I Will Never Let You Go (A Maxcer Fanfic)

He's Got You.

Max watched Willow as she stamped a piece of paper, which was already covered with stickers and other stamps in various colors. It was Valentine's day, and luckily Spencer would be arriving home shortly. Max had made some pasta and had gotten some pastries from the bakery, just so they could enjoy a nice meal together; and now she had Willow making Spencer a "card." It was messy, but she knew Spencer would love it.
The front door opened and Spencer walked in with a bouquet of hot pink roses and his bags slung over his shoulder. Willow took her paper and ran up to her father.
"Happy balentine day." She said, holding out her card to him as he crouched to her level. There were no discernable pictures that Willow drew, but it was covered in stickers of hearts and messages that said "I Love You." In the top left corner in Max's handwriting, it said "To Daddy. Love Willow."
"Aww Willow, I love it. Thank you." He said, giving her a one armed hug. He looked up to see Max smiling at them, so he straightened and took a few steps toward her. She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply for a few seconds.
"I love you." Spencer said, handing the flowers to her. After many years of Spencer giving her flowers, she caught on that he bought them based on their significance. Hot pink roses were symbolic of gratitude and appreciation, so in times like these, he always brought them home.
"Thank you. I love you too." She said, giving him another quick kiss before giving him space to settle into the house.
Before they ate dinner, Spencer gave Willow a tiny box of chocolate and a stuffed puppy, which had pink ears and a heart over its eye. She didn't let go of it while she ate, insisting that it needed to be next to her plate on the table. After a few minutes of them talking, Max's phone rang. When she flipped it over, she saw that it was Michelle, so she immediately answered.
"Hey Michelle, what's up?"
"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but can me and Sammy swing by for a bit?" She asked, her voice shaky. Max couldn't exactly tell if it was from fear or anger.
"Uh sure. Is something wrong?" Spencer looked up to her then, and she decided to let him in on the conversation.
"Mich, you're on speaker. Spencer's here."
"Ok, look I just need to get away from the house for an hour, or rather Sam does."
"What happened?" Spencer asked. There was a silent moment before she answered.
"I'll tell you once I get there." Michelle said, before cutting off her contact with them. The two of them looked at each other dumbfounded, then looked at Willow to see that she was unfazed by the conversation that just took place.
Michelle must've already been on her way to their house when she called because it wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Max went to go answer the door, putting a nervous hand on her bump. When she opened it, she was almost shoved aside by Sammy.
"Samuel Patrick Williamson, do not be rude." Michelle chastised. Sammy didn't respond; he just kept walking to the window sliding doors that led to the backyard. They could see Spencer had tried to speak to him as well, but was also ignored as Sammy shut the door behind him.
After giving Michelle a cup of coffee and setting Willow up with more art supplies to keep her occupied, Michelle began to tell them what had happened.
"I told you about that girl that sent Sammy a note saying she wanted to hang out with him on Valentine's day right?" She asked her sister. Max nodded, recalling the conversation pretty clearly from just last week.
"Well I even told you how I was on the fence about letting him go, but I mean, he's thirteen. It was something that he was excited about so I let him."
"I'm guessing that didn't go well." Max said. Michelle took a deep breath, brushing away the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.
"Not only did that girl prank him but so did three other boys in his grade. The girl must've led him down the street where there's a Starbucks, which was where they were gonna hang out, and the boys were waiting for him--." Michelle said, almost growling. Max reached out her hand for her sister to take and Spencer rubbed his face.
"How bad?" He asked.
"Sammy said they were just shoving him at first, but then they were punching him in the gut; one ripped his glasses off and got him in the cheek."
Michelle's recollection of what Sammy told her struck a nerve in Spencer. A nerve that really disliked bullies.
"That's not even the worst part. The real reason I had to get out of the house was because Evan seems to think that "he should've been a man and hit them back." I would never in a million years raise my son like that." Michelle said, taking a sip from her mug.
"You guys had a fight?" Max asked.
"Yeah. After he'd lectured us both I decided I just needed to get away. I will go back soon, we just all needed some time to cool off."
Spencer got up from the table and grabbed two soda cans from the fridge, going out to the backyard in search for Sammy. It didn't take him long; he had only been sitting at their patio table facing away from the house. For the first time since he'd gotten there, he acknowledged their existence by turning around at the sound of the sliding doors opening and closing.
He continued to watch as Spencer sat down across from him and slid a soda to him. He cracked it open and took a sip.
"You should put the can to your cheek. The cold will help the swelling." Spencer advised, taking a sip from his own can. Sammy listened and put the can on the right side of his face, feeling the slight sting from the cold metal.
"Your mom told us what happened, but I want to hear it from you. Did you know the guys that did this to you?" Spencer asked softly.
"Yeah. They're in my grade."
"What are their names?"
"What does it matter?" Sammy snapped.
"Because we can help you get justice for this; not with violence, but at least have the school provide consequences for them."
There was a moment of silence before Sammy spoke again.
"I just thought she liked me." Sammy choked out, before putting the can down and wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Spencer hurt to see his nephew live through something quite similar to the things he did growing up.
"Sammy I've been through this as well. I know how this feels, and I'm truly sorry that you had to experience it too."
"You? But you're like, so cool." Sammy sniffled.
"Ehh that's over-selling it. Maybe to you I'm cool, but believe me, back when I was your age I was anything but. I was twelve when I graduated highschool remember?"
"Yeah. Fewer than 3% of students graduate early across the nation, and primarily those are students who are only a year or two younger than the rest of the senior class. You were younger by six. That should've made you, like, the most popular person ever." That made Spencer chuckle.
"I also lived in Las Vegas and it was the 90s. Being that young and smarter than everyone else didn't exactly earn me that reputation."
Sammy thought to himself for a few moments, then asked "Did they ever hurt you?"
"Yes. One day I'll share some of those experiences with you, but for right now, there's only two things you need to know. One, this feeling is not gonna last forever. And two, you're gonna be even stronger because of it." Spencer said, holding his can out for Sammy to tap his against.
The sliding doors opened and Willow ran up to Sammy, holding a paper up to him.
"I may car for you." She said. It had more stickers and crayons marking all over it, but Sammy picked up his attitude and thanked her. Spencer smiled at the two of them, then looked up to see the two sisters watching them from the doorway. Michelle looked like she had her purse and was ready to start heading home.
"Hey Willow, where's your puppy?" Spencer asked. Willow gasped and ran back to the house; he nodded to Sammy and they followed suit. Before they got in however, Spencer added "If something like that ever happens again, you call me okay?"
"Okay." Sammy said, wrapping his arms around his uncle's waist. Spencer ruffled his hair and they walked back into the house. With Willow now in Max's arms with her puppy, they bid farewell to Michelle and Sammy, telling them to get home safe and that things would be okay with Evan. They didn't know for sure about the latter, but they could only hope that some perspective would change Evan's mind. For as long as Max had known him, she knew he was a little more old fashioned, but Sammy was his son. If anyone hurt her children like that, she'd have Spencer do everything in his power to get justice, not encourage her children to fight fire with fire.
While talking with Michelle alone, she realized that her sister was really scared for Sammy. Sammy did have some behavioral problems growing up; he had ADD and OCD, which he'd spent many years working through. Sammy was always very bright and had an interest in many things much like Spencer, but in his early school years he seemed to create this reputation for himself that he was weird and lived in his own world. He had friends now, but there were still a lot of people that saw him differently.
After putting Willow to bed, Spencer and Max laid next to each other as their TV played The Big Bang Theory. Max had a craving for popcorn, so they had made some in the microwave before getting under the covers. Spencer had his arm snaked around Max's waist and had it resting on her belly while she leaned into his shoulder. They were silent for a while, then Max looked up at Spencer and saw that he wasn't looking up at the TV, but down on the bed in front of him.
"You still thinking about Sammy?" She asked softly. He turned his head and nodded.
"He's gonna be okay."
"I know. I just keep remembering how I wished there was someone to tell me that I'd be okay when I was young, and that I don't want him to feel alone like I did."
"He won't. He's got you." Max said tenderly. She plucked a piece of popcorn from the bowl and held it in front of him. A smile slowly crept onto Spencer's face and he leaned forward, taking the popcorn into his mouth.