Reintegration program - Elmax

Chapter 57 : New flat

The redhead was laying down on her bed, watching the offers for a new apartments. As her cousin was free now, she was sleeping in her bed with her, letting the couch for their third roommate. They had two visits today, hoping to find their new place to live. They hardly prepared themselves, because of the small bathroom, and left the apartment.

They arrived at the first visit, at the third floor. When they entered, they arrived in a spacious living-room with two white couches perpendicular around a coffee table, facing a TV, a long table with chairs around behind the TV, with a balcony. The man opened a door and showed them the kitchen. There was a kitchen counter in the middle of the room with bar chairs around, with the furniture facing. The door was facing a big window, enlightening the room. They continued in the wide corridor, two doors on the left and three on the right. The two doors were two rooms with a double size bed, a desk, a wardrobe and a window. One of the three doors was a bigger room with the same things as the two other rooms. The two last doors were the bathroom with the washing machine, and the toilets. As the three girls seemed satisfied, they let a file to have it.

They were now in direction of their second visit.

- I liked this one, told Clarissa. It's spacious.

- Yeah, and it's not far from the coffee shop, it's good for Mallory and I, said Max.

- Yeah, that too, and we're not far from the downtown, I could easily find a job.

- You could take the big room, proposed Mallory. In case...

- In case she comes back? I don't think she will. But I see no problem with me taking the big room, lightly joked the redhead.

The two girls chuckled. Max never stopped thinking of Jane. It had been a week now, and still no news of the girl. She tried to move on, she couldn't force her to stay if she didn't want to, but she didn't have to play with her feelings like that! It was pathetic! Joyce kept looking for her but she was losing hope too. Nobody was expecting to see her again.

- Mom wanna see us tomorrow morning, you come? asked Clarissa.

- I don't know, why she wants me to come? mumbled Max.

- Maybe she misses us.

- Yeah, I'm not sure!

- No, me neither, she didn't come in eight years, why she would miss me now? lightly chuckled the dreadlocks head.

The three girls kept walking, almost arriving at the next apartment. On their way, a happy dog ran to them, jumping especially on Max. The redhead quickly looked up, but saw Melissa.

- Oh, it's you, told Max with a disappointed tone.

- Yeah, sorry, pouted the purple-haired girl.

- No, no, it's not that, it's just...

- You would have preferred seeing Jane, I understand.

- Since when you have Dog and Cat? frowned the redhead.

- She let them at the beginning of the week. She let me a word, you wanna read?

Melissa held out the paper to Max. The redhead had an amused sigh and felt her heart breaking while reading it. It was full of spelling mistakes and there was no punctuation, it was touching.

- She won't come back, stated Max.

- I don't know, if it was definitive, she would have took Dog and Cat with her. But she seems in a real deep shit.

- Yeah, well, if she hadn't too much pride, she could have asked for a bit help and would be less in a real deep shit, or, at least, not alone, replied the redhead with bitterness.

- I'm sorry...uh, she let me this too, (searches on her bag) I thought you could keep it, told Melissa.

The black girl straightened and held out Mr.Bear. Max weakly took it, remembering the nights she spent, trying to repair it correctly, seeing again Jane sleeping with it, not wanting her to see it to be sure she wouldn't hurt him.

- If it's too hard—

- No, it's fine, it's fine, told Max, feeling her throat tightening.

- He doesn't like horror movie because it's too scary, and he is scared of dark so she keeps him close to her to reassure him, explained Melissa with an amused tone but with tears in her voice. I'm sure it's her who is scared of the dark...I don't know why we talk about her like if she was dead, she is not, we shouldn't be this sad!

- Because we both know she is not ok, she is not surrounded by people who want to help her and she is certainly high or drunk somewhere with the risk to have an overdose.

- Yeah...it's certainly that...but I know her, she will come back.

- I would like to be this sure...

- It's because you didn't spend three years in her cell. She never turned her back on me, she had always been there for me, even after jail! Now, she just lost herself, she needs to go back to normal, to know who she is. She will come back, she wouldn't have let Dog and Cat if she didn't plan to come back, affirmed Melissa.

Max sighed. She didn't know if she wanted to see Jane again. If she was the kind to run away just like that, she didn't know if she could support it a long time!

- She loves you, told Melissa.

- What? frowned Max.

- Jane, she loves you, she is scared to hurt you because of her addictions, it's why she left without telling you, I'm sure she is doing it to come back in a better health.

- I don't care, she could have told me.

- Look, intervened Mallory. I know her since she is a baby, we both had problems and, one day, she had trouble with a guy, so she left to take care of this problem. She came back after an entire week to tell me it was over. The only moment she ran away was when she was six years old, for two years.

- She ran away for two years!? At six!?

- Yeah...it's when they arrested her sister, so his father had to find a new target...but, what I wanted you to understand, it's, Jane is like that, she needs to be deep in the shit to realize she is deep in the shit.

- And she loves you too much to totally disappear, she was so sad when you slapped her.

- Oh, she told you...

- Hell yeah! She didn't tell me it was you, but she didn't need too, I just needed to look at her eyes when she was looking at you, they were sparkling!

Clarissa playfully nudged her cousin who rolled her eyes. As they had an appointment, the three girls had to go, letting Melissa with Dog and Cat. Max didn't know what to think about that, but she was sure that she was missing Jane. A lot.