She is not bad

Chapter 27 : Bad news

Sat on the steps of the school, Max was smoking and thinking. In fact, she wasn't really thinking. She was still shocked about the day before. She wasn't liking Jane, but seeing her overdosing was terrible. Sometimes she was believing that it could have been her. Not because she was taking drugs, because she wasn't, but she had already thought about it. She could have become a Jane too. She was angry all the time, not happy in her life, not feeling at her right place, and she was even smoking, like Jane. If she hadn't friends like hers, she would have probably fallen into alcohol and drugs too. She wasn't scared to be surrounded by people like Billy or Neil, she knew she wouldn't, but she was scared to become like Billy or Neil and finish alone. It was probably why she didn't want Jane around her. To not be influenced. She got cut in her deep thoughts by Gary who sat next to her and gently rubbed her back.

- "Hey," he smiled. "How are you?"

- "Dunno," she shrugged.

- "You wanna talk?"

- "No. I'm tired."

- "I understand...I'm here, if you need."

- "I'm fine! It's not like I lost someone! She is not even dead! It was just...scary, that's all. I don't even care about her!" Max said with an upset tone.

She wasn't caring about her, but she didn't know why she was this disturbed by this. A bit further, Beverly was arriving. She got out of her uncle car and walked in direction of the inside when she saw Max and Gary. Max waved to her and made a movement to tell her to join them. The redhead hesitated, but she sat next to her friend and took a cigarette too.

- "Did you see her?" Max shyly asked.

- "No," Beverly answered, blowing her smoke. "She didn't want to see anyone."

- "She will be fine?"

- "Like if you cared."

- "Bev-"

- "We don't have to talk about her. I'm still mad at you for last time."

- "I know...I'm sorry..."

- "Are you?"

- "I mean...yeah, I didn't want to hurt you. And I wished I knew what was going on," Max stated. "Why didn't you tell me?"

- "I don't know, because I didn't want to!" Bev answered with an upset tone.

- "But I told you about my stepfather!"

- "Well, it's good for you if you were ready, but I was not! I didn't want you or the others to know! You all learnt about it because I was so tired of your behavior toward the person who helped me that I blew a fuse! But I would have never told you otherwise!"

- "But telling Jane is fine!"

- "I didn't tell her anything!" Bev got angry. "She was there! That's all! She wanted to apologize for breaking my skateboard, so she came to my home, but instead, she heard me crying and entered! My... he punched her too, but she still stayed to get me out of here! I wouldn't have told her anything! But without her, I would still be under my...his punches!"

Bev looked away, feeling the tears coming. She tried to not cry by smoking a lot, but she was feeling the anger and sadness growing so fast that she lost control and burst into tears. Max pouted before wrapping her arm around Bev to hug her. Gary stood and walked away to let them alone. Even if Bev was mad at Max, she was still her best friend, and the best person to understand her. Max tried her best to comfort her friend, but Bev seemed too hurt for now. And Alban and Abigail walking near them and looking at them wasn't making things better.