Chapter Fifteen: Psycho
654 Words
Jace couldn't let it go.
Something was wrong with Max.
Terribly wrong.
And for the first time in his life, Jace wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
The evening should have been quiet.
Dinner.
Homework.
Another argument with Mason over something stupid.
Normal.
Instead, Jace sat in silence, watching.
Waiting.
Across the room, Max lounged on the couch with his usual infuriating smile.
Relaxed.
Unbothered.
Like he hadn't attacked a vampire two days ago.
Like he hadn't turned Jace's entire week upside down.
Then Max stood.
"I'm heading out."
Cole looked up from his phone.
"At this hour?"
Max shrugged.
"I get bored."
"That's never reassuring."
Max laughed.
Then grabbed his jacket.
A few moments later, the front door closed.
The house fell silent.
Jace was already on his feet.
Cole looked at him.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Absolutely."
Cole sighed.
The sigh of an older brother realizing he was about to make a terrible decision.
"Fine."
Ten minutes later, they were following Max through town.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Like hunters.
The problem was that Max moved differently from everyone else.
He walked with purpose.
With confidence.
As though he knew exactly where he was going.
And exactly what he intended to do when he got there.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?" Cole whispered.
"Because something's wrong."
Cole frowned.
"I know."
The answer came too quickly.
Too seriously.
Jace glanced at him.
"You feel it too?"
Cole didn't answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on Max.
Walking ahead of them beneath the streetlights.
Then finally—
"Yeah."
The single word sent a chill down Jace's spine.
Because Cole never got nervous.
Ever.
Yet tonight...
he sounded uneasy.
The brothers continued following him.
Until Max stopped.
A crowded bar stood ahead.
Music drifted through the open doorway.
People laughed.
Talked.
Enjoyed their evening.
Max smiled.
Then walked inside.
Jace and Cole exchanged a look.
Neither liked this.
Not one bit.
They moved closer.
Watching through a side window.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Max sat down.
Ordered a drink.
Spoke to a few people.
Smiled.
Laughed.
The charming version of Max.
The version everyone loved.
The version Jace hated.
Then something changed.
A woman approached him.
Said something.
Max smiled.
But this time...
the smile felt wrong.
Cold.
Empty.
Predatory.
Jace felt his stomach tighten.
"Let's go."
Cole didn't move.
"Cole."
His older brother remained frozen.
Eyes fixed on the window.
Then Jace saw it.
The moment.
The exact moment.
The moment Max stopped pretending to be normal.
It wasn't what he did.
It was his face.
No anger.
No excitement.
No emotion at all.
Nothing.
Like a switch had been flipped.
Like everyone inside had suddenly become objects.
Not people.
Objects.
Cole took a step backward.
Slowly.
His face pale.
"What is it?" Jace asked.
Cole's voice came out barely above a whisper.
"Look at him."
Jace did.
And suddenly understood.
For the first time in his life...
Max scared him.
Not because he was stronger.
Not because he was older.
Because something inside him seemed missing.
Something important.
Something human.
The atmosphere inside the bar shifted.
People started noticing him.
Backing away.
Growing uncomfortable.
Even without understanding why.
Predators recognized predators.
And Max Ryder felt like something far worse.
Cole swallowed hard.
"We need to go."
Jace stared at him.
"What?"
"We need to leave."
"Why?"
Cole's eyes never left Max.
"Because whatever's happening in there..."
His voice trembled.
Just slightly.
"...I don't think that's my brother anymore."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Inside the bar, Max slowly turned his head.
And looked directly at the window.
Directly at them.
A smile spread across his face.
He knew they were there.
He'd known the entire time.
Jace's blood ran cold.
Because that smile wasn't friendly.
It wasn't amused.
It was a warning.
And for the first time since they started following him...
Jace wished they hadn't.
Because some secrets were safer left undiscovered.
- Writer
