I was at the hospital drawing pictures with Am. I'm looking forward to seeing Max again and hearing her tell me that Am is hers now. I can't help but smile at the thought of going to visit Max and seeing Am. She was already like a daughter to me. If Max and I ever get married, she legally would be my daughter. I was over joyed.
Max still wasn't back by time my shift was over. I was getting worried. Were could she have gone. I was hanging out with Am in my room. She was watching a movie on my laptop. I on the other hand, was nervously pacing around the floor. I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. I couldn't explain it. I didn't know if anything happened at all. I just felt. Off. Maybe it just took longer for her to make the deal with Am's parents, than I had expected.
"Why are you so nervous?" Am asked.
"Max wants to get you out of this place so she needs to adopt you. She needs your parents signatures so I sent her to your old house. It has been four hours and she's not back yet." I responded.
"You let your girlfriend go into a house with a man who has been to jail for physical abusing not only me, but other children too?"
"He went to jail. I've been to his house before. He changed."
"Mark those people are not capable of change. Max is in serious danger. If she hasn't come back by now, she might already be dead. Specially if she went there and started talking about me."
"Oh fudge." I started to back out of the room. When I got into the hall, I ran down the hallway. I blasted threw the large double doors not caring if it hurt. When I got to my car, I got in and quickly started it. I sped down the road not obeying traffic laws.
Finally I made it to Am's old house. Max's truck was still outside. I heard shouting and thudding. When I heard a loud SLAP followed by a thud and a whimper, I darted inside. Lucky for me the owners weren't expecting me. Max was on the floor. She was beat up bad. I stepped in front of Am's dad before he hit her again. Just like old times I guess. A bully standing over top of Max after bullying her. With all odds against little me yet I'm standing there telling the bully that it's not right.
"Who the heck are you?" The man growled.
"I'm the man who takes care of your daughter," I punched him in the gut. "I'm the boyfriend of the girl you just beat up," I kneed him in the face. "And I'm the one who stands up for what's right." I kicked him right were the sun don't shine.
"Sorry sunny, but that's not how you win this game. You see. If you walk into someone's house, interrupt their business, and beat them up, they're not going to be happy." He slapped me across face.
"If you're going to hit me, at least hit like a man." I punched him in the nose as hard as I could. He looked at me with fire in his inhuman eyes. His hand and face were covered in blood. I had broken his nose to the point were it was gushing blood.
"You messed up this time boy," he scowled. "You messed up bad." He did what he did best and smashed my head into the door.
All I could see was black. I heard everything that was going on around me. Almost like I was in a coma. I felt a familiar small hand touch my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Am. She was smiling. I sat up. Everything hurt.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Oh you know. You tried to beat up a man twice your size, you got your butt kicked, you were knocked out, beat up more, and someone called the cops and now you're here." Am responded.
"Sounds about right. How's Max?"
"She's messed up pretty bad but other than that she's fine."
"Good. Can I see her?" I started to stand up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone. You've been out for a day. Just take it easy."
"A day? Oh shoot. Let me go see Max real quick."
"Promise you'll be back?"
"Of corse I will."
"Ok."
"When I come back we can talk." I kissed her on the head then left.
I wondered the hallways peering into rooms until I found Max. She was sitting in a bed eating while watching the cheap cable on the tv. One of her eyes was swollen shut and the other was barley open. He lips were swollen as well, she had a brace on her broken nose, her hands were bandaged, her arm was in a cast and sling, and there was a wheel chair by her bed. I guess she took quite a beating.
Her arm and legs weren't broken when I walked into the house though. She was able to crawl away. I guess he beat her up too when I was out.
"A man just beat the crap out of you and a day later you watch tv and eat pudding. I have to say I admire your priorities." I said.
"Glad to see you're awake. How do you feel?" She asked.
"Sore, unaccomplished, incredibly stupid, and loved."
"Loved?"
"Am waited for me to wake up. She also made me promise that I'll come back and talk to her."
"She really does love you." I smiled. Max was right Am did love me. She was like a daughter to me. I wanted to protect her. She didn't have a father when she was little so she had to mentally grow up more than she should have had to. I wanted to make the rest of her life a bit easer to live.
I left the room and got into my work uniform. I would visit Rick as soon as possible. I bet he was worried sick. Dang it.