Max (A Carter Brother series Book 4)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  The door to Joan’s house knocks and I freeze looking at it. In the two weeks I’ve been here everyone has been real nice to me, but it’s not my home. I hardly know these people and, yet, they’ve welcomed me with open arms. I’ve spoken to the girl that lives here, Harlow. She seems pretty cool and so does her boyfriend, who is fine to look at, but so freaking intense. He’s also broody a lot too. But we’ve not gotten to a stage where we’re comfortable around each other. I think we’re just walking around on eggshells, not knowing what to say to each other.

  It’s another reason why I’m not getting up to answer the door. It just doesn’t feel right making myself at home. Footsteps thump coming down the stairs and I know its Malik coming down. Harlow left this morning to meet up with some girl from her class to study and Mark and Joan left a few hours ago.

  “Good morning, where is she? Has she come out of her room?’’ a voice that sends tingles down my back. I know who it is without peeping around the door. It’s the boy, Max, who got arrested and the dickhead who got me caught sleeping in the shed. I’ve not seen him, his twin, or anyone really since that night. I’ve stayed in the room Joan gave me to sleep in and haven’t left it. I’d been so ill that she came in to take care of me which I’ll be forever thankful to her for.

  I knew I was feeling worse for wear before I’d even been found, and I’m glad in a way that I was. I’d never been that ill from a cold before. It was horrible. And I honestly believe if I had still been in that freezing cold shed it would have been a lot worse.

  “Shut the fuck up, she’s in there,’’ Malik hisses on a whisper.

  “Well, shit! Let’s go give her a Max welcome.’’

  “Let’s not,’’ I hear grumbled, right before their footsteps sound closer. I sit down – not feeling comfortable – and then stand back up. It makes me feel like I own the place and that I’m taking advantage. I don’t want to come across like that to any of them. It just doesn’t feel right.

  I turn, putting my mug into the sink, when all of a sudden hands wrap around my waist and swing me around, keeping me tightly held against a hard body. I squeal, surprised at the sudden intrusion, and when I realise it’s Max that has gotten me, I start kicking out.

  “Put me down, now!’’ I snap.

  He does as I asked; setting me down before turning me to face him. As soon as the dizziness subsides I push against his hard chest.

  “You fucking asshole,’’ I growl before shoving past him.

  “What? I’m a hugger,’’ he shouts after me. I grab my coat before heading out the door, pulling my hood up as I go. Trust it to still be raining. I’m lucky Harlow had a spare coat she didn’t mind giving to me. She said it hadn’t been worn in years. Not one to cut my nose off, I’d happily taken it. It’s only what I was doing before. Taking hand-me-down’s to get me by. It was also nice having something to wrap up warm in. The weather was only going to get colder.

  *** *** *** ***

  Arriving at the food bank my heart sinks. Coming back here is worse than I originally thought it was going to be. Everyone’s eyes are glued either to me or to Max as we walk in. Joan is already in full boss mode when I finish hanging my coat up.

  “You look so much better, sweetie,’’ she coos. She reminds me a lot of my own grandma before she died. She was kind, caring, loving, and always hovering; making sure everyone was okay and got what they wanted. She also acted like a teenager, not caring she was inside a seventy-five year old body.

  “I feel it. Thank you.’’

  She gives me the eye, the one I’ve noticed her do a lot during the two weeks I’ve stayed with her, the one that says she doesn’t quite believe me. Her eyes then flick to Max and soon turn to annoyance. When I move to see what he’s doing I find his eyes fixated on my ass.

  Typical.

  Though, I won’t lie, it feels good to have the attention, especially his. If that’s not a sign telling me it’s been too long, I don’t know what is. It also doesn’t hurt that the boy is fucking gorgeous.

  “I’ve been told you finished painting over the vandalism,’’ Joan states annoyed at Max.

  “Yeah, it turns out spray paint is harder to scrub off than I originally thought,’’ he shrugs. “I also bought the paint myself.’’

  “Don’t make it make sound like you’re being noble, Max Xavier Carter. The church isn’t going to pay for your mistakes so stop looking like you’ve been put out or should be thanked.’’

  Max doesn’t say anything for a minute. He just eyes up Joan curiously like he’s mulling over what he wants to say.

  “You still love me, though? I’m still your favourite, Carter, right?’’

  “No, Myles has bumped you off that position.’’

  “Sly fucking dog,’’ Max mutters, genuinely looking pissed. “Now, where do you want me?’’

  “You’ll be shadowing Lake today. Everything she tells you to do, you do. No questions asked.’’

  “I can handle that,’’ Max winks at me, his eyes appraising my body up and down. I roll my eyes at him, wishing the job was harder so I could run him ragged.

  “I’ll leave you to it, then. Oh, and Lake, Max is paying for your lunch today so no paying,’’ she warns me. Yeah, like I’m going to take another hand out, especially one from him.

  We leave Joan to it and head into the back where we’ll be labelling dates on the foods. I don’t bother talking to Max, I just grab everything we need and pull up a chair.

  “You don’t like me much, huh?’’ Max asks after a few minutes of silence.

  “You seem surprised,’’ I answer, sounding bored.

  “Well, yeah,’’ he says giving me a duh look. “I’m a fucking loveable person.’’

  “You also got me caught you fucking dickhead,’’ I snap.

  “Bit of a good job I did, wouldn’t you say?’’ he snaps back, shocking me. “Sorry, that was harsh. I just don’t think it’s safe for you to be sleeping out in a shed in this weather and on your own, Lake.’’

  “Well, it was safer than other places I’ve stayed at,’’ I mutter, getting back up to get a few more bags of food.

  Sitting back down, Max gives me another curious look before sighing loudly.

  “What?’’ I snap, knowing he’s got something to say.

  “Look, I’m going to come right out and say this. Do you have parent issues? Is your mom a crazy psycho that’s going to run you over? Get you kidnapped? Disown you?’’

  “Huh?’’ I ask him open-mouthed. What on earth…

  “It happens a lot around here, you’ll be surprised.’’

  “Am I supposed to answer that?’’ I ask him, still wondering if he’s being serious. From his deadpan expression I’ll say that he is, but from what I heard, you can never know with Max.

  “Um, yeah. Have you not heard about the moms that run in this circle?’’ he tells me, and then shudders like someone just walked over his grave.

  “I guess not,’’ I tell him slowly.

  “So?’’ he says, shaking his head at the same time as he rolls his eyes.

  “Oh, no, no parent issues,’’ I half lie. My parents aren’t psychos, they’re wonderful parents; it’s me that’s the disappointment. I’m the one that ruined our lives, who ruined theirs. But I’m not telling him that. I can never tell a soul what I did.

  “I’m going to have to take your word for it, but, just so you know, I think my brothers and I have got psycho moms down to a T. We got this shit, so if you need us we’ve got your back,’’ he winks.

  “What are you doing?’’ I ask quickly, not admitting what that wink did to me. My stomach is still doing summersaults from his touch this morning. He picked me up so easily, like I weighed nothing.

  “Writing on the labels you just handed me,’’ he tells me slowly.

  “Um, no, Max. You have to write the expiry date on them.’’

  “Why? They’re already on them.’’

  “Just do it. It’s important,’’ I snap. />
  “Jesus, you really are bossy,’’ he grins, picking up fresh labels.

  We’ve been working non-stop for the past few hours. Max has been huffing and puffing for half of that and it’s grating on my last nerve.

  A few of the other younger volunteers walk in, stopping me from yelling at Max to shut up. When they start sniggering I look over to find them looking over at us. It’s hard to tell whether it’s aimed towards me or towards Max. He’s had a lot of female attention since arriving, even from the older generation.

  It’s sickening really; to most of them he’s basically jailbait, but none of them seem to be bothered about that.

  I shiver, remembering one of the cougars who full on flirted with him – I threw up in my mouth.

  My eyes catch one of the girls nod to her friend in a way that has my back straightening. These girls have been getting on my tits since they first started volunteering. You ever watched Mean Girls? Well, they define Regina George.

  “Did you hear about the tramp they found squatting in the shed?’’ the girl known as Liv says, her voice screeching across the room. Max’s head turns a little in my direction but not enough to draw attention to me. I like that, though, it doesn’t matter since we all know they’re on about me. My hopes of them coming to flirt with Max and leave me alone for once evaporate.

  “Yeah, I heard about that. Disgusting if you ask me. Apparently the person had been sleeping in her own piss for weeks,’’ Jessica sniggers. I really despise that girl. She’s always got an opinion about everything and everyone around her. If only she concentrated on her own life like she did everyone else’s. The bitch probably has more enemies than Voldemort.

  “Yeah, I heard she’s been robbing from the church, too,’’ the other girl, Sarah, sniggers. Like stealing from a church is something to snigger about. Stupid idiot! None of what they’re saying is true so it doesn’t bother me so much. Their lies and stories do nothing to me; I let it wash over my head because nothing can hurt me bar one word. One word, six letters, and that word is enough to destroy me because, unlike what they’re saying, that word is the truth.

  “Wouldn’t put it past her if she’s on the run from something,’’ Jessica says loudly. That comment pisses me off. It’s too close to the truth it’s untrue. If she knows something, I’m gone.

  Max stands up, his chair scraping against the floor loudly. It makes us all turn our heads but I soon look away when I find Jessica looking at me with a smug expression, her eyes gleaming.

  Evil bitch.

  “Hey, Max,’’ she coos sweetly, her chest sticking out, her hip cocked to the side and her eyelashes flapping like she’s got fluff stuck in them.

  I just vomited in my mouth. Literally.

  “You know what I heard?’’ Max answers his voice deep. It’s deadly and it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  “What did you hear?’’ they ask, sounding amused and glad he’s playing along. I swear, if he says anything about me I’m going to grab the closest thing to me and wrap it around that bloody fat head of his. I might just do that anyway, but if he does then at least my actions are justified.

  “I heard she was a famous actress that needed somewhere to hide out. But she wanted to know how girls like you live,’’ he tells them cheerfully.

  “Excuse me?’’ Jessica coughs, amusement leaving her voice and confusion written all over her.

  “Oh, and I’ve got some paint stripper left if you want it.’’

  “I… I don’t understand. Why would I want that?’’ Jessica says, sounding more confused and slightly pissed. Her eyes drift towards me and narrow and I just give her a deadpan look in return.

  “To get all that shit you’ve painted on, off your face. Don’t know about you, but I like a girl that’s all natural. Look at Lake for example, that girl is all natural,’’ he says suggestively, his eyes twinkling as he looks me up and down.

  “Like you care what girls look like,’’ Liv snarls.

  “You’re a prick, you know that?’’ Jessica snaps, stepping forwards towards him.

  “Oh, baby, you have no idea. And it’s a fucking big prick,’’ he grins and I watch in fascination as Jessica’s face goes bright red in anger. Now I don’t think I’ll be wrapping something around his head. After that he deserves a freaking hug.

  “Whatever,’’ she snaps before storming out, her little gang of cronies following behind her.

  “Unbelievable,’’ he shouts before turning to face me like I have the answers.

  “What is?’’ I ask sheepishly, ignoring the way my heart beats like crazy from him sticking up for me.

  “I just gave her the best advice she’ll ever get in life and the bitch has the nerve to call me the prick,’’ he heatedly answers, shaking his head.

  I can’t stop the laugh that erupts from my mouth. I try to cover it up but all I do is muffle the sound, looking like a complete dork. He really is something.

  “I’m sorry,’’ I tell him, holding my hand up. He looks hurt and amused over my outburst, his expression… it’s so ridiculous. “That was just…’’

  “Obviously funny,’’ he laughs, but then looks at me, suddenly serious. “I need feeding and your skinny ass definitely needs feeding.’’

  “I do not have a skinny ass,’’ I snap, outraged, but then palm slap my forehead. I walked right into that one.

  “No, you do not,’’ he answers, emphasising each word; his eyes on my ass.

  “Shut up. And didn’t you eat like ten minutes ago?’’ I ask. I could swear he was eating a BLT from the kitchen, but whatever.

  “No, it was fifteen minutes ago and I’m a growing boy,’’ he states. I look him over, the way his t-shirt hugs his muscled arms and the way his trousers hug his strong toned legs, I’d certainly say he’s done growing. “Are you checking me out, Lakey?’’

  “Never, and I mean never, call me Lakey. Are we clear?’’ I warn him, looking at him with a deathly glare.

  “Okay,’’ he says, drawing out the word. “But seriously, can we go get some food?’’

  “No one is stopping you from going out for food. Although, I’d probably go check with Joan first; you seem to be in her bad books,’’ I smirk.

  “I know, yeah. You’d think having ‘Max woz ere’ written on the wall of a church would make the woman proud. She’s been dying to get me to church since she and my granddad got together.’’

  “You really have a weird way of looking at things,’’ I tell him dryly.

  “No, I’m just fucking awesome,’’ he winks. “Food. Now!’’

  “Like I said, there is nothing stopping you from going out and getting yourself some food.’’

  “Right, hold that thought,’’ he tells me, then turns and disappears. I’m actually disappointed it didn’t take much to get him to clear off. I sigh. Feeling lonely is something that I’ve become accustomed to, but in the past two weeks, and this morning, that loneliness seemed to fade. I know being on my own, feeling lonely, down, and disconnected from everyone and everything is something I deserve.

  “Lake?’’ Joan’s soft voice interrupts my thoughts. I look up to find her walking in with Max tailing behind her, a smug grin on his face. My eyes narrow on him but then soften when I turn to Joan.

  “Oh, hi, Joan, is everything okay?’’

  “Yes, but Max here just said you didn’t want to eat. You need to eat. He’s going to take you to the pub down the road. They do a lovely soup that will help you with your cold,’’ she tells me softly. I look to Max who I didn’t see before and send him a glare.

  “I’m good,’’ I tell her, hoping my voice stays firm. Then my stomach betrays me and rumbles loudly. Max chuckles and Joan just sends me a pointed look. Damn freaking stomach. I’ve hardly eaten over the past two weeks but now my appetite is back and I’m starving. There’s no hiding it. Thanks to my traitorous stomach. And to make it worse, the pub they’re on about serves food that is orgasmic. I’m friends with the owner a
nd chef. He’s brilliant.

  “Of course you are. Max, take her to lunch, and before you say anything, missy, you will be going. If Max here tells me you haven’t eaten with him and let him pay, you will be on washing up duty at home for a month,’’ she warns me before walking out.

  My eyes water.

  Home.

  For a month.

  She actually sees me with her for a month. I’ve not had this. Not had someone care for me in such a long time. Although I don’t deserve her kindness, a part of me wants to relish in it. Enjoy it while I can because I know a time will come when I need to move on, to run, to hide, and to start from the bottom.

  I’ll never settle down, make a home, or even rent a flat. I’m where I should be. Down in the gutter living day to day being miserable, unhappy, and scraping by.

  “Come on then, grab ya coat, Lakey,’’ Max tells me excitedly.

  I send him a glare. “I told you not to call me that,’’ I snap and huff as I walk down the hall to grab my coat.

  When I grab it and put it on something smells funny. My hand reaches into my pocket and I cringe.

  Ewe, what the hell is that?

  Pulling out the offending object a mouldy banana comes into view and I quickly throw it into the trash can.

  “You really should put shit in the bin,’’ Max comments, scrunching his nose up.

  “Hmmm,’’ I comment, and when I reach into my other pocket and find a bunch of notes shoved into it my eyes widen.

  “I thought you were homeless,’’ Max gasps. “Dinner’s on you.’’

  “This isn’t mine. The fucking banana wasn’t mine,’’ I cry, wondering what is going on. Joan walks past the door and before she can get too far away I shout her name.

  “Good, you’re going,’’ she smiles as she walks in, her eyes find the cash in my hand.

  “Yeah, yeah. Look, Joan, I found this in my pocket,’’ I tell her, handing her the notes. There has to be over eighty quid there.

  “Don’t forget the banana,’’ Max adds and I elbow him in the gut.

  “Fuck, that hurt,’’ he wheezes but I just shrug looking at Joan.