Intro
The sound of dirt falling off the end of a shovel echoed through the graveyard, breaking the silence of the summer night. A small lantern glowed as the shovel dug into the earth, sending dirt out of the grave. A thud was heard; she leaned over the side of the grave as he scraped dirt away from the wooden surface he had finally reached. Her short, pale arm held the lantern inside the grave as he dug around the sides of the coffin, painted jet black. The surface glistened in the glow of the lantern, and she watched him with glistening green eyes. The humidity of the August night had made its impact on him, causing beads of sweat to drip down his face and tattooed arms.
"Hand that here," he said quietly, looking up at her as he passed the over the shovel. She handed him the rusted crow bar as she pulled the shovel out of the pit and laid it down next to her, her eyes never leaving the grave.
"You ready?" He asked. His eyes met hers and she nodded, taking a deep, quivering breath as she held the lantern out more. She strained on her knees, looking over his shoulder as he dug the crow bar into the side of the coffin. Grunts escaped his lips as he tried prying it open. It finally gave way with a creak, resisting him as he pulled it open. She covered her face with her tiny hand as he coughed inside the grave. The smell was horrid, but nothing could have prepared them for what laid in front of their eyes.......
Chapter One: Max
She woke suddenly, gasping for air in her tiny apartment. Another nightmare had caught her in its grasp and was reluctant to let go. The images of death and decay swirled in her brain as she breathed deeply, allowing the thoughts to vanish along with the desire to sleep through the rest of the night. Her head pounded, and she ran her fingers through her choppy, red hair, massaging her over-tired brain. As she looked around her room, a snore from beside her startled her. She looked to see a man she had just met sleeping soundly next to her. Another night at the bar, another man she will only see once. Such was life. She shook her head and pulled herself out of bed to the washroom. The man woke as the mattress roused him back to slight consciousness, and he watched her slim, pale body slither out of the room. He smiled to himself and listened as the washroom door closed behind her.
She watched herself in the mirror. She was beautiful, though she didn’t see it. Her green eyes were huge in her face, and her skin was almost ghost white under the florescent lights of her washroom. She grabbed a brush from the counter and ran it through her bright red hair, the layers sitting perfectly atop her shoulders, and her side-swept bangs framing her oval-shaped face. As she put the brush down, there was a knock at her bathroom door. Not even bothering to cover herself, she answered the door and saw the man from the bar standing there, naked as the day he was born.
“Yeah?” she said as she leaned against the door, never taking her eyes away from his face.
“Your name is uh....” he started and she rolled her eyes. She watched him scrunch his brow in concentration as he rubbed the side of his face. His five o’clock shadow was obviously starting to irritate him.
“My name is unimportant,” she said, brushing her body past him and making her way back to her bedroom.
“Hey! I remember your name,” he started after her, his feet stomping on the hardwood floor as he walked into the bedroom after her. He looked around her room frantically, looking at all of the framed pictures and achievements. “It’s Max. It just took me a minute.”
“Very good,” she smiled at him. “It would have been even better had you not read it off the diploma hanging on the wall.” He was defeated and hung his head. She sat on her bed, leaning back and watching him as he searched the mess of clothes on the floor for his own.
“Where are you going?” she asked as he pulled on his boxer briefs.
“Home?” he answered, refusing to look her in the eye.
“Oh, no you’re not,” she said, leaning over and pulling him by the front of his boxers. She brought him close to her as she sat up. “I don’t remember your name either, so you can stay for a few.” She kissed his stomach and pulled his boxer briefs back down. He was going nowhere any time soon.
Chapter Two: Carver
He shot up in bed and gasped for air as the humidity in his small room silently suffocated him. Wiping sweat off of his brow, he ran his long, tattooed fingers through his hair and looked around the familiar room. Everything was fine again. He was fine again. The dreams that invaded his soundless slumber had evacuated his mind for the time being and he was relieved as he stood up and made his way to the washroom.
His one level house was filled with the smell of humid air and marijuana from the night before, making his hangover worse as he walked into the small washroom, leaving the door open as he stripped off his clothing and relieved himself. The crows cawed outside of the window as he moved to the sink to wash his face and hands. He looked himself in the mirror as he splashed water on his face and through his hair. Big, blue eyes stared back at him, shadowed by dark circles and what appeared to be a fresh cut on his left eyebrow. Another scar to add to the collection he thought as he smiled and pulled out his toothbrush, leaning his 6’4 body over the sink.
“Carver?” a female voice resonated through the house as he heard the screen door slam.
“Bathroom,” he called back, spitting toothpaste into the sink and rinsing his mouth out. The older lady walked down the hall and turned into the bathroom before she could be warned of his nudity.
“Jesus Carver, you couldn’t tell me you were naked?” The woman turned right back around and stayed out in the hall as Carver chuckled and grabbed his shorts.
“Well mom, you would think that after the first thirty times, you would learn to ask if I’m dressed or not.” He grinned as he stepped out and leaned down, kissing her on her cheek. He headed out to the kitchen with her following behind.
“I brought breakfast,” she smiled, her whole tone changing as she sat at the kitchen table and leaned back, tying her black hair up into a ponytail. “And I’m buying you an air conditioner, this heat is disgusting, I don’t know how you stand it.”
“Mom,” Carver murmured, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “I don’t need an air conditioner. The fan I have works just fine.” He took a bite out of a cinnamon bun, one of six his mother had brought him for breakfast. He placed one on a plate and gave it to her as she frowned at him.
“It’s being delivered and installed today. Already paid for. You can’t say no now,” she smiled sweetly at him as she picked up her bun and picked at it with her short, slender fingers. She meant well, but Carver hated when she bought him unnecessary things.
“Ok, fine,” Carver sighed as he opened the fridge and retrieved a jug of juice. He placed two glasses on the counter and poured them each a glass as his mother got up and hugged her son, despite him just wearing shorts. He hugged her back and she looked up at him lovingly.
“All I want is for you to accept my gifts and to not get anymore tattoos.”
“I can’t make promises on either one,” Carver laughed and released his mother, making his way to the living room to grab the shirt he wore the night before. It smelled of whiskey and marijuana, but he didn’t care. It was something to cover his tattooed chest as he mother stared at him with exasperation.
“I have to go to work Carver. Are you going to be here when they come for the air conditioner? They’ll be here at noon.”
Carver rolled his eyes and looked at her from across the room. “Yes I will be here at noon to let them come in and hook up this very unnecessary piece of equipment you say I need.”
She smiled brightly and walked towards him, hugging him goodbye. She released him and slugged his arm before walking out the door, smiling over her thin shoulder as she walked away. Carver sighed and shook his head, heading back towards the washroom for a long, cool shower.
Chapter Three: Max
The afternoon sun shone through the slight crack in the drapes, shining directly in Max’s eyes. She woke and rolled over, expecting a mass of man to block her. She was wrong. She looked at the clock on the far wall. The time said “12:45pm,” and it made her shake her head and smile to herself. By the coldness on her pitch black sheets, she estimated he had been gone at least an hour. Quicker than any other man; she was impressed. It’s nice not to have to throw someone out she thought to herself as she sat up. She slithered out of the sheets and put on a white tank and black shorts. The humidity in the air was rising and she was not a summer weather kind of person. If the air conditioner broke down, she would be a mall and bar rat for the remainder of the summer, even if it killed her. As she was strolling through her living room, which was practically bare except for one leather couch and a small TV, the phone on the kitchen counter rang.
“Hello?” she said, flipping the phone open and unplugging it from the charger.
“Max?” The voice on the other end belonged to her mother; the only woman she would never disrespect.
“Hey ma,” she said as she leaned against the counter and opened a pack of Poptarts. “How are you?”
“I’m worried about you of course,” her mother sighed on the other end. “Are you coming for dinner? Your dad wants to see you.”
Max sighed as she chewed a piece of her lunch. Her and her father had not gotten along since she decided to move out. Her decision was made two years prior. He had never approved and she had not fully forgiven him for the coldness he flung in her direction.
“Neh,” She said, popping the last piece of pastry in her mouth and throwing the wrapper in the trash. “I think I’ll just make something here. I’m not in the mood for company tonight.”
She heard a deep, quivering sigh on the other line. She instantly felt bad, but as stubborn as her father was, she was more so. Today would be a day to be alone. She and her mother hung up after an emotional goodbye and Max headed to the bedroom to search through her closet. She needed an outfit for work; tonight was not the night to call in sick.
Chapter Four: The Meeting
The bus ride was a long one to “Clarity”, a club she worked at on weekends to get through the summer months. Wind blew through the bus windows, drying the sweat that had stuck to Max’s chest and stomach underneath her black, sequined top. Her leather skirt stuck to her thighs, and she wiggled her toes in her open toed stilettos as some of the guys on the bus looked her up and down. She eyed them back with intensity behind her eyes and they quickly looked away. She smiled to herself and turned up the music that was in her headphones.
The bus squealed a stop at a busy stop, letting many people on at once. Max moved her purse from the seat beside her to her lap as 10 or more people flooded the aisle. A chubby guy around her age looked at her and sat next to her, knocking her slightly to the side. She looked at him with an annoyed look at on her face and he smiled widely at her, showing all his teeth. Max looked down at her freshly painted black nails, and tried to get the feeling that was creeping up her spine out of her mind. A full blown anxiety attack was creeping up; Max took deep breaths to calm herself.
“Are you ok?” Max looked up at the guy next to her, his tattooed hand was on her shoulder and he had a look of concern on his face. His blue eyes looked over her as she sat up straight and cleared her throat.
“I’m fine,” she said as she pulled an ear bud out of her ear, releasing a blast of music into the air. She looked towards the front of the bus, noticing how uncomfortable she felt. Max could feel his eyes on her, and it took all her will power to not turn back around to look at him.
“I’m Carver,” he said, leaning over and resting his heavily tattooed arms on his legs. Max looked over at him and smiled. For some reason, she couldn’t help herself.
“I’m Max,” she said, reaching her hand out for his. He took it and held it for a moment before letting it go.
“Nice to meet you, Max,” Carver smiled back. She looked him up and down quickly, noticing how unlike other guys she had seen around this area he was. Carver was covered in tattoos, at least from what she could see. In a red t-shirt and Dickey’s shorts, he seemed perfectly unaware of how hot it was outside, aside from the sweat that had formed on his forehead and around his brown Mohawk, which stuck a good 4 inches straight up. “Where are ya headed tonight?”
“Ah, work,” Max replied. “I work nights at ‘Clarity’ during the summer.”
Carver laughed and leaned back against the seat, confusing Max. She decided to not push it and looked toward the front of the bus again.
“You don’t look like a ‘Clarity’ kind of chick,” Carver said quietly as more people piled onto the bus.
“It pays the bills,” Max replied, sighing deeply as she looked back at him. “What kind of girl do I look like?”
Carver looked her straight in the eye and grinned. Max felt her heart beat a bit faster and her body temperature drop. The look in his eyes made her feel like she was in the middle of a snow storm in July.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “But I’d sure as hell like to find out.”
Just as Max opened her mouth to respond, he leaned over her and pulled the stop cord. He smirked at her as the bus pulled to a stop, and she smiled back.
“See ya around Max,” he said as the doors opened, and he stepped off the bus. The doors closed and the bus made its way forward. Max took a deep breath in and calmed herself. She had never met a man who made her blood turn cold like that, and even if she didn’t want to, she liked it.
...
“Hold on a second,” Phena said loudly over the dance music in the club. “What was his name?”
“Carver,” Max said as she made her way around the bar to talk to Phena. “I met him on the bus.”
Phena laughed and poured the drinks that were needed next as Max placed her tray on the counter. Phena looked amazing in her White tank and tight blue jeans, and all the men who came by to order drinks thought so as well. She had skin the colour of caramel, and her black hair hung down her back, never getting in her way or falling over her shoulders. The best thing about Phena though, was her laugh. She laughed like it was coming from her lower belly every time, and it made everyone around her smile or laugh along with her.
“What in the fuck are you doin’ meeting men on a bus, Max?”
“I didn’t intend to meet anyone on the bus,” Max said as she smiled and waited as Phena poured the drinks and placed them on the waiting tray. “I didn’t even get his number or anything. We had a ten minute conversation and that was all. He was just nice.”
“Mmmhm,” Phena said as Max picked up the tray and walked around the bar, pushing through the crowd of dancing people. “He made ya tingly in the panties and you know it.”
Max rolled her eyes and laughed as she walked away from the bar, listening to Phena laugh loudly over the music that surrounded her. Carver did not make her feel anything sexual, but explaining that to Phena would be impossible. As she placed the drinks down on her customer’s table, and collected the very generous tip they left her, she got to wondering exactly what kind of feeling Carver did give her. She remembered that she enjoyed it, but it intimidated her at the same time. The same feeling came back as she thought about his eyes looking directly into hers. She shook her head and headed back towards the bar, promising herself that she wouldn’t think of him again for the rest of the night. If she did, it would be a long night for her.
Chapter Five: By Chance
The night seemed to go by in a flash. The tips were excellent, the air conditioning in the club kept her comfortable; she even found herself dancing around as she waited on the tables. After what had started out as a typical and quite mundane morning, Max was feeling good. This was the first night in a long time that she felt like she didn’t need to take anyone home with her to satisfy her need for human contact. She was feeling like her old self again.
As she cleaned up the tables, she could hear Phena on the phone with her boyfriend. She laughed and smiled brightly as she wiped the counter top down, clearing the empty and half full glasses that were left over from last call. Max smiled at her as she walked past her to the back to retrieve her purse. Phena smiled back and waved goodbye, as she continued to talk to the man who was making her laugh on the phone. Max walked out the front door and made her way to the bus stop. As she was walking, she saw the last bus of the night speed past her.
“Shit!” she said aloud. She put her hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. She could always go back to the club and tell Phena what happened. As she turned around, she almost screamed as she was face to face with Carver. She shoved his shoulder roughly as she shoved past him, which made him grin and chuckle softly.
“Do you always sneak up behind women at 2am?” she asked as she walked quickly towards the club. Her heels clicked loudly on the pavement as Carver walked beside her in a comfortable strut. She looked up at him, noticing how tall he was compared to her 5’1” frame. He was at least a full foot taller.
“Nah, not at all. But I can tell you’re the special kind,” he grinned down at her and she rolled her eyes. He had genuinely scared her, and she was prepared to knock him out if needed. She was not in the mood now that she had to beg for a ride home from a man she had only met once through Phena.
“I’m not special,” she sighed as they reached the front of the club. She stopped to face him as he lit a cigarette. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured you would be getting off late and would need a ride home,” Max looked at him and cocked her head slightly to the side.
“You took the bus earlier, remember? You met me on it. How could you possibly get me home even if I did need a ride? Which I don’t, by the way,”
“I took the bus to my buddy’s house where my car was. I went drinking last night, I couldn’t drive home. He took my car,” Carver stepped to the side and pointed to his car, which was a beat up, red Chevy truck. “Do you want a ride?”
Max looked back towards the club, seeing Phena in through the window clearing up the last of the mess left behind before looking back up at Carver. It was tempting, but she wasn’t sure. Carver smiled slightly at Max, and held out his arm jokingly.
“I’d love one,” Max said quietly as she wrapped her arm around his and walked with him towards his truck. Carver opened the passenger door for her, and helped her in before walking around the front and hopping behind the wheel. The car was older, and Max guessed Carver’s father had once owned it. The interior was in good enough shape that it could be sat on comfortably, and there was a distinct smell of cigarettes and marijuana. Max loved the car as soon as she put her seat belt on.
“Before you start the car,” Max said as she put her hand on his just as he put his key in the ignition. He leaned back and watched her as she took her hand away. “You’re not some kind of axe murdering stalker right? You’re not going to chop me up and harvest my body for organs or nothing?” Carver burst out laughing and slapped his hand on the steering wheel.
“Are you serious?”
“Well, yeah,” Max said looking down at her lap. She was embarrassed and could feel her cheeks burning.
“No Max,” Carver said, allowing his laughter die down as he saw her embarrassment. “Have you never just had a guy want to be your friend before?”
Max thought back before looking up at him. She shook her head no and pushed her hair out of her face and sighed.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that I would like to be your first,” Carver smiled at her and started the car. Max relaxed in her seat as music blared through his sound system. “Let’s say we get you home.”
“Alright then,” Max looked out the window as the car pulled onto the street. She felt strangely comfortable, and was at ease as Carver began to sing and rap along to the song playing on the stereo, making her laugh. She had never enjoyed herself around men until she met Carver. And she wasn’t sure she ever would again.
...
The ride was a bumpy one. Carver made a point to go along all the roughest roads, making Max squeal and scream as the tires left the pavement. Before long, Max’s throat was raw from laughter, but she was passed the point of caring. For the first time in a long time, she was having fun.
Carver turned and pushed his foot hard on the brake in front of an old cemetery, making Max grab onto the dash to keep from plummeting through the windshield. She looked at Carver, and her smile slowly turned back into its usual straight line. Carver’s face was solemn. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel and his eyes were straight ahead, looking into the graveyard. It was evident that he did not mean to take this road. After a moment, Max touched his shoulder and he snapped back from the place he had escaped to in his mind and pulled away from the gated area.
“Are you ok?” Max looked at him worriedly, touching his arm as it rested easily on the stick shift,
“I’m fine,” Carver responded, shaking her hand off of his arm as he stuck the car in gear and sped down the street. The rest of the ride was a silent one, as Max looked out the window and fiddled with the sequins on her shirt. She didn’t know what to say. The silence was so awkward, and she was happy when the car squealed to a stop in front of her building.
“Thanks, Carver.” Max said as she grabbed the handle of the door. As she was leaving, Carver touched her arm, and Max closed the door again.
“I’m sorry for earlier,” he said, looking down at the faded upholstery that was between them. “Bad memories, you know?”
Max nodded and leaned in to hug him. Before she could wrap her arm around him, he pulled away, leaving her half leaned over in the car. Max sighed and shook her head. As Carver looked at her, and attempted to apologize again, she was already out of the car and making her way up the stairs towards the door to her apartment. He sighed and pulled back out into the street as Max looked back towards him. She shook her head and walked into the building.
...
“You let him give you a ride?!” Phena screamed over the phone as Max undressed in her room. “Are you stupid, girl? Why didn’t you just come back and let me get you a ride home? Did your mama not teach you nothin’?!”
“I was fine. We had fun. Well... Up until the end,” Max pulled her shirt over head and threw her bra across the room as she sat on her bed in just her heels and panties. “He accidentally pulled over in front of a cemetery, and it was instantly awkward. He tried explaining but, I don’t know. He just changed instantly. Wouldn’t even let me hug him goodbye. It was like I needed to get out of the car instantly and he was too nice to tell me to just get out.”
“That’s because he’s a weird guy, Max. It would be in your best interest to never see him again,”
Max pulled off her heels and walked into the bathroom to wash her makeup off and tie up her hair. She put the phone on speaker and let Phena tell her what she thought she should do as she ran the sink and soaked her face. As she looked up at her reflection in the mirror, she knew that Phena had a point, but there were two sides to everything. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to see Carver for at least a little while. Distance would be lovely right now, as she had no idea what to even say to him if she did see him, but she would eventually bump into him somewhere. The town wasn’t that big and now he knew where she worked in the summer. She finished in the washroom, looking fresh faced and exhausted as the clock on the wall showed it was almost 5:00am. As she laid down in her bed, she let Phena go and pulled her covers up as her air conditioning shot a cold breeze through her bedroom. As she lay in bed, she thought of Carver’s expression in the truck. The sadness that ran across his face was not that of ordinary grief, and she could tell he was hurting from the pit of his stomach all through his body. But what could she do to help him?
Max closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the blackness that both comforted and terrified her. Tomorrow was another day, and she had some preparing to do.
...
He stormed into his one level house and threw his keys across the room. Carver was enraged at himself and needed the kind of release that only came from the bottle. He strode into the tiny, unkempt kitchen and grabbed a bottle of Jack from the counter. Straight and warm, that was how he liked it. He unscrewed the bottle top and fell into the couch in the living room. He drank from the bottle like it was water, and gasped after he took his lips away and the burn set inside his throat. He put the bottle on the cluttered coffee table and leaned back against the back of the old couch, one arm covering his eyes as the alcohol slowly went to his head. He thought of Max’s face as she looked back at him from the door of her apartment. It was filled with anger, pity and confusion, three things that Carver never wanted from anyone. His mind shifted back to the angelic face that was now a never-ending reminder of what he lost. Skin as pale and perfect as the first snow fall of the year, deep brown eyes that smiled whenever she would look at him, and long, brown hair that covered her entire back and moved as if it were alive as the wind blew around her. He thought back to the last time he saw her; anger and hurt spread across her face as she pressed her back against the wall. He screamed at her with the smell of Jack radiating off of his body and breath, told her to get out and to never come back. She left that day with tears flooding her eyes and that was the last time he or anyone would see her again. It was his fault, as he said over and over again to her friends and family.
Carver shot up and grabbed the bottle of Jack. He stood up and violently threw the bottle at the farthest wall. It exploded on impact, sending shards of glass and alcohol across the room. Breathing heavily, Carver walked down the hall to his room and slammed the door. Sleep wouldn’t come easy, but it was better than being awake with the memory of his loss.
