Chapter 16: He makes it home
A whole other day had passed, and Maxwell was ready to lose his fucking mind. He'd had his Father's phone number pulled up onto his phone screen, but had backed down. Frustrated, he had gone outside on the back porch to smoke. It was the only thing giving him temporary relief given the circumstances. He knew Andrew would probably be mad at him when he got back, but that wasn't a concern until he got back. "Fuck. Andrew, where are you?" Maxwell murmured, taking a drag from his cigarette before exhaling slowly, staring into the small woods surrounding the back of his property. He sighed, staring out towards the woods. He couldn't bring himself to look towards the front of his house, since all he would do was stare at Andrew's balcony, hoping that the lights would turn on, and then this would all be a funny memory.
He took another drag, about to put out his cigarette when he heard some unusual rustling from the woods. He froze. The alphas that normally bothered him hadn't been around because of Andrew, but it had been over a week now. What if it was one of them? Narrowing his eyes, he tried to see if he could pick out anything, but found he was only straining his eyes. That was, until a large shadow broke off from the treeline.
It was a man. A tall one at that. There weren't that many people who were that height without being alphas, and Maxwell's heart began to race in his chest. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck! Panic began to fill him, he snuffed out the cigarette and fumbled for the flashlight that he always kept near the door. Usually, pointing out that he knew they were there was enough to scare them. He hoped this was going to be the same situation. He was in no shape to deal with a stalker today.
Fumbling for the button, he turned the flashlight on, before turning it towards the shadowman.
At first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. Was that...bare skin? What kind of lunatic would be walking around butt naked in this weather? Moving the beam, he accidentally scanned down, and the blood left his face. The man was hard as a fucking rock! Who the hell was he? Scanning up, Maxwell thought his heart was going to jump into his throat. He threw the flashlight to the ground, and began to run.
"Andrew? Andrew!" Maxwell shouted, racing towards the man who was stumbling towards his backyard. He pushed open the side gate, rushing towards the man who was in the nude, without his glasses, and did not look well. As soon as he got closer, he began to unwrap the scarf he had on around his neck, as he was able to take in how he really was.
"M-Max?" Andrew's voice was soft, and broke something inside of Maxwell. He was covered in cuts, and he wasn't wearing anything on his feet either. They looked like they were bleeding, and badly at that. No wonder he was stumbling. His fingers were pale, probably from the cold, and Maxwell approached him and wrapped the scarf around his neck. It was nothing compared to how fucked up he was, but it soothed a small part of him.
"I'm here Andrew. I'm here. You made it." Tears began to fall from Andrew's eyes, and Maxwell's heart shattered. That was when something odd happened. A scent washed over Maxwell, and confused, Maxwell looked at Andrew. Andrew wouldn't stop crying, and Maxwell pulled him in for a hug. "You're okay. You made it here." Maxwell comforted easily, and Andrew slowly wrapped his arms around him, giving him a squeeze that was far too tight. Too strong.