MONDAY. 11. OCTOBER. 2021. (unedited)
THE moment that he left Wren's office, his promise almost died in his chest but he clutched it, held it close and carried it inside of him until the flame of hesitation flickered out entirely.
As he pushed open the doors from her office into the empty hallway, he took his phone out of his pocket— not that he'd been using it, it was more of a security thing than anything— and turned it on before he could change his mind.
He wasn't sure what time it was but his session had been scheduled to finish a little before the lunch period began, meaning that he probably only had a few minutes to get back into the parking lot if he wanted to avoid the masses of students that would start pouring out of classrooms.
Striding through the hallway, he glanced down at his phone and realised it was almost finished powering up. When his notifications came through, he found himself halting right in the middle of the hallway, mere feet away from the building's main entrance.
There were calls, messages, FaceTimes and there were more than he could count. They clogged up his lock screen the minute that his phone screen flashed on and he scrolled through them. Carter's name was the one that appeared the most and that made it pretty easy for him to decide who to contact first, despite the fact that texting Cole might've been a smarter move.
When he opened his messages to text him back, he realised that Carter had first messaged him Saturday night and had most recently messaged him this morning. Once more, he felt that pang of guilt inside his chest as his thumbs hovered over his keyboard, unsure of what he could possibly say.
Saying that he felt like a dick was an understatement. He'd practically disappeared for two days but he was mostly convinced that none of the guys would really give a shit, that Cole would pass on the news of their argument and they would all stay out of the way.
But he had been wrong and now he had to deal with the consequences, the guilt, of ignoring them.
His hands still felt a little clammy and it wasn't making it any easier for him to type his message out. Embarrassingly, he noticed that he was shaking a little, too, and he wondered if it was too late for him to salvage his friendships. The fact that he'd gotten into an argument and then practically run away from it was really hitting him now and he felt like an idiot.
Max
Hey, I'm in school now
His reply from Carter came through within seconds and he felt a burst of appreciation, a wave of relief so intense that it suddenly felt easier to breathe as though a storm cloud inside of him had disappeared, leaving only blue skies behind.
Carter
five minutes where are you
Max
I'll be in the parking lot
you remember my car looks like?
Carter
I know it don't go anywhere
Max
I won't
Five minutes later, Max was in the parking lot leaning against his car, arms folded over and phone stored safely away in his pocket. He ignored any buzzes and vibrations as he waited for Carter, eyes exploring every face that came out of the main entrance or bounded down the steps.
YOU ARE READING
Cause for Concern ✓
Teen Fiction[BXB / unedited ] Saying that Max Oran is a disaster would be an understatement: he got himself kicked out of school, his dad has sent him to live with his emotionally distant mother and his friends don't want anything to do with him. When Max start...
