walls of her room crawled closer and closer. Maximilian gasped for air, feeling her scalp tingle from pain. She couldn’t take it anymore.
Grabbing her phone at the last minute, Maximilian bolts out the door. She spots Rosetta leave her room, staring at Maximilian with an expression she couldn’t understand, but Maximilian couldn’t bear to glance at her sister’s indifference again. In the blink of an eye, she is in her car, and goes out into the rainy night.
The rain had gotten worse, and Maximilian’s car skidded dangerously against the wet pavement.
The miles rose on her dashboard and her fingers trembled against the wheel. The lights blinked that she was low on gas and the tires screeched as she made a U-turn. Maximilian continued to cry, but not from pain.
Headlights behind her shone every now and then. When they did, Maximilian picked up the speed. She was afraid that her father sent out a car to come get her and drag her back. She grips the steering wheel out of pure frustration.
This was her fault. All her fault. She felt stupid for telling her father that she was suffering. He could see her deteriorate without having to say anything, and worse, he didn’t care. What did she expect? That he would apologize for hurting her? That he would take her in his arms and hold her? She was a fool. A massive fool. Her father was right. No amount of help could save her now.
Despite the pouring rain Maximilian didn’t have her wipers on. She didn’t even care. She was driving now, driving to somewhere far away. She’ll go to a hotel and stay the night. Maybe she’ll drive to a different town. Or she’ll go back home and beg for her father’s forgiveness. Maybe this is a chance to run away. Would Rosetta miss her if she never returned? Maximilian laughed maniacally at the thought. A car behind her honks its horn and Maximilian is hit with the fear that her father might have caught up to her. He would most likely hurt her until she broke a bone again. She steps on the gas.
CRASH!
A bright light and a voice awakened Maximilian from her slumber.
“Hey! Are you alright?!”
She thought she had somehow died, something like the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ nonsense, until she heard faint thumping and a voice. The voice sounded muffled and far away. She almost groans. It was a good, peaceful sleep, one where she had no dreams or nightmares. She wanted to swat away the thing that woke her and reprimand it for ruining her night.
It was still raining. Harder than ever before.
She wrenches her eyes open and sees that the light was the flashlight of a phone, shining at her from outside her car window. Maximilian does nothing but dazedly stare at it for a while.
“Hey!” Knock knock knock. The person impatiently thumps at the window with his knuckles. Maximilian then realizes the window was cracked.
“Jesus Christ, open the damn door!”
Maximilian rolls down the window, with the glass cracking further at the motion. She blinks at the person on the other side of the door, taking some time for her vision to refocus. It looked like a man. A big man. He looked scary too. He had a face mask and dark hoodie on. He looked like a thug. Plus he was standing in the pouring rain, frantically waving his flashlight at her through the window. He looked panicked too, which seemed unfit for his large and bulky frame.
“Yes?” She inquires in almost a sing-song voice.
“Wha - “ He sputters out in surprise, eyes wide. His eyes were dark, almost jet black. “You crashed your car!”
She only hums, taking the information in, dazed.
Right. She was going 120 an hour. Maximilian looks in front of her and sees the airbag full force against her body. Not to mention her cracked windshield. Maximilian wonders what she hit, and finally realizes a dreadful possibility: she could have hit another car. Her stupid, reckless actions could have killed another person. She frantically peers through the windshield despite the pouring rain and the incoming headache that thundered through her skull. Her heart pounded a thousand times a minute, knowing she would never forgive herself if she -
Her relief was palpable when she realized that she hit a pole. There were no other cars in sight. She The panic seemed to knock her out of her dazed state, and she finally realizes her situation. Despite it all, she could only utter one sound.
“Oh.”
“Oh?! Are you drunk or something?!” The man growls, rubbing his face with a hand. He sighs heavily, before reaching inside and unlocking her car door and swinging it open.
Splatters of cold, unrelenting rain bounced off of him and onto her. His eyes frantically scanned her, from her pale face to her ratty pajamas. Maximilian flinched away when he reached out a hand to her face.
“I’m trying to see if you’re concussed.” He spits out as she tries to evade him.
“D-Don’t - “
He cups the back of her head - which seemed tiny compared to the massive size of his hand - before shining his light into her eyes. Maximilian shivered at the cold touch, not quite comprehending how much in danger she could be - both from the car accident and from the man.
“You don’t seem to have a concussion, but you must have hit your face on the wheel.”
His fingers lightly brush the bruises on the side of her face. Maximilian blinks at him dazedly, almost wanting to tell him it was all her father’s doing, before realizing how he was casually touching her. She turns her head away.
“I’ll call you an ambulance. But first, let’s get you out of here.”
She shakes her head, almost shrinking back deeper into her car. She looks at her passenger seat and sees the front of it rumpled, like paper.
“N-No, I… I-I’m fine.“
“You are obviously not fine! The storm is about to get stronger, you can’t stay here! My condo is right around the corner - “
Maximilian shakes her head, tucking her knees against her. She was a vulnerable woman who crashed her car in the middle of a dark, stormy night, and now a man wants to take her up to his condo. It was the setup for a horror movie. She had thought of her death more than once that night but this was not how she wanted to go out.
“For fuck’s sake - look!”
He wrenches off his face mask, finally revealing the rest of his features. Maximilian’s eyes widened from pure shock.
Riftan Calypse always wore a look of dignity on his face.
Which is why the raw, undulated worry on his expression baffled her.
“We go to the same university, right?” He says, nearly desperate. “You’re taking a pre med.”
Maximilian was sure her jaw was on the ground.
He looked at her like he was trying to coax a cat from underneath a car as droplets of water trickled down the short bangs over his forehead. Silence befalls them for a moment, and all Maximilian could do was take in the intensity of his gaze. It was as if he was silently telling her that she should recognize him. And she did .
As if he could sense that she had let her guard down a little, he unfolds an umbrella and places it on the car’s roof.
Then, he reaches inside and promptly scoops her into his arms.