On Tuesday afternoon, after a dull day at school - all things considered after what happened with Tanner. He wasn't at school - I returned home in search of Max.

Amalia had plans with her father so I didn't feel as bad when I didn't invite her over for a dip in the pool. It had been tempting. More than tempting. But Max and I were overdue a conversation.

Flynn and Abby car pooled with me this morning and damn well tested my patience when both of them climbed into the backseat after school.

I stared at them through the rear view mirror. "I am not acting like a damn cabbie while the two of you fuck on the backseat. Someone better get the fuck up front."

It was shocking when Abby laughed and told Flynn to sit up front. Mills was right. She was so much happier and it was as if, overnight, she had become this whole new person.

The person she used to be. It made me happy that she was in such a good place again. I wanted nothing but the best for her.

But she had to share the gentle giant. That was just how it was. I needed him too. Not in the same sense obviously.

However, I did leave them to it when we got home and went upstairs. I changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Mom and Dad weren't home but Dad wouldn't be long. Mom didn't leave the house a whole lot so I didn't even know where she was.

When I'd had a browse at their calendar last week, I noticed a lot of travelling scheduled for the next few months.

That wasn't a surprise considering it was football season. Dad had to attend games. And now that we were all old enough to be left alone, Mom went with him as often as possible.

However, I did notice that both of them would be around for the first game of the season on Friday. They would never have missed it.

When I thudded on Max's door, there was an immediate answer from the other side, so I pushed it open and found Kyla sitting at his desk, tapping the keyboard with an email open.

"What's up," Max said, shoving clothes into a suitcase. Not just a duffel. But an actual suitcase.

One he hadn't used since a certain summer camp that came with a handful of fucked up memories. Not because of him. It was all me. Well me and two others.

I walked further in and slipped my hands into my pockets. "Going somewhere?"

New York.

When I didn't respond, he looked up, folding a t shirt with raised brows. "You're not surprised, right? You knew I wanted to go."

"Yeah I did. It's just weird. Now that it's happening for real."

He continued packing his bag so I sat down on the bed. This had all happened so fast. We hadn't had a chance to hash out the actual details.

Would he come back? Would he visit? What school was he going to? Was he even going to school? Where would he be living?

It didn't seem he was going for a short visit. He opened a second suitcase on the floor and started gathering up other belongings, such as photo frames, paper files and the little knick knacks that sat next to his laptop.

"Could we go and do something dude?" I said, resting my hands on my knees. "Some dinner or a drink. Something?"

His attention went to Kyla who was closing the laptop. She pulled her jumper sleeves over her hands and turned in the chair, meeting us both with a smile.

Max shook his head. "I can't leave Ky—"

"Don't," she said. "Go. We talked about this. You need to spend the evening with Luc and Abby before we go. I'll be fine."

Max sighed and looked as though he wanted to argue. I hadn't witnessed the two of them together in a long time. I couldn't remember the dynamic.

But I sure hoped she knew how to put her foot down. If Max was leaving tomorrow, then he owed me one damn evening before he left.

It wasn't as if we'd never see him again. For all it was worth, I could see him whenever I wanted. But he would be occupied with his girl for a while. Which was fair.

Kyla looked at me. "He's worried it'll be hard to leave if you drag him off to have a fun afternoon."

He knew me well. And he knew I wouldn't let him go without spending some time together. Which was fun no matter what we were doing because I'm a spontaneous no fucks to give sort of person.

I'm also modest as it happens.

"Well, what are we doing? Max rested his hands on his hips. "I don't want to be out super late."

"I'm thinking we'll grab some pizza, do some rails, lick tequila out of a strippers belly button—"

"Lucas," Max sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Relax," I gave him a slap on the shoulder.

Max agreed with some reluctance and after an emotional farewell with Kyla, he managed to leave his room.

I promised Ky I would make sure he behaves. No excessive drinking, no drugs and although Max and I really had been to the strippers together on one occasion, that wouldn't be happening again.

And she promised to pack up the rest of his things so the two of them would be ready to leave at two in the afternoon tomorrow.

We wandered down the corridor and I decided it wouldn't be right to leave our little sister out of this evening I hadn't planned but would still make eventful regardless.

Just for dramatic flare - because I was so pumped and excited about spending some proper time with both of them - I stopped in front of her door, stepped back and kicked it open.

Shards of wood and the handle came loose when it flew open and hit her wall with a loud thud.

She was straddled on top of Flynn, her comforter a mess, as usual but thank God, her clothes were still on.

Both of them gasped and stared at Max and I.

Max recoiled and pointed at the two of them. "What the hell? When did this happen?"

I ignored him and walked forward, assessing Abby's outfit as fast as I could. She was wearing a pair of shorts made of thin material.

I ignored the fact they looked like easy access shorts. Her sweater was cropped and Flynn was holding her bare waist.

She was dressed enough to leave the house. "Grab her kicks," I ordered Max and picked Abby up, throwing her over my shoulder.

"What the fuck?!" She shouted. "Lucas! Lucas, put me down you heathen!"

Flynn leaned up on his elbows. "Wha—"

"You can hang around if you want bro. Dunno when we'll be back though."

"Back from where?" She shouted with a breathless voice from having my shoulder in her stomach.

I wasn't sure where we were going. But the plan was in motion. The plan that wasn't a plan and more like a spur of the moment quest to make sure Max would want to come home from the big apple one day.

That place would be the sort of city he'd fall in love with. He'd fit in so well with his serious expressions and ethic to work hard.

Even if he was only going to be with Kyla while she was still alive, he could end up there for College.

He could land a big corporate job as a cut throat lawyer and the next thing we know, he'll be walking faster than Usaine bolt can run, in suits with to-go coffees and a briefcase.

And if all of that did happen, I would want him to at least miss us enough to come and visit more than once a year for Christmas.

In the car, Abby sat in the middle back while Max took the passenger seat. She huffed and puffed with frustration while she pulled her shoes on. "Lucas, can you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"I'm not sure," I peered in the rear view mirror and noticed her red face and pinched brows. "I'll let you know when I do. You seem a little flustered back there."

"No shit," she appeared between the front seats. "I'm sexually frustrated now. Thanks for that."

Max murmured some sort of objection as he stared out the window. I turned up the stereo which was connected to bluetooth. "You're welcome," I told her. "Were you going to have sex while we were all home?"

"Excuse me," she glared. I could see her in my peripheral vision but kept focused on the road in front of us. "As if you haven't done that a million times. Yeah I really believed you just wash your sheets every single Sunday for hygiene. Not to mention the occasional mid week wash. Man whore."

"Was the door locked?"

"Doesn't seem to matter when your brother decides to kick it off its hinges."

"It's still on the hinges. I just broke the lock and handle and split the wood around the frame. It's sweet."

"It's going to need a serviceman to come and fix it," she pinched the skin on my bicep, the sensitive spot just below the armpit and I considered throwing her the fuck out of the car. "Moron."

"Come on," I said. "It was cool."

"It was a waste of money."

Max turned his head towards us with furrowed brows, appearing a little perplexed. "What are Mom and Dad going to think when they come home and see that we're all missing and Abby's door has been kicked in."

Abby and I started laughing and I was certain we were both imagining the reactions to be as dramatic as possible.

There was no chance Dad wouldn't flip the fuck out. I was tempted to convince Ky she should hide and record them both running around in a frenzied panic.

But dad would murder the three of us if we let him think something had happened. He was somewhat more sensitive to that sort of thing than the average parent.

"You better text Ky," I told Max. "She can explain we've gone to create our own version of The Hangover part four."

"We have not," Max said as he began tapping out a message on his phone. It was hard to see him like this. He'd always been more mature than the rest of us. That was Max. But he was more down than I'd ever seen him before.

The first thing we did was get some dinner at the mall food court. We sat down with our kebabs, fries and sodas. We weren't sure what possessed us to eat in such a public place. We didn't do that a lot and we never had.

It wasn't the most peaceful meal. We were asked for pictures and if we weren't asked for pictures, people were taking them from their tables without a lot of subtlety.

It was fine though. We didn't give it a lot of attention, we ate and when we were done eating, we decided to take part in some charitable shopping.

That was Abby's idea, we walked around Urban Outiftters and forever 21. When someone approached us and asked for a photo or told us we were their favorite family in the world, we paid their tab and left so the cashier could surprise them when it was time to make their purchases.

Of course, we had to watch a few of them flip out through the store window's. Most of them had to go and choose a few more items of clothing to make up the tab total. It was rewarding and I was surprised to find out that Abby did this sort of thing with Mom all the time.

Well, it wasn't that surprising. That was a mom thing to do. She would never forget her roots.

The sun was setting when we pulled down a narrow road outside of town. On one side of the road were tall trees and greenery that shaded the road. On the other side was a wall of earth and dirt.

It was a large, enclosed space with rocks and gravel leading up to the calm, serene and clear water.

This wasn't a popular place. It wasn't exclusive to us either. But there weren't a lot of people who came here. Enormous rock cliff faces surrounded the water, trees and bush offered shade but the water was exposed to the relentless sun which was what made this place so perfect.

It offered relief from the heat but it kept the water warm. I had no intentions of swimming but I did reach under the passenger seat and retrieve a bottle of Absolut before we got out of the car.

"Remember when Dad used to bring us here," I said, twisting the glass bottle in my hand as we all wandered over to the edge of the water. "I think he still brings Mom here on the bike."

"He does," Max smiled. "Mom said both of them were here a couple of weeks ago."

"Do we even want to know what they come out here for," Abby said, staring at the water with a look of pure disgust.

"Fuck no."

Abby laughed. Having parents who acted as if they were two weeks into their relationship rather than eighteen years wasn't all that pleasant most of the time.

But we appreciated their love for each other. Abby the most of course. She wanted to grow old with someone, have a love that never died. She deserved it.

I twisted the lid off of the bottle of vodka and had a quick shot before I handed it to Abby. That was all for me. I was driving. But those two could go hard. What did it matter if we had school tomorrow? Having a weekday hangover was a right of passage.

"How are your knuckles?" I asked Max as I wandered over to a large stone surface.

He sat down beside me and assessed his injured hand, stretching his fingers in and out. "Fine. Yours?"

"I'll live. You didn't have to do that ya know. Mom and Dad would have found some other way for you to be with Ky. A transfer or something."

Abby sat beside Max and handed him the bottle. The beams of setting sun that shot through the gaps in the trees above us, reflected on the glass as he took a swig of the Absolut and scowled.

He was more of a beer man. "Yeah," he winced but took another shot. "But you would have ended up expelled, Luc. No football. No NFL. Couldn't let that happen."

"I might not have ended up expelled."

He gave me a flat stare. "I was expelled and I had a clean record, Luc."

Abby nodded in agreement and took a long guzzle of the spirits.

She handed the bottle back to Max who had another couple of swigs. I had sort of expected both of them to turn down afternoon drinking for the simple fact that we had school and both of them were far more responsible than I am.

But nope. If this kept up, I would end up with an intoxicated sibling on each shoulder.

"So what's the plan?" I said, throwing a pebble at the still water. It rippled, circles of disturbance that flew towards the edges and disappeared. "For New York? You're going back to school, right?"

"Yep," he said. "Mom and Dad made it happen. There's a school near Ky that were more than willing to accept a Lahey child on short notice. Despite the expulsion. That was sort of forgotten when Dad spat out a donation he planned on sending with the fees."

Mom and Dad weren't the sort of people to cover up our mistakes with cash. If we got into trouble at school, we had to accept the consequences. There was rarely a time when either of them would intervene.

I suppose this had been considered a special circumstance. After all, Max didn't beat the fuck out of Tanner. I did. And I did it for our sister who had been mistreated and would have been turned into a beacon for gossip with the shit that was coming out of his mouth.

"Are you going to be living with Kyla?" Abby said, throwing her own pebble which cleared the distance and of the large pond with ease.

As well as growing up with tutors that would ensure that we had decent grades so we could participate in teams, Dad had also enforced mandatory passes on the back lawn. All of us had to participate. It paid off.

"Yeah," Max said. "Her Mom seemed grateful there would be another set of hands around to help. Mom and Dad are sending me there with a cheque as well. To help cover some of the medical costs."

"Our parents are sort of dope," I said.

Max smiled. It was small but it was there. "Yeah. It'll be weird not living with them. More peaceful. But weird."

"It'll be weird not having you around," Abby pouted and a tell tale sign of the alcohol going to her head was breaking out on her chest.

Rash.

It flared whenever she had straight spirits. She didn't seem bothered though. We weren't out in public.

"Who's going to mediate our arguments?" She asked.

"Flynn," Max and I said in unison. He'd have to be the middle man now and I could just imagine the horror he'd express when he found out he would be keeping the peace.

Abby was happier now. I wasn't going to be bothering her either. But we clashed. No matter how much I loved her, we pissed each other off to no end.

Silence settled over us for a while after that. Max and Abby continued sharing the bottle as we watched the water and admired the sun until it was gone.

The vivid orange canvas above us had become dark, stars began to appear, dusting the space with a twinkle that was sort of beautiful. The trees moved with a light breeze that picked up after the sun was gone.

Rustling leaves and branches filled the otherwise quiet atmosphere.

Max broke it first and I noticed the quiver in his voice. "You ever just feel. . . so fucking mad?" He asked, staring up at the stars.

He wiped at his face and that was when I noticed he had a tear streamlining down his cheek.

Abby and I exchanged sorrowful looks and she nodded, holding his shoulder. "Yeah. I do."

"Who wants to come and let off some steam?" He asked, sniffing and patting his cheeks with his sleeve.

"Where?" I asked.

"Somewhere I go when I need to let off some steam."

He stood up and we both watched him, unsure of what the hell he was talking about. Max didn't 'steam' as he was calling it.

He could argue and he became frustrated. But I had never seen him kick off in the same sense Abby and I did.

We followed him back to the car and he set the directions into the GPS, ordering me to drive while he cried. It was silent tears. The defeated sort and it was devastating to see. So I did what he said and started driving.