Max and Kyla slid into the back seat, mom and I turned around, watching them fasten their belts.

"Thanks for getting us," Max said.

Mom gave a quick nod. "Hey, Kyla. It's good to see you."

"Hey Mrs Lahey," she smiled and her red cheeks swelled.

Kyla was always beautiful. She used to be slim with small features and gorgeous brown eyes. I was never attracted to her but I could appreciate how stunning she was. She still is. There's just a lot more of her to appreciate now.

"Hey Lucas," she said. "How are you?"

"Fantastic. You?"

"I'm good."

"Is it alright she's here?" Max asked Mom. He seemed tense. Something was off. "She's come to visit for a bit."

"Of course," mom said.

"Sorry to spring it on you, Mrs Lahey," she apologised as Mom started the car. "It was sort of last minute."

"I know we haven't seen each other in a while," Mom peered in the rear view mirror. "But you can call me Dallas, honey."

I was still turned in my seat, watching both of them with bewilderment. It was so unexpected and while I passed no judgement on bigger girls, Max hadn't said a word. I guess I hadn't asked much about her though.

I was however, very interested to know what was going on with Max. I knew him as if he was an extension of me and I knew something was bothering him.

"Mom," Max said. "Can we have dinner tonight? Like all of us. We can get Chinese or something?"

"Yeah, we can do that. You might have some trouble getting Abby down from her room though. She's in a foul mood this afternoon."

I arched a brow and gave her a side on glance. "Did she happen to say why?"

"What did you do?" Mom sighed. "You just have to press her damn buttons—"

"I didn't do shit," I interrupted in defence. "She's probably excreting her womb lining or something. Sheesh."

She rolled her eyes but didn't comment further. I suppose her assumption wasn't unfair. Putting Abby in a bad mood was something I had a special skill set in.

But this time, I was the one on the hunt for who had upset her. Because I was almost certain Tanner had something to do with it and if it was more than just a lovers quarrel, then I would damage the fuck out of him.

We arrived at home and Dad was lounged beside the pool with some old school Eminem bop jamming on the Bluetooth speaker.

It was a miracle he didn't comment on Kyla's weight gain. Not because he was judgemental, but just because he didn't filter most of his thoughts and I'd expected him to make some lighthearted remark in good humour. Mom was relieved he didn't.

Abby still hadn't emerged from her room. Dad also seemed to believe I must have had something to do with it.

Once again, I had to defend myself and assure him it wasn't me. That was when he began spouting his own threats about murdering whoever had hurt his baby girl.

I don't think that he realised how close he was to hitting the nail on the head. His threats were genuine. But there was something non committal about his deliverance.

As if he couldn't believe someone could hurt her. It was hard to imagine, she's hard headed.

But she wants an epic love, which means she can feel epic hurt.

We ordered Chinese later on and sat around the table with noodles, egg rolls, dumplings and wontons.

It occurred to me I still hadn't done a work out today. So I decided I would have to do one after dinner. I preferred exercising before a meal. But there was nothing to do about it now. Save for putting off food.

No chance.

Abby was putting on a good front, but I could tell she was off. In fact, so was Max. He'd been walking around like he'd been slapped with a wet sock all afternoon.

Mom used her chop sticks and smiled at Kyla. "How is school in the big Apple, Ky?" She asked. "Max said that it's pretty different."

"Very different," she said, nibbling at the small amount of noodles on her plate. "But it's good. Most of the people are nice and the teachers are super attentive and helpful with whatever is needed. It's been a major transition. But I don't have much to complain about."

"New Yorkers are cunts," Dad declared. "Well, I mean, not all of them. I love the place. Dallas and I got engaged there and I've been a bunch of times for work. But the people might as well be running down the sidewalks. There is no chill or relaxation. One time, a dude bumped into me and dropped his coffee all over me. He didn't even give me his pants. He just mumbled an apology and kept on power walking."

"Why would he give you his pants?" Mom asked.

"Well he spilled coffee all over mine. Seems like the decent thing to do."

"Would you take off your pants on the sidewalk for someone else?"

"Of course," he scoffed. "If I dropped a coffee on them. Ya damn right I would."

Mom nodded with exasperation as she picked up a wonton and dipped it in chilli sauce. "Why did I even ask?"

Max cleared his throat and set his chop sticks down. The table fell quiet and waited while he inhaled a deep breath. Max wasn't one for drama so I had a feeling whatever he had to tell us, was important.

"I have— well we have some news sort of. It's separate news. But my news stems from her— news. It's kind of hard to— to say," he stammered over his words and Kyla held his hand. "First of all, I'm dropping out of school."

"Excuse me," Dad cleared his throat and laced his fingers in front of his chin. "You're doing what now?"

Abby and I looked at each other with shocked confusion. It was more expression than I'd seen from her all afternoon.

Mom seemed dumbfounded. "Max, wha—"

"Before you get upset," he said. "There's a reason. And it's um— it's that Kyla is sick. She has a brain tumour and I want to go and be with her in New York."

The entire table went from tension to despair. But it remained the quiet, no one knew what to say.

"It's aggressive," Kyla said. "We didn't know it was there until quite recently. But it's responsible for the excessive weight gain. Which by the way, I appreciate everyone pretending not to notice," she laughed. "But uh, it's inoperable. It's just too big and has spread. Chemo might slow it down and help me shed the weight but I— I um, I don't have a lot longer."

She inhaled and sucked in her bottom lip which was quivering. I felt devastated for the poor girl. And Max. He seemed distraught.

"Kyla," Mom seemed to be grasping for the right words as her focus darted between her plate and the rest of us. "I'm so sorry."

Dad nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's not fair," he mumbled.

She seemed grateful  for their comments. It was difficult to know how to respond to something so fucking horrific. I wanted to apologise as well but that didn't seem useful.

"I don't want Max to leave school though," Kyla added as he sighed with frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose as if this wasn't the first time the two had argued about it.

"Max, come on," she said. "You want to do law. You need to finish school."

"I need to make the most of the time we have left," he mumbled.

I couldn't fucking stand how bad Max was hurting. He'd been doing an average job of hiding it all afternoon.

But now his resolve was gone and his emotion was raw. And it was like a knife twisting in my gut. I couldn't handle seeing it. I couldn't handle feeling it. I wanted it to stop.

"She's right dude," Dad added. "You need to graduate and do the exams. All of that. Law is tough man. You can't bail on school right now."

"What would you do if it was mom?" Max challenged.

Dad exhaled and gestured in her direction. "It's different. I've done the career thing. I wou—"

"Dad, stop," he interrupted. "You were so hell bent on being with Mom that you moved states to go to a college near her."

"Yeah but that didn't jeopardise my career or future," Dad argued. "I was able to maintain a balance. You want to drop out of school. That's not balance. That's a bad idea Max."

"It is," Kyla said. "There's no point in flushing a career for someone who won't be here to support you through the aftermath of making that kind of choice. I don't have a future babe. You do."

Max's fist came down on the table. The cutlery and glasses rattled at the impact and for the first time in a long time, I saw him losing his grasp on the situation.

He never lost control or showed major aggression but his entire frame was vibrating as his head hung low.

"Honey," Mom sounded as if she was on the verge of tears herself. "You can go back and forth as often as you like. Kyla can come here during the weekends for as long as she's able. We'll figure it out."

He pushed back in his chair and stood up, offering a brief glimpse of his red rimmed eyes before he stormed out of the room.

The rest of us sat in strained silence, listening to his thudded footsteps going up stairs. I wanted to do something, but I couldn't cure his girlfriend or change the fact he loved someone with a terminal illness.

I couldn't do shit and I hated that feeling.

"I'm sorry to make dinner awkward and uncomfortable," Kyla said. "I've known for a while and as soon as I told Max this weekend he started making plans to leave school and he insisted on getting different doctors opinions. Despite the fact that I've already seen five different surgeons. It hasn't been easy for him."

"Or you, I can imagine," Mom wiped at the space beneath her eyes. "How long have you known?"

"A couple of months," she said. "I didn't want Max to know until I'd sort of come to terms with it. But it was hard letting him believe I'd just started eating take out all the time and never exercising."

She laughed but no one else could muster up the will to join her. She thanked us for dinner— not that she'd eaten much— and excused herself.

Abby wasn't far behind her. She had remained silent throughout the entire conversation but I didn't blame her. It was almost impossible to know how best to respond to an announcement like that.

And while she wasn't as close as Max and I, she did have a tight friendship with him. She would've been as devastated for him as I was.

Of course, the fact that Kyla had to go through that was unfair, but Max would be left behind to grieve. I couldn't even think about how much that was going to suck.

When I left the table, Mom and Dad were discussing what financial help they could offer to Kyla and her parents. Her folks were in hotel management and neither of them pulled in a low income.

But medical expenses were fucking outrageous. It would go without saying that whatever help was offered, would be a blessing. I decided to head upstairs and let dinner settle before I went and did a circuit in the gym.

All of the bedroom doors were closed upstairs. More emo music was humming from inside Abby's bedroom. Silence and nothing else was distinguishable from Max's.

I stared at the framed photos of the three of us along the corridor walls. In most of the pictures from our childhood, I have a broad chest and some sort of power stance going on. I look like a small douche bag.

But Mom and Dad insist I've been the self designated protector from the time I was small. It was important to me from early on. But I hated knowing that both of them were in pain and there was nothing I could do.

Most of the time, there was something I could do. And perhaps if Abby would talk to me, I could try and help her at the very least.

I stood on my bedroom patio and dialled Milly, slipping a hand into my pocket as I held the phone to my ear and looked over the drive, descending into dusk.

"Two calls in one day," she sighed. "What is it this time?"

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes."

"Can we not do the riddle thing, Mills," I leaned a hip on the rail. "Just give me what you know."

"It'll cost you mate," she chimed. "I could go for some new nails. Perhaps a full treatment at the salon."

"A full treatment eh," I grinned and then realised what I was doing. "My full treatments include a shaved head and pins under your nails. Now spill."

"That is not where I thought that was going."

"Yeah," I said, clearing my throat. "You probably expected some sexual innuendo—"

"Yeah," she said. "Track record and all."

"I'm a changed man, Mills. There's only one girl I'll make devious passes at now."

"Thank the good lord. I never thought it would end."

"Please. You loved it."

"Whatever, Lucas. I feel we're a bit off track here. I have nothing to report on said sister. Nothing of— concrete certainty anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"She seemed to suspect I was in contact with you. So she wouldn't fess up. But I have a feeling it was Tanner. That's all I'll say."

"But what could he have done that upset her so much. She knew him for one week."

"Okay, so say you found out Amalia— I dunno, slept with someone else since you've been talking. How would you feel?"

"Is that what happened?!"

"I don't bloody know," she snapped. "Just answer the question."

"I'd be disappointed. . . A bit jealous. Might be a bruise to the ego."

"Exactly. I don't really know if that's what happened. It could have been that. Or maybe— I dunno."

"I'll be fucking furious if that's what happened."

"Me too," she said. "We can tag team and beat the little fucker."

"All I heard was tag team."

"Of course it was."

I palmed my jaw, I was doing it again. Suddenly I heard her mom shouting in the background.

"What's going on with Pam?"

"She dropped her glass cupcake stand this morning."

"Ohhh shit," I winced. "Her poor little heart. Go and get her a new one."

"That's not a bad idea," she sounded surprised. "It might put a stop to the random outbursts of absolute devastation. I can't even explain the chaos unfolding in this household right now. You'd think there'd been a death."

"Pam loves that cake stand. There has been a death. But feel free to rock over if it gets too much. Oh actually, Kyla is here."

"So?"

"The love of your life is wrapped up with his girlfriend," I said, deciding to leave out the part about Kyla being sick. "Might be a bit awkward."

"Oh shut up. I like Kyla. She's nice. Hence, I haven't tried to snatch her man."

I smiled, Mills was a good one.

"I have to go," she said. "Mum is calling me for dinner. Keep an eye on your sister for me. Just until I can slap the truth out of her at school tomorrow."

"Got it boss."

"Goodnight, Lucas."

We ended the call and I felt a weird surge of guilt right down in the pit of my stomach. It was mild but I didn't like it.

I sent Amalia a quick text message before I changed into a tank top and some shorts.

Hey. Thinking of you. There's some shit happening at home right now but you're on my mind.

I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted a lot more than that if I was being honest. But kissing her would be enough.

I headed downstairs and through the dining area— which was vacant now— before I stepped outside and began heading for the pool house.

We'd turned it into a gym a while back. Mom and Abby had sulked for about three minutes before both of them started using it as well.

Plus Dad bought a bunch of outdoor furniture, a fire place and he had a small outdoor kitchen installed to make up for it.

All of the equipment was state of the art. There were two treadmills, benches, leg press machines, a wall of weights and dumbbells, calf machine, dipping bars, pull up bars and a few others. It was helpful not having to leave the house to get these work outs in.

When I opened the door, I heard the music first, the lights were on and Flynn was sitting on the bench press with a bottle of water. He nodded as I dropped a towel on the shelf.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I was doing a circuit before I came inside," he explained.

Flynn was one of the few that had total access to our home gym. He could come and go as he pleased. But we worked out together most of the time.

"Good timing. I haven't been in here today," I gave him a slap on the shoulder as I passed and went for the treadmill. "Come and run man. I could use a vent for a second if that's alright. Shit is hectic around here."

"Yeah man," he stood up and I heard him swallow. He met me with a timid stare and averted his gaze to the ground. "I just kind of need to tell you something first."

_____