CHAPTER 2 : IT'S TIME TO GO

"Max struggles to make amends. He discovers something deeply wrong in the universe."

Thank you to Snow and Starship Lenzy for beta reading this chapter!

[ ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN ]

Night had fully descended onto the woods now. The trees seemed significantly taller than they did in the light, as if they were inching closer and closer to the two teens as they fought to make themselves smaller in the space. The only light that broke through the shadows was the light from a lone flashlight, a light that quivered in the grip of Max’s rage-filled yet terrified mother.

A bead of sweat trickled down Max’s face. He could feel his fingers trembling, tensing his fists repeatedly in a bid to make them stop; it failed every time. He was hardly able to discern his mom’s features behind the flashlight’s beam, but he could see her eyes. He knew that look in his mom’s eyes. And he knew no words would save him now.

From the corner of her eye, Alice scanned between the look of horror on Max’s face (that he was failing to hide) and the glare of rage and fire across his mother’s face. She bit her lip.

She had to do something, but what? Max was always the quiet one, but Alice? She could talk her way out of any situation. This could absolutely work.

Alice stayed as composed as possible. Grinning, she gave a lazy wave to Max’s mom and a casual step forward, firmly placing herself between Max and his mom.

“Oh, hey, Mrs. Kanbayashi! Wow, you going for a stroll in the woods, too? Man, that’s so wild––“

The beam of the flashlight and the fiery gaze from Chelsea now latched itself on Alice. With a yelp, the color drained from the girl’s face. She bowed her head and muttered a quick apology as she stepped back next to her friend.

Yup! They were done for.

Despite how intimidating Chelsea looked at that moment, she tried so hard to keep her cool. Clearly her features had betrayed her, as she watched the two children grow more and more frightened as the silence between them stretched on. But she had hoped that one of them would fess up to what was happening. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. And she knew she wouldn’t get anywhere by having this stand off.

She sighed and clicked off the flashlight. She pinched her eyelids together and relaxed her shoulders. Then, after she collected herself, she folded her arms across her chest and looked Max right in the eye.

“Maxwell Aurelius Kanbayashi.”

Max’s eyes widened. Despite the overwhelming, palpable fear consuming him, he couldn’t help himself from shouting.

He exclaimed with a flustered look. “The full name?! Really, Mom?!”

She stabbed her finger at him. “Yes! The full name! You’re in soooooo much trouble, mister!”

Alice glanced between the two, twisting her frown into an uncomfortable line. Pinning her arms to her sides, she took a side step away. She muttered, “I’m just gonna...”

Chelsea stabbed a finger at her, looking her square in the eyes. “Nope. Not leaving. I will call your mother.”

Alice scoffed, wandering back with a roll of her eyes. “C’mon, man, I do shit like this all the time––“

Max jabbed his elbow into her side. He whispered, “Not helping!”

The red-headed woman clasped her hands together. She closed her eyes tight and, after letting go of another big sigh, dropped her hands, glaring at the two kids.

“So! Let’s talk about it! What the hell are you two even doing out here? You’re supposed to be at the café! Studying!”

Max hung his head, looking down at his scuffed up sneakers. He twisted his hands behind his back.

“M-Maybe this was a tutoring activity?” Alice said with a sheepish grin. She waved her hands. “We go out into the woods, get some fresh air, draw some equations in the dirt...”

The girl paused for a moment, knitting her brow. Something was up here.

After narrowing her eyes, she looked up at Max’s mom. “Wait, did Mr. Brannock rat us out?”

Chelsea grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yes, Mr. Brannock told me you two ran off.”

Alice turned to the boy and whispered behind her raised hand. “See, I knew that guy hated us.”

Max said nothing, hugging his arms uncomfortably.

Chelsea motioned between the two of them.

“What if something had happened to you two? Like I-I dunno, you got kidnapped or hit by a car or something? Do you know how scary it was not knowing where you were?!”

Max gave a whimper, flinching at his mother’s words.

Chelsea knit her brow. The harsh tone in her voice quivered as she looked away, her shoulders dropping. “Were you trying to run away from home or something...?”

Max turned pale, immediately looking up at his mom and shaking his head. “What? No! I would never do that, Mom...”

She hugged her arms. “Well, you were acting so weird on the car ride over. I know things are weird at home right now, but…”

Max piqued up and shook his head again. “Mom, you know I’d never do that.” He hung his head. “But I’m sorry... We didn’t mean to scare you...”

Chelsea nodded, not saying anything else. She fidgeted with the button on her folded shirt sleeve.

An awful, tense silence hung between them. The two teens shrugged uncomfortably –– Alice shoving her hands into her pockets, while Max hugged his arms tight and fought the urge to yank his hood over his head.

Frowning, the girl glanced at Max. She studied his expression for a moment before looking back over at his mom.

Alice piqued up, “Look, Mrs. Kanbayashi. If it’s any consolation––“

Max’s eyes widened. He knew what she was doing. He wouldn’t let her!

The boy stepped forward. He exclaimed, “This was my idea!”

He could sense her incredulous stare at the back of his head, noting the energy shift with his exclamation. Chelsea’s eyes widened as she stared down at her boy, looking shaken. Despite this, Max looked forward, fists balled up at his sides.

“This whole thing: it was my idea. Alice even said it was a bad idea, but I didn’t listen to her. I-I didn’t think of how bad it could’ve ended up if something went wrong. I’m really sorry, Mom...”

Chelsea knit her brow. She looked at the expressions on the two kids’ faces. Max looked up at his mom pointedly (though his gaze wavered off to the side a time or two), while Alice looked jarred by the statement. The woman frowned as the final bits of her anger simmered away.

“Can you tell me what you’re doing out here, then?” Chelsea asked, waving the flashlight lightly as she hugged her arms tighter. “This is just... so out of character for you, bud.”

He hadn’t considered her asking that. Shit. Max attempted to hide his sudden anxious expression, his eyes shifting from side to side. He gulped.

“I...”

This should’ve been simple. Just tell her! Just tell her you were trying to overcome your fears, Max! She’ll understand! Of course, he could lie. The boy could’ve come up with some elaborate excuse for why they were out here, but his mom was already distraught enough. What if he messed up the lie? What if she found out that he lied to her? What if she hated him for it?

So then, the only option was the truth. And the truth was just as bad. His mom’s only experience with ghosts, from his understanding, was with the attack he faced as a kid. She probably already had a lot of bad feelings about spirits because of that.

How would she take it if he was honest, then? Would the thought of her son, her precious baby boy, seemingly seeking the very thing that nearly killed him seven years ago rattle her?

What would happen if he told the truth? Would it bring up those awful memories? He didn’t want to make his mom more upset, more anxious, more angry... If he told the truth, maybe all of those bad memories would come back and it would be all his fault.

He couldn’t lie. He couldn’t tell the truth. He could feel his mom’s eyes staring him down, her expression growing more weary as she waited for an answer.

Just say something, Max. Tell her SOMETHING.

But he couldn’t give an answer.

Defeated by his own internal fight, the boy dropped his shoulders. He hugged his arms tight and fixated his gaze away from his mom, staring down at the dirt beneath his shoes.

“I can’t... say.”

Chelsea knit her brow at the answer. She cast a look from side to side, laughing in audible disbelief. “W-What’d you mean?”

Max shook his head harshly, taking a step away. He couldn’t look her in the eye.

She scanned across the scene desperately, as if doing so would unearth some clue she greatly needed. She bore her gaze deeper into Max’s features, silently pleading for him to look at her. “Honey, you can tell me.”

But Max wouldn’t. Even as Chelsea searched his expression for some sort of answer, looking over at Alice for some kind of understanding, she got nothing.

Neither of the kids spoke. Neither of them would look at her.

If Max was that averse to telling her, there was no way he was going to talk about it now. She had lost.

With a defeated sigh, Chelsea stood upright. She straightened and held her fists at her sides for a tense moment.

Quickly, she stepped forward and extended out her hand.

“Phone.”

“Huh?” Max asked, knitting his brow. He finally looked up.

Her expression looked worse than anger now; she looked cold, even.

“You’re grounded. Give me the phone,” she said sharply.

Max panicked, looking up at Alice. He then anxiously looked back over at his mom.

“B-But I don’t do anything on it but text Alice,” Max said, his voice quivering.

“Exactly,” she said. “You’re grounded for a week. You can have it back then.”

Max started breathing faster, his chest tightening. “B-But Mom!”

Chelsea held up a hand, stopping him. “Until you can tell me why you were out here, why you felt you needed to go behind my back instead of being honest with me, you’re grounded. Either fess up now or don’t! I don’t care!”

Alice piqued up, her voice shaking too. “Ma’am, c’mon. It was me. I planned this whole thing out––!”

Chelsea stopped her, too. “Look, I appreciate you trying to help, Alice. You’re a good kid and you’ve been a really good friend to my son.” She stabbed a finger at Max. “But he said this was his idea and it’s on him to fess up. Got it?”

The red-headed teen frowned uncomfortably and nodded, placing her arms behind her back.

There was nothing they could do. No way out of this. Max knew he had to say something to fix this, but he couldn’t. Despite knowing that if he just told the truth, this would’ve been over, every fibre of his being kept him from speaking up.

Chelsea curled her fingers a few times, motioning for the phone. Max dropped his shoulders. He knew he couldn’t fight anymore.

Hesitantly and slowly, he took his phone out of his pocket and held it before him, looking away. His mom yanked it from his hand. Shoving it into her own pocket, she turned around and started walking away from the two teens.

“C’mon, you two. I’ll drop you off back at the café, Alice.”

Max and Alice looked at each other, the girl pale, while Max looked so, so defeated. With a sigh, the boy followed along behind his mom. Soon after, his best friend steadily followed suit.

They stepped through the dark woods and back to the street, wet earth and grass giving way to rocky gravel and sleek asphalt. The sounds of the woods faded, leaving behind a heavy silence and the crackling sound of footsteps over tiny rocks as the trio stepped towards Chelsea’s SUV. Max’s mom stepped up to the blue SUV first, clicking the car door unlocked and opening the back seat for the two kids. As they climbed inside, still carrying those defeated looks on their faces, she opened the driver’s door and climbed into the front seat.

The two kids sat quietly in the backseat, the silent tension between the car’s travelers feeling more and more tense by the moment.

As Chelsea turned the ignition and the car roared to life, the woman became lost staring at the dark road before them; a corridor through towering forest trees, illuminated by bright, white headlights and snaking deeper into the unknown.

She knit her brow and cast a glance at the backseat through her rearview mirror, seeing a particularly defeated looking Max staring down at his sneakers and a frowning Alice resting her chin on the car door while staring out the window.

Chelsea said nothing as her attention drifted back to the car itself, shakily gripping the gear stick with her hand and shifting into drive. She cast a look back onto the street and, with the coast clear, she turned out of the gravel shoulder and u-turned to the opposite lane. Heading back downtown.

No one spoke the entire ride back. Alice continued resting her hand on her chin as she observed the dark trees go by while Max stared down at the floorboards, following as his shoes aimlessly swayed back and forth. He stretched his foot to reach down to the floor, but was absolutely too short to reach. He gave up after a moment, staring blankly at the back of the passenger seat in front of him.

You really screwed this up, didn’t you, Max?

The boy knit his brow, still staring at the back of the seat.

You just had to say something –– lie, tell the truth, anything! –– and you couldn’t even do that.

He shifted in his seat, hugging his arms tight. Still staring ahead.

Now your mom hates you, your friend probably hates you because she’s gonna get in trouble now… You really are an awful person, huh?

The boy hissed at the awful, awful words in his mind, failing to recognize the noise he had made. He pinched his eyelids shut, tensing up his shoulders.

It doesn’t matter that you were trying to protect your mom. She doesn’t care!

Max’s mind fixated on what might’ve happened if he had told the truth: he imagined the shaken stare on his mom’s face, the face of horror she might’ve had. The fear in her eyes.

As he imagined, the vivid sounds of her cries rushed into his mind, his body remembering the tight, tight embrace around him as she begged and pleaded for her child to be okay.

But, now in reality, his mom couldn’t even look at her only child. Only giving him a sideway glance filled with shame and anger. Hated. She HATED him.

Max’s hands started to shake as he hugged his arms. He pinched his eyelids together tighter, his mom’s screams loud in his head.

You deserve to be hated—!

A hand grabbed his hand. He stifled a jump and a gasp, glancing over to see what had happened.

Alice grabbed his arm. She looked up at Chelsea to make sure she hadn’t noticed the reaction, but, after a pause, she shifted back to stare at Max, narrowing her eyes.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but mouthed the words instead. “You okay?”

The boy knit his brow. After a long pause, he looked up at her with sad eyes and shook his head. He tried to mouth a statement back, looking on the verge of tears.

“I’m so sorry.”

Alice frowned, holding his hand tighter. She then motioned for Max to see her. The boy wearily looked up.

She smiled at him and, still holding his hand tight, mouthed one more phrase.

“This won’t last forever.”

Max gave a weak smile back. He sighed and dropped his shoulders, nodding.

He didn’t believe her.

Soon enough, the car pulled into the café parking lot, now dimly lit by the light of the coffee shop’s interior and the street lamps alongside the sidewalk. The car bobbled a bit as it pulled into the tiny parking lot, thanks to the cracks in the asphalt, but pushed through anyway, pulling up close to the door. It pulled to a stop. Even with the windows and doors shut, the sharp aroma of espresso beans slithered through the spaces in the windows.

Alice, with a sigh, took that as her cue to exit. Giving Max’s hand a tight squeeze, she unbuckled her seatbelt, threw her backpack over her shoulder, and then turned to hop out of the car.

Chelsea peeked over her seat as the girl began to exit.

“Hey,” she piqued up as she watched the girl leave.

Alice froze as she stood on the concrete sidewalk, staring in Chelsea’s direction as she spoke.

“Tell your mom I said hi for me, okay?” She said with a weak smile.

She remained frozen, as if unsure what the right response should be. But, she quickly stood upright and nodded, looking as bright and cheery as ever; Max clocked it as a lie.

“Oh yeah, I will!” She beamed with an eager wave. “Good night, Mrs. Kanbayashi!”

Chelsea waved her goodbye as the girl shut the door and rushed back into the coffee shop.

Max peeked inside, swearing that Alice immediately bolted up to the red-haired barista and had started shouting at him.

As Max watched on for a moment, he could hear his mom shifting in her seat again. Staring into space, he blinked as he sensed her gaze. He turned and looked up, greeted with a warm yet weak smile.

“You don’t have to sit back there if you don’t want to, bud,” she said, her smile dimming. She patted the shoulder of passenger’s seat. “C’mon.”

Max twisted his frown uncomfortably. His gaze paced around the car, still feeling his mom’s stare on him.

Pulling his backpack to his chest, he unbuckled his seatbelt, cracked open the door, and slid out of his seat. He then shut the door gently behind him and stepped over to the passenger door. The door handle pried open just enough to make a pop! sound before he pulled it open, hoisting himself up into the car seat, and shutting the door behind him, flinching as it locked into place.

Looking like a deer in the headlights, he fumbled with his seatbelt, hands shaking as he clicked it into place. He remained silent; not even an instinctive squeak coming from his throat.

Now secured in, he clung to his backpack like it was a raft keeping him from sinking into the ocean. The boy buried his chin and mouth into the top of the bag, staring ahead with eyes like a puppy who feared they had done something horribly wrong.

He could feel his mom’s eyes boring into him for a moment as he fixated on the dashboard, fighting hard to muffle his fast breathing. The boy knew she was expecting an answer of some kind. But his throat remained dry and silent. No words escaped his mouth still.

Following a heavy pause, Chelsea frowned and turned back to the car. Max could hear a tiny sigh from her as the car shifted into reverse. The car made a thud as it shifted gears. Chelsea turned her head back to check for cars as she pulled out of the parking spot. The car then exited the lot, then the street, and finally heading onto the highway.

The ride back felt so unbearable. Despite feeling the occasional glance down at him, Max never wavered and kept his eyes locked on the road or the dashboard or anything in front of him. As long as he didn’t make eye contact with his mom, everything would be fine, right?

Alice wasn’t here to help him. Alice couldn’t help him for quite some time, in fact. And now, all those awful thoughts came crawling into his mind again.

See? Told you she hates you.

What if telling her the truth made her sad, though? I-I don’t want my mom to get scared...

She probably won’t even listen to you now, even if you tried to explain.

Despite the silent vow to himself, Max looked out of the corner of his eyes, trying to determine if his mom was staring back at him.

Stop it! You know there’s no point in trying. You can’t salvage this.

The boy glanced away, hugging his backpack tighter. Peering ahead.

Your mom hates you, Max. And it’s all your fault.

Max felt his stomach twist into knots. The bad, bad, intrusive thoughts in his mind consumed him, his eyes widening as he fixated on the dashboard again. He clutched his backpack tighter. He breathed in faster.

I am a terrible kid, aren’t I? I-I’m a terrible person...

He pinched his eyelids shut.

I deserve this. I deserve to be hated. My mom SHOULD hate me! I deserve it!

The car lurched forward as it came to a halt.

Squinting a few times, Max scanned around the space, staring at the path illuminated before them by the headlights. The light from the headlights illuminated the white garage doors on their house.

Back home now. The stark white of the garage doors in the headlights made him wince and narrow his eyes. The car was still running, but beyond that sound, he heard crickets chirping at night. It somehow seemed colder in the car with the AC turned off. His shoulders dropped.

“Max?”

Gulping, the boy slowly turned, following that voice.

His mom sat quietly in the seat next to him. The car was in park, no longer running aside from the headlights being on. Seatbelt unbuckled, Chelsea sat with her arms closed across her chest, looking down at her son.

Max spotted the twisting expression of frustration and sadness on her face. His stomach dropped when he saw it, quick to glance away as soon as he noticed. However, what he failed to recognize was the look of concern in her eyes.

She let go of a sigh.

“Are you ready to talk about what happened?” She said in a quiet, plain voice, fighting to keep it as calm and level-headed as she could.

Max lowered his head, like a cat putting their ears back. He spotted her from the side, seeing a more watchful expression now.

She was expecting an answer now. Could he even give her one? After all, he knew nothing was going to fix this.

Despite his racing mind, the boy said nothing, unable to cast even a glance at his mom. Silent. Again.

Coward, his thoughts spat. Of course, he was a coward.

Chelsea observed him, hoping that he’d speak or even turn to face her. As the silence dragged on, the look of frustration across her features fizzled away once again.

After the silence drew on for too long, she let go of another sigh. With a click, the car door unlocked. Max sat up, his eyes wide.

She opened the door without another word. Taking the key from the ignition, she grabbed her bag from under the seat and stepped out of the car.

Max watched as his mom exited, straightening more and more upright. He couldn’t look away, feeling safe to do so now that she wasn’t looking at him. But the thing that finally broke him was seeing his mom grab the top of the door. She paused, her hand shaking.

“When you’re ready,” she said, a crackle in her throat. Eyes averted. “We can talk about this. Until then, I’ll... give you space, I guess.”

She gripped the door a little tighter. Then she let go.

Slamming the door shut, she turned and headed inside the house, leaving Max in the car alone.

Max watched as his mom unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The door shut behind her, as warm lights illuminated the living room windows. He hugged his backpack tight still, his breathing grew faster.

Oh no, she really DOES hate me.

His mind started reeling again. He grabbed the sides of his head.

Breathing faster and faster, he pinched his eyelids shut.

“No, no, no...”

Could he fix it now? Could he go inside and talk to her and make it all better? Would she still hate him if he talked now?

Hands shaking, the boy stared at the door handle. He didn’t know what else to do, so he grabbed it and threw the door open.

Yanking his backpack across his shoulders as the cool night air hit his face, the boy hopped out of the car, slammed the door behind, and rushed to the front door.

He grabbed the door handle. The door yielded to his touch. Everything in his mind told him that this was the only courtesy his mom was going to give him now that she despised him.

Whimpering at the thought, the boy threw the door open and stepped into the living room. He yanked off his sneakers and threw them in a pile by the front door. Max saw the warm lights of the living room dimmed as he looked past the couch toward the dining room table.

As he stepped into the space, a fluffy, light grey cat chirped as she stretched on the cream-colored couch. She had been curled up in a ball, pressing her body into the massive brown and white Maine Coon next to her. The brown cat stretched out, nearly taking up the entire couch, flopping with his tongue sticking out and paws curled against his chest. It looked like they were fighting to claim the one brown knitted blanket on the couch.

He gave both of the cats equally quick pats on the head before rushing into the dining room.

“M-Mom, I...”

He froze, staring into vacant space. His mom wasn’t there. His stomach dropped.

A noise, like a door closing, came from down the hall. Cautiously, he stepped past the kitchen and into the hallway. The hall was dark, the only light coming from a partially open door towards the end of the corridor. Warm light spilled from his parents’ room. He stepped past the stairwell and slowly made his way in front of the door.

Stopping before it, the boy stared at the open door for a moment, listening for any sign of movement or speaking from beyond the door. The silence was deafening.

She wouldn’t talk to him. His focus waned and his shoulders dropped. He looked down at the hardwood floor beneath his feet with a solemn look in his eyes.

See: she does hate you.

Taking a shaky breath, the boy slowly turned away, receding back into the darkness, and stepped towards his bedroom. He stared at the door to his parents’ room as he walked away. He paused for a moment, hoping to see her shadow or something. Anything to know that his mom was there. Anything to show that he could fix this.

Again, there was nothing. No way to fix this.

Giving up, the boy stepped into his room, keeping the light turned off.

The room felt much darker than it probably was. There was a chill in the air. The only light illuminating the room came from a star-shaped lamp emitting a cold, blue light and a small projector painting a galaxy on the ceiling. The green glowing stars on the ceiling felt dimmer. It was hard to make out the posters on the wall in the colored light.

He stared at his desk in the corner, seeing the action figures and fidget toys he had strewn across it with a space in the middle. He saw his laptop missing from his desk, as to be expected with the whole grounding thing, but seeing it gone filled him with more dread.

No phone or laptop. He couldn’t talk to Alice. He couldn’t talk to his mom.

Max was deeply, truly alone.

Just before he shut the door, he realized Anna had followed him into his room; his only companion in this hell of his own making. He dropped his backpack by the door before picking her up and shutting the door as quietly as he could, staring at her in the dark for a moment.

He shuffled over to the bed, barely noticing himself sitting down on the star-covered comforter. Sitting alone in the dark, staring down at his cat as she looked up at him expectantly.

Then he broke. He broke into sobs, hugging Anna tight and crying into her fur.

He knew he deserved this. He was a terrible, awful kid, and he deserved every part of this. That thought didn’t make it hurt any less.

As Max clung onto his cat tightly, she promptly fought to wiggle out of his arms and, without even realizing it, he let her hop out of his arms and onto the bed. The boy curled up in a ball, head in his hands as muffled sobs escaped his throat.

A high-pitched meow cried for his attention. He continued to curl into himself, not bothering to open his eyes. Then he felt a headbutt on his arm. When he failed to respond to that one, there came another. Another. He felt Anna rubbing on his elbow, even pawing at his arm.

Sniffling, the boy looked down at his cat as she anxiously pawed his arm, staring at him with big hazel eyes. Max gulped for air, sniffling, and smiled at his anxious cat.

“Hey hey, it’s okay,” he muttered, his voice crackling as he tried to hold back another cry. “Are you okay, Anna?”

He went to pet her head, but she instinctively rubbed on his hand and even put her head against his palm before he got a chance to pet her. The boy smiled weakly.

“I’m sorry if I scared you...” he muttered, now motioning Anna to climb into his lap. She eagerly did so, pinning herself against his torso as he scratched underneath her chin.

With no tears left in him to cry, the boy sat silently and stared at the floor as he aimlessly pet his cat.

What was he supposed to do now? Crying and being sad didn’t even fix anything; it just made him feel more numb and empty.

His mind raced less, though. He didn’t feel like he had to have everything figured out right now. He just sat quietly, resting his hands against the edge of the bed as he stared at the floor.

Suddenly, a quick, light knock came at the door.

The boy blinked a few times, snapping out of his numb state. Anxiety immediately rushed back in; his eyes grew wide.

“Max? Can I come in?”

That wasn’t his mom. Different voice. His breathing quickened. He gently placed Anna back on the bed and scrambled across to his window, pushing the curtain aside to peek outside.

It was much darker outside now, but the streetlights now illuminated two vehicles in the driveway: his mom’s SUV and his dad’s little grey sedan.

His dad’s car was in the driveway. His dad was at the door.

Oh no. No, no, no.

His dad knew. His dad knew of his horrible, awful screw-up! He knew what an awful person he was now! What else had his mom told him?

The doorknob slowly turned. The boy froze, eyes wide as he watched the door deliberately press open.

A black-haired man with thin glasses poked his head into the room. As he looked around, his eyes soon met Max’s, and he yelped, his black-rimmed glasses almost dropping from his face. He shoved them back onto the bridge of his nose.

“S-sorry, I thought you went to bed already,” he said, hurrying to shut the door. “It’s okay, we can talk later––“

Max jumped at the words, extending out his arms and waving his hands. “No, no, it’s okay! We... can talk now.”

His dad poked his head in again, frowning. “Are you sure?”

The boy nodded.

With a sigh, Jun Kanbayashi opened the door wide, bathing the room in the hallway’s warm light; Max even winced a bit after sitting in the dark for so long.

Despite being silhouetted by the light, Max could make out his dad’s disheveled work attire: the blue tie he had immediately loosened as soon as he left the office hung slack from his neck. The top button of his white shirt was undone; he hated the feeling of the shirt collar against his neck. The boy could also see his worn-out grey socks.

Max remembered going to the office with his dad when he was younger and the pristine image he’d present while in the workplace. He also remembered his dad immediately throwing aside that professional image as soon as he sat down in the car; obviously, things were still the same as they were when he was a kid.

The middle-aged man looked at Max curiously, running a hand through his short black and grey-peppered hair.

“Uhh, first question,” Jun said, raising a hand. He slowly closed the door behind him with a click, bathing the room once again in darkness. “Any reason you’re sitting in the dark?”

Max shrugged, rubbing the back of his head.

“Is this some sort of super power thing? Sit in the dark and wait ‘til you develop super-powered night vision?” Jun said with a awkward smile. “Remember when you said you wished you could see in the dark like your cats? Still working on that, I guess.”

The boy laughed a bit at the thought. He couldn’t help from smiling. Still, he remained quiet, still petting Anna’s head.

Jun’s frown twisted at the corners. He hugged his business jacket to his chest.

“Your mother told me what happened,” he said, a little quieter. He stepped over the blue rug and towards the bed. When he got there, he motioned to it, and Max nodded, cueing his dad to take a seat next to him.

“Did she say I’m a no-good, terrible, bad kid?” Max said, his voice breaking a bit as he spoke. He smiled weakly, rubbing his eyes.

“N-No,” he declared. “That is not what she said.”

Jun tugged at the collar of his shirt as he too stared at the floor. His voice grew quieter again. “She’s just... worried.”

Max said nothing, still mindlessly petting his cat.

Jun scratched the back of his neck, squirming a bit in the silence. “Do... you want to tell me what happened?”

He cast a quick glance over at his dad.

Jun grinned sheepishly.

Max knit his brow and looked away, gazing back at Anna.

“I...” he sniffled, keeping his face turned away. “I-I keep trying to say it. But I’m scared that it’s really bad a-and I didn’t wanna make Mom sad.”

Jun’s eyes brightened a bit. He knitted his brow.

“Mmm... unfortunately, she’s kind of already sad.”

Max spun to face him, eyes wide.

“I-It’s my fault she’s sad, right?” He asked, his voice crackling. His eyes glistened in the blue light from his galaxy lap. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to––“

Jun’s eyes widened, and a look of panic spread across his features. He fought to keep his cool, waving his hands.

“Maxwell, you did nothing wrong! It’s okay.”

Max sniffled, rubbing his eyes. “But she looked so upset when I couldn’t tell her! That’s my fault! I’m a terrible person!“

Jun looked like he was out of his depth with this; but he had to try. He cleared his throat.

“Hey hey,” he said, trying to calm the boy down. “Beating yourself up won’t fix it.”

Max whimpered, looking up at his dad with big, sad eyes. “B-But I don’t know what else to do to make it better...”

“Can you start by telling me what happened? Even like a tiny part of it.”

Max hung his head. He fidgeted with his thumbs as he spoke in a hushed voice. “Do you promise you won’t get mad?”

“Tch,” he scoffed. “What’m I gonna do? Ground you more?”

Despite the jokey smile on his dad’s face, Max looked as if he was on the edge of breaking into tears. His hands shook.

“Please, Dad...”

Jun dropped the smile and nodded, finding his gaze away from the situation.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

“S’okay…”

Max sighed and turned back to the task at hand: explaining what happened without making his dad mad or making things worse.

He wasn’t able to tell his dad what really happened, but he knew why he did all of this in the first place: he wanted to get over his fear of ghosts. This fear had consumed him so much, making it difficult to even leave the house because he kept getting scared they’d pop up anywhere he went. Sure, it was close to another fear, but this one was so loud...

Could he lie to his dad? Would this little fib be the thing that saved him? Or would he mess it up and get caught? He had no other choice now; freezing up only made things worse. He had to try.

“Alice and I...” he gulped, staring at the texture of the blue rug just below him. “We were trying to face something I’m really scared of, I guess.”

He rubbed his upper arm, now shifting away from his dad.

“M-My therapist said that, in order to stop being scared all the time, I needed to face the scary stuff. So I thought... what if I tackled my biggest fear first? It sounded like a good idea!”

Jun raised a brow, turning his head to the side curiously. He nudged Max’s arm.

“You went looking for snakes?”

Max froze for a moment.

Jun continued, “I think it would be much safer to go look at them at the zoo instead of running around in the woods looking for them, but that’s just my thought process?”

The boy couldn’t stop himself from laughing, especially since his dad started laughing, too. He waved his hand at him.

“What? No,” he said with a grumble and a grin. “I mean, they’re scary, too! I-I don’t like ‘em...”

The boy turned away, now fidgeting with his thumbs again. “This sounds... silly, but I’m... scared to leave the house and stuff? I-It got bad after you and Mom took me out of school.

“I guess I got sick of feeling this way all the time and didn’t know what to do. I really don’t want to feel like this anymore... But I told Alice what was going on and she offered to help me. I-I didn’t want to worry Mom, so I guess that’s why I didn’t tell her.”

Jun blinked a few times.

“That’s it? That’s all it was?”

Had Max done it? Had he lied to his dad? He looked over at him with wide eyes.

“But I snuck off without telling Mom!”

Jun shrugged, “Max, we thought you and Alice were doing something bad like, I dunno, drugs or something.”

Oh no, this was a much worse train of thought.

The boy shook his head. “Why would we do that?!”

His dad shrugged again, his face pale. “I-I don’t know! We were scared Alice was being a bad influence or something!”

“Dad!” Max exclaimed, aghast. “She’s my best friend, and she’d never do that!”

Jun put his face in his hands, his glasses pushing up past his forehead. “I know, I know!”

“If anything, she’d fight me for doing something like that!”

His dad sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. His glasses fell back over his eyes. “Sorry, I just got worried... She’s been a great friend to you, and I’m sorry for thinking that.”

Max smiled weakly and shrugged. “It’s okay.”

Jun took a deep inhale. He fidgeted with the tie around his neck.

“If that’s all it was... then your mother will absolutely understand.”

The boy looked up at his dad again, resting his hands in his lap. He frowned.

His dad rubbed the back of his neck, staring down at the floor. “I get it. It’s scary to talk to your mother sometimes, especially when she’s really angry. But she will understand. She might be upset that you couldn’t tell her that, but she will absolutely understand. She’s always worrying about how anxious you are, and she’ll probably be excited to see you tackle your anxieties, I guess.”

Max’s eyes lit up. “W-wait, she would?”

Jun laughed, “Do you know how many texts I get every day about you? It feels like all she does is worry about you.”

The boy shrugged. “I-I mean, I can kinda tell when she’s worrying cause she looks at me all the time and I’m always wondering if I’m doing something wrong.”

He laughed, “I catch her doing that with me, too. I guess she’s always looking out for the two of us. If she weren’t there, I’d forget everything all the time.”

“Mm, yeah...”

Max’s shoulders dropped. He sighed, letting go of all the anxiety that had been buried deep in his chest for hours. He looked up at his dad again.

“Can I... talk to her now? M-Maybe that’ll fix it?” The boy said, kicking his feet.

“Ehhh,” Jun tugged on the collar of his shirt, “give her some space tonight? She was... really upset.” He chuckled with a nervous grin.

“Mm. Okay. I get it...” He hung his head. Dammit.

“I’ll go talk to her again,” his dad said, standing up and stepping away from the bed. “But stay in here for tonight, and talk to her in the morning, okay? Just tell her what you told me. But, she’s not going to be mad at you forever, and she’ll appreciate the apology in the morning.”

Max nodded, picking up Anna in his arms and holding her up to his shoulder. She purred in his ear.

So that was it, huh? Maybe this awful situation was over now, but it seemed so anticlimactic. He wasn’t even able to tell his mom that he was sorry.

The boy watched as his dad stepped over to the door, staring at the blue light reflecting on the golden doorknob. He narrowed his eyes.

One problem was (hopefully) taken care of. But now, another was in its place. Max pushed down a gulp in his throat.

Maybe… he could ask his dad about what he saw in the woods.

No, I can’t do that! Max thought to himself. I know he’s gonna get mad or is gonna dodge the questions… He won’t listen to me.

But what other choice did he have? He watched as his dad stepped further away. Anna’s purring grew louder in his ears. Max grew pale.

If anyone would know about their abilities, it would be his dad. Right? He had them, too; even if he didn’t like talking about them. Max’s breathing grew faster.

If his dad left now, he wasn’t sure he would get another chance to ask. But what if he got angry with him? What was he supposed to do?

His dad would know. Wouldn’t he? Wouldn’t he know the truth about what’s going on?

Say something, Max. Do something!

Anna’s purring became too loud. Max’s breathing became too fast. His heart pounded in his chest. He saw his dad reaching for the doorknob. He could hear the door squeak open. He swore he saw orange light begin to creep into the room…

Max burst.

“Dad, wait!”

The boy gasped, eyes wide. Oh no. Oh no. He didn’t mean to do that!

Jun stopped, hand on the doorknob. He blinked once or twice as Max stared at him with wide eyes.

“Hm?” he said, turning his head curiously as he turned to face Max.

The boy sank back. Shit. Shit! Now you have to say something. If you don’t say anything, he’ll get mad at you. Say something, Max!

“Can I...” he gulped, hugging Anna tight. He wouldn’t look at his dad. “I need to ask something...”

Jun raised a brow. “Yes?” He turned around, even stepping closer.

“Umm...”

Spit it out, Max. C’mon.

Max took a big, deep breath. He let it go. Then, as if hoping his dad wouldn’t hear, he began speaking as fast as he could.

“I-I was talking to somebody about this thing a-and I-I dunno, it sounded really cool and weird, but I don’t know how to ask about it a-and I wanted to ask you something about ghosts––“

Jun’s eyes widened at the word. The last word. Oh no.

He couldn’t keep up with Max’s very frantic speech, but the word ghost certainly caught his attention. The man gulped and interrupted the boy, laughing nervously. He tugged at the collar of his shirt.

“W-What about ghosts?” He said, pushing his glasses onto his face before scratching the back of his neck.

“I-I...” Max gulped. The boy stared at the floor with blank eyes, trying to think of what to say next. But he feared his dad’s reaction, just like before with his mom. Would he get angry? Upset?

Max laughed hesitantly, rubbing his face in his hands. “Y-Y’know what? It’s not important...”

Jun watched the boy, his own anxiety simmering. He stood upright, biting his lip as he glanced from side to side.

The two said nothing. The only sounds audible in the room were the sound of Max’s galaxy lamp quietly turning and the sound of Anna’s loud purring.

It felt awful.

Max didn’t know what to say to fix this. Jun, feeling just as awkward and anxious, realized he had to be the one to break this silence.

The man cleared his throat and straightened upright. “H-Hey. Umm... didn’t you want to see a movie next weekend?”

Max looked up at him slowly.

“I thought there was a movie coming out...” Jun said, twisting his arms across his chest while tapping his foot. “Hmm...”

The boy frowned, scratching the back of his head. “We don’t have to do that, Dad. I know you’re really busy––“

“It was another Space Adventures movie, right?” Jun chuckled. “They’ve been making a lot of those movies lately, haven’t they?”

“Mm, yeah...” He looked away with a shrug.

“How about next weekend we go see that together? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a new movie.”

“We can...” Max said, petting Anna as he stared at the floor. He looked up. “You won’t forget, though, right?”

Jun scoffed, “Of course not!” He waved his hand. “I never forget things.”

Max opened his mouth to say another word, but his dad had already grabbed the doorknob to leave.

The man swung the door open and stepped into the hallway as soon as he could, shuffling out. However, he leaned his head back in.

“I’ll talk to your mom. You get some sleep, okay?” He grinned sheepishly, patting the edge of the door.

Max nodded. “Okay...”

“Good night, Max.”

“Night.”

The door shut. The orange light was gone. Darkness enveloped his room. Alone again.

Max let go of a big sigh, dropping his shoulders.

Yeah, that turned out about as well as he expected. He grumbled and placed Anna on the bed just before he flopped back on it.

“Stupid... That’s why you don’t talk about it, Max...” The boy buried his face in his hands, letting go of a big grumble.

Max never understood why his dad was so weird about this stuff. Sure, he knew that him getting attacked by a spirit caused a lot of that anxiety, but he knew his dad’s fears started before all that; his dad telling him not to talk to spirits then refusing to elaborate further was the prime example of this.

Obviously, his dad’s anxiety had started long before Max was attacked.

But his dad was the one who would know about this stuff! He was the only one he could talk to! Max grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and then rubbing his face.

Couldn’t talk to Alice. He couldn’t talk to his mom. Definitely couldn’t talk to his dad now. No phone, no computer, no way to talk to anyone. Now that he was finally on his own and, with the big scary problem with his mom solved, all he wanted now was answers. And the one person he could talk to about this dodged his questions.

What could he do to find answers on his own? Could he even do that? There had to be some way he could figure this out alone.

The boy sighed to himself.

There had to be something.

When he talked to spirits in the past, he never felt different. It was just something he could do without thinking about it. So how did that magic feel different from just talking to spirits?

He closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders.

He remembered the warmth in his chest. It made him feel safe, like the entire world faded away and it was just him. It made him feel calm, finally free of anxiety after it had consumed him for so long.

He remembered that warmth had spread out to his arms. The blue light rippling off of his hands felt tepid and gave him a chill as it drifted away from his arm, waves of heat rising like steam.

It felt strange in the moment, but what if that feeling could help him reconnect with these powers? What if remembering the feeling would bring them back?

It was worth a shot. He just hoped it would give him some sort of answer or clue.

Sitting upright on the bed, he took in a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Dropping his shoulders, pulling his legs in to a seated position on the bed. He closed his eyes. Focus, Max.

His mind fixated on the center of his chest. The boy focused on the memory of that feeling he was after: the warmth radiating from the center of his being, that feeling of being calm and safe. A memory of that blue light flickered into his mind, imagining a blue light radiating brilliantly from within his chest.

He took a deep breath and knitted his brow.

At first, he swore he felt nothing. There was no feeling like the one he had experienced earlier, no warmth in the middle of his chest. But as he sat there, breathing deep and focusing as best as he could, he felt himself sinking deeper down... down... down...

He opened his eyes. His stomach dropped.

Max wasn’t in his room; the world around him felt too vast, looked too dark. Almost like a void. He breathed faster, feeling his heartbeat pounding against his chest. He could see chilly breath escaping from his mouth and nose, exiting and disappearing into the void. Goosebumps rose on his arms.

What was this place? Had he just fallen asleep?

A flash of light flickered in the corner of his eye. He blinked and looked down.

He could feel that familiar warmth in his chest, in his arms. Despite how cold this place felt, he felt safe, comforted. But the most peculiar thing was the vibrant warmth echoing from his hands. He stared down at his fingertips.

Particles of blue light rippled off of his fingertips. They glowed in the vast darkness, looking like little bubbles on the surface of the ocean. His eyes brightened.

“Whoa...”

Blue light ascended from the backs of his hands and his arms. He could see lines of energy rippling up into the darkness, looking like smoke or fog. It looked like the very tips of his fingers were glowing white.

There was so much energy around him, wrapping him around him like a blanket or a tight hug. So vibrant and warm. Despite not knowing where he was, he felt safe; happy even.

Was this... really magic?

He could help himself from giggling as he watched the energy ripple off of his fingers. He pulled his hands closer, watching the particles rise and float into the air. They sparkled and shimmered like starlight. Max couldn’t help from smiling.

He had been so afraid of his abilities for so long. Scared of the ghosts that would always appear around him, his scar burned every time he caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye.

But for this one moment, he was happy again. Relishing in that same childish optimism he had when he was a little kid.

Max sat down on the floor and grinned as he waved his hands, watching the energy ripple off into the endless void above. He tried to catch one or two of the sparkling bubbles as they rose into the air, settling to float around him.

For once, in a very long time, he felt at peace.

The sound of glass shattering rattled the void. Max froze.

The boy’s eyes widened, his body spinning towards the sound. The blue energy around him dropped to the floor. Tiny glass marbles scattered around Max. He yelped, scrambling to his feet.

He stared down at one marble, even poking one with his sock. He watched it roll back and forth across the cold floor before it settled to a stop.

A loud crunch of glass rattled off in the distance. It was as if someone’s heavy boots stepped on the shards, even twisting their heel into the pieces. The boy pinned his arms to his sides and stared towards the sound.

His feelings of warmth and safety were gone. The light was gone.

Maxwell was alone.

But... he knew that wasn’t true.

The air suddenly felt stiff, thick. As if it had become too humid. Breathing it in felt like drinking a beverage that was a little too thick.

Max perked up at a new sound off in the distance. It sounded like a heavy cloth being dragged through the mud. There was breathing, slow and labored. Raspy.

The boy straightened taller upright, looking deeper in the direction of the sound.

“Mm...” he muttered, his voice small. He fidgeted with his hands, eyes darting around the space.

The labored breathing grew louder. Max knit his brow. He fidgeted with his hands.

With a hesitant pause, he stepped over the glowing beads of energy on the floor. Some of them rolled and crackled as he stepped past. He cautiously moved closer to the sound.

“Judas...?”

The breathing stopped. He could’ve sworn the dragging sound seemed to turn towards him.

There came a low clicking noise. Like an animal holding a guttural growl deep in its throat. Max gulped, his shoulders rising up to his ears.

He could hear the clicking rising up, but he couldn’t make out where it was coming from now. Behind him? In front? His breathing grew faster.

All he heard was click. Click. CLICK.

Where the hell was that coming from?

Max froze. His stomach dropped. The boy suddenly felt like he was under a microscope. Like something was watching him.

Slowly, the boy’s eyes scanned across the dark space.

And slowly, he turned and spotted three white eyes, placed in a triangle shape, floating overhead. They stared down at him.

His eyes widened.

“What the...”

A singular, guttural click filled the air, sounding from the back of this creature’s throat.

Max, breathing faster and faster now, stared at the three eyes staring back at him. He felt as if he were being studied, analyzed, like a test subject.

Every fiber of his being screamed at him in horror. The overwhelming sense of something horribly, awfully wrong rattled him to the very core of his being.

He couldn’t make out who or what this thing was in the darkness, but it felt terrifying.

It felt like something truly, deeply evil. Something that crawled out of the deep, dark recesses of the universe. Something that felt truly and dreadfully wrong.

Something that knew he existed.

He felt the floor behind him shudder as the creature moved forward, dragging across the floor. He could’ve sworn he heard a noise coming from the monster. A gurgling sound; like someone was drowning.

“Ah!”

He screamed and dropped to the floor, feeling those eyes staring at him, unblinking. He crawled backwards. Get away, get away, get away...

All he had to do was open his eyes, right? And that would fix this, right?! He took a deep breath, pinched his eyelids together tight, and then––

It was like he had broken through the surface of the ocean. He gasped, falling back onto his bed. He even coughed a few times, fighting to get fresh air into his lungs. Breathe, Max, you've gotta breathe...

He stared at the star lamp in the corner of his room, watching the color-changing galaxy swirl around on his ceiling.

What was that thing Alice told him to do? Deep breath in for four seconds, deep breath out for five seconds... Make your exhale longer than your inhale...

He felt the comforter beneath his fingertips, taking in the smooth, soft texture . Deep breath in... deep breath out...

He stared down at Anna. Her ears were completely back, looking at him with wide eyes as if he had done something horribly wrong.

“Anna...” he muttered, laughing nervously at the look on her face. He offered a hand to her, and she sniffed it curiously before rubbing her face against his finger.

After a moment of trying to ground himself, he flopped back on the bed and gave a deep, harsh sigh of relief.

“What the hell was that...?”

It felt so real. Whatever it was. Had it just been in his head? It had to be... He squirmed at the thought of that thing being real. There was no way it could’ve been...

The boy released a heavy sigh, sitting upright on his bed. He held onto the edge, swinging his feet back and forth as he stared at the floor.

“I… gotta sleep,” he said to himself. He slid off the bed and sped off to get ready for bed — brushing his teeth, throwing on his pjs, and turning off the lights (save for his galaxy lamp) — all while the image of three glowing eyes haunted him every step of the way. Every time it tried to sneak into his mind, he closed his eyes tight, in the hopes of batting it away.

Soon enough, he climbed into bed. Yanking back the comforter and sheets then crawling under the covers, he flopped on his side, hugging his favorite teddy bear dressed in an astronaut costume close to his chest. As he closed his eyes tight, fighting away that haunting image, he sensed Anna hopping on the bed behind him. She spun around in a circle once or twice and then settled, curling up into herself and pinning her back against his.

“Ni-Night, Anna,” he muttered, pulling the teddy bear tighter into his chest.

The room soon became quiet, save for the turning sound of Max’s galaxy lamp. A bright, blue galaxy shined over head, bright clouds and stars twisting overhead.

As they settled and dozed off to sleep, a tiny glass bead rolled across the floor and stopped just next to the rug. It flickered with a weak, blue light.