Page 25 of Rectify

A loud ‘shit’ leaves my mouth, as I catch her in my arms and hold on to her tightly. I don't notice Holly beside me until she's helping me walk Max back into our office.

We lay her down on the small two-seater couch in the corner, and Holly quickly leaves to get some water. Max’s eyes slowly flutter open, regaining consciousness as quickly as she lost it.

“Here,” Holly pants, returning with the goods. She passes me a wet washcloth and holds the bottle of water, and a packet of Gummi Bears in her hands while I dap the towel on Max’s clammy forehead.

Her eyes finally regain focus, and her gaze finds mine. “Geez, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologise.” I take the water off Holly and remove the cap before offering it to her. “Here, have a sip.”

“Do you need us to call someone?” Holly asks.

“No.” She waves her hand between us. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just sit here for a few more minutes and then get out of your hair.”

“Max, I really don’t think you should be driving.”

“I really have to go,” she insists.

“Can your husband or partner pick you up?”

Holly glares at me, unimpressed with the wording of my question.

She scrubs her face with her hands and lets out a loud sigh. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she taps away at the screen, choosing to text instead of call. In seconds the phone rings, and she answers.

“Hey.” She picks at her clothes as she listens to whatever the person on the other line says. “Yeah, I just forgot to eat breakfast.”

She looks at me, and I take it as a cue to give her some privacy. I look at Holly, who tilts her head to the door. I stand, responding to her cue, and we both walk out, and into the staffroom. Careful not to say anything that Max can hear, we choose to shuffle around in silence, waiting for her to finish her phone call.

Holly points at the kettle, and I nod. A cup of coffee would work wonders right now. “I’m going to quickly check all the rooms, and see if they’re all doing okay without us,” I tell Holly, as I realise the time of the morning it is.

“Why don’t I go, and you can be here to talk to Max when she’s finished.”

She leaves, and I finish making our coffees. A soft knock on the door has me turning around to find a marginally better looking Max.

“How do you feel?” I ask.

“A little better.”

“Do you want a tea or coffee?”

“No, I just wanted to say thank you.” She points in the direction of the exit. “I’m going to go now.”

“Is someone picking you up?”

“Yeah, Jay will be here soon, but I’m just going to get out of your hair and wait in my car.”

“Don’t. You can wait here.” My insistence is just as selfish as it is altruistic. I don’t want her to feel alone when she’s so weak, but I want to see him again. I want to see what he’s like with her.

“You’re too nice.”

“Hardly, I feel almost responsible.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.” She lowers her head, almost like she’s ashamed to look at me. “I’m not in the best place right now, and I guess I’m not hiding it as well as I thought.”

I want to ask her who died, from what I know Jay only had his older brother and his father around. Is the family member his or hers?

Instead, I lead her back into the office and we sit in there. “If you guys need any extra care with Lily, while you go through this tough time, we would be happy to work something out. Some of the girls offer private babysitting for extra cash. I could give you their numbers.”

“Oh, no. That’s okay. Jay would have a coronary at the thought of anyone else taking care of Lily. He had a fit about her coming here.”

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