Giving Notice - Chapter Seven (final!)

Hey gang! So, the great thing about US federal holidays like Independence Day is that I get extra time to write. I was finally able to finish up Chapter Seven today, and I wanted to share it with you while it's still warm from the oven!

This was a super fun chapter to write, especially toward the end (I've never written a dream sequence before, so please let me know what you think of it! Trying to set the scene in a surreal, dreamlike way was very challenging but also super fun!)

I'm very pleased with how Giving Notice is going... I would KILL to be able to spend more time working on it than I'm able to now, but even just chipping away at it whenever I can, I really like how this novel is coming out. I hope you're enjoying reading along as much as I'm enjoying writing it! 

Without further ado, please enjoy chapter seven!

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Max felt so numb. He was curled up in his crib, clutching his knees to his chest and focusing only on breathing. After a long period of cuddling and reassuring Max that everything would be okay, Corey had slipped out of the room to go down to the dining hall and retrieve something for the pair to eat. The distraught canine had barely acknowledged his departure, lost in a miasma of depression and defeat.

Max was startled out of his dark, spiraling thoughts by a knock at his bedroom door. He sighed and took a moment to summon the energy needed to answer the knock. “What is it?” he called out, exasperated.

“It’s Zane, can I come in?” came the reply from the other side of the door.

Max felt a murderous hatred rising in his chest. He climbed out of his crib and flung open the door, fury flashing in his eyes. “What in the actual, all-encompassing fuck are you doing here, Zane?” he glared at the zebra. “Come to kick me while I’m down?”

Zane shook his head awkwardly. “No, I came to apologize for what Marcus is doing. And to try to help. Please, can I come in? If he sees me standing out here, he’s going to kill us both.” The zebra stared at Max with pleading eyes.

“And why the hell should I trust… UGH! Fine, get in here and shut the door,” Max said through gritted teeth. He glared at Zane for a moment, then stepped out of the entry so Zane could pass. The zebra glanced down the hallway to make sure he wasn’t being watched, then hastened into Max’s bedroom.

“Say whatever you came to say,” Max growled impatiently.

Zane nodded. “Look dude, I’m so sorry. Marcus is a prick, and what he’s doing is bullshit. You haven’t done anything to deserve this. I knew he was kind of an asshole, but this is a new low.” The zebra swallowed. “I don’t want to get caught up in this, but it feels like he’s not leaving me much choice. He’s gonna get himself fired and that’s fine, but he’s not taking me with him. I need this job too bad, I’ve got a single mom and two sisters at home I’m helping support.”

Max sighed. “That sucks, and I’m sorry for you. But it doesn’t really help me out of the situation your buddy put me in.”

Zane leaned closer to Max. “No, but I know what will,” he said quietly. “I know Marcus’s lock screen password, he uses the same one for both of his phones.”

Max blinked. With the password to Marcus’s phone, Max might be able to delete the incriminating pictures Marcus had stored to the cloud. Was Zane really offering him a way out of this nightmare? He blinked again.

Just then, the door opened. “I got us some juice boxes and—” Corey began as he entered the room, trailing off when he realized he and Max weren’t alone. “What the hell is he doing here?” Corey slammed the plate of hoagie sandwiches he was holding down on Max’s nightstand and crossed his arms defiantly, glaring at the zebra.

“I just want to help,” Zane said quietly. “What Marcus is doing to Max is wrong.”

“Zane says he knows what password Marcus uses to lock his phone,” Max said slowly. “Which means…”

“...which means if we can get his phone away from him, we can delete the pictures he took!” Corey finished excitedly. After a moment’s thought, the cheetah’s brow furrowed. “Okay. Great idea, in theory. But why do you want to help, Zane? Why should we trust you? Kinda hard to believe you’d betray your boyfriend like that.”

The zebra shook his head emphatically. “Marcus is not my boyfriend. At most, he’s a... friend with benefits. Or at least I thought he was, until he decided to go full asshole. He’s been kind of a dick as long as I’ve known him, but this is too much. I want no part in his blackmail scheme.”

Corey sighed and looked at Max, trying to get a read on his emotions. “Your call, dude,” he said to his friend. “Do we trust him?”

Max’s brain was a whirlwind of thoughts. Zane was offering him a potential way out of the trap Marcus had set. Could this just be another ploy, or was the zebra telling the truth? Max weighed his options carefully. On the one hand, if Zane really did know the password to get into Max’s phone, that still didn’t fix the problem of getting the phone away from Marcus, who would no doubt be steadfastly guarding the leverage it contained. The risk was that if they messed up and got caught, Marcus would certainly and gleefully retaliate.

On the other hand, Max could do exactly as Marcus had instructed, quit his job and go back to his boring life. He would lose everything of the incredible life he’d discovered at StartAgain, but at least he wouldn’t be outed to his parents. But that option would mean giving up his job, his friendships and worse yet, losing his relationship with Stephen. The thought chilled Max to his core.

The golden retriever thought very carefully. He loved his parents, he really did, even if he didn’t feel like he could be himself around them. The thought of his mom and dad looking down on him, judging him, pushing him away… it was almost too much to bear. Almost. But if Max was being forced to choose between his sometimes-strained relationship with his parents or the absolute love and acceptance he had at StartAgain, it wasn’t much of a contest.

Max cleared his throat. “I’m… I’m not leaving,” he said hesitantly. “Fuck Marcus. He’s a bully, and I’ve spent more than enough time being pushed around by bullies in my life. It’s time I start pushing back.” Max found himself trembling a bit as he spoke. He glanced at Corey and at Zane, then he cast his eyes down to his feet. “If he sends those pictures, he’s going to make sure I lose my mom and dad. They will never be able to accept their perverted gay sinner son. But if we don’t do something, Marcus is going to make sure I lose everything else that matters.”

Max turned to Zane, looking him directly in the eyes. “I believe you. I think you really do want to help. So… let’s do it. I’m pretty much screwed either way, but at least this way I can try to fight back. I’m not the same scared Max anymore. My life here this past month has changed me. I’ve learned that I don’t have to be afraid of who I am anymore, and I don’t have to let people walk all over me. So if Marcus wants a fight, let’s give him a fucking fight.” He could feel the fur at his neck bristling, and an unexpected feeling was beginning to rise in his chest; hope.

“Max, you’re sure?” Corey grabbed Max’s paw and gave it a concerned squeeze.

“No,” Max replied with a weary laugh. “I’m not sure of anything, really. But I’m going to fight for my place here, regardless of how it shakes out.”

Zane snorted. “Marcus thinks he has you over a barrel. He was laughing about it after we left. He’s overconfident, and I don’t think he expects you to try anything. But, getting his phone away from him is going to be a problem. He keeps the one with the unlocked camera app on him pretty much at all times. But he’s got that other phone, the one where StartAgain locked the camera. He probably hid it somewhere in his bedroom. If you guys could get to that one, you could still use it to get into his cloud and delete the pictures. Then he wouldn’t have any leverage over you, Max.”

Max nodded. “So, we need to find a way to break into his room when he isn’t in it. We could use Stephen’s master key, it opens pretty much every door in the mansion. But he’s got it with him and he’s out of town right now. He’ll be back tomorrow. I can talk to him then, I know he’ll help.” He reached for one of the hoagie sandwiches on his nightstand. His appetite had returned with a vengeance when his despair had turned into defiance. He took a big bite, and a dollop of mayonnaise squeezed out the side of the sandwich and dripped down his chin.

“What about Seventeen?” Corey asked. “I know we can trust him too. Want me to text him to come here so we can tell him what’s going on?”

Max considered for a moment while he chewed. “Yeah,” he said, swallowing. “I don’t want too many people knowing about what we’re planning, but Seventeen’s a good friend.”

“Meantime, I need to get back. It’ll ruin everything if he catches me down here with you guys,” Zane said. “His password for his lock screen is 8-7-1-2. You need me to write it down for you?”

Corey shook his head. “Texting it to Max now so we’ll both have it saved,” he said as he tapped at his phone’s screen.

Max turned to Zane again. “Look… thanks. I don’t know what else to say. You didn’t have to do this.” He thought for a moment, then extended a paw to the zebra.

“Yeah, I did,” the zebra replied as he shook Max’s paw. “You’re a good guy and a hard worker. And Marcus is a bully, way more than I think I realized. But I’m not a bully, and I love working here. So I’ll help however I can.”

Zane nodded to Max. He stuck his head out of Max’s room to check the hallway, then he swiftly departed.

Corey took a sandwich from the plate and settled into Max’s bean bag chair. “Seventeen said he’ll come as soon as he’s able, he was just about to jump in the shower when I messaged him,” the cheetah said.

Max sat down on the edge of his crib and took another bite of his sandwich. “Corey,” he said when he finished chewing and swallowing, “thank you for helping me deal with all this. I’m sorry I dragged you into all this drama.”

“Pshh, that’s what baby bros are for. We’re going to get you out of this situation. You got real friends here, Max, people you can count on. We’re not going to let you go without a fight, dude.” The cheetah smiled at his friend. “Pass me a juice box?”

“I know,” Max said. “It’s… it feels really good. It’s a feeling I could get used to.” He took a box of apple juice from the plate on his nightstand and handed it to Corey.

“You better, dude, because it’s a fact that ain’t changing,” Corey replied.

*****

A short while later, the pair were joined by Seventeen. Max and Corey spent several breathless minutes catching the gecko up on everything that had happened.

“What an ass,” Seventeen said. “I wish I could say I was surprised, but that guy always did give me all kinds of bad vibes. We are not going to let him get away with this, Max. How can I help?”

Max exhaled a deep, exhausted sigh. “Well, we’re still figuring out the plan. We need to get access to his other phone so we can log into his cloud and delete the pictures he took. He probably keeps it in his bedroom. Stephen is out of town right now but he’ll be back tomorrow, and once he’s home I’m going to explain everything to him and use his master key to sneak into Marcus’s bedroom and look for the phone.”

Seventeen nodded. “We’ll need to make certain he’s being kept busy elsewhere in the mansion so you have time to look. I’ll try to think of a distraction to keep him occupied.”

“We could just punch him in the throat,” Corey said darkly. “I hate this whole situation. God, what a prick! I wish we could just go to management and get him fired, but I know that’s not an option. But so help me, as soon as we know those pictures are deleted I’m going to make sure that bully gets what’s coming to him. Up to and possibly including punching him in the throat.”

“Agreed,” said Seventeen, while Max nodded emphatically. “I can’t believe how many house rules he’s trampling on,” the gecko added. “The whole reason StartAgain works is because we all respect each other. We have to be able to trust the people we live and work with, and Marcus is just… pissing all over that.”

“Well, we can worry about getting him fired after we destroy those pictures,” Max said. “Because if we don’t, I’m going to have to leave. As much as I don’t want to, the only other alternative would be to let him out me and then have to deal with the nuclear fallout from my family.”

Corey shook his head. “It’s not gonna come to that, Max. I know you’ve only been here a month, but… dude, you and Seventeen are honestly my two best friends in the whole world. The three of us are each smarter than that stupid donkey, so imagine what we can do when we put our brains together! We’re going to fix this.” Corey wrapped a fuzzy arm around Max and pulled him in for a hug.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared,” Max said, his throat tight. “But I’ve dealt with bullies before. I know Marcus thinks he’s some kind of big badass, but he’s just a coward on a power trip. I feel better knowing you guys are on my side.”

Seventeen nodded and joined the hug. “Kiddo, you have real friends here, and none of us is going to let you go.”

The three friends held their embrace for a while, and in some small way it really did help Max feel better about his situation. He knew Corey and Seventeen had his back, and that he wasn’t having to face this alone. Max could still feel his voice quivering as he spoke with his friends but, for the moment at least, the feeling of hopelessness was being held at bay.

Before he departed for dinner, Seventeen created a group chat on his phone and added Corey and Max to it, so that the three could continue strategizing over the course of the evening. He gave Max one more reassuring squeeze and then quietly slipped out of the golden retriever’s bedroom.

Corey spent the rest of the evening fussing over Max, trying to distract him from his thoughts. He got the canine changed into a bedtime diaper and pajamas and then found a movie for the pair to watch from Max’s crib.

Though Max appreciated Corey’s efforts, his thoughts were still swirling. So much of his future was at risk and hinged entirely on the plan he had formulated with Corey, Seventeen and Zane. What if I can’t find Marcus’s phone? Max thought. What if he catches me breaking into his room? What if Stephen refuses to let me have his master key when he finds out what I’ll be using it for? What if I do end up having to leave StartAgain and go back to my life at BCU? Try though he might, Max couldn’t see what that future would look like. In the last month, he’d found a life more rich and rewarding than anything he could’ve dreamed of before. Max felt like he was standing precariously on the edge of a cliff; as though the slightest gust of wind could knock him off and into a black chasm.

Sleep didn’t come easily for Max that night. He shifted restlessly in bed and listened to the cadence of Corey’s soft, rhythmic breathing well into the still, peaceful early hours. Occasionally, Max would reach out and give the sleeping cheetah a gentle squeeze, as if to reassure himself that his friend was still with him, that he wasn’t alone.

Eventually, little by little, he felt the tight strain of his neck and back muscles begin to loosen, and his fluttering heartbeat began to slow. At last, weariness and emotion overcame him, gently tugging him down into the dark void of slumber.

*****

Max ran as fast as he could, fairly flying through the vacant, winding halls of StartAgain. His breath came in short, raspy gasps as he ran. His heart was racing and his legs were aching, but he couldn’t stop. He had to escape.

He turned a corner and nearly collided with Willy Marsh, the diminutive mouse with a fetish for being transformed into a statue. “Careful Max, you shouldn’t run in the halls!” Willy called after him as the canine began sprinting again. “If you knock over a vase, Mr. Warren will be so mad!”

Max didn’t care. He was being pursued, and he had to get away. He was running blindly through the seemingly endless halls of the mansion, only focused on escaping the monster that was chasing him. He rounded another corner and dashed through the doors leading to the dining hall.

The great room was vacant, or so he thought at first, but he heard his name being called. “Yoohoo, Max! Where are you off to, on this perfect day?” Max turned toward the voice and saw Connie sitting at the children’s table, strapped into Max’s own favorite high chair, its bright primary colors looking so out-of-place against the sparkly red sequined dress his doberman friend was currently wearing.

“Can’t talk, Connie, I have to run!” Max said breathlessly.

“Darling boy... the faster you run, the less you’ll like where you end up,” Connie said cryptically.

Max ran toward the entrance to the kitchens. He pushed his way through the large swinging door, but suddenly found himself at the pool. He didn’t stop to marvel but instead sprinted toward the running track tracing the perimeter of the great room, holding his paw to the painful stitch forming in his side.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Astral said. Max glanced to his right as he ran, and he saw his new friend easily keeping pace with him. For some reason, Astral was wearing brightly colored water wings and had a tubular pool float shaped like a white swan around his waist, and he had a thick swim diaper between his legs. None of these accessories seemed to be slowing Astral down.

“Astral, I can’t talk, the monster is coming!” Max was growing frantic.

“Monsters aren’t real, Max,” the winged horse replied.

Max shook his head. “This one is!”

“Oh,” Astral said. “Maybe you should push him in the pool, then. Unless you think he can swim?”

Max didn’t know how to answer that, so he instead picked up speed. Astral shrugged and stopped running, and Max quickly left him behind. Max ran the length of the track, looped back around to the entrance of the pool complex, and ran through the double doors.

Now he was in the library, running between the tall bookshelves. He rounded a corner in the Psychology section and came upon Seventeen. The gecko was wearing his thick locking gag, so he said nothing as Max ran past.

Max dodged and weaved through towers of books in the aisles, occasionally tipping over the precarious stacks and sending their texts thudding to the floor. The monster was close. He didn’t know how he knew, but he could feel it in his bones. He had to keep moving, because if the monster caught him, it was all over.

“Maxwell!” The angry, nearly shrill shout snapped him out of his thoughts. He reached up and pressed the talk button on his headset. “Yes?” he asked hesitantly.

“I need you to organize the Ornithology books,” Mr. Warren barked. “We’re never going to get the library cleaned up if you keep running through the shelves knocking over books like that.”

“I know sir, but I can’t stop running or the monster will get me,” Max said, frantic.

“Well, when he catches you, tell him to come see me when he’s done eating you and he can help me do something about the poetry section,” Mr. Warren replied dryly.

“I will sir,” Max answered, shaking his head. He removed his headset and threw it to the floor as he ran. He made his way to the grand staircase and dashed down it, taking two steps with every leaping stride.

He turned to look behind himself to check for the monster, and in that moment someone grabbed him by the shoulders and stopped him in his tracks. His head snapped around to find Mr. Jennings.

“Max, we don’t run in the halls, do we?” the deer asked condescendingly. “You’re going to get put in the naughty corner if you keep this up. Now, how’s our diaper? Do we need a change? Let’s get you on the changing table.” Mr. Jennings grabbed Max’s wrist and attempted to attach a wrist restraint.

Max wriggled out of the handsome deer’s grasp. “Sorry!” he called apologetically as he took off running again. The scolding Mr. Jennings was giving Max faded to silence as the door closed behind him.

“There you are!” Corey called, smiling. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Corey, we have to run,” Max said, irritated. Why were none of his friends taking this seriously? The monster was on the loose!

“Oh! Awesome! Cheetahs are great at running! Watch this!” Corey said with a giggle. Suddenly, Max’s best friend was running alongside him. And, though Max was going as fast as he could, Corey was jogging backward, facing Max, and still outpacing him easily.

“Corey, wait!” Max called in desperation as his friend got farther and farther away.

“S’not my fault you’re a slowpoke!” Corey said, laughing. “Catch you on the flip side… if the monster doesn’t catch you first!” The boy ran faster and faster until he disappeared out of Max’s sight.

Max nearly cried. Even Corey was abandoning him to the monster. None of his friends seemed to care that Max was going to be eaten alive. Max’s life was becoming some sort of hellish horror movie, and he was growing increasingly panicked. He couldn’t outrun the monster forever.

Max turned a corner and entered the hallway leading to Stephen’s suite. “Stephen!” Max called. If he could get to Stephen, Max was certain he’d be safe. Stephen would know how to save him from the monster!

Max ran as fast as he could, but Stephen’s door seemed to get no nearer no matter how hard he ran. “Stephen!” Max yelled. “Help! Please!”

The door to Stephen’s apartment opened, and Max’s handsome Daddy stepped out into the hall. “Max, there you are! Why are you running?”

“The monster is coming for me!” Max yelled. “Please come save me!” The frantic young man ran and ran, but he wasn’t making any progress through the vexing hallway.

“Sorry Max,” Stephen called out, shaking his head sadly. “I want to help, I really do, but I can’t.” Stephen smiled apologetically. “You know you’ll never really replace Sam, right? We had our fun, Max, and I’m so grateful for that. But now that Sam’s not dead anymore, I’m going to go back to my life with him. I’m sure you understand.” Though Stephen spoke gently, his words cut through Max’s panic enough to cause the golden retriever to stop in place.

“Stephen? I don’t understand… y-you don’t want me?” Now that Max wasn’t running anymore, he realized that he was standing face to face with the handsome wolf who had stolen his heart. He looked up at the taller man pleadingly.

“It’s not that I don’t want you, per se,” Stephen replied softly. “But Max, you don’t honestly think the thing we had was ever going to stack up to my marriage to Sam, do you? It was a lot of fun, but Sam left too much of a hole in my heart… you could never have filled that hole. Sam was this big handsome grizzly bear, and you’re just a little diaper-wearing weirdo. There’s… really just no comparison, is there? I hope you understand.”

Max felt tears rolling down his cheeks, salty and hot. “Stephen, please… please don’t…”

Stephen smiled warmly. “Come on, Max, it’s not all bad. At least you get to keep your starting bonus pay, right? Take care of yourself, Max.” Stephen gently patted Max on the shoulder and entered his apartment, closing the door behind himself.

Max stood at Stephen’s door, numb. He could hear Stephen and his somehow not-dead husband’s muffled laughter through the closed door. He was certain the pair were mocking him.

Max sank to the floor, defeated. Stephen didn’t want him, he never had. He’d just wanted someone to fill the void his husband had left when he’d died from cancer. And none of Max’s friends cared what happened to him. He’d lost everything. What was the point of running from the monster now? He decided to lay on the floor and let the monster devour him. It would be easier than trying to live without Stephen.

“You dumb stupid baby,” the monster said. “I was going to eat you, but I think this is much more fun. Smile for the camera, diaper-fucker!” The bright flash blinded Max, and the click of the camera echoed in his ears.

Max gasped and shot upright, his heart throbbing in his chest. He clawed frantically at his blanket in the darkness.

“Max,” Corey groaned. “What’s goin’ on, buddy?” His friend roused himself and sat up next to Max in the crib.

Max took Corey’s paw and held it tightly. “Just a nightmare, I think. Sorry,” He said. He ran the fingers of his other paw through his sweaty, matted hair.

“Shhhh, it’s okay bud. You’re okay. An’ I’m right here, shhhh,” Corey soothed his troubled friend.

“I’m so sorry, Corey,” Max said. “Just a bad dream, I’ll be okay in a minute.” He gave Corey’s paw a squeeze.

“D’you wanna talk about it?” Corey asked before yawning.

“Nah,” Max said, shaking his head. Let’s just… let’s just sit together for a minute, okay? I’m afraid if I go straight back to sleep I’ll go back to the dream.”

Corey pulled him down and wrapped his warm, fuzzy arms around Max. “Shhh, it’s okay. I got you, and if any more bad dreams show up I’ll bite them.”

Max felt the tension slowly leaving his muscles as Corey held him. He could already feel the details of the nightmare beginning to fade in his mind. It was just a bad dream, he thought. My friends wouldn’t abandon me like that. Neither would Stephen. Just a dream, a terrible dream.

Corey held Max tightly and kept muttering reassurances to him, and Max slowly began to feel like himself again. His breathing began to slow, and the grip of the nightmare began to loosen. Eventually, the pair were able to fall back asleep. True to his word, somehow Corey held the nightmares at bay so that Max was able to sleep undisturbed.