Chapter Thirty
Madison
Getting ready for work that day didn’t feel at all like it had previously. I used to get up early, ready and willing to start my day. But today I woke up with a strange feeling over me. Like there was a dark cloud above me just waiting to release its rain on me. I had no idea what it was going to be like to see Max again. This was why I had never wanted to get involved with him in the first place; I didn’t want to feel this way every time I went into work. I felt angry at him for making me fall for him. Angry at him for making the first move. Angry at him for pulling away from me just when I thought that everything was going well. It wasn’t fair. I tried not to cry as I got changed. I wouldn’t let him see me get upset. If he didn’t have the guts to come and tell me how he really felt, then I didn’t want to be with him anyway.
I got to work feeling more determined than ever. I would simply continue the way that I always had with him, and I would forget that we had ever been anything more than friends. Although I wasn’t even sure that we could call each other friends anymore. We were work partners, with a very important job to do.
I made my inside and said hello to a few people. Some of them stopped me and asked how I was doing. They congratulated me on helping with the case, and I thanked them and quickly moved onto the next person. There didn’t seem to be much to celebrate anymore. Everyone told me how impressed they were at how quickly I had come back to work.
“If I were in your shoes, I would’ve taken at least another week or two off,” one of my coworkers said.
I chuckled. “Yeah, but did you expect me to take time off? Are you really surprised to see me here?”
He laughed. “I’m not surprised in the least. If you did take time off, I would’ve been much more surprised. But I’m glad to hear that you got the guy. That at least must be something. I still can’t believe that we were dealing with such a high member of society all this time. Although, it’s not the first time that it’s happened. Doesn’t it make you wonder how many more people out there are demanding respect from the public and then doing something like this behind their backs? It’s a bit scary. Some people use their powers in the worst ways. Goes to show, you really can’t trust anyone anymore. And Peter . . . it’s hard to even talk about that.”
I nodded. I was desperate to get to my desk, but everyone seemed to want a piece of me. “Yeah, it’s very scary. And I’m definitely going to be careful where I put my trust these days,” I said. I thought immediately of Blake and shuddered. I didn’t want to think about him anymore. The last time I had seen him had been in the safe house, and he’d been slumped on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Just a few seconds before that he’d been about to shoot both Max and me. It was not a memory I really wanted to relive. “Anyway,” I said brightly, “I better get going. I’m assuming I have a pile of work on my desk just waiting to be attended to. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in it.”
“Good luck, Madison. It’s good to have you back. We all missed having you and Max around. It’s not the same without the two of you.”
I smiled although I was certain my smile didn’t reach my eyes. “Thank you,” I said and quickly walked over to my desk. The moment I got there, I heard the chief call my name. I put my bag down, took my coat off, and made my way to his office. I was surprised to see that Max was sitting there. And once again, Max could barely look me in the eye. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed at this.
“Madison, come on in. I have Max here. We want to have a quick meeting before the day starts.”
I nodded and walked in. I looked at Max and tried to smile.
“Morning,” I said.
“Morning,” he replied. I noticed that neither one of us had said ‘good’ morning.
I sat down and looked between the chief and Max. I could sense that something was up, but I couldn’t figure out if it was something good or bad yet.
“Welcome back, Madison. It’s good to have you here again.”
“Good to be back chief,” I said.
“Now, before you get back to work, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
“Is everything okay?”
The chief glanced quickly at Max and then back at me. “Yes, everything is fine. Max has spoken to me about how stressful everything has been for both of you, and how he thinks it would be best if he is transferred to another department.”
I looked at Max in surprise. “You want to us to go to another department? But why? I thought we were good here. We’ve been here for so long anyway. Which department were you thinking of going to?”
“Uh . . .” Max faltered and looked at the chief for help.
“The thing is, Madison, Max is going to be transferred alone. We’re more than happy for you to stay where you are.”
“Alone? I don’t understand.”
“Max will get transferred to a new department, and you will stay on here. If that is fine with you, of course. Max and I have only just spoken about it, so there is nothing set in stone just yet. We can discuss how best to move forward in a way that works for both of you. And, as I said to Max, we can evaluate the situation in about six months and see where we all stand.”
“But, uh . . . why? I mean, I thought we worked well as a team?” I said to Max. So much for Team Maverick and all that bullshit he had given me not so long ago. Was everything he said to me a lie? It had all felt so real, but now I wasn’t so sure if any of it had been genuine. What a fool I had been.
“Yes, we do. Of course, we do,” he said without any explanation to why he then wanted to give up on us.
“Oh yeah?” I said and raised my eyebrows. “So, if we’re so good at this then why exactly do you want to be separated from me? That’s seems like a very strange thing to do to someone that you work so well with. That’s a very strange idea of teamwork you have. Had enough of me in the safe house, have you?” I asked.
“No, of course not.” He had the decency to at least sound embarrassed.
I looked at chief. “Sorry, I don’t mean for this to be awkward for you, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting to come in today to find my partner of many years running away from me. It doesn’t exactly leave me feeling very good. I was hoping to come in today and immediately get back to work just as before.”
“I understand,” the chief said although I could see that he looked very uncomfortable. “But I want you to know that we will set you both up in departments that will work for you. Madison, if you don’t want to work here, I completely understand.”
I shook my head. “No, I want to stay here. There’s no point in us both jumping ship. I happen to like it here very much. It’s a great department. I’d like to stay here.”
“Great, and is there anyone you want as a partner? Or anyone you don’t want?”
I’d never had to give this any thought, so I had no idea what to say. As far as I was aware, I would never have to look for another partner.
“I honestly don’t care,” I said. “Really. I can work on my own if I have to. But if you want to give me another partner, that is fine too.”
We spoke a bit more about the situation, with the chief trying to come up with ideas and Max chiming in every now and again. Every time Max spoke, I looked at him in disgust. No matter what had happened between us in the safe house, there didn’t seem to be a need to cause problems at work because of it. If Max really wanted to end things between us, he could’ve done it in a much better way. I realized now that the old Max was back. The new Max would never have done something like this to me. The old Max was a lot harder, a lot less emotional. He was officially back to the personality that he had before the shooting, and he didn’t seem to care that he was hurting my feelings. I had always known this day would one day come, although I hadn’t realized it would be so brutal. Finally, when I could take it no longer, I stood up and wiped my palms on my trousers.
“Okay, I think I better get back to my desk. I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I really want to get started. I need to sit down and just get through all the paperwork that’s been piling up. Sadly, it’s not going anywhere unless I see to it. Thanks for letting me know about the changes. Just keep me posted on what happens. I’ll let the two of you finalize everything.”
I quickly walked out before either of them could stop me and made my way to my desk. I was fuming, and I knew that if I sat there any longer, I was only going to explode. Max came out moments later. His face was slightly pink from what had happened, and I was surprised to see him heading straight towards me.
“Uh, Madi, do you want to talk?” he said nervously.
I laughed so loudly I noticed a few heads turned my way. “I think we’ve spoken enough.”
“Look, this has nothing to do with you. I just wanted to be somewhere else for a while. To clear my head. That’s all. You don’t need to take this personally.”
I stood up and glared at him. More heads turned towards us. People weren’t used to Max and me arguing. When we did, it was only in jest, but they could probably see that we were not joking.
“You’re a coward, Max,” I said and heard someone behind me gasp.
“I’m a coward?”
“Yes, you’re a coward. We’ve worked together for years, Max. We were partners. And I clearly remember us saying that we would be partners for life. Promises like that might not mean anything to you, but they mean everything to me. You don’t just throw something away just because you’re too afraid to be honest. Well, I hope you enjoy working in your new department, and I hope you enjoy your new partner. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
“I . . .” he started. His face had now turned an even deeper shade of red. It probably didn’t help that everyone was looking at him.
“I’m busy, Max,” I said. I looked up at him. “Please go.”
And just like that, I knew that anything we might’ve had between us was gone. The old Max was back, and he was even worse than he was before. We might not have been together before the shooting, but we were still partners. Hell, we were at least friends. Now, we were nothing.