Salvaging Max

by SH Richardson

  I’d used my parents’ political lifestyle against them every chance I got. Frequent travel and speaking engagements made it easy for me to plan my escape. I rifled through my father’s private records and found what I was looking for: the name and address for Buck Calhoun, filed under ‘Biker scum.’ I rarely saw the senator, and when I did, he would ignore me or retreat into his office and lock himself inside. We never did anything as father and son, two passing ships that never spoke or acknowledged each other’s presence. Strangers would probably find that part of my life impossible. How could two people who lived in the same house not speak to one another? Simple. One look at me, and he ran the other way. By the time I was twelve, I returned the favor, no longer interested in having a relationship with him, or anyone else for that matter. I spent my days alone. Tutors took care of my education, and the servants made sure I had food and water.I stole everything I could get my hands on: money, sealed envelopes marked confidential, everything I needed to get away and stay away. The night I ran, I bought a bus ticket to Remington, grabbed a cab that was parked outside the terminal, and went directly to the junkyard.

  The locked gate proved to be my breaking point as the events from earlier that evening came rushing back and crashed my hopes like a wrecking ball against a condemned building. I grabbed the chain link fence with both hands and shook the metal as hard as I could. I kicked and screamed like an animal, completely lost control of my senses and gave into the hysteria. Like a dark knight, Buck Calhoun stood in front of me, his chest puffed up and pissed as hell. He saw me through the security cameras and was ready to crack my head in for destroying his fence. He shook me by the arms to stop me from screaming. I couldn’t speak, the words lodged in my throat like a handful of rocks.

  “Calm, boy. Calm. Calm yourself,” he repeated over and over again. Emotionally spent, I dropped to my knees in front of him and produced the knife as an offering. The blade was closed and the handle was crusted over with dried blood and dirt. I waited for any sign that he recognized me. A few seconds later, Buck had said the words that changed my life forever.

  “It’s over now, boy, you’re safe.”

  Buck would beat my ass if he found me sitting in this car, running and hiding like a scared little bitch. He didn’t raise us to run from a fight; we faced that shit head on, damn the consequences. My mother fucked with the wrong man if she thought her little stunt was going to work. She wanted to play this foolish game of quid pro quo, holding my past hostage so I would help her secure her future. Money and power were the only things that mattered to that cunt, and I had plenty of both. Arrogance is the Achilles heel of too many to count, the ultimate downfall of the rich and famous. They think they are invincible, above the law. How satisfying it would be to watch my mother crash and burn to the ground. That fucking asshole Jeremy was too stupid to be anything but a lackey. He thought he could corner that pretty nurse as if she were some sort of paid whore, yet the look in his eyes had told me that guy was soft as butter. That woman had way too much fire for someone like him; she’d break him I half. When I heard him ask her about the type of underwear she was wearing, I wanted to rip his cock off and shove it up his ass. He wouldn’t last twenty-four hours at the junkyard with my brothers.

  My brothers.

  I had to go back. If I had any hopes of ending this nightmare and returning home to the family I loved, I had to find the information I came for. I was valuable to my mother, I harnessed a skill that few had, and she needed me for it, a pawn to use then discard. I had a different idea. It made me smile to myself. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost. I threw the car in drive and headed back to the mansion in a much more stable frame of mind. I was no longer hesitant, hell, I even turned on the radio and sang along to an old Aerosmith song. I parked right out front and bounced through the front door with the grace of a ballet dancer. I took the spiral staircase two at a time, but there was one thing I had to do before I began my mission.

  The nurse was tending to her duties, checking her clipboard and jotting down notes. She moved around the senator’s bed with ease. I couldn’t help but notice how her eyebrows furrowed when she concentrated on a particular task. She held the tip of the pen to her mouth, and I felt a jolt of pleasure straight to my balls when her little pink tongue darted out and touched the tip. She was a thing of beauty; the outline of her pussy lips when she’d flashed me her underwear was something that prick Jeremey would never get the chance to experience in his lifetime. Too bad he’d failed to realize that before he made a fool of himself.

  “If I ever get sick, I’d definitely want you to take care of me.” I leaned casually on the doorframe and took in an eyeful.

  “Oh. I didn’t see you standing there, Mr. Lancaster. Can I help you with something?”Her use of my previous name knocked the breath from lungs and I exhaled loudly in frustration. She didn’t know I wasn’t a Lancaster, and I shouldn’t really fault her for her mistake, but to hear it again after all these years was a harsh reminder of the boy I used to be.

  “Oh, my God, what happened to your hand?” Shit, I’d forgotten about the cuts.

  “It’s nothing. Just a few scratches. Nothing to concern yourself with.” I tried to play it off, but she wasn’t having any of it.

  “Please sit down. Let me take a look at it.” She pointed to a nearby chair.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary…”

  “Now! I’m the nurse, and I’ll be the one deciding on the necessity…sir.”

  She left me no choice but to do as she said, so I sat my ass down on the empty ottoman that was pushed up against the far wall. She ran out the room and returned seconds later with a small first aid kit, a wet towel, and a pair of rubber gloves. To my surprise, she bent down on one knee after she pulled on the gloves, and grabbed my mangled hand for inspection. The site of her kneeling down before me had my dick hard as stone and my balls filling rapidly. I needed a distraction or this was gonna get ugly real fast.

  “I never apologized for pushing you down this morning. I’m real sorry that happened. It was a dick move on my part. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” It was a true statement and I owed her as much.

  “It’s no problem. I’m sure your years at boarding school taught you better manners.” Her subsequent smile made me smile, something I hadn’t done in over a year. Her light touch and personal attention as she cared for me was soothing, and I felt a moment of unexpected calm.

  “I’m Maxwell O’Neill, by the way. Not Maxie and not Mr. fucking Lancaster.”

  If she was shocked by my declaration, she held it back. She concentrated on putting the finishing touches on the wounds and applied a bandage once it was done. Satisfied with her work, she stood from her knees, ripped off the gloves, and tossed them in the trash. I felt a twinge of sadness that she no longer kneeled before me; it was as if she belonged there somehow.

  “Well, Mr. O’Neill, you’re as good as new. Try and stay out of fights with rose bushes for now on, will you?” She turned to walk away, but I wanted her to stay, just a little longer. I reached for her hand and held it so she wouldn’t leave me.

  “I didn’t get your name?” She inhaled sharply as soon as our skin made contact. It was electric, and I felt a blast of heat straight to my cock. I let go of her hand and took a small step backwards. Our connection broke immediately. It was for the best. I had to clear my head from thoughts of fucking her senseless while she screamed out my name.

  “Haven,” she stuttered, “Haven Sloan…sir.” A fitting name for an angel of mercy.

  “Thank you for taking such good care of me, sweet Heaven.” She smiled tightly, and I watched as she walked away.

  I was left alone with my dying father for the first time in years. I was happy she’d left the room. The things I needed to say to him weren’t pleasant and I didn’t want an audience. The conversation was a long time coming. Too bad it would only be one sided. I hadn’t counted on the fact that the senator could no longer talk, but it didn’t matter; it was m
y burden to unload, not his.He’d have his time to confess when he was standing at the gates of hell waiting to be let in. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that when his time came, he’d slow dance with the devil himself.

  HAVEN

  One gentle touch on the hand, and my whole body went up in a ball of flames. A gesture so simple in its intent yet so powerful, I felt the sensation the entire length of my arm. Oddly enough, I didn’t find it revolting like I normally did when a stranger, especially a man, made contact with any part of my body. I hadn’t felt comfortable with another person’s touch in years, long before my brother passed away. My parents had always been very affectionate with us; hugs and kisses each morning and night right before bedtime. There was plenty of laughter to go around, family game nights, and home movies. I missed it, and I missed them. My brother and I no longer laughed once our cousin took us in. Instead, we cried. We didn’t play games; we became the game. Affection wasn’t something to look forward to at bedtime; it was the reason we hid under the covers and cringed when the lights went out.

  I shook off those wayward thoughts and splashed cold water on my face from the bathroom sink. The morning had started out shitty and just got worse and worse as the hours passed. Next time, I’d think twice before agreeing to cover for the overnight nurse if this was the bullshit I had to look forward to. Hiding in the guest bathroom was the only way for me to take a little time to get my shit together before returning to the senator’s room. Plus, I wanted to give Max some time alone to spend with his father. The trip to the bathroom was a good excuse for running out like an idiot. His apology was so sincere; I believed him when he expressed regret for pushing me down. That alone was a change from the usual behavior around these parts; the very idea of apologizing to “the help” was a ridiculous standard never practiced by the rich. You work for me, which means I will do what I want however I want.

  Max was different from the rest of the family. Well, to be fair, his mother, since the senator no longer spoke. I knew it was a ruse. He was rich, and the rich were all the same in my book. Narcissistic animals who only knew how to take from those they deemed weaker and less worthy. I read between the lines of that bullshit story Mrs. Lancaster told. Boarding school, my ass. Prison or rehab was most likely. In time, Max would show his true colors. The rich always did. Fortunately for me, I was immune to the bullshit. That brief zing the touch of his hand had created would soon be forgotten, along with the memory of this brief assignment. The senator was dying, that much was certain, and when he did, I’d move on to my next lucrative patient complete with a stellar recommendation given by Mrs. Lancaster. I just needed to keep my head down and do my job and not get swept away with silly possibilities and long-lost sons. Simple.

  Confident that my little freak-out was behind me, I made my way back to the senator’s room, ready to finish out my shift and get the hell outta there. It was well after two in the afternoon; three more hours and I was free as a bird, at least until Monday. An angry voice coming from just inside forced me to pull up suddenly and stop before entering. Max was still visiting with the senator. I didn’t know whether to leave and come back or just wait until I felt it was a better time to interrupt. It was Max’s words that were the deciding factor:

  “Guess you can’t run from me now, can you, motherfucker? Look at you, pissin’ in a bag, IVs stuck in your arms, lying there drooling like a teething toddler. Do you know who I am, fucker? Look at me!” Max was talking to Senator Lancaster, but it definitely wasn’t a happy reunion.

  “Do you know how many times I tried to tell you about what they were doing to me? How many times I just wanted to run into your precious office and beg you to help me? Where were you, huh? What was more important than your own son? I fucking needed you to be there, but what did you do? You ran and kept running until I no longer gave a shit.”I heard something that sounded like a sob coming from Max before he re-grouped and continued. His voice was painful to listen to, but I couldn’t bring myself to step away. Not now.

  “Did you ever wonder what happened to me, Senator? Where I went or what I was doing?”He laughed, but it was self-deprecating. I wondered what the senator’s answer would have been if he still had the ability to speak. I tried to ignore the nagging curiosity building within my overactive psyche. I wasn’t getting paid to have an opinion on such things, but I found myself eager to hear the rest of what he had to say. Did he go to jail for a few years, was recently released and had nowhere else to go? Did he drop out of boarding school and backpacked across Europe for several years? Perhaps he was married six times and had ten children by eight different women? Whatever he had done with his life, I’m sure it was unprincipled in nature. It was unavoidable; the rich were reared to covet depravity, like it was their birthright.

  “You don’t deserve to know the good things that happened in my life, asshole. I won’t ease your guilt on your way to hell, but I will tell you this…I didn’t need you then, and I don’t need you now. I had a father, the best fucking father in the world. He taught me all the things you should have, like how to be a man, a man who takes care of their own, something you knew nothing about. If there’s anything left inside that rotted brain of yours, hear me, fucker…I don’t forgive you.”

  His angry declaration sent me reeling, so much so I had to brace my arms on my legs to stay upright. God, how I wished I’d had the fortitude to say the things he said at the time they needed saying. I had no idea what the senator did that was so unforgivable, but the power in denying absolution to someone who clearly didn’t deserve it must have felt so liberating. I was in sheer awe of the strength it took to finally take that step to emotional stability. Max was a stranger to me, yet I felt a kindred spirit in that moment, as if we somehow connected on a much higher plain, even though he had no idea that it actually happened. I could never tell him of the gift he gave me; it was mine to relish and appreciate for the rest of my life. His words would be my strength when the dark days invaded my heart and my memories became too much to handle. Remembering them as a wish for myself, I repeated them, “I don’t forgive you.”

  “What the fuck are you doing here? Were you listening?” Holy shit, he scared me. I didn’t realize he was finished and was standing right in front of me. I had to play this off and diffuse this, or I could be in a lot of trouble.

  “No, of course not, Mr. O’Neill. I was just coming back to finish out my shift.”

  I was good at lying, through necessity. I had to be. I wasn’t proud of that fact. I hated it, and I hated lying to Max more than I cared to admit. It took him a minute of searching my eyes for any signs of deceit before he finally let it go with a quick chin lift.

  “If you’d like more time to visit, I could come back if you want? The senator isn’t due for his next vitals check for another hour or so.”

  “No, that won’t be necessary, Heaven. I’m done with this shit.” He waived his hand toward the direction of the senator’s bed. I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t press the eavesdropping issue, but his continued use of calling me the wrong name rubbed me the wrong way, so I called him out on it.

  “It’s Haven, sir, not Heaven. H.A.V.E.N, or do you need to go back to boarding school to learn the alphabet?” It came out harsher than I’d intended, but instead of acting offended, Max gave me a small smile and shook his head in disbelief.

  “Come on, Heaven, you and I both know that boarding school story was a bunch of bullshit. I pegged you as someone smarter than that.” He had a point.

  “I just—” He interrupted before I could finish.

  “And I know full well what your name is…Heaven.”

  I didn’t have time to stand there and argue with this fool. If he wanted to call me Heaven, well, fuck it. I wouldn’t be around long enough for it to matter anyway. I’d been called worse, so it wasn’t exactly a hardship. Now that the small talk was over and I was convinced he didn’t know I’d been listening to his conversation with his father, it was time to cut this short an
d get back to work.

  “Ok, then. I’ve got to get back to the senator. Have a good rest of the afternoon, Mr. O’Neill.”

  “I would really appreciate it if you called me Max.”

  He bent at the waist and bought his bearded face inches in front of mine. He was so much taller than my five-foot-six-inch frame. His deep voice sent a shiver down my spine and my nipples perked to attention. Good thing this uniform was loose enough to hide that embarrassing fact. Just Biology, not arousal.

  “If you insist…Max.” Did he just moan…again? What’s with this guy?

  “See, isn’t that better than Mr. O’Neill?”

  It was, so I smiled and slipped past him. I had to distance myself before one of the other staff members caught us talking; it wasn’t professional to carry on like that. One look at the senator’s bed, and I could see that he was no longer sleeping soundly. His eyes had a sheen to them as if he had been crying. That’s impossible, Haven, get your shit together. I grabbed my stethoscope and clipboard and chanced one more look at Max standing by the door. He took one last pointed look at the dying man in the hospital bed, turned, and walked away with certainty.

  MAXWELL

  That pretty little nurse was a regular little spitfire, especially when she’d thought I couldn’t remember her fucking name. She tossed her little attitude around like a Frisbee at the beach; made me hard just thinking about it. She reminded me of this little snapping turtle Range and I’d found at the junkyard one day when we were hanging out. The little bastard nipped my finger so hard I flung it into the woods behind one of the car heaps. Heaven didn’t need to be flung; she needed to be fucked, and by someone who knew how. She wouldn’t be so high and mighty balancing on her knees, struggling to take my cock down her throat. I could only imagine the fun I would have forcing her to take more than she was capable of just to trigger her gag reflex over and over again. I’d punish her sassy mouth till she begged me to stop, then I’d watch her take me slow and easy until I shot my hot seed down her throat.