Friends with Consequences Ch. 21-26

Summary up to this point

Max and Linda were neighbors growing up. Linda convinced Max to have casual sex with her, but once they started developing feelings, she broke his heart by leaving him for another guy at their college. That guy, Jake, treated Linda like dirt so they eventually broke up.

When Linda asked Max if he would ever take her back, her former fuck buddy rejected her. After dropping out of school, Linda felt she had disappointed everyone and went into a deep depression. Her best friend, Jesse, who found her with a bottle in her hand one night, convinced her to start going to therapy. Linda has been going to therapy for over a year and feels much better but is still nervous of how she will feel if things go bad for her again.

With all the issues Linda was suffering from, they decided to stop talking to each other. However, Max, who is now a real estate agent, suffered a severe concussion after getting into a major car accident. With his parents out of town, Linda became his emergency contact after the police found her number in his phone.

Now, Linda has picked him up from the hospital and has taken him home after a year of not speaking to each other. Max is dealing with some short-term memory loss, a broken arm, and a fractured hip. Feeling frustrated by his lack of awareness about what happened, Max asked Linda to stay the night with him. Linda also agreed to find his car the next day so she could salvage his belongings.

And this is where the story picks up...

***

Chapter 21

*Knock knock... Knock knock knock...*

After quite a few knocks, Max answered the door that cold morning and found Linda on the other side. "Oh, hey..."

"Hey, Max," the young woman greeted, wearing the same peacoat with his work bag around her shoulder. "I don't know if you heard me this morning, but I left really early to find your car. I grabbed your work bag and some of your other belongings while I was there."

The injured man raised his eyebrows at his former neighbor, still a little groggy and confused. "Oh, thanks for getting my stuff... How's my car?"

Linda went completely frozen as the images of the destroyed car flashed through her mind. She could still see the blood on the window as she stared at Max's bandaged head.

"Linda... are you okay?"

The young woman shook her head quickly, trying to snap herself out of the daze. Gently, she placed her hand on Max's cheek for a brief moment and said, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Max could see her eyes soften as she stared so deeply into his own. He nodded his head as she took her hand away. "Well... thanks for grabbing my things."

"No problem. How long have you been awake?"

"Not that long."

"Did you take your medicine?"

"Umm... no..."

Linda raised her eyebrows curiously and paused. "Do you even remember the instructions the nurse gave you?"

Max furrowed his eyebrows, frustrated that he was still having difficulty with his short term memory. "I'm not sure..."

"That's okay. Do you want me to come in and help you with your medication?"

Propping the door wide open, Max answered, "That would be nice."

Before stepping in, Linda turned around and stared at her van for a brief moment. "Do you mind if I bring my dog in?"

"Your dog...? You have a dog?"

"Yeah... It's kind of an emotional support thing... Jesse suggested it..."

A confused expression came over the groggy man's face. "Oh... Yeah, you can bring him inside."

Much to Max's surprise, as soon as Linda opened the van, a large dog jumped out and began running circles around him. "Uh... Linda..."

After rushing over to gather the excited dog, Linda looked up at her childhood friend. "Uhh... what's up?"

"This isn't an emotional support animal... This is a Rottweiler..."

"Yeah, he's not registered... or even trained... but he has helped me a lot. And he's not a Rottweiler; he's a Rottweiler mix..."

Max stared at the dog for a few more seconds, trying not to let his mouth drop from the size and strength. "What is he mixed with, another Rottweiler?"

Linda playfully slapped Max on the chest and smiled. "Oh, stop! He's a good boy... Just a little misunderstood."

"How did you end up with a Rottweiler, anyway?"

A soft smile came over the brunette's face as she stared down at Duke, remembering the day she first laid eyes on him. "After Jesse suggested I get a dog, I thought about visiting a shelter for a while. When I finally went, I fully expected to leave with a smaller dog, but when I got there, Duke ran right up to me and gave me a big hug."

Watching Linda tell the story brought a smile to Max's face. It was the happiest he had seen her in years. "That's really nice."

"I don't know if it makes me selfish or not, but after seeing the way he ran up to me, I just had to have him. Maybe I'm not the best person in the world to handle a dog like him, but I just felt like... we needed each other for some reason. The staff told me they were having trouble finding anyone who would want a dog like him."

Max let out a small chuckle as he smiled at his childhood friend. "Maybe you're not the most qualified... but he seems happy with you."

The young brunette smiled before refocusing on her injured friend. "I'm actually a little surprised that you're not scared of him. You didn't even flinch when he ran up to you. Do you like dogs?"

"Yeah..." Max answered, slowly nodding his head. "Do you remember my golden retriever, Tina?"

Linde paused for a second before a light bulb came on in her head. "Oh, that's right! Oh my God... That was so long ago..."

"Yeah... When we were kids, you would come over and we would run around in the backyard with her."

Another genuine smile came over Linda's face and her eyes softened as she reminisced about her early childhood. With a fragile voice, she admitted to her former neighbor, "I forgot how good of friends we were when we were little."

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Slowly and carefully, Linda finished re-wrapping Max's head with bandages. "The nurse said you need to clean your wound and replace the gauze every few days, or you might get an infection."

"Thanks for your help," Max responded, as he watched Linda throw away the packaging. "I guess I'm just having a hard time remembering."

"It's okay," the pretty brunette said as she handed him his pain medication. "Did you eat anything yet?"

"No."

Pulling out a plastic bag from her belongings, Linda held out two items wrapped in foil. "I stopped by the gas station and got breakfast burritos. Do you want chicken or pork?"

The young man looked up and shook his head, not wanting her to do him another favor. "I'm not really hungry."

"You should really eat something before taking your medication," Linda explained, with a soft voice. Nodding her head, she held out the two options in front of Max once again, and asked, "Chicken or pork?"

The exhausted young man smiled before grabbing one of the burritos. "I'll take chicken... Thanks."

The former neighbors ate their cheap breakfast together in silence. Despite their unlikely crossing of paths, things were still awkward between them, considering everything they had been through.

When Linda was done with her food, she balled up the foil and threw it in the trash before grabbing her bag. "Are you leaving?" Max asked, watching her every movement.

"Oh, ummm, yeah... Did you need something else?"

"Uh, no..." the man responded as he awkwardly walked her to the door, looking as if he wanted to say something. Then, before she walked out, he tapped on her shoulder and muttered, "Hey Linda... I just wanted to say thank you... for yesterday... and today... I really appreciate it."

The brunette looked into Max's brown eyes and smiled. "No problem... I wasn't even sure if you remembered what happened yesterday."

"My mind is still a bit foggy about everything... but I remember you helping me... so, thanks..."

"Yeah, you know.... I wanted to make sure you were okay... Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah..." Max admitted, almost too proud to ask for more help. "I still can't remember what's going on with work... and I can't even drive..."

Linda nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah, I'll help you out with your work situation... but you should probably get some rest. The doctor said you need bed rest for a few days."

Once they started talking about work again, Linda could see the frustration slowly growing on Max's face. Noticing him clutching his fist, she quickly tried to calm him down. "I have to leave. I agreed to help Patricia with her mom's coffee shop, but how about when I'm done, I can come back and help you figure out what's going on at work?"

Much to her delight, she noticed the tension released in Max's fist. He simply looked at her and responded, "Okay... That would be nice..."

Placing her hands behind your back, Linda stared awkwardly at the young man who she had so much history with. "So... I guess I'll see you later..."

"Yeah..." the young man responded, realizing how weird it sounded to reconnect with his former love interest. "I guess I'll see you later..."

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"Linda!" Patricia yelled, hugging her former roommate when she entered her mom's coffee shop.

"Patricia! It's so nice to see you." Linda looked around for a moment, admiring the rustic interior of the little shop. "This is even cuter than the photos I saw online."

"Thanks! My mom and I have put a lot of work into it. Speaking of my mom, let me introduce you!" Patricia brought her former roommate over mother immediately thanked her for agreeing to help.

"Thanks for having me. I could use the extra money, so you're really helping me out."

A bitter smile came over the older woman's face. Shrugging her shoulders, she explained, "It really isn't much. Times are kind of rough right now, and with one of the employees quitting, we really needed someone to step in."

The long-haired brunette smiled and nodded her head. "I'm just happy to help you and Patricia. She was such a good roommate."

Patricia's mother sighed in relief as she smiled from ear to ear. "You're such an angel!"

Not really, but I'm glad you think so, Linda silently said in her own head. Then, looking around, she noticed several customers walking through the door. "Do you need any help right now?"

"Oh, no! I couldn't ask you to help right now. I just asked you to come in so you could make sure you wanted to work here. We haven't even trained you yet."

Staring at a few tables covered in sugar packets and coffee stains, the young woman suggested, "I can at least wipe the tables. That way, you and Patricia can focus on the customer's orders."

Once again, it looked as if a weight was lifted off Patricia and her mother's shoulders. "That would be great!"

Linda ended up staying several hours longer than she expected. Luckily for her, there was a room in the back where she could keep her dog. And whenever Duke poked his head out, the customers were usually happy to see him.

After things finally quieted down, Patricia thanked Linda once again for all her help. However, as her former roommate was about to leave, she asked, "By the way, did you have a good birthday?"

Linda stared at Patricia for a moment as the past eighteen hours flashed through her mind. Snapping herself out of it, she finally answered, "Oh my God... All that stuff happened after we hung up!"

"What stuff?" Patricia asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Umm... Do you remember Max?"

"Wait... Your Max?!"

"Uh... not my Max," the young woman responded, chuckling in disbelief. "But yeah... Max from college... He got into a car accident... He's okay, but the police somehow found my number and called me. So... I've been taking care of him."

Patricia did a double-take so hard she almost snapped her neck in half. "What?! You're taking care of him?" A subtle smile started to grow on her face as she continued, "I'm so glad you two are... together again."

With her cheeks turning pink, Linda laughed nervously and tried to avoid eye contact. "Uh... we're definitely not together... His parents are just out of town, so... he needed someone to help him."

"Yeah, not together like that, but you know what I mean!"

"No... It's not like that at all," the brunette explained, not realizing there was a small smile on her face. "I mean... it's kind of nice that we're being cordial to each other again... but as soon as he's okay, we should probably stop talking..."

As that last sentenced echoed in her head, the small smile on Linda's face slowly faded away.

************

Chapter 22

"Hello?"

"Hi... Is this the Johnson family?"

"Yes, it is..."

"I'm calling because you were a client of Max... He was your real estate agent, right?"

"Yes, Max! Is he okay? We haven't heard from him in a while."

"He's okay... He was in a car accident so he needed a little rest, but he should be getting back into the swing of things pretty soon. Umm... are you still interested in finding a house?"

"Well... I'm terribly sorry to hear about his accident. Not to sound cold-hearted, but when he stopped communicating with us, we called the real estate company's office and they said they would assign us a new agent."

"Oh... I understand... but would you consider giving Max another chance?"

"I'll tell you what... We're available tomorrow evening, but we haven't found anyone that can show us houses. If he can meet us for a few showings, we will stick with him."

"Tomorrow... Tomorrow... Yes! We can make that work!"

"Okay, sounds great! Tell Max we are looking forward to seeing him again."

"I will! Thank you so much for the opportunity!"

"By the way... who do I have to pleasure speaking with?"

"Umm... My name is Linda..."

"Oh, hi Linda. I don't think we've spoken before. Are you Max's secretary?"

"Uh... Yeah... I'm his... secretary..."

"Well great! Nice talking to you, and we're looking forward to tomorrow!"

After the call ended, Linda let out a long sigh before putting her head on the desk. Finally... someone agreed to give him a chance...

Taking a peek at the time, the young woman realized she only had ten minutes left before her break at the dealership was over. She grabbed her phone and flipped through Max's paperwork, looking for the next name on the list.

"Hello, is this the Turner family?"

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*Knock knock*

A disheveled Max opened the door and paused once he realized it was his former neighbor. "Linda?"

"Hey, Max!" the young woman greeted with the little smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.

"Uhh... What's up?"

"I just got done with work and I'm heading to Patricia's coffee shop, but I figured I'd stop by because I have good news."

Scratching his head, Max asked, "Good news... What is it?"

"You know how I promised to help figure your work situation out? Well, I called some of your former clients and the Johnson family agreed to look at some houses with you tomorrow!"

Unfortunately for the brunette, her exciting news was not met but the encouraging reaction she hoped for. Instead, her childhood friend stared at her with a blank face, causing her to finally ask, "What's wrong?"

"Linda... I'm not ready to get back to work."

"Work is all you've talked about for the last few days... Why are you having doubts now?"

With a little groan, the frustrated young man responded, "I haven't been cleared to drive."

"Yeah but... I figured I could drive you."

"Drive me where? I don't even remember the Johnson family. How am I supposed to know what type of house they want... or what area they are interested in?"

Linda found herself sweating bullets underneath her messy bun as she quickly searched for answers. "Ummm... I can help figure that out... You probably have notes on them somewhere."

Letting out a sigh of despair, Max stared at the ground and delved even further into his troubles. "I'm not even sure if I remember how to do the paperwork."

Linda suddenly began shaking, realizing she might have overstepped her boundaries. After looking at her van for a moment, she turned her eyes back to Max. "Okay... I have to work at the coffee shop... but as soon as I'm done, I'll come back, and I promise I'll help you figure all this out. I can even call the Johnson family back and ask what type of houses they want to see!"

Much to her delight, Max's frustrations appeared to ease as he stared at her with his soft eyes. "Thanks..." he quietly responded, nodding his head.

Seeing the relief on his face brought butterflies to Linda's heart. Although a bit flustered, she quickly gathered herself and gave him an awkward thumbs up. "Okay... Well... uhh... I guess I'll see you later... Oh, and make sure you take your medicine!"

"Oh, right!" Max responded, nodding his head faster. "Yeah, I'll do that... and I'll see you later..."

When Linda got into the van, she started driving off slowly. Her hands were shaking as she gripped onto the steering wheel. Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit... she said to herself, making her way to the coffee shop. I was just trying to help but I might have made things worse...

The young woman then gathered herself by taking a deep breath and focusing on the road ahead of her. Nodding her head, she told herself, I can do this...

Then, as Linda continued driving, she started to replay the awkward conversation she just had with Max. Purposely hitting her head against the steering wheel, she groaned to herself, Why did I give him that stupid thumbs up... Ugh, I'm so lame now...

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Unfortunately, when Linda got to the coffee shop, it was much busier than she could have ever expected. To make matters worse, Patricia's mother went home for an emergency, leaving her daughter there by herself.

With no one else available to cover, Linda had to learn on the go, and do her best to help her former roommate manage the shop. It wasn't easy, but by the end of the day, she had the menu memorized, and pretty much knew how to do everything without assistance.

Aside from college, it was the most interacting the young brunette had done since she was in high school. She wasn't quite the partier she used to be, and her job at the dealership wasn't the most interactive, so this was a big step up for her, socialization wise. It also helped having her big Rottweiler in the back, who all the customers wanted to talk to her about.

Unfortunately, with all the hard work and interactions the pretty brunette had to do, she eventually lost track of time. Before she knew it, she was helping Patricia close the store, so she wouldn't be there alone.

As they started walking out, her former roommate thanked her for all her hard work. "You're a real lifesaver. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Don't mention it. You've helped me a million times. I just hope your mom figured everything out."

Suddenly, Linda paused as she realized how dark it was outside. "Oh, shit..." she muttered underneath her breath.

"What's wrong?"

Linda pulled out her phone to check the time and immediately shut her eyes tightly in frustration. "Ugh... I was supposed to help Max with his work... I didn't think I would stay this long."

"Oh... I'm so sorry," Patricia said, feeling guilty.

"No! It's not your fault. I didn't have a set time with Max or anything... I'll figure it out... And don't ever apologize to me. I wanted to help you."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah, everything will be fine... I'll just head over there and... I'll figure it out."

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When Linda got to Max's house, she knocked on the door quietly a couple times but didn't get an answer. Not only did her former neighbor not come to the door, she didn't hear any sounds coming from inside either.