Unexpected Visitor

Max

Blonde hair fell into her view as blue eyes bore into her. It wasn't the right color, blonde, not the right shade of blue. It was never right anymore. She ignored the frown that formed on the woman’s face as she turned her head, avoiding the kiss aimed towards her lips. She never kissed these women; she didn't kiss anyone anymore. She left the bed in search of her clothes. "Stay," a voice cooed to her. She wouldn't because she never did. All her life consisted of these days were bars and random women to fill the void that seemed to grow more profound by the day. With a shake of her head, she left the apartment to head towards her own home. These nights were no longer as fulfilling as they once were. They only added to the hatred she felt for herself.

Walking back to her apartment, her thoughts were filled with memories of the only girl that mattered to her. She ruined it. She ran scared before she realized how in love with the girl she was. It had been three years since she last saw her, and the pain was just as deep if not worse than the day she walked away, breaking their hearts without a goodbye. Maybe it was time to stop running. Time to return. Time to see if she was too late to get the woman who invaded her soul back. Maybe it was time to explain just why she left the way she did.

She knew it would never work. Her friends had probably forgotten her by now. The day she broke contact with everyone, including the love of her life and her family, was the day she lost her shot at being happy. What was the reason? There was no excuse that she could produce that would be acceptable in the eyes of those she cared about. No excuse acceptable to herself.

"Max!" Stopping at her door, her head whipped around in search of that voice. She would recognize it anywhere, but it couldn't be; that was impossible. The voice of the woman she spent her days and nights thinking of. Wishing that it all had been different, that nothing ever changed, that she had never left. She couldn't be found 3000 miles away. Her family hadn’t found her, and if they did, they never contacted her.

Stepping out from under the tree was the very woman she never thought she'd see again. Sure she had been contemplating returning recently, but to be honest, she doubted she had the courage. Walking up to her was the girl with the right color blonde, the right shade of blue. Standing mere inches from her was the perfection that meaningless flings could never compete with.

"Drew, I.." she what? What could she say? I'm sorry it was far too superficial and meaningless. It wouldn't be enough.

"How, did you find me?" Excellent opening Max, try again. "I mean, it's..."

"We need to talk. May I come in?" The words were shaky and slightly cold. Knowing she had no right to be hurt by the other girl’s tone, Max turned and opened the door, letting her in. Her home was tidy but bare. It was lifeless for a lack of a better word. No pictures, basic furniture, and it looked as if nobody lived there.

Grabbing two beers from the fridge, Max calmed her breathing and readied herself for the conversation she knew she was about to have. As she walked into the room, she saw Drew sitting on the couch with her cellphone out. Jealousy surged through her as she thought about who the other girl could be texting. She had no right to be angry. She lost that right when she left. Taking a deep breath, she sat down.

"I have been trying to find you for three years." There was a hint of anger laced with sorrow in the other girl’s tone that made Max's heart heavy. "You left without reason or explanation, and I need..." she could see the storm brewing in soulful eyes. She wanted to speak and explain why she left, but fear stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth.

She watched in silence as she was handed Drew's cellphone. She didn't bother to look down as she watched tears start to fall down beautiful cheeks. "I hoped that maybe you had a reason for leaving. That maybe you would realize your mistake, but after three months, you still hadn't come back for me. But you know what else hadn't come?" She laughed softly, and Max was entranced by the sound. Still not comprehending what was happening. "His name is Maxwell, and he's two and a half."

Looking down, Max finally saw what was on Drew's phone. A little boy with her green eyes and Drew's blonde hair smiled into the camera. Suddenly, all the air in her lungs left, and she couldn't suck air in fast enough to replace what was gone. Her heart began to race, and she choked out words she couldn't quite comprehend. "I have a son?"

"We have a son, and he has waited two years and six months to meet you."

"You named him after me." Words failed her as she began to realize all that she left behind. She didn't just leave behind the love of her life or her family. She left behind her child.

"I did. Stop thinking so hard. You didn't know about him." She knew. She always knew exactly what Max thought before she realized it herself.

"Why?" Another chuckle slipped from gorgeous lips. She looked up to see deep blue eyes staring back at her.

"You may have walked out on me, but you never abandoned him. The moment I looked into his eyes, I saw you, and I knew he deserved to have a part of you even if it was only in name."

This was the girl she fell in love with. Loving, kind, and sweet. Drew. The girl who was always selfless and thought of others before even herself. The girl who thought enough of her to name their son after his mother who he may never know. Suddenly, Max became overwhelmed, and with tears running down her face, she wrapped her arms around Drew.

It's time to return home.

Drew

Anger coursed through her veins as Drew starred at the papers in her hand. She hadn't expected to feel like this when she got the call she had waited so long for. Sure, she knew she would be upset but not this angry. It had been three years of searching. At first, for the woman, she loved to find out what happened. Then for her best friend, the woman who she needed because she was terrified. Finally, for the mother of her child because he deserved to know her. Admittedly she tried hardest in the first year, but not knowing where to start made things a bit tricky. Then life got in the way, but she never gave up. She couldn't give up, not on Max. The girl was before anything else, her best friend, and she knew there had to be more to it than the assumptions made by their friends and family.

Standing from her chair to walk out the door, she thought over the last three years. All her old emotions came crashing down on her, and she allowed herself to cry over what she lost for the first time since the day Junior was born. Junior was her constant reminder at the beginning of what she lost. But he was very much his own person and gave her joy beyond anything she ever imagined. He deserved more; he deserved to know them both. He was why she was doing this.

As she stepped into the busy city streets, she walked towards the address in her hand. Thoughts raced through her head as she thought about the last day they spent together. It had been perfect. Shaking her head, she cleared her mind. She wouldn't think back to that. This wasn't about her or what she felt. Her anger was not important right now; she was on a clear cut mission. A few of her friends and family told her not to bother, but she was determined. She was determined to tell Max about their son, and then she would leave. What Max did with that information was up to her.

Turning down an empty street, her stomach churned. She wasn't the same girl who was left broken-hearted. She was stronger now, but her nerves didn't get the message. Looking down at the address and back up at the house in front of her, she knew it was time. Steeling herself, she knocked on the door and waited. After three tries, she realized the attempt was futile. It wasn't late, but it wasn't early either. Assuming Max would be home soon, she found a nice spot under a nearby tree to sit. Leaning back and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh, she finally allowed her thoughts to drift.

*Flashback*

"I love you, Happy Anniversary."

It wasn’t the first time she had said those words out loud. Two months after graduation and four years of being together and she was still madly in love with the girl beneath her. She watched as Max's eyes widened. She leaned forward to capture her lips. She knew Max might not return the sentiment, but the knowledge didn't ease the pain she felt when her feelings weren't reciprocated. Rolling off the bed, she began to collect her clothes as she felt herself become overwhelmed. Strong hands gripped her hips and pulled her back. Max's lips dragged along the base of her neck and searched out that sensitive spot in the crook of her neck that always made her weak at the knees.

“Happy Anniversary,” Max murmured into her. “I’m sorry the test was negative.”

“I don’t know why I’m so upset,” Drew buried her face into Max’s chest. “We tried now knowing it would probably not take until after we were married.”

“Still, it hurts.”

“It does,” Drew acknowledged.

The night had been too fantastic to dwell on the four words the statement was missing or the baby she wasn’t carrying. Falling back into Max's arms, Drew's lips opened as soft lips pressed against hers, and a tongue begged for entry. Turning her body to face Max fully, Drew deepened the kiss. Hips rotated as she sunk further into the other girl. A shocked gasp fell from her lips as her back hit the bed. Feeling Max on top of her was always a favorite of hers. She always felt safe wrapped in strong arms with the other girl’s body weight pressing down on her.

What happened next, Drew never forgot, no matter how hard she tried. It felt like the perfect beginning at the time. But the next morning, she learned, it was a brutal end.

*End Flashback*

Footsteps brought her out of her thoughts as she sat up from the tree. Looking down at her watch, she noticed she had been sitting there for two hours. She stood abruptly as she saw the girl her mind never forgot. Max stood at her door, searching for her keys. Suddenly words escaped her, and her body betrayed her as she let out a strangled, “Max!”

The other figure turned abruptly, searching for her. Wild eyes looked around but never landed on her. She stepped out of the shadow of the trees and watched as Max's mouth opened. The words didn't register, but before she could grasp the situation, she found words escaping her lips.

"We need to talk. May I come in?" She winced inwardly at her own tone. Gone was her confidence, and she stood shaking slightly at the thought of being denied. Without words between them, Max let them into the house. She glanced around and saw no traces of the girl she once knew. Had she just moved here? Why was the place so bare.

She sat on the couch as Max walked away. Realizing how late it was, she retrieved her phone and sent a text to her mom, letting her know that she had found Max. After a few messages were exchanged and she was assured Maxwell was doing fine and asleep for the night, she heard footsteps behind her.

She quietly watched the way Max sat beside her as she took deep breaths with a fearful look. Her eyes roamed the familiar softness with hardened edges and a wild gaze. This was the same girl she knew before, yet she was completely different at the same time. The confidence she once oozed seemed to be hidden deep inside, replaced by restlessness. Stiff and uneasy, Max’s head raised slowly. Again, Drew's words tumbled from her before she could stop herself.

"I have been trying to find you for three years." The anger in her voice shocked her. She never imagined she could be so harsh with Max. She always held herself together and prided herself on giving the other girl infinite kindness. She thought back to all that had happened and realized with a jolt that she was allowed the anger she felt. But there was more to it than she cared to evaluate at the moment. There were more emotions buried at the surface.

"You left without reason or explanation, and I need..." a brief choking sound escaped her throat. She took a moment and held back emotions as she changed tactics. It was time to be straight forward and get it out there. Pulling up her son’s gorgeous face, she handed Max her phone. She noticed green eyes trained on her face. Not once did she look down to see what she was handed. She shifted as she grew nervous under the intense gaze that was searching her eyes.

She felt tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. This was not how she meant to handle this situation. She wasn't supposed to cry. "I hoped that maybe you had a reason for leaving. That maybe you would realize your mistake, but after three months, you still hadn't come back for me. But you know what else hadn't come?" A chuckle slipped out as she thought of the situation she was in. This wasn't about her anymore. This wasn't about Max. The only person who mattered was the baby she discovered months after a devastating heartbreak. He was the reason she was here. Any other feelings were unnecessary at the moment.

Max's gaze shifted in confusion as the words she had been rehearsing for the last week fell into the heavy atmosphere. "His name is Maxwell, and he's two and a half." She had finally said it. There was no going back now. Not that she wouldn't have told her. It was, after all, why she had flown to New York. Broken from her own thoughts by the sound of Max’s voice, she noticed eyes fixed on the image of their precious baby boy.

"I have a son?" A jolt of irritation shot through her like lightning. She had to let that go for now. This wasn't about either of them.

"We have a son, and he has waited two years and six months to meet you." I have waited two years and six months to introduce you to him. The thought drove a chill down her spine. The idea she tried not to put into the universe out of fear that it wouldn't happen. In her mind, she imagines the two playing together, laughter throughout their home, lazy nights, and so much more. No. This wasn't about her. Max lost her the moment she walked away. Junior deserved his mother and her full attention.

"You named him after me." She stopped herself from rolling her eyes at the statement. There was never a question of who her son would be named after. Maxwell Watson would always be the son of Maxine Watson. Granted, it did take some time for her to decide on Watson instead of Jackson. Everyone, including Max's family, scoffed at the thought of him being granted her last name. It wasn't that they didn't want him to share their family name. They were just angry and thinking irrationally. Max didn't know she had a son. She didn't walk out on him, she walked out on everyone else, but never on him.

She watched the emotions cross over Max's face. She knew the look she saw to be similar thoughts crossing Max's mind. She knew exactly what Max was thinking. "I did. Stop thinking so hard. You didn't know about him." She couldn't help the briefest of smiles that crossed her face. It didn't matter how upset she was with Max for leaving. She still loved the woman who was once her entire universe.

"Why?" Drew chuckled as she looked at Max. Max may not deserve kindness in regards to her decisions with Drew, their friends, or their families. Max may not deserve the empathy that filled Drew at that moment for her finding out this kind of information. But Max also didn't deserve to entirely blame herself and feel as if she abandoned her child. It was never intentional. She didn't leave his life willingly. If she had, this conversation would be far different, and there would be no need to be pleasant.

"You may have walked out on me, but you never abandoned him. The moment I looked into his eyes, I saw you, and I knew he deserved to have a part of you even if it was only in name."

Pleasant and cordial is what they needed to be right now, what they would always need to be when it came to little Junior. That was why she was here to tell Max about him and give her a choice to be part of his life. So that when he grew older, he wouldn't remember a time without both of his mothers. She preferred that they would have some sort of friendship one day, but for now, they only needed to be cordial with each other.

Suddenly she was wrapped into strong arms. For a moment, she felt her body tense. She didn't consider this action when preparing for their conversation. She hadn't touched the other girl in three years, and suddenly there she was wrapped into her arms. She felt discomfort course it's way through her veins.

“It's time to return home,” Max mumbled in her ear. Feeling the other girl’s breath on her caused a new foreign reaction. Her body betrayed her conflicting emotions and relaxed into the embrace as she allowed herself a moment to feel her building emotions.

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