THE ONLY EXCEPTION! | elmax

seven

jane set out an old pillow and blanket on the floor for herself, and made her bed for max to sleep in. she laid down on the makeshift bed on the floor and slightly winced as her arm touched the cold wooden flooring. she shook her head and remembered that she would much rather have to sleep on the floor than have max at mike's.

just then max came in laughing "surprisingly the shorts fit, i didn't expect that" she set down her balled up jeans on jane's dresser and looked down at the way the smaller girl's shorts fit her. they looked tight when they were supposed to be loose but at least it was better than her jeans.

"what are you doing down there?" max looked down at jane on the floor and stuck a hand down to help her up. jane simply shook her head and rejected max's help. "i'm sleeping on the floor you've got the bed."

max rolled her eyes and bent down, putting her arms around jane's torso and lifting her off the floor. "we can share." jane continued to argue. "i kick in my sleep!!" she tried to slide off the bed but max caught her, "well then i'm taking the floor." the smaller girl still tried to escape her hold by wiggling her shoulders wildly. "jane i swear to god if you don't lay down in your bed and go to sleep now i'm leaving!"

jane huffed out and rolled over in her bed. max settled on the makeshift bed on the floor with a victorious smile, it wasn't too comfortable but it was much better than her own home. after about ten minutes had passed, she heard tiny snores coming from above and thought about how quickly the brunette had fallen asleep.

max wasn't good at falling asleep, too many thoughts swam around her mind endlessly for her to rest. so she laid there for what felt like a couple hours, as her brain argued with its self, until she heard rustling of the sheets above and quiet cries. "jane?"

there was more rustling so max sat up to see what the matter was. she saw the girl curled up on the bed with her head in her hands like a small child. max felt an instinct to comfort the crying girl. she stood up in the dark, the only light source was a small night light in the corner of the room, the night light was a tiny teddy bear that was illuminated by orange light that shone through out the room. max got a better look at the girl, through the harsh orange lighting she could see how well the light blue of her nightgown looked with her tan skin as it peeked out from under her pastel plaid bed spread. in that moment max wanted nothing more than to be under the comforter with her, she wanted to hold the girl tight and tell her everything thing would be alright. max knew it wasn't true, she also knew that the fate that awaited her at home for not arriving back there was probably much worse than whatever was on the girl's mind, but she would never let jane know that.

max shook away that thought as she gently shook the tiny girl's shoulders. jane sniffled loudly, her eyes opened widely, that sight alone was enough to make max want to cry, the redness of the girl's doe like sleepy eyes as tears brimmed the surface of them. she couldn't cry right now though, she had to stay strong for her friend. "you're okay, i'm here, you're okay" she cooed softly, at this point she was sitting on the bed next to jane. the tiny girl sat up and emptied herself into the girl's arms "you were gone... he was there.. he.. you.." she choked out between sobs.

max gently put her arms around the small girl's frame, "hey shh you're alright i've got you, we can talk in the morning if that's alright." jane nodded slowly and stared up at the ginger "uh.. max can you stay up here with me? i uh.. i don't," she bit her lips nervously before being cut off "it's okay you don't need to explain, i'm here." max laid next to her, jane shifted so her back faced max's chest. max stared at the way the girl's hair curled, max had always tried to get her hair to curl like that but the curls always fell quickly, the way her tough stance would when her step brother was around.

that's when she remembered that the whole world was still out there, that it wasn't just these two girls laying together.

that her stepbrother was still trying to ruin her life. he would tell her mother that she had gone to a party and punched him. surely her mother wouldn't let her go to jane's anymore. it would result in her having to climb out that bedroom window that always hurt her hands when she would carefully throw herself out of it, and how the slight jump hurts her ankles but she hopes she will get used to it, the same way she's used to billy's lies. the way he twists the story in a way she'll never be able to erase from her own mother's mind. she shuddered at the blame that would be placed on her when she went home. it's all her fault. they hate it here and it's her fault, everything is her fault. do her actions even count as faults anymore? or is she the fault? max is the fault in the picture perfect hargrove family.

she felt her eyes burn, was she seriously about to cry? billy is right, such a wuss. "don't feel sorry for your self" she mumbled over jane's slight snores. max brought a hand up to her eyes and wiped them, she placed her hand back down but in a new spot, over the small girl's waist. the warm feeling of the girl in her arms was enough to make max smile. she finally had a purpose. that purpose was to keep jane safe. so on that night she made that exact promise. jane before anything. she couldn't imagine letting her get hurt again.

ok so this is longer but still short  anyway i'm starting to like this book better, and its going to get better soon??  thank you for reading !