A Soft Place To Land

"What if she finds out?" Maxine glanced at him. The worry in Abbi's eyes was visible. Maxine reached up and slowly stroked his fluffy hair. Her face showed a half-smile. "She shouldn't know. She will take you away from me." Her deep voice sounded clear. Abbi knows. His Mom must never know. But, was that possible? The very thought sent a sudden chill of terror through him. Was it possible that she wouldn't find out? Forever? Abbi couldn't brush off the worry in his heart no matter what. He exhaled a heavy sigh. Maxine noticed and heard him sighed, his gaze fixed at the floor. She lifted a hand to his cheeks, tenderly caressing it to reassure him. "Don't worry too much." She said, "I'll make sure she won't know." Maxine added. — After a few days... "Hello, Abbi? Get home immediately!" Hailey, one of the bodyguards assigned to Abbi, called. Abbi's expressive eyes shot open hearing her panicked voice. "Abbi? I'm sorry for the disturbance but our boss..." Bailey, Hailey's twin seems to have taken the phone. His voice sounded formal but the context of his words were unusual. Bailey never hesitates to say something. He's confident in everything he does. He's the most confident and capable bodyguard Maxine has other than Sea. The realization stopped his breath. A cold wave washed over him, causing a jolt in his heart. "Please help our boss lady!" He heard Hailey pleading on the phone. "She needs you." Clint's voice bawled on the phone as well. Hearing their pleading shaky voice, Abbi swallowed. His brows crease. He didn't know the details yet but his heart knew that this was bad news. "Tell me what happened." Abbi said seriously. A swish sound could be heard, a sound that someone seized the phone. Abbi was worried. He could hear Hailey's sob. His heart was beating faster, and the next words of Hailey made his heart drop. "Lady boss– sob* sob* Your Mom, she-she, with Boss. The boss went there and Huhu. Miss Amethyst might– Wah! Boss– danger. Huhuhu Your-your Mom knows." Her sobs kept cutting what she wanted to explain. It made Abbi hard to comprehend her words, but putting it all together, and just hearing his Mom's name made his heart beat faster. This proved his intuition right. The thing he most feared happening... Abbi didn't hang up. He immediately rushed out of their room tagging his bag. He did not mind the confused eyes of his professor and classmates following him. He rushed outside the university and met the 3 musketeers outside. They did not waste time and flew the car home. At home. "How dare you come here! You psycho! You are so disgusting." Her howl rang in the room. A bag welcomed Maxine's face when she stepped foot inside the house. Maxine saw it but did not dodge and let it hit her. Her face was expressionless. The onlookers won't know what's running in her mind. She reached where the bag landed on her head and did not mind it, like it did not hurt her at all. Maxine walked in the salas not minding Aimethyst's daggers eyes. Dylan, who was standing on the side, continuously shook his head, signaling Maxine to stop what she was doing and leave first. He couldn't show it obviously because his wife might erupt to him instead. He could only signal Maxine to go and leave. He wanted to cool down his wife's head first before they talk but Maxine did not even mind him. Dylan couldn't do anything when Maxine strode forward and willingly faced Amethyst. Amethyst blocked Maxine with her body, stopping her in her tracks. Maxine bravely meets Amethyst's eyes with her icy dead gaze. The eerie gaze did not faze Amethyst. Seeing Maxine's expressions unchanged and not showing any guilt from what she had done to her son, made Amethyst feel the heat of her rage rise in her chest. After knowing the disgusting things Maxine does to her son. Her, making a reason just to stay in their house but behind their back, she had malicious motives. The time Maxine spent there, the moment she's with Abbi– Just thinking about it, Amethyst felt like she could erupt at any moment. The pain and terror inside her made her wanted to surrender. The range in her heart just exploded after seeing Maxine come and face her. She was stunned by how unperturbed Maxine looked, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. "You–" She pushed her with force. Maxine was forced to step back and so did Amethyst who stumbled. She had no energy after crying for hours since she found out the truth. "What did you do to my son? How dare you? You disgusting psycho!" Amethyst roared. She hammered her fists against Maxine's chest and shoulders. They were weak, more like gentle taps than forceful blows, but she couldn't stop. Tears blurred her vision, making Maxine impossible to see clearly, and he lacked the strength to truly push her away. "What did you do to him?! Why did you do this to him?" Tears kept falling in her eyes. Her voice, mixed with heartbreak and range, gets lower the more she speaks She couldn't stop herself, the question erupting from a blinding pain, "Why my son of all people?!" Amethyst's roaring echoed in the four corners. Instinctively, she stumbled backward, as a wave of dizziness struck her, making her eyes lose focus. She inhaled sharply, sucking breath that tasted like metal and fury. Her hand clenched and unclenched on her side, searching for strength. She inhaled deeply, collecting the last strength she could. Her blurry eyes fixed on Maxine with fury. She suddenly shot forward, raising her hand and– Dylan shut his eyes tight. He held his breath with Amethyst's deliberate actions. ... He opened his other eye to take a peak. Huh? Nothing happened? Dylan opened his eyes to peak before the other. The air was thick with tension. He didn't know whether to feel relief or terror at the sight of the person who arrived. Just as a slap was about to hit Maxine's face, a hand interfered and halted it. "Ma, what are you doing?" Abbi, the newcomer, let go of his Mom's hand and pulled Maxine behind him. He stumbled on the door, panting. He hadn't caught his breath when opening the door, what stood him was his Mom rushing to slap Maxine. He did not wait a single second and ran to catch her Mom's hand. "Maby, you're here." Maxine, who had her face unchanged since earlier, showed a bright smile facing Abbi. Abbi's body froze when he saw a bruise on Maxine's left side forehead. His pupils were dilated, pain could be seen in his eyes. He raised his hand and reached the bruise. But his hand halted in the air. "Mnn" Abbi answered. He put his hand down. Seeing the bruises his Mom did to Maxine made his heart squeeze. His vision immediately blurred with tears. He fixed his eyes at Maxine, it was soft and pleading. Seeing it, Maxine's heart felt scratched. She smiled softly to reassure him. "It's fine." Maxine reached the hand that reached for her forehead but halted, and she held it. She gave it a slight squeeze and pulled Abbi behind her. Abbi watched her face his Mom. He knew the moment was unavoidable, it just happened sooner than he expected. He swallowed and held her hand tightly. Maxine faced Amethyst, Abbi's Mom. "Whatever you say" Maxine rolled her eyes. "You can't take him away from me anyway. You know what I can do Aimee, I can find him, no matter where you hide him. I can find him even in a place not even named on the map." Maxine threatened with her deep voice. "You–" Amethyst subconsciously stepped back, feeling a twinge of fear. But she shook off the dread, now was not the time to be afraid of Maxine. This was all for her son. Her son... "He is your brother's son! Even if you're not blood related. He's still young Max." She wailed. "He's only eighteen, and yet-yet you did that." Amethyst couldn't help but bite her lips. Tiny sobs still escape from her mouth. She wanted to ask so many questions, but her disgust and rage completely outshine all thought. Her face contorted with disgust and pain. Her lips trembled with her sobbing. The blurry image of two people in front of her felt like a knife tearing her heart to shreds. "My son..." "He's still young Maxine and you did him dirty. You're disgusting!" As rage boiled in her heart, her mind lost all clarity. She doesn't mind whatever comes in her mouth, even if it hurts Maxine because she was hurting just as badly. "Even though you're like that, you know this is wrong, right?" Maxine's brows raised. She c****d her head to the left and smirked. "Even though I am like this. I know exactly what I'm doing Aimee." Maxine scoffed. Amethyst's eyes widened. Tears fell in her eyes faster. Maxine was admitting everything and she seems even proud of it. "You really– that's my son." She sobbed and her hand reached out for Abbi behind Maxine but Maxine pulled him closer behind her. Abbi just held Maxine's hand tightly. Amethyst's body jolted when Abbi did not come to her and let Maxine hide him. She retreated her hand. She kept wiping her tears that kept falling, but it won't stop. She sobbed and covered her face with both her hands. "What have you done to him? He's my son. My only son, Max." She said, her sound muffled by her covered face. The room was filled with her muffled whimpers. No one speaks and breaks the silence. Dylan, who's watching all this time, froze completely. Tears also fell in his eyes. He looked away, he couldn't bear to watch his wife shatter in front of him. After a moment, Amethyst suddenly stopped crying. She tilted her chin up, blank and unfocused, as a crushing realization descended upon her. Her eyes wavered. She slowly looked at Maxine. Maxine met her eyes with no emotions. Behind her, Abbi was holding her hand tightly, not intending to let it go. He coudn't look at his Mom's eyes. Amethyst sobbed. How did it get into this? She couldn't believe that she let all of this happen. Regret eats her up and seeing that Abbi was willing to defend Maxine from her, it broke her heart more. She couldn't help think that– "How far have you gone?" Amethyst asked, her voice was dejected. She doesn't want to know the answer but she had to ask. Maxine was silent. Crazy thoughts played in her mind. She couldn't help imagining what Maxine could have done to her son. It was Maxine, of all people. What she can't even do? "Oh Max~ he's still young." Amethyst's voice cracked. The strength keeping her stood up left, she fell hard on her knees. Her sobs echoed, breaking everyone's heart. She started breaking down. Abbi could see her mother break down for the first time in his life. Her eyes widened, that it could pop out from her eye socket any moment. Her expressions look oddly scary, you couldn't say if she was going to cry or laugh. Her expression was unsightly. She looked like she would explode like a time bomb at any moment. Abbi couldn't watch her, he looked down. His eyes saw his hand clutching Maxine's. He swallowed. He's heartbroken seeing his Mom's hurt, but Abbi was reluctant to let go of the hand he was clutching. He couldn't. Maxine's eyes were cold and unbothered like what's happening in front of her was just a movie and she's a bystander, not involved in the situation. She rolled her eyes. But seeing the expressions Amethyst was making, Maxine could grasp but she couldn't comprehend the feeling she has inside at the moment. She looked at Amethyst. Amethyst was kneeling on the floor, both her hands covering her face, not letting her tears and sobs escape. She had collapsed. Her cold eyes could understand but her heart was indifferent. Yes, she's Abbi's Mom but who cares. All she had in her mind was, "No one can take Abbi from her, whoever they are." "What do you think?" Maxine chuckled derisively. She pulled Abbi closer and circled her arms around him tightly. A smirk appeared on her face but her eyes turned sharp. 'No one could take him away from me.’ 'No one.'