Marlowe's Massacre | ;

CHAPTER 6

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[17.7.25]

In some ways Max thought Marlowe had been selfish. Selfish for leaving him with all the aftermath. All the chaos and all the nonsense. But now as he drove the Galpin down the country road to the greenhouse, he thought Marlowe had been most selfish towards Cassandra, his girlfriend.

Cassandra Harper was everything that Marlowe needed. She was everything the world needed. She was everything everyone needed all bundled up in freckled skin. To make it simple, Cassandra was the one light in Marlowe's life that never flickered out. That always stayed consistent. Stable and reverent. She was his guardian angel but for once, she couldn't protect him. And to be painfully honest, no one could've. So, Max took it upon himself to aid her as best as he could in the only way he could. That way of course, was helping her plant flowers.

Max and Marlowe separately were two separate people made for two separate reasons, but together they were a tender pair of twins. A duo of dangerous beauty. A caring couple of brothers willing to do whatever they needed to do for whoever they were willing to do it for. Sadly without Marlowe around, Max was only half himself. A working and breathing thing of a boy stuck on autopilot.

"I was thinking about buying mom that dress she always wanted," Max stated after shutting the Galpin's front door. Pressing his phone to his ear with one shoulder, he opened the passenger side. Douglas trotted out smelling the grass. "or maybe you have something better I could get her?"

On the other end of the phone, Mr. Richard didn't immediately reply. It was hard to talk about his wife without her peering over his shoulder, sometimes the mansion wasn't always the best place to be when he needed privacy. Coming outside, he felt the warmth hit his skin. "Her birthday is the seventh right, son?" He asked admiring the scenery. The sun bright and the sky brighter.

Still with his phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear, Max opened the backseat of the Galpin taking out garden tools before placing them on top of his car. "I don't know. Ask one of the butlers or better yet, ask one of the maids to check the calendar." Max chuckled softly. "I thought it was the third."

"Third? Wait, isn't our anniversary on the third?"

"Hell if I know, you did marry her." He uttered before looking at his surrounding view. It was Saturday morning. The sun was shining down on Max's cheek. His shirt clung to his chest and by then, Douglas was nowhere in his view. Searching the forest, Max whistled loudly once into the area. Douglas immediately reappeared with a branch between his teeth. Shielding his left hand over his eyes, he swatted a fly away before finishing his conversation. "I have to go, call me later if you figure it out."

Throwing his phone in the back of the car he exchanged it with a pair of gloves after picking up the tools. Across the lot the greenhouse sat elegantly and just beyond that, a yard full of flowers. Still with the branch between his teeth, Douglas sniffed the ground before realizing he knew where he was. Immediately he ran in the direction of the greenhouse leaving Max in second place. When he reached the old shed, Cassandra was petting Douglas.

"Glad you could make it!" She said happily and then looked at the handful of tools in his hands. "Let me help you." She remarked taking some of the tools in Max's arm before traveling down a dirt path.

"Cassie, I don't know a thing about plants." Max admitted following her lead. "Or planting plants." He paused looking at the rural area, a smile still intact to his face. Insects scattered everywhere and sweat slipped down his now rosy cheeks. Max hadn't been a fan of nature but he wouldn't let that stop him.