Broken (Endurance) (52 page)

Samuel watched Renee walk away, not realizing he was missing out on what could have been a great love. He ignored the possible happiness he could have with Renee and turned his attention to the direction Max and Mei had taken. He was still determined to own Mei. As he stood there trying to figure out how to make his dream a reality, a handsome, charismatic man accidentally bumped into him.  Samuel lost his balance then steadied himself and glared at the young man, his fist clenching as he waited for an apology.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the man said.

"Can you watch where you’re going?" Samuel snapped.

A cunning grin came to the young man’s lips. "My name is Damian... Damian Seth."

Samuel looked into his eyes and felt as though he were being pulled into an abyss.

"I can help you." Damian smirked.

"Help me? How?" Samuel asked. He was in a trance.

"You are like me, a collector of beautiful things," he said as an apparition of Mei, smiling and beautiful, appeared in his eyes. "You can have what ever you want. If you want Mei, you can have Mei, but why stop at her? Why not have a harem of women?" Damian inquired.

"I already have a harem," Samuel replied, still in a trance.

"Not like this." Damian showed him a room filled with beautiful women. Samuel was seated on a throne and the women gathered around him, kissing him and catering to him.

"It's nice, but I must have Mei.  Max can't win," Samuel insisted.

"A man after my own heart." Damian grinned, He placed his hand on Samuel's shoulder. "Follow me and you can have whatever or whomever your heart desires."

"Follow you... where?" Samuel asked.

"To a place where you can have whatever you want, whenever you want it. No rules. Just your wants fulfilled," Damian lied.

Samuel turned to face Damian again. "I... I don't think..."

"I can make your fantasy came true." Damian showed him an image of Mei bathing at the beach. As she walked out of the ocean she came to him and kissed him all over.

"Yes," Samuel answered. "I will follow you."

"Good. Now go and get that girl back. We will need her to get to Mei."

Without a word Samuel took off running after Renee. Damian laughed to himself as he shook his head. "That was easier than I expected." He walked off and headed for the boys’ dorm rooms.

***

Cressida walked into the living room while Maxwell spoke with some contractors over the phone. She waited patiently for him to finish his call, smiling at him when he turned to face her. Maxwell pulled his wife close and hugged her as he argued with the contractor who was remodeling the mansion. Eventually, Maxwell got off the phone and slipped it into his pocket.

"Ah, I need you." He wrapped her arms around him.

"How are you holding up?" Cressida asked.

"It's comforting to think that they are not alone... hopefully."

"I don't think Tamarius would let Makayla slip away from him. We just need to stay positive and everything will be fine."

"I just... I thought he would have popped up by now... something happened," Maxwell replied.

"Come here." Cressida brought him to the couch and sat down. "Let's just be happy to know that he's not dead."

"That's just it, I don't know."

"Your brother is resilient and so is Makayla. Let's promise to not treat this situation like a mourning and more like a, ‘Thank God they are alive somewhere.’"

Maxwell looked into his wife's beautiful brown eyes and smiled. "I know you’re right."

"Of course, I'm always right." Cressida kissed him.

"We might be here for a while. The mansion is damaged pretty bad."

"Well, maybe it's what God wants. Maybe Tamarius and Makayla will come back."

"Yeah." Maxwell leaned forward, fighting back his tears.

Cressida slipped her arm under his and leaned against him as she cried along with him.

Open Mind

"What's the date, babe?" Max asked his wife as the lay in bed.

"Seventh. Max, it's been a whole month and Unk and Kay are still missing. What if...?"

"Don't go there," Max said rudely. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I have a doctor’s appointment," Mei announced, irritated by Max's rudeness. She got out of the bed and headed to the bathroom. Tamarius and Makayla's disappearance caused a strain in their marriage and in the family. Trying to live a lie was not easy and pretending to be happy when they just wanted to cry caused them to lash out at each other in an attempt to vent the pent up emotions.

Max knew his wife was just as frustrated as he. It seemed more and more people were asking about Tamarius and Makayla. To make matters worse, Makayla's agent kept calling and was increasingly curious about Makayla's lack of communication. Maxwell could not think up anymore lies to satisfy her curiosity and had to think of something to put everyone's questions to rest.

Max stood and walked into the bathroom where Mei was brushing her teeth. He stood behind her and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The depression they both felt was killing their marriage. Max thought about how much he loved his wife and their family. He didn't want to lose them. God had really placed a challenge on this family.

Max remembered something his uncle used to tell him when he was giving up or giving in. Tamarius would tell him, ‘God gives you challenges that he knows you can overcome.’ Remembering those words inspired Max to be the person his uncle raised him to be.

Mei finished brushing her teeth and left to get dressed. Max was miles away. Max finally noticed Mei had left the bathroom and was dressing. He quickly brushed his teeth and walked out to Mei. "Mei, we should talk."

Mei automatically assumed it was going to be bad. Is this where he tells me he can't handle being a young father and husband? Maybe they should separate, she thought.

She walked into her son's room.

Max followed her as she knelt by her son's bed and gently coaxed him awake. "Are you ignoring me now?" Max asked.

Mei fought back her emotions as she helped her son out of bed and walked him to the bathroom.

Max continued to follow her and assisted by placing toothpaste on his son’s toothbrush. Max looked at his wife and saw a tear roll down her cheek. He put his son's toothbrush down and turned Mei to face him. Uriel yelled for them to get out of the bathroom so he could use it in peace. Max and Mei quickly walked out, leaving the door cracked open so they could hear him as they stood outside.

"Mei, I haven't been the best husband this past month," Max began.

"And, what... you need your space? Have it. Take it. I don't care!" Mei retorted.

"No! I love you. That’s not what I... Mei... please don't think that way. I love you. I need you more now than before," Max pleaded.

"What's happening to us?" Mei complained.

"We just got depressed. It's not easy trying to put up a façade," Max said.

"I need you, too," Mei whispered.

Max immediately pulled her into his arms. "What doesn't kill us will make us strong," he said before kissing her.

"I know I’ve been distant," Mei admitted. She wrapped her arms around him, remembering how good it felt to be in his arms.

"So have I."

"We can survive this, right?"

"Do you love me?" Max smiled. He knew the answer to his question.

"Hmm, let me think... there's this really cute guy in my..."

"What!" Max laughed. "What class? I'll kill him."

Mei looked up at him. "I’ve missed hearing you laugh."

"I’m sorry." Max kissed her passionately.

"Mom!" Uriel yelled from the bathroom.

Max pulled away as they both stared at each other and smiled. "I'll go get dressed," Max said.

"I'll go deal with mud butt."

"Good luck." Max chuckled as Mei walked into the bathroom.

An hour later they were all heading to the campus clinic. Today they’d planned to skip all their classes and spend the day together, focusing on their relationship.  They also wanted to find a way to
deal with Makayla and Tamarius'
disappearance.

Max held the door open for his wife as she walked into the clinic. He admired her growing belly that was now slightly noticeable.

Doctor Hayward smiled at them. "Well, look at you," she said to Mei.

Max sat his son on a chair then rushed to lift his wife onto the examination table.

"Thanks." Mei blushed as she gripped Max's shoulders.

Max smiled and kissed her. "Love you."

"Your uncle was that thoughtful when he was with Natasha." The doctor slipped on her gloves.

"Natasha?" Mei asked as she and Max looked at the doctor.

"Yeah, Your uncle never told you?" Dr. Hayward asked.

"Must have slipped his mind."

"Well, when we were all students here, your uncle and I were... dating... whatever... and Natasha Sizemoore caught his eye. He dropped me like a hot potato and went running to her. They made a cute couple. She was in her first year. Her major was quantum physics. Your uncle fell for her hard. There were rumors floating around that she’d become pregnant."

Dr. Hayward gestured for Mei to lay back. Mei settled back and waited eagerly for the doctor to finish the story.

Max, who was speechless, tried to keep a watchful eye on his son, but was taken in by the story.

"Well, it was all an unconfirmed rumor until I happened to assist the doctor examining her. Natasha was, indeed, pregnant and although she acted excited in your uncle's face... well… I’ll never forget the expression on her face when he turned his back. He may as well have handed her a death sentence. Later that night she made some concoction of herbs and chemicals to cause an abortion. Meanwhile, your uncle was planning to propose to her."

"Where is she?" Max asked.

"Well, she took her concoction and it was successful.  I know because she came running to me when she couldn't stop the bleeding and vomiting. She didn't want anyone to know what she’d done. I researched quickly the ingredients she’d used and made my own concoction to counteract the poisons she’d ingested. It could have killed her. I asked her why she would do something so stupid. Having a child for a Martinez was not a death sentence. She never really answered me, but I got that she was just selfish. Science was her true love, not Tamarius. A baby would have come between her and her work."

Max and Mei were speechless as the doctor finished up her exam.

"Oh, sorry. You asked what happened to her." Dr. Hayward smiled. "Well, a month after the self-induced miscarriage, your uncle found out what she’d done. He was heartbroken. He broke it off with her and closed himself off from all women. He focused on his education. Natasha found a way to open a portal to other dimensions. Unfortunately, she got sucked into one and was never heard from again. One of my friends told me Tamarius knew how to open and close portals, and was gifted. When he heard what had happened to her he could have done something, but he didn't. Everyone assumed he was still angry at her."