Page 19 of Shuttered Hearts

“Just fine?” Max is generally a pretty talkative kid. For him to say “fine” means something is bothering him.

“Yeah.”

I glance over at him as I make my way around the front of the truck, concern filling me. I start the truck but don’t buckle my seatbelt right away, turning to face Max instead. “What’s going on, Max?”

He finishes buckling himself in before looking up at me. I stare back, giving him time to collect his thoughts. “You remember when I told you about Robbie and how he picks on kids in my class?”

“Yeah?” Max and I have had a few conversations about that kid. Being a teacher has forced me to become a believer in trying to work things out using your words first, but Robbie has definitely made me question that tactic. Sometimes, fists need to fly to make sure you’re heard.

“I don’t know why, but even when I’ve stood up for my friends, he always left me alone.”

“But not today?” I ask, concern clouding my features.

“Yeah. He made a comment about Dad being old, since he’s older than everyone else’s dads. Not like that’s new.” Max mumbles the last part. “But he also said I was going to be an orphan soon because Dad is sick and won’t be around much longer, and since my mom abandoned me when I was little.”

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and blow it out before I even think about responding. “What did you say to him?”

“I told him to shut up and he shouldn’t say things like that,” Max says quickly. “I tried to stay calm, but it was really hard.” Max is quiet for a moment, looking at me in clear distress. “I really wanted to hit him,” he whispers.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you.” I reach out, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. “I’m proud of you for holding back, though. Did you tell your teacher?”

“No, I didn’t want him to make fun of me for that too.” I see the tears forming in his eyes before I hear it in his voice. “Caleb said Dad was sick, like he was before, and they didn’t think he would be able to get better this time. That’s why Quinn is home, but what’s going to happen to me if Dad doesn’t get better?”

I lean over the center console and make sure Max is looking me right in the eye before I respond.

“Max, no matter what happens with your dad, you will be okay. You have so many people around you who love you so much.” Max looks down at his lap, so I squeeze the shoulder still in my grasp, waiting until he looks back up at me, “I don’t know who you’ll be with, but no matter what, you will always have Caleb and Emily, and Quinn. And I’ll always be here for you. That will never change.”

“Will they have to find my mom so I can go live with her?”

“No,” I say emphatically. “I can guarantee you’ll be with Caleb or Quinn. I bet they’ll be fighting over which one gets to have you live with them.”

I don’t know much about Nicole, but I do know she lost all rights to her son. When she abandoned him when he was two years old, Scott made sure she would never have a claim to him again.

I look at him, tears in his eyes, and it makes me wish I could take all his pain away. That I could stop him from having to experience everything coming his way. But I can’t. I can only offer him my support.

“Max, I wish I could take all this pain away for you, or at least tell you exactly what your future holds, to help you prepare for it, but I can’t.” Now I’m getting choked up. I swallow the lump in my throat. “Like Caleb said, it doesn’t look like your dad will be able to fight this battle. He might not have much time left, but he’s still here now, so we’re going to live in the moment, and not worry about the future until it’s right in front of us.”

“I don’t want to live in that future at all.” He stops holding the tears at bay and lets them fall down his cheeks.

I reach out to wipe them away. I can feel the tears in my eyes now too. “I don’t want to live in that future either, but when the time comes, we’ll figure it out. All of us, together.”

When Maxand I pull into the driveway after soccer practice later that evening, Quinn is standing there in leggings and an oversized sweater pulled tight around her to help fight the chill growing in the air. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I see her feet are bare, as if she rushed out to meet us.

“How was school and practice?” Quinn asks.

She hadn’t been home when we stopped by to pick up Max’s gear. Scott said she ran to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for him and then to The Diner to pick up dinner.

The Diner—as the name implies—is the local diner. Owned by an older couple who figured it was pointless to call it anything else, knowing the town would only ever refer to it as ‘the diner’. It is one of the only restaurants in town, but the food makes it feel like coming home.

“It was good.” Max’s mood picked up a little as we spent the afternoon together, but he was still pretty upset. “Coach had me as goalie today,” he says, hugging her. “I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed.”

Quinn looks at me questioningly. I shake my head from the bottom of the stairs trying to signal that now isn’t the time to push.

“Okay. Did you say thank you to Declan?” she asks before she lets him go from their hug.

“Yeah.” He pulls away from Quinn, going inside, saying nothing else.

Quinn watches him disappear inside and then turns back to me. “Did something happen?”

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