Page 23 of Mean One

“Max,” I whined, pointing to the organ as she stared up at me. “Whose heart is that?” She picked the heart up, and it squelched in her fingers as she stood, slowly walking towards me.

“Why, May-Martha’s, of course.” She grinned, petting the organ as I fell back, knocking over a light. It shattered across the cave floor, the glass piercing my hands as tears rolled down my face. “Now, you can love me forever.”

My heart completely ripped apart, aching and shredding as I watched her just stand there, holding May’s heart as if it was nothing. She killed her. Max didn’t just kill the woman I loved—she murdered her, carved out her heart and gifted it to me. She was fucking crazy. May was gone. Gone!

“How could you?” I cried out, my chest aching with agonizing pain. Max’s grin fell, and she looked confused by my distress.

“I only did it for us.”

“There is no us!” I yelled.

“No, no, no. Shhhh!” Max ran towards me, dropping to her knees as she tried to console me, May’s heart still in her grasp. “She—she tried to take you from me. I saw her… I saw her use her body and seduce you.” She saw her? Was Max watching us? “It’s okay.” She crawled through the glass and hugged me as I cried, a broken husk. “I’m going to make everything better. Now that she’s gone, you don’t have to leave. We can be together forever.”

Max stroked my hair, holding me close as my horror began to melt into hatred. My eyes glanced around, searching for something, anything I could use to kill her with. She was a rabid dog that needed to be put down before she hurt someone else.

My gaze latched onto a larger piece of broken glass. My claws stretched as I grasped it, Max still trying to coddle and embrace me. If May being dead wasn’t heartbreaking enough, I now had to kill the only friend I’d ever had. The idea made me hesitate, knowing she only did it for me, to protect me. Because she loved me.

No, Max can’t love anyone. She’s crazy.

“I’m going to make you forget all about her. You’ll see. It’s only you and me—” She gasped, the large glass shard piercing her shoulder as she dropped May’s heart and stared into my eyes.

“You may have taken her heart, but you will never have mine.” She fell back as I released the shard, my hand bleeding as I desperately crawled away from her, panting, disgusted by what I had to do.

Max fell, bleeding out onto the floor as her trembling hand tried to grab the shard, but it was too deep. I waited, crying as I tried to process everything, listening to her quiver and bleed out.

“Why?” she breathed gently.

My eyes fell to May’s heart, and I picked it up as I turned away from Max, holding it close.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” I clutched it tightly against the tattoo on my chest, my tears dripping onto the organ as I bawled, completely broken. “I’m so sorry!”

My eyes bulged as a sudden pain shot through my heart, piercing it perfectly. The music from the radio began to slow as the room spun, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as her voice hit my ears, fading away with the world.

“I’m sorry too.”

Epilogue

MAX

I hummedalong with the Christmas music that played from the small radio, lights filling the cave as the fire cracked before me. I pulled the needle and thread through the thick material, finishing the final touches as I squealed, wincing at the pain in my shoulder.

“Silly Max,” I said to myself, “got to be more careful.” My fingers ached from sewing all night, though I was relieved to finally be done with my own Christmas gift.

I switched stations, finding more Christmas music, gently rocking my head back and forth as I stroked the furry collar of my brand-new coat, proud of what I had made.

“Green is such a pretty color,” I chirped, wrapping it around my body, inhaling the scent of it. “Merry Christmas, May-Martha.” I looked down next to the radio, smiling at her heart as I stroked my coat, admiring it closely. “And Merry Christmas to you, you mean old Grouch.”

My fingers played with the green fur, still as soft as it was when it was on his chest. I burrowed myself into his skin, sinking into the chair as I inhaled his scent again. He was so warm, so inviting. Absolutely perfect. I grabbed the sleeve made from his arm and wrapped it around my chest, leaning into it.

“Now, we can be together.Forever.”

Merry Christmas

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