Breathe || Max X Reader - Camp Camp

XXXVIII

Word Count: 1,893
Y/N's POV

I could feel the room heating up. Max gritted his teeth and laughed menacingly. I could sense Preston's fear, but I could understand his frustration. At the same time, however, I couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen.
"Kids!", David hollered frantically. He waved his arms around. "This is not the time!"
"David, shut up!", Gwen hissed. She found a spot on the floor to sit down. "I'm gonna' need my popcorn, David."
David's jaw dropped. He scoffed. "Gwen, this is poor behavior, and coming from a camp counselor? You should be ashamed-"
"Popcorn!", Gwen snapped. Upset by the sudden interruption, David stormed out of the room. "Hey, make sure you add a lot of a butter!"
I looked to Gwen. "He's not coming back, you ticked him off pretty good.", I told her. Gwen laughed and nodded.
Max spat on Preston's shoes. "Go ahead, little bitch, take your first hit!", taunted Max. "What? Are you scared?"
This was going to end terribly, and that I was sure of. I felt so disappointed. Max had gone through such an amazing progression, all to resort back to fighting people who didn't deserve it. I couldn't bear to watch it any longer. "Preston, just walk away.", I urged. I tried to remain calm, but I knew that if Preston didn't go anywhere he'd end up getting rocked.
     Preston shook his head. "No, this is bullshit!", he screamed. He stomped his foot on the ground. "I am so sick and tired of watching Max play puppeteer and controlling everybody at camp! And I'm sick of you for enabling him!"
     Preston gave me a stern look. All I could do was listen, mouth agape with shock. I couldn't find the words. I haven't been enabling Max. Have I? I shook my head and shut my mouth. I felt my eyes whelm with tears. Up until this very moment, I've not once held myself accountable for Max's actions. Maybe I am the enabler. "Don't listen to him!", Max demanded. "Stop piling her head with shit, Preston. Just shove your foot up your ass and get out of here! I'm so tired of dealing with you! I can't stand your dumb, precious face!"
     Preston bit his lip. All of a sudden, there was a change in Preston. He carried himself differently. He straightened his back and displayed the confidence of a lion. And, despite what we all were thinking, Preston actually took his first hit. He ran up to Max and tackled him.
I gasped. A punch from Preston, landing on Max's jaw. A freshly extracted tooth laid just a foot away from me. "Max!", I screamed. Max shook his head and leapt, throwing Preston off of him.
Preston was held by his collar. Max pinned him against the wall. Max punched Preston in the ribcage. Preston screamed. Blood dripped from Max's mouth. It trickled down his neck. Max was losing it. He struck Preston again.
Again. And again. Preston was bleeding near his temple. "Like that?", Max prompted. Preston shook his head. Max spat in Preston's open mouth. Eww! Preston threw up all over Max. "Gross! You fucker!" Max punched Preston square in the face. He picked Preston up and slammed him to the ground. Max stood beside Preston and kicked him in the ribs. Preston curled up into the fetal position on the floor. I was frozen in horror. Again, again, again, he kicked.
Crack!
     Everything froze. It all started to move in slow motion. I grabbed my neck as I struggled to breathe. Preston was covered in his own blood and vomit. Blood splattered all over the floor. All over the walls. Breathe, Y/N! My hands shook. Max kicked once more.
Crack!
     I couldn't breathe. My vision was splotchy. I could hardly tell what was going on. Everything moved in a blur. "Y/N, get David right now!", Gwen screamed. I couldn't move. I was terrified. Why can't I move? "Now!" I couldn't do anything. I couldn't see anything. I could only see red. "Oh fuck, Y/N! Get up!" By this point, I was trying to breathe through my mouth. I had myself in a chokehold, squeezing my own neck. "Y/N!" I felt my arms being pried away. I could only hear constant ringing. My head thumped. I closed my eyes.

Max's POV

     I couldn't help but cackle with joy at the sight of Preston finally getting what he deserved. I crouched to his position. I flicked Preston in the back of the head. He didn't move. "Fun.", I thought aloud. I yawned as I stretched. I looked around the room to notice that Gwen was missing. Y/N sat propped against the wall, eyes shut. I raised a curious brow and walked towards her. I took her hand and squeezed. No reaction. I bit my lip. I gave the girl a little pat on the cheeks. No reaction to that, either. She was out cold.
     "Max!", David screamed. He came barreling into the Gwen's office. David stopped in his tracks at the sight of the blood. His jaw dropped. He just stood there, starstruck. David adjusted his kerchief and swallowed hard. "Gwen..." His voice shook. "Call emergency services." Gwen nodded. David slowly approached me. His legs shook with each step. "Max, let's settle down." I couldn't help but laugh at David's ridiculous behavior. David's eyes widened. He continued coming closer to me. David gasped when he realized that he was stepping in blood. He shook his head and kept moving. "Let's get out of the office, Max."
     I stood and crossed my arms. David extended his arms as if he was trying to contain me. I was now nose-to-upper body with David. "Are you going to do something, or what?", I chucked. All in one, swift motion, David trapped me in his arms. "Hey, what the fuck!" He squeezed the Hell out of me and lifted me off the ground. Without making a peep, David carried me out of the office. "Let me down! Fuck you, David!" His usually perky tuft of auburn hair drooped.
     Once we had made it outside, David sighed disapprovingly. "Well?", I asked. "What-"
     "Drop it, Max.", interrupted David. He refused to loosen his grip on me. I fell silent and stopped struggling. I could feel David's chest heating up as he held me close. The man's lips began to quiver. "You're very dangerous, Max. Just stay put. You've done enough damage."
I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to yell at me or something?", I prompted.
David shook his head. A small tear trickled down his left cheek. "No, Max. You already know what I would've said.", David replied.
     I shook my head. "No, I don't pay enough attention.", I admitted.
     I expected David to be angry, but he showed no reaction to my snarky comment. "You can't appreciate anything, can you?", David asked.
     "This situation has nothing to do with you!", I fumed. "Why are you including yourself?"
     David shook his head. "Max, Gwen and I fought tooth and nail just to give you another chance. We've worked behind your back more than you'll ever know. Max, I have been trying to adopt you for years.", he confessed.
     I was stunned. "Oh.", was all that I could manage.
     I didn't know how to feel. "Ever since the night I saw that your parents didn't even love you enough to sign you up for a camp, I knew that I had to fix it.", the man continued. He finally let go of me. I dropped to the ground and sat. David pulled a set of papers from his pocket. He waved them in front of me. "This is the process I've gone through since then!" I had no time to examine those papers, he'd put them away just as quickly as he'd brought them out. "I have worked tirelessly. Countless nights I've stayed awake trying to figure out how to help you. Do you know why, Max?" I shook my head. "Because I care. Because I care for you, even though nobody else does. And what do you do, Max? You find a way to ruin it. You always find a way to ruin it. All I've ever wanted was to help you, to give you a safe and welcoming environment."
     I couldn't look David in the eyes. All I could do was bathe in my embarrassment. "Part of me is beginning to think that you'll be dangerous no matter what environment you're in.", David jabbed. "I think that you're beyond repair. And I'm sorry, Max. I'm sorry that after all of these years you're still suffering. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of help to you. When you're ready to do better, you tell me. Until then, I think I'm done, Max." He lifted my head. I had no choice but to look him in the eyes. David was crying. "I think you have to do this on your own, Max." David let go of my chin and walked back into the Counselors' Cabin.
     I had officially fucked everything up. Even David had given up on me. How was I meant to keep my promise to stay at camp with Y/N if David didn't even want me?
     The sounds of sirens in the distance grew louder. The campers of Camp Campbell all gathered around to watch the ambulance arrive at camp. I looked to Neil for some form of reaction. All he could offer me was a frown. I knew where Harrison was standing, only a few feet away, but I couldn't look. I couldn't watch him. The hospital workers quickly wheeled a stretcher into the Counselors' Cabin. A few workers followed the stretcher with various assortments of medical equipment.
     Only a minute had passed until I watched Preston exit the building. He was swiftly whisked into the ambulance. The ambulance left just as quickly as it'd arrived.
     Nikki skipped over to me. "Looks like you got em' good, Max!", she praised. Nikki never really understood situations like this one. "Aren't you proud?"
     Oddly enough, I hadn't felt any pride at all this time around. "No, Nikki.", I told her. "Preston is in really bad shape."
     "You beat the tar outta' him!", Nikki continued.
     I sighed in agony. "Yes, Nikki, I did.", I confirmed. I crossed my arms with frustration. "Can we not talk about it?" The taste of my own blood filling my mouth was becoming a serious hindrance. It was disgusting. Nikki untucked her shirt from her overalls and used the bottom of it to wipe the blood from my face.
     Nikki nodded. "Sure! We can make a dirt castle instead!", she suggested cheerfully.
     I groaned. "Fine.", I muttered. "You start."
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A/N - Today's chapter, though shorter than yesterday's, was certainly a lot. I haven't really rocked the boat in a while, so I felt like now would've been a better time than ever. I hope you enjoyed reading. Feel free to leave any comment that you want, I read them all. ☁️

Comment Question of the Chapter:

You know what, I've been thinking, and I thought it might be fun if you asked me. So, if you happen to have any questions for me, anything at all, have at it in the comments.