Max Read Free Page B

bloody things? I squinted
through the gap of the divider spying my dad, who was as casual as you like,
sitting at a small table by the window, his long legs stretched out, crossed at
the ankles, his arms casually crossed across his chest as he reclined in his
chair. Oh great! He had really settled in for a good old yarn; this could take
hours. Never before had I wanted telepathic ability like I did now.
    I edged to the side, changing my angle to
look into the room to see where Dad’s eye line was affixed. And there he was.
Sitting on the opposite side of the table, his elbows resting on the wood top,
with the fabric of his black T-shirt pulled taut across his square shoulders. I
always loved his shoulders; regardless of the fact he was tall and lean, he was
toned in all the right places, and as if I had etched every line, every angle
of him from memory there was one thing that seemed even more apparent to me
now. Max Henry looked better and hotter than ever. His hair was longer; the
dark, dirty-blond bangs fell into his green-brown cat-like eyes. They were so
unusual. The one thing that could make a girl lose her mind were those pale
orbs that seemed to change colour depending on the light. Anytime he looked at
you, even if it was for nothing more than to ask you to ‘pass the salt’ at
dinner, it was as if his gaze was licking across your skin, his eyes were so
intense. Oh, how I had missed that feeling, missed those eyes. I felt my mouth
run dry, and the small space I had awkwardly manoeuvred myself into, so as to
get the best view, was becoming hot. Or maybe that was just me?

 
    Chapter Four
     
    Max
     
    “What, here?”
    At first I thought I might have heard Bluey
wrong, or that maybe what he had just said was a joke. But as I soon discovered
in the serious set of his steely blue stare, I knew he was for real.
    I swallowed, shifting in my seat.
    “Y-you want Mel to stay here?”
    “It’s just until I get back from Burnley.”
    “Why don’t you take her with you?” I said a
bit too quickly.
    “I can’t keep dragging her from pillar to
post. I’m used to this lifestyle, Mel’s not.”
    “You do know that Mel was never the
problem, that nothing would have happened if Miranda hadn’t have been there to
lead her astray. You know that, right?”
    I didn’t feel bad about throwing my sister
under the bus, so to speak. It was the truth. She was always getting into
trouble, sneaking out, drinking, coercing Mel to help cover for her and do her
dirty work.
    “She still got in the car, she still took
the car, she could have said no at any point, made a better decision … and she
didn’t. I need her to be somewhere I know she’ll be safe, be with someone I can
trust. I would have had her stay with your mum and dad if they weren’t
gallivanting around the world.”
    I knew Bluey’s stance all too well: a
staunch union rep, hard-working, good guy. He was all about respect and trust
and above all things, earning it. I didn’t envy Mel trying to win back those
things from her old man, but there was one thing that really had my head
spinning above all others.
    He trusted me?
    Out of everyone who could have possibly
been chosen, he chose my doorstep to dump her on. I didn’t know how to take
that.
    “That, ah, might be a bit tricky,” I said,
glancing toward the bar. I was working now, earning my keep and paving my way.
I didn’t have time to be a bloody babysitter.
    “Don’t worry, it won’t be a free ride. Mel
will help out, she’s a good little worker.”
    “Ah, does she know this?”
    “I don’t know, let’s ask her. Mel!”  Bluey
turned in his seat, yelling out across the room. It took me a minute to catch
on to what he was doing and then it all became very clear when the divider slid
aside and a rather sheepish-looking Mel stepped into the room, her eyes
downturned as if she found the floorboards most fascinating.
    When her eyes did look up I tried for my
best friendly smile, but it was forced