Page 48 of Maximum
“It’s on YouTube, you need to watch it.”
There was a long sigh. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know… it’s just that I’m already in awe of her, and she’s still not my biggest fan.”
“Did you two get in a fight?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that she has a thing for older guys and thinks I’m too young for her.”
“Just tell her you’re an old soul.”
There was a small snort followed by silence.
“I see…” Atlas said. “It’s that bad, is it?”
I heard a groan from Maximum. “I’m afraid so. We’ve been together but that’s all she wants from me.”
“Sex?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry. Maybe she’ll come around.”
“Maybe.” There was another sigh. “But you know, with my background she’s probably smarter for staying away. I met her ex and I felt so fucking possessive and jealous when I saw them talk. It brought me right back to that time with Gabriella.”
“Oh, jeez, you were a teenager then. You’ve got to put all of that behind you; the bullying and the humiliation.”
“I thought I had, but when I’m with her I’m so fucking torn. I want everything with her, but I’m also terrified of giving her the power to crush me. If she cheated on me like Gabriella did, I’d break for good. I know I would.”
“Have you talked to Fleur about it?”
“It’s hard. She’s inside taking a bath. These past days have been intense between us and I feel myself falling, but I’m still holding on to the edge unwilling to let go completely.”
“Good. Keep holding on. Don’t give your heart to someone who won’t reciprocate your love. That’s unhealthy.”
There was a long sigh before Maximum muttered, “Can we talk about something else?”
“Yes. Did you listen to my voicemail?”
“No, I just saw that I’d missed your call.”
“I was trying to get a hold of you because Jolene and I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“There’s a man who lives in South Africa that we’ve been trying to get in contact with. His name is Anthony Rochester and he ran a cult here in the US for a while. We would love to interview him to understand his perspective on things from back when he started the cult and to the day he dissolved it.
“Fleur talked about a former cult leader from the States. I think she might have met him.”
“Really? He’s not responding to our emails, but we have his address and were hoping that you might go knock on his door. Of course, we thought that you were leaving next week and would have time to plan ahead.”
“Send me the address and your questions. If he’s not too far from here, I’ll look into it. I know Fleur is teaching while we’re here, so maybe I’ll have time to go off to do my own thing.”
“She’s teaching?”
“Yes. Animal communication.”
