BREAKING THE LINE
1041 Words
The air inside Lab 47 felt charged, like the moments before lightning strikes, where even oxygen trembles.
Maxine stood between Mike and Alden, their grips on her tightening like opposing storms.
Her voice broke. "Let go of me. Both of you. Please.”
Alden immediately loosened his hold.
But Mike did not. Instead, his fingers tightened around her wrist with a quiet warning, an unspoken message directed at Alden saying; You may love her, but I own the ground she stands on.
Alden’s breathing turned ragged as he noticed it.
“Let her go.”
Mike’s grip remained calm, and confident.
“I will,” Mike murmured, “when she tells me to.”
Maxine swallowed. “Mike… let go.”
Only then, did he release her...slowly, like a predator letting prey walk away simply because he chooses to.
Maxine stepped back, pressing her hands to her trembling chest. "Both of you, stop. This is too much. I can’t...”
Alden cupped her shoulders gently. "Max, come with me. Please. You’re not safe here.”
Mike’s voice cut in like a blade. “She’s safer here than anywhere else.”
Alden snapped, “You don’t get to define safety for her!”
“And you don’t get to barge into my facility,” Mike replied coolly. “You violated protocol. Security is already on their way up.”
Maxine’s heart seized. “No... no, please don’t. Don’t drag Alden into this.”
Mike turned his head slightly, regarding her with the same expression he used when assessing a volatile experiment, measured, unblinking and possessive.
“Maxine,” he said softly, “you made a mistake tonight.”
Alden stepped forward. "The only mistake was you keeping her here like a prisoner.”
Mike lifted a brow. “She has a job. A future. Stability. Everything you cannot offer her.”
Alden’s jaw tightened. "I offer her freedom.”
Mike’s voice softened to a chilling whisper. "Freedom doesn’t pay tuition.”
Hearing Mike's last words make Maxine feel like a huge slap on her face, because it was true, too cruel, but it was the truth. Her throat ached. “Mike, please… stop.”
He looked at her then, not with anger or hurt. "Why didn’t you answer my calls, Maxine?”
Maxine froze, as the whole room froze in ice.
Alden frowned. “What?”
Mike’s gaze darkened." You ignored me. Three times.”
Maxine’s breath faltered. "I...I was finishing my shift.”
“You never ignore me,” he murmured, stepping closer. “Not once in a year. Until tonight.”
Alden scoffed. “Listen to yourself...Gosh, you sound insane.”
Mike didn’t even look at him. But his eyes stayed on Maxine. “This isn’t like you,” he whispered. “Did someone tell you to avoid me?”
Maxine shook her head quickly. "No! No, no one...”
“Then why,” Mike said, voice dropping to a low, wounded calm, “were you running from me?”
The reality of truth, sat heavily in her heart. "Because tonight, I realized I’m not surviving anymore. I’m drowning." But she couldn’t say that.
Not with Alden here. Not with Mike watching her like she was a puzzle he was dismantling piece by piece.
Alden stepped in front of her, shielding her from Mike’s stare.
“She didn’t run from you,” Alden said. “She’s exhausted. She’s overwhelmed. She’s scared.”
Mike’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you speaking for her now?”
“No,” Alden spat. “I’m protecting her.”
Mike’s jaw flexed. "And who protects her from you?”
Alden froze. "What?”
Mike lowered his gaze. "You disappear for six years. Not a call. Not a message. Then you return and drag her into chaos on her first night shift in my lab?”
Alden blinked, blindsided. “That’s... that’s not what happened. You don’t know anything about us.”
Mike smiled faintly. "No. But I know her. Intimately.”
Alden lunged.
Maxine jumped between them again. "STOP! Both of you, just STOP!” Her voice cracked so loud it echoed across the glass walls.
But both men stop, they did not remove each other sharp stare. For the first time, it was her to break that silence for them.
Maxine pushed Alden back with trembling hands.
“Alden… you can’t just storm in here. You can’t yell and break rules and expect them not to arrest you.”
His face crumpled. “Max, I just... I thought...”
Maxine turned to Mike next, breathing hardly before she could speak. “And you! You can’t lock floors, call security, and talk like I don’t have my own brain. I’m not your property.”
Mike blinked slowly, like she’d hit him.
There was a heaviness, suffocating silence.
Then... suddenly, there was soft knock. The lab door slid open. Two guards stepped inside.
“Mr. Urdanzo,” one said, uncertain, “we received a report of unauthorized entry...”
Alden stepped forward to surrender himself, but...
Mike raised a hand. “Stand down.”
The guards froze.
Alden’s eyes widened, and Maxine felt lightheaded.
Mike’s voice was calm, like a bored person, “This man is not an intruder.”
Alden blinked. “What?”
Mike’s gaze never left Maxine's eyes. “He’s… a guest.”
Even Maxine didn’t understand what game he was playing, why he lied now.
Mike continued smoothly, “He’ll leave when she tells him to.”
Alden’s heart dropped to his feet. Then he looked at Maxine. "Max…” He swallowed. “Do you want to go with me?”
Maxine’s lips parted, but sadly, no words came out.
Her world was like a battlefield and every answer she could give would hurt one of them.
Her body trembled. Her chest burned. Her mind screamed for escape.
Alden is waiting. While Mike is watching them.
Until Maxine finally whispered, “I… I don’t know.”
The guards exchanged glances. And Alden’s face fell.
Mike’s expression flickered into something unreadable. But one thing was clear, her indecision was the most devastating choice of all.
Because it meant both men still had hope.
And that hope, was the most dangerous weapon in the room.
- Writer
