*Edited
This chapter contains language and strong reference.******************Maxwell's POV
His vision swayed as he tried to move, he could feel the heat, he saw the bright red fire before him, the now open wall behind him. The rational thing was to run out as fast as possible, but he didn't. Which was crazy because he didn't really even know the girl or get along with her that much for him to second guess his own safety.He could hear the ambulance as they arrived, the men in uniform behind him shouting for him to run, but he hesitated."Well fuck it!." He groaned, glancing behind him, before he darted for her, pulling her from under the large rock that hit her head and carried her in his arms. Another huge rock fell as something exploded again behind them.He looked back at their escape space which was now remarkably smaller, he could see more people had gathered outside, shouting for them to come out.A loud rumble came of more things falling, the floor shook. Walking quickly as he could, he pushed her out first, her limp body going every which way.A medic - a brave one at that, saw and quickly advanced to them, pulling the rest of Breanna away, so he could also crawl out. He was less than 3 feet away when the entire building got blown to bits.When his stupid friend suggested that they go to a strip club, this was not how he thought the night would end, at all. The worst case scenario, he would be stuck with a stripper he didn't like. Well that sort of happened, but not exactly how he expected.He had never needed to go to a strip club to get himself laid before, women were always coming at him, but he was on a dry spell or he got tired of pretending to care for these women, he just needed sex, just for one night.But where did that land him?, in an ambulance on his way to the hospital, a few bruises and a killing headache.He stared at her closed eyes, her body completely still, an oxygen mask covering the most of her face.She was one of the very few students that never came to class with makeup or that appeared like they thought about what to wear, she'd always appear in lounge wear, large sweatshirt and concert tee shirt, her now straight hair was usually curly.The medics had covered her body from chest down with a large towel, but he couldn't help but think how different she was to who he knew as Breanna Wilson, Sophomore Psychology student.He sighed."Did I hurt you?." The medic that was cleaning the blood on his head asked."No." He told her without looking, she wanted to flirt, he could tell from the softness of her voice and he wasn't in the mood, he just survived a gun raid.They got to the hospital and after a quick scan on her brain, she was not in any great danger, but she suffered a mild concussion.She woke up a few hours later, startled, calling out to her brother. He winced watching her."Jack?, Jack!." She cried out, shaking."Hey, Hey, Hey." He rushed to her as she began to fiddle with the drip."I need to get out of here." She said in a hoarse."You're in a hospital." He tried to clarify."I know that, I need to get out." She looked up to him, tears in her eyes."What's going on?." A doctor arrived."Am I going to die?." She asked him quickly."No, you're perfectly fine." The doctor stuttered glancing at him."Great, I'd like to go." She said."Calm down Wilson, they still have to run some tests before you can be discharged." He said slowly."There is no need for that, I'm perfectly fine, right doc?.""Yeah, but some cops are out there taking statements from every one that came from the club, so…." The doctor explained, pointing behind him, with a worried smile."Cops?." She asked."You can leave immediately after giving your statement." The doctor said and left as the police came."Hi, Lakeside police here, this is officer Brock and I'm officer Waters." Officer Waters introduced raising a card in her face, for less than a second."You're the last person and doc says you're clear to go, so why don't we take this down to the station if you don't mind." She asked."Sure." Breanna said without hesitation."We'll follow behind." Maxwell announced and they left the room."Are you sure you can answer questions right now, the doctor said you suffered a concussion." He rapped out."I'm fine, Professor Caines." She told him. "Now can we go?."He huffed, pushing his hair away from his face. "You woke up two minutes ago after almost five hours of being unconscious and, sure!, lets go to the police. ""Look, you don't understand, my b-brother," She paused, lips quivering, "He died in that club, I need to know who those people were." She gritted angrily, he paused as they stared each other down."Fine, the nurse brought some clothes earlier, I hope they fit." He motioned to the neatly folded clothes on the dresser beside the bed."I'll be outside." He announced and walked out.She was stubborn, he always knew, but now she was just being very unreasonable but he couldn't stop her even if he tried, she'd do what she wanted to do anyway.One thing this whole fiasco brought to his notice was how little he knew his students, he always felt it was not his job to be familiar with their personal lives, but now he was beginning to change his mind.It was Saturday morning and he was in a hospital ready to drive a stripper who also happened to be his student to the police station.This was not at all how other Saturdays unfolded. He groaned out, kicking the dirt under his feet. He called his cleaning lady to help feed his dog, since he didn't know how long they'd be at the station.The drive there was silent, she fell asleep twice. Asleep she seemed so peaceful, with her hair in her mouth, but he knew better.She was anything but. They had barely arrived, when he heard his name, snapping him out of his reverie."Max, what are you doing here?." He heard a voice suddenly call out to him."Steve?." He turned to the man.Steve Lion was the first friend he made when he moved here to Lakeview, his grand dad and Steve's were buds. Steve was married with 2 kids, another one of his 'friends' that was married and that had his life all together."Are you here to see me?." He asked. "Its crowded, a club was attacked down town……." Steve rushed to explain, motioning to the people around him. Maxwell stopped him."Yeah, I know, actually, I was there and a student of mine is here for questioning." He told him and Steve laughed."You?, went to a strip club?.""I know, one more bad decision of my life. " He smiled bitterly, scratching his head."I don't know if i should call this a mid life crisis." Steve laughed again."Just don't tell your wife." He told him, almost pleadingly. "She'll tell Martha, and Martha will tell my mom and they will be here before sun down.""Sure thing man, I have to go, if anything happens, my office is down this hall." Steve gave him a brotherly slap on the back and left. He sighed and turned to see Breanna already being questioned."Name and age?.""Breanna Wilson, 21.""What were you doing in the club?.""I work there."He glanced up at her with a suggestive look, and Maxwell had the sudden urge to punch the look off the officer's face."What do you do there?."Maxwell side glanced her, also waiting for her answer, she scoffed at his question, scratching her eyebrow."I mop the floors," She mocked the officer, Maxwell held a chuckle. "I'm a stripper damn it!.""How long have you been working there?." The officer asked with a hum."A year." She mumbled after a beat."I didn't get you." The officer said to her."One year." She repeated in a mumble, inspecting a bruise on her forearm."What?." The man leaned in again, pretending he 'didn't get her' when on the contrary he just wanted to irritate her and make her embarrased. Maxwell frowned. He didn't like this officer at all."I said a freaking year, you son of a biscuit!."The officer flared up, supposedly offended."No need to get aggressive kid, we are doing our best here." The officer said in a rehearsed clipped voice."Your best?!, where are the people who started shooting?," She gave a dramatic pause, looking around. "Where are they?, you didn't catch one?, not one?!." She shouted, raising a finger in the air, her eyes red with anger.Maxwell had never seen her this angry before, in fact he never noticed her much, but she always seemed like she was bored with every thing in life. She was stubborn and had a quick rude mouth. That much he knew and noticed. It was all he needed, well, until now."Calm down………" The officer began with a sigh, leaning in his twirling chair."Don't tell me to calm down!." She shot at him, "My brother died in that place, he was shot three times in the chest!." He watched her shout on top of her voice, tapping her chest. He held down a wince."Wilson." Maxwell called to her, softly, but she brushed him away."So don't tell me to effing calm down!, he took three bullets for me, you let the bad people get away, you and you're telling me to calm down?!.""Look here!, this is a strip club we are talking about, gun fights happen all the time, if we look into the case and its more than your average gang fight and illegal acquisition of fire arms, we hand it over to the FBI, okay?!.""Wow!........you sound so enthusiastic!." She folded her arms, eyeing him angrily, her voice coated with sarcasm."Listen!, if you like your freedom, I suggest you cooperate with us. One more insult from you and you will be detained for underaged drinking and clubbing." The officer threatened, pointing an accusing finger.She gasped. "What?.""Hey, hey, hey man." Maxwell stepped in quickly. "What are y?.......is that a threat?.""You are only 21 and have been working in a strip club for a year, you're more than welcome to take it as a threat, so I would recommend keeping your mouth shut and cooperating with us! we ask the questions around here!."Brand new chapter three?!, certainly more chaotic. What do we think?. Leave your comments and thoughts here. Vote, like, share and leave a review. Thank you all for your continuous support. Love, Bee.
*Edited Breanna's POV "Where are you going?." She heard him call out, as she limped across the street. "Home!." She let out a deep breath. "They finished questioning me!." She called back with a grunt as pain shot through her side. He jogged over to her. "You need to go back to the hospital." She watched him give her a once over, eyes lingering on her side. "No." "Why?." He asked as she resumed walking, hot on her heels. "Wilson, Wilson!, Wilson!!." "Leave me alone!." "You can't even make it to the other side of the road!, so no, I won't leave you alone!." He raised his voice, puffing out a deep breath before he continued. "Why don't you want to go to the hospital?." "Because, unlike you, some of us have to work to live!, okay!." She paused, the breeze tugging at her hair. "To pay tuition, to pay house bills, to pay hospital bills for our father!, some of us don't have it easy and quick in life and become a professor at 29, which was why some us had to start stripping in th
*Edited Maxwell's POV "We are here." He announced, unfastening his seat belt. She looked around warily. "I hope your new girlfriend wouldn't mind me being here." He paused, glancing at her, trying to decipher her words. "What new girlfriend?, I'm single, as far as I know." He muttered slowly. "Didn't mean to judge, but I've heard stories and I'm just trying to be careful." Eyes narrowed, he tilted his head, didn't smile or frown, but waited a beat before speaking. "No, you're good." The house was a small brown bungalow, the once pretty roses on the front porch now stood dying away in their pots. The roofs looked a little dated, like the other town houses that surrounded it, but the window and doors had been remodeled. As soon as the door opened, a large hairy beast attacked Professor Caines' legs barking. The dog perked up at the scent of another person, she smiled softly at the black hairy Newfoundland, that was now going round her feet sniffling, then he stopped suddenly and
*Edited Breanna's POV "Breanna." She heard a voice call out, but she couldn't respond, his voice sounded very distant to her, like he was calling her from more than a mile away. Her whole body was on fire, from inside out, she wanted to run, shout, scream, she wanted cold water. But for some reason, she didn't have control over her own self. Her hands and legs felt heavy - too heavy to move, then he called her name again, this time it echoed, turning to pleas and cries from a thousand voices. It was too much, she continued to shake her head, crying, trying to shout 'stop' but her mouth refused to make any sound. "Breanna….." "Breanna?!." She felt a soft touch on her shoulder, like a light caress, but as soon as he did, and like strong lightning, strength came to her. Like he released what held her down, she shot up from the bed with a start and started screaming in a shrill voice that was loud enough to wake the neighbors, kicking and punching every which way. She was having a
*Edited Maxwell's POV A week later The day was hot and bright, not the best combo in Lakeside. After the crazy week with Breanna, he couldn't deny it, all he had thought about after she left on Sunday morning was how crazy the entire thing was. He felt awful and angry, that she was hurting and it may or may not be his fault. He had not been able to get her screams out of his mind, how she called out to her brother that night, how she kicked and shouted for him to wake up, he couldn't get the glare on her face to that officer that questioned her, out of him mind. He had not expected her to be in school the next Monday, like at all, he didn't want to seem impulsive or suspicious, he would have asked her to stay one more night in his house. He didn't know what was going on in her mind, what she was thinking, if she had another nightmare, but he was sure of one thing, she was choosing to ignore it, her being here only proved it. Immediately he saw her strut in for class, he desperate
*Edited Maxwell's POV "Tell me about him." He suggested, quietly as if giving her a choice to. She side glanced him and sniffed. "The apartment feels empty without him, everything is haunting me, the couch where he'd pass nights on his school projects and thesis, his to-do lists on the fridge." She paused. "He had music sheets everywhere, so that any time he got inspiration no matter where he was in the house, he'd write it down." She swallowed and chortled. "But Jack was a terrible musician, every one knew it, except himself, some times i got mad, that he was wasting money on studio time when he could be helping me, you know, so I didn't tell him how proud of him I was often, that he was chasing his dreams with every bone in his body, because I was mad, I was so mad that I had to start stripping while he got to gallivant his life away." Her laugh turned to sobs again. He found a box of tissue and handed it to her as she cried. "I was selfish, I wanted him to give up his dreams,
*Edited Breanna's POV Just like the night before, and every day since it happened, she sat down in the living room, perfectly still as she stared into nothingness. The day had been extremely hard, from pretending to be alright, to a new five thousand word thesis she had to write, her car breaking down, the constant pain in her side, her landlady screaming insults at her and coming home to an empty apartment. It had not been the best. She had thought that by now, her eyes would be dry, that there would be no more tears. But her eyes proved her wrong, every time she came home, to his house, the house they had shared since she moved in with him. She cried. His presence lingered every where, it was his house after all, she had never cried so much in her entire life, but for course, she had never lost a brother before in her entire life. She wasn't sure if she wanted to continue with life, If she wanted to be in school, she couldn’t afford it anyway, she couldn't handle being constant
*Edited This chapter has brief mention of strong language ********************** Maxwell's POV A week later. He didn't plan on going, but he had to. Steve and the rest of the guys went too, they had to stay far away, but they were there, honoring the lives of those who passed on that awful night. He didn't like to think about it much, but when he saw her in the black dress, holding a bunch of white roses, the blank distant look in her eyes as the service commenced it rushed to him like ligthning. He knew she was not okay and for some reason, no matter how he tried to shake the feeling that he could help. That he should help. He just couldn't. He was never like this, he was usually glib, but this time, it was some what personal. He began to imagine all the other people that died, how they meant something to their families, but now they were dead, gone to never return. His stomach churned. "Fuck!." He had not felt like this since his grand dad died, he never wanted to relive
*Edited Breanna's POV She took a deep breath through the lungs, as the warm air hit her face, the breeze tugging at the skirt of the black dress she was wearing. The town was holding a mass burial for the people that died that night. So here she was, with a bouquet of white roses in her hands, Jack loved roses, especially the white ones, their mother had a white rose garden when she was alive, where she would spend hours trimming and nursing all weekend according to him. A few of Jack's friends came to support, but she couldn't register any of their faces, his producer and even his boss from work. His girlfriend didn't make it, she didn't even bother to ask why. She didn't tell her dad, he wasn't even in the right frame of mind to understand anyway, it was useless telling him. It would only cost her more money to bring him all the way here. The service ended as quickly as it started, she didn't hear a word the priest said, she felt like life had left her and that she was just dri