The silence in the room was deafening.
The only remotely loud thing in the room was the now silent T.V screen brightly flashing animations from Warring Dimensia 2.
Rose's eyes were already tearing up in empathy.
The rest of the teens remained silent. They could all feel the genuine sorrow from the mother.
Julianne herself was shocked that she was opening up like that. She'd never expected her heart to break that much like that having spoken of him again.
Julianne: Sorry, ... I...
Rose: Mrs. Hunter....
Julianne: No.
She sighed in melancholy, as the memories of his death crept up about her.
Julianne: It's... it's ok.
Yet again, Rose tried to reach her hand out, but yet again, hesitated.
Julianne: It's ok, all of you. We'll be fine.
And yet another silence occupied the room.
Julianne's intention was to clear the air about it without troubling her son. What she did not anticipate, was her being unable to do so.
And now, there she lay, with nothing to say to any of them.
She could have talked about who he was, how he died, what he was like and all of that, but no. That was not going to be possible. She couldn't bear to talk about it.
And as for Tiffany, Ken, Luke and Rose, there was nothing to be said. What could be said?
Rose wanted so badly to say something, anything, but what could she say?
Tiffany hated herself for starting this debacle, but resolved to be sure to not start a conversation about his family again.
And so, the silence remained for several seconds... until....
Max: My dad.....
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His sudden words turned the heads of all of them to him, all of them in shock, wondering as to just what he was planning on saying.
Julianne: Maxie?
Max: Mom...
The mother and son shared a glance with one another, looking into each other's eyes, delivering messages to one another in a code only a mother and son would understand.
No, in a way only this mother and son could understand.
And then, Julianne slowly looked away, and after that, Max's eyes turned to the floor.
Max: My dad..... he....
He took a deep breath.
Max: .... he died fighting to save people from a really bad person.
His words rang through the room, deafening all of their thoughts. All their minds going, "He what?" Of course, Ken already knew this, and so was not perturbed in the least.
Julianne herself was more concerned about her son's mental state. What on earth was he doing?
Max: So... yeah. Mom said she and dad were fighting him together, but then...
His eyes turned to his mother, who was now looking at him as well.
Max: ... he sent some bad people to come find me, so....
At that point, his own mother was close to tears.
Max: ... mom had to... come back home to save me.
Those very words sent them into a "Wait... what?" moment.
Even Ken was shocked, as he'd never heard the last part of the tale.
The first and most shocking revelation to them all was just how he died.
To think, that his very own father died to protect people from an evil ploy.
Max: And after that, dad went off to fight him... and... they both died.
And after that, Max paused again, saying nothing else.
The room was encompassed by yet another incredible silence.
His mother, was completely bamboozled by her son.
Not in a million years would she ever have expected him to simply say that to these people. Sure, they were his friends, but still.....
As for the others, their minds were still stuck trying to process it.
Max's father died protecting people.
Julianne herself was close to tears. Just what was happening?
What was happening to her son?
What was going to happen to her son?
Max: So... yeah. That's how my dad died.
A wince could be heard from Rose.
She heart could not believe it.
To explain what her heart was feeling, it would be like explaining a fire so hot, it burned other fires down.
Simply put, she felt so bad she somehow couldn't cry.
Tiffany, Luke and Rose: (thinking: Max....)
To say that they pitied him would be an understatement.
His head was hanging down from his seat, so they could not see his face.
The second perplexing thought was this, and perhaps even more disturbing.
According to Max, his mother had to leave her hubsand to protect him.
That would mean, that in a very interesting way, although not provable, Max's father, in a sense, had to sacrifice himself, not just for innocents, but also for him.
After all, had Max's mother stayed, she may have been able to keep the both of them alive.
Had that happened, Max's father may have still been here.
Had Max not needed to be saved......
Ken: (thinking: Max...)
But most perturbed remained his mother.
She had told him this, that day, all the while in tears.
Even at that time, even now, she wished she could have kept that truth from him.
But, she couldn't...
And then, Max continued....
Max: And... that's it.
