Numb (Alliance Trilogy)

Animal

Chapter Twelve

Max awoke to feel the other side of the bed empty and he knew why. After he and Izzy had been intimate nearly a month ago, he had been going through a dry spell. Every time she tried approaching him Max always found a way around it, bringing up ridiculous excuses. A smile formed at each corner of his lips as he pushed off the bed and proceeded to get ready for work. Making his way into the kitchen, he picked up his keys and headed for the door once he was freshened up and changed. A small post it note was stuck to the door as he snatched it off and read the message that Izzy wrote. "Business trip had to run out. I'll call when I land in Atlanta." He read aloud.

"Okay." Max said.

He pulled out his phone and dialed her number, no answer came, and without a care, he dropped his phone back into his pocket and went out the door.

***

The time on the hen clock read five on the dot and with careful precaution Jenny slowly went down the ramp. Today seemed like a good day to go take a nice stroll through the park and deep within her gut Jenny hoped to see the old timer there. Clutching down on her wheels she pushed forward now able to get the hang of doing this day by day. Her arms still got the slightest sting but it was of no importance now.

Along the way, she absorbed the nice sunshine outside and was glad that today the temperature had been only eighty degrees outside. She smiled to feel the wind brush her skin and give her a soothing feel over it. Pain, anger, jealously and so many other emotions vanished with the fresh air outside. A long stroll would give her plenty of time to think about getting that surgery and other things, like Max's confession. Maybe she would never marry, nor have children but if she was in a position to save a marriage she would.

Jenny thought about what Max had said, he had mentioned he was "an animal" back in his younger days but she failed to see one now. He was clearly a caring person, one who showed sympathy and honesty. She would have to remind herself to tell him as much if he ever chose to come back. Inside Jenny could feel her stomach knot and she felt a hint of anger surface with it. She hated to admit that if he did not show she would be unable to hear his side of the story. It interested her far more than she would like and oddly enough, she knew part of her was growing attached to Max.

The park came into view after a long while of strolling past a few houses, streets, and a railroad track. When Jenny came to find the old timer playing chess she felt herself smile. She reached the large tree and positioned her chair there watching as early runners jogged by. Looking down to her legs Jenny reached down to them and caressed her knees. She could still faintly feel her own touch. Slowly she massaged upward and closed her eyes trying to sense some more feeling coming from her hands. It was when she reached a little above her thighs that she felt the strongest caressed. Her eyes snapped open and she lingered her hands at each side of hips.

She was starting to lose feeling on her legs.

Tears welled and she sucked in a sharp breath to realize as much. Jenny had taken little notice below her stomach ever since the incident. Now that she realized she could feel less on her lower body she felt a frown overcome her and tears spill.

"Is something a matter?" the old timer suddenly asked.

Jenny wiped at her tears and shook her head. She would keep this a secret and wait until maybe the feeling in her legs returned. For the first time in such a long time, she felt a hint of fear inside of her. She masked the emotion as she chuckled and tried to find words to come out of her.

"It feels good to be out here once again, I didn't think I'd see you out here." She confessed.

"I thought I had mentioned before that I always hung about the park every now and then." He replied.

Jenny smiled and felt that for the first time it was not forced. Gus, the old timer encouraged Jenny to join in the game and without a protest she made her way to where they all sat and simply enjoyed her morning.

***

He rested both hands against the tile wall to his shower and lowered his head so that the hot water beat against his neck unknotting the tension there. Work, Max felt, had taken an eternity to come to its end. There was not a moment when he did not look down to his watch hoping that his shift was up. Working as a construction owner at times was frustrating and other times, it was a thief of thoughts. Even that had failed to rob him of his own as he worked the heavy machinery all day. All Max had thought about, was getting home, taking a long shower to get the scent of salty musk off him, and making a drive towards Jenny's home.

Last night time had flown out the window; he had forgotten everything and even the wall that he had ridiculously tried to build around his heart.

He felt his gut knot as the thought of her made him feel guilt overshadow him. Max pounded down hard against the shower wall and ran a hand through his soaked hair.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" he whispered.

The water invaded every part of him as he let it run over his face, down his shoulders and unto his back. His hands reached over to the knobs and shut the water off with a long sight to escape him. Hastily he wrapped a towel around his waist and proceeded in changing out.

As he pulled a shirt over his head his phone began to buzz and taking one look at the screen, he was surprised to find it was Izzy.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Max, listen honey I am so sorry I ran out on you. I have been preoccupied so much lately that we have not even gotten the chance to make love. But I swear to you, as soon as my boss makes this deal with this company I will be home to lavish you with affection and love." She quickly said.

"Izzy. I'm glad that your career is taking off, and you had warned me long ago that at times you would have to be gone for a few days. You should not feel guilty, I'm happy for you and what I want is for you to be happy. Please do not feel obligated to owe me anything." He replied.

"I love you so much and I miss you, once this rich bastard gives me a promotion I swear we are going to have a lot of time in our hands...maybe even think about creating a little life of our own after we marry." She chuckled.

Max froze and really thought about her last suggestion. There was nothing more he wanted than to see one of his own little clones run about his living room floor. Deep down he had to admit that he saw it far from him to ever have a baby with Izzy.

"That sounds great." Max managed to reply.

"I have to go, we have a meeting in five, I just wanted to call and say hi." She sighed.

"Good luck Izzy," Max replied before hanging up.

He closed the phone shut before anything else could be discussed, and hurried out the door. There was no doubt that he would have to pay for that action later on but he cared little for it. Max took his time in settling into his car, putting his seat belt on and turning the key to ignite it. Then it hit him as he gripped the steering wheel. He was trying hard not to rush himself, although the thought of it sounded sweet to him. For a moment, he procrastinated inside his garage and looked down to a pictured of Izzy and he taped to the dashboard of his car.

"This is so that you never have to go anywhere without me." Izzy had said.

He reached over for it and pulled it away from the dashboard taking a closer look at it. His smile was bright and his embrace around his girlfriend was a sincere one. How had that love so suddenly withered and died? Pressing his forehead against the steering wheel Max squeezed his eyes shut and took a sharp breath. The night of their first intimate moment had been great and even before they had moved in they had, had great nights together. Now as he looked down to their picture he felt it all behind him. It was as if their relationship had ended.

This is why Max considered himself an animal, because so many girls had gone through heartbreaks because of him. Once he was through screwing around with them, the attraction he had felt long ago quickly vanished along with their faces.