Giving Notice - Chapter Six (complete!)

Okay guys, here's the completed chapter I've been working on. This was the most difficult thing I've ever written in my life, and I'll make a separate post to explain why. But I got through it, and it's ready to share with you! As always, please feel free to give me feedback. And the same content warnings as before apply: physical assault, homophobic/transphobic language, abuse, blackmail, bullying, etc. It's heavy.

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CHAPTER SIX

Time flies when you’re having fun, Max thought to himself. It scarcely felt like it had been a full month since his life had been completely turned upside down by his new job. And yet, shortly after waking up in his Daddy’s bed on that sleepy Saturday morning, Stephen had excitedly announced that Max’s one-month probationary review had been scheduled for the following Monday morning.

Stephen had to quickly reassure the suddenly anxious Max that the review was just a formality. The wolf would be there to support Max, and Mr. Warren and the rest of the senior management would be in attendance as well. The decision was ultimately Mr. Warren’s to make since he was Max’s direct supervisor, and the hawk had already promised Stephen that he would give his enthusiastic approval for Max to be hired by StartAgain on a permanent, full-time basis.

After a quick breakfast, Stephen politely excused himself. Though it was the weekend, he’d made an appointment to meet with a potential new hire to accommodate the man’s schedule. It wasn’t at all unusual for Stephen to have to travel out of the mansion on the weekends, though Max was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t get to spend the day with his Daddy. He gave the wolf an enormous hug and a kiss, then scurried off back to his nursery.

Once there, Max quickly changed out of his pajamas and into a cute powder-blue t-shirt and a coordinating set of snap-crotch shorts. He clipped one of his favorite pacifiers to his shirt, then took his phone off the charger and opened his messaging app. He scrolled through his contact list until he found Corey’s entry. Max began typing out a message.

Up for some fun today? Stephen had to leave for an appointment and I don’t want to spend the day by myself. I’ve got my probationary review Monday morning and tons of pup energy to burn off. LMK!

Almost immediately, his phone chirped with Corey’s reply:

DUDE YES!! ALL OF THE YES! Lemme finish wrapping up this project for school and then I’ll meet you in like… 30 min?

Max tapped out a response:

Cool, ok! I’ll run down to the library and pick out something to read, meet me there whenever you’re ready!

He turned his phone’s screen off and stuffed it in his pocket, smiling. He hadn’t really had a chance to explore the immense collection of StartAgain Manor’s library in a non-work capacity, and with everything that had been happening over the last month he hadn’t had much chance to sink back into a book. This would be the perfect way to kill a few minutes until Corey was finished with his schoolwork.

Max hummed as he walked through the halls, grinning and nodding happily at everyone he passed. After his emotional talk with Stephen after the pool the previous weekend, the anxious feelings Max had been experiencing had dissipated with swiftness and finality, as if they’d never been there at all. And without that strange weight on his mind, Max had been beaming all week long.

He arrived at the library and slipped his staff key into the lock. He left the door unlocked for Corey and entered the enormous library chamber. It felt strange being here alone, but Mr. Warren had assured Max that he was welcome to borrow books from the library any time he wanted, as long as he signed them out to himself and returned them when he was done with them. The library was temporarily closed to the rest of the mansion’s residents while the renovation project was underway so, despite Mr. Warren’s reassurances, Max couldn’t help but thrill at the feeling that he was sneaking into a forbidden place.

Max took a deep, contented breath. He loved libraries and especially loved the smell of old books. There was something incredibly comforting about being surrounded by so much knowledge, so many different worlds to explore and new things to learn. Having the chance to help restore StartAgain Manor’s incredible library to its former glory, to in some small way become a custodian of this vast sea of wisdom, felt like a deep honor and a powerful responsibility.

Max walked softly on the marble floors; even though the library was empty, it felt like a transgression to disturb the quiet of the space. Max made his way to the science fiction and fantasy shelves and began browsing, letting the tip of his index finger gently trace across the books’ spines as he browsed. Asimov, Bradley, Bradbury, Cooper, Dick, Ellison, Heinlein, L’Engle, Le Guin; the great authors’ names alone were enough to quicken Max’s heartbeat with excitement. He’d visited most of these worlds countless times over his life, but the tomes still called out to him all the same.

Through middle school and high school, Max had retreated to these very worlds to escape the bullying and isolation that had become all too familiar in the real world. They’d given him a much-needed outlet, and he had voraciously devoured every science fiction and fantasy novel he could get his paws on.

Most of these books were old friends, and he greeted them happily as he let his fingertips slowly glide across them. Max had discovered the wonders and ethical quandaries of robotics with Isaac Asimov, had ridden dragons and soared through the skies with Anne McCaffrey, and had even explored the limits of sanity and unknowable cosmic horrors with that problematic old racist goat, H.P. Lovecraft.

Max jerked, his finger halting on the spine of a well-loved paperback copy of Andre Norton’s Witch World. He’d heard a noise from the floor above him, some sort of grunting gasp that had startled him out of his reverie. Nobody is supposed to be in here except Mr. Warren’s team, Max wondered. Perhaps the hardworking hawk had decided to put in some overtime? That wouldn’t be out of character for him at all.

Max quietly made his way to the stairs and began to ascend to the second floor. If Mr. Warren was here and working today, Max wanted to make himself available in case his boss needed any help. Given the extremely generous salary Max was being paid, he was more than happy to chip in even in his off time. Max followed the sounds of shuffling and breathing, and he finally rounded a corner.

He came face to face with the source of the noises he’d been hearing, and his eyes grew wide. Zane was stark naked and bent over a reading table. Marcus was behind the zebra, his jeans around his ankles. The donkey was slamming into Zane from behind, the pair grunting with each thrust. Max gasped despite himself.

Marcus’s head snapped around. “What the fuck?” he shouted as he quickly extracted his cock from the zebra and yanked his jeans up. For his part, Zane swiftly grabbed his discarded boxers from the table in front of him and began shuffling into them, stammering.

“Sorry!” Max squeaked, averting his eyes with some difficulty. “I-I heard something and I thought maybe it was Mr. Warren, didn’t m-mean to intrude!” Max stumbled backward a few steps, stammering. He turned to retreat.

“You little diaper-wearing freak,” Marcus seethed. “Who the fuck do you think you are, spying on us?” He closed the distance between himself and Max almost instantly. His meaty hand grabbed Max’s shoulder and slammed the golden retriever backwards into a bookshelf, pinning him and sending several books falling to the floor in a cloud of dust. “I swear to fucking god, if you say anything about this to anyone, I will turn your weird little faggot ass into a red smear on the wall, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” the furious donkey’s voice rose until he was nearly shouting.

Max gulped. “I-I won’t, Marcus! It’s none of my business! I just came to find a book—” Max winced as the donkey pressed even harder into his shoulder.

“I don’t give a fuck what you were doing here, you little pervert,” Marcus said, bending down a little until his nose was an inch from Max’s own, his foul breath hot on Max’s face. The donkey looked Max up and down, shaking his head. “I swear to fucking god, you disgust me. I didn’t take this job to be surrounded by fucked-up little diaper faggots like you. What the fuck is wrong with you, anyway? You get molested as a baby or something?”

“Marcus, don’t,” Zane hissed through closed teeth. “They told you they would fire you if you get in any more trouble! Just leave him alone, please,” the zebra implored. Zane put his hand on Marcus’s shoulder and tried to pull him away from Max.

The donkey glared at Zane. “What, you gonna take this little weirdo’s side, Zane? Get the fuck off me,” he sneered. Marcus turned his attention back to Max. “Seriously, how fucked up does your head gotta be to get off on wearing baby shit? That’s real sick. You know that, right?” As he spoke, Marcus kept Max’s shoulder pinned painfully against the bookshelf. With his free hand, Marcus reached down and yanked the panicked, struggling canine’s shorts down to reveal his diaper.

“Little piss baby likes shitting on himself and cumming in his diapers, huh? That what you like, freak?” Marcus taunted. “That’s goddamn sick, you pervert. I’ve seen some weird kinks around here, but you take the whole fucking cake. Everything you are is filthy. You offend me. I came here to hang with real men, not creepy little baby fuckers.” Marcus squeezed even harder and Max yelped as a hot, sharp streak of pain shot down his arm from his shoulder.

“Just lemme go, Marcus,” Max said, tears streaming down his face. “I won’t tell anyone! I swear, I don’t care what you guys are doing, I just wanted a book...”

“Let him go,” Zane pleaded. “Dude, don’t do anything to the kid, just let him go. Please, Marcus! You’re gonna get us both fired!” The zebra’s eyes flicked back and forth between Marcus and Max.

“No, I’m not,” Marcus said as a malicious grin slowly spread across his face. The donkey reached into the pocket of his still unzipped jeans and pulled out his phone. “But that’s a hell of a good idea you just gave me, Zane.” Marcus stepped back and released his grip on Max’s shoulder. The canine slumped down against the bookshelf and onto the floor with a grunt. His entire shoulder felt like it was on fire, and he cradled that arm protectively.

“Smile, diaper humper,” Marcus sneered. He held up his phone, and Max heard rapid clicks coming from Marcus’s camera app. “Now, just so you understand what’s happening, let me explain. I know they turn the cameras on our phones off when we first start here, privacy blah blah blah.” Marcus said as he continued to take pictures of the crumpled Max. “But do you have any idea how easy it is to smuggle something into StartAgain? Like this here phone. It looks just like the one I brought with me, and they’re all so dumb they can’t tell the difference. But the camera on this one works just fine.” Click, click, more and more pictures. Marcus tapped a few buttons on his phone’s screen. “There we are, all safe behind a password in the cloud.”

The donkey knelt down until he was eye-level with Max. “Now, I’m guessing you don’t want ol’ Ma and Pa Covington seeing what their precious little baby has been up to in his spare time. Oh, yeah, I know who your parents are, Max. Didn’t take much to search them up on the web. Did you know you’re one of the only Maxwell Covingtons in the world? Not surprised though, it’s a prissy fucking name for a prissy little fucker like you. Let your mom know I thought her Gardening Eden blog was real cute, by the way. Ruby, wasn’t that her name?”

Max gasped, and his eyes grew wide. Marcus grinned. “Yeah, bud, I did my research. I know all about your mom and dad. How’s your dad’s pest control business doing these days? Kinda silly of him to put his cell number right there on the company website like that, where just anybody could find it, don’t you think? I’m guessing those Bible-humping parents of yours probably wouldn’t approve of the lifestyle you’ve been living lately. Be a real shame if pictures of their grown ass adult son wearing a diaper and blubbering like a baby showed up in your dad’s text messages.”

Max was trembling and staring directly into the donkey’s eyes. Tears were still streaming down his face and a knot of complete terror was forming in the pit of his stomach.

Marcus’s voice lowered to a raspy whisper. “So here’s what’s gonna happen now,” he said coolly. “I know you got your one month review coming up, and I’m sure that wolf that simps for you is going to talk the rest of management into hiring you on permanent. But that’s not going to happen, Max. You’re going to tell management that you don’t wanna work here anymore. Tell ‘em some lie about how you’re homesick for suckling on your mom’s titties or something, I don’t care. Make up a reason. But you’re going to quit your job and fuck off home so I don’t have to see this creepy pedo bullshit anymore,” Marcus said, gesturing to Max’s diaper. “And in return, I’ll be real nice and won’t show anybody those pictures so the whole world doesn’t find out what a freak you are. You got me? But — and I swear to fucking god this is true — if you try to run and tattle to that crossdressing bitch Warren or that wolf that diddles you at night, or if you tell anyone else... I will ruin your entire fucking life. Your choice, faggot.”

Marcus slammed his fist into Max’s shoulder with enough force to make Max howl in pain. The donkey stood. “Put the rest of your fucking clothes on and let’s get out of here. I’m sick to death of the smell of loser piss,” he said, turning to Zane. The zebra nodded, his mouth agape, and he quickly began dressing. With one final, hateful sneer from Marcus and an almost pitying look from Zane, the pair disappeared. In a moment, the sound of the library’s door swinging closed echoed throughout the empty room.

Max pulled his knees close to his chest, curled into the tightest ball he could, and wept his heart out. Pain, humiliation and anger fueled his tears. He frantically considered his options, but he didn’t see a way out of the trap Marcus had set for him.

Everything that he had discovered here, his relationship with Stephen and the friendships he made, the acceptance he found… it was all going to go away, just as he’d feared. The cruel donkey had left him with no alternative but to give up everything that mattered to him, because if his parents were to find out about his life at StartAgain they’d certainly disown him. I HATE HIM! Max thought, quaking.

Max slammed his fist into the floor next to him in rage and pain. He was so lost in his torrent of thoughts that he never heard Corey arrive.

“Max!” the cheetah cried. He was shocked at the condition he found his friend in: Max was slumped against a bookshelf, his knees pressed to his chest, his shorts down around his ankles and his eyes red with tears. He ran to Max’s side, shock and worry on his face. “What happened?” He reached out and put his hand on Max’s shoulder, but the golden retriever yelped in pain and Corey immediately pulled his arm back. “Max, talk to me, what happened here? Are you okay?”

“S’my shoulder,” Max groaned, his voice rasping and heavy. Corey held his arm out for Max to brace against, and the canine gently and painfully got to his feet.

“Max, you hafta tell me what happened!” Corey said. “Who did this to you?”

Max trembled and held Corey close with his uninjured arm, steadying himself. “I… I can’t, Corey!”

Corey shook his head. “Max, you have to tell me. I won’t say anything to anyone, I promise, but I have to make sure you’re okay.”

Max looked around, panicking. “This has to stay between us or I’m totally screwed. I… I don’t know what to do, Corey!”

“Shhh,” the cheetah cooed. “Let’s get you in a chair and get you calmed down, and you tell me everything.” Corey helped Max get his shorts pulled back up and the two slowly and unsteadily made their way to the nearby reading table. Max sank into one of the chairs, defeated.

“I’m not kidding, Corey, you can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you,” Max said, his voice barely above a whisper. Max’s eyes were wild, and Corey could tell that he was on the verge of breaking down again.

“I won’t, dude, won’t breathe a word,” Corey said as he sat in the chair across from Max. “I swear! What happened?”

Max closed his eyes and wiped his face with a paw. “I-it was Marcus,” he said slowly. “I walked in on him and Zane screwing. I didn’t know anyone else was here, but I heard a noise. And th-there they were. I tried to get away, but Marcus got me by the shoulder!”

“You need to tell management,” Corey said, trembling with anger. “He can’t hurt you like that and get away with it!”

“I can’t!” Max cried. “He told me I’m a freak and a pedo, and he took a bunch of p-p-pictures of me on his phone and uploaded them to the cloud where I can’t get to them. He said if I don’t quit my job and leave, he’s going to send the pics to my m-mom and dad and everyone I know! They’ll never speak to me again, Corey!”

“They wouldn’t really, would they?” the cheetah asked, uncertain. His own parents had known about his various kinks and quirks for a long time, and they had been eerily supportive. The idea that a parent would abandon their kid over something like this was completely foreign to Corey.

“They would! They don’t even know I’m gay! If they found out about the b-baby stuff they’d try to have me committed, or they’d never speak to me again, or they’d send me to some Pray Away camp or something. What am I going to do, Corey? If I tell anyone, he’s going to s-send the pictures and ruin me! But the only other option is to give up all of this, to give up Stephen and you and all my f-f-friends, my life here…. I… I can’t…” Max began crying again, hiccuping between rasping sobs.

Corey hugged his friend close, taking care not to bump his injured shoulder. “Max, dude, we’re going to think of something! I’m not going to let that douchebag take everything from you, I swear. Baby bros are for life. You’re my brother now, and that’s not going to go away. No matter what.”

Max shook his head. For all of Corey’s supportive words, the situation seemed hopeless. His parents would absolutely lose their minds if they saw those pictures, and Max had no doubt that Marcus would gleefully ruin his life. The donkey had a cruel streak a mile wide. Max saw no options left to him other than to give into the demand. He was going to have to quit his job and give up the incredible life he had found at StartAgain. And he would never see Stephen or Corey again. Everything was crashing down around him, and Max felt completely defeated.

Corey helped Max make his way back to his bedroom and, mercifully, they passed no one in the halls on the long walk. Time itself seemed to have slowed to a crawl, and Max felt like he was trudging through thick mud. He focused all his remaining energy on putting one foot in front of the other, desperate to reach the sanctuary of his nursery.

At last, the pair arrived at Max’s door. He fumbled for his bedroom key and dropped it on the floor twice. Corey gently took the keychain from Max’s paw and opened the door for him. Max practically sprinted the last few steps to his crib, where he dove face first into his pillows and began sobbing again. Corey shut and locked the door behind him, then crawled into the crib with Max and pulled the golden retriever close, holding him as the young man wept.

Max was wracked with pain and humiliation, and he cried so loudly that Otto, the sheep who listened to the nursery monitors in the afternoons, took notice. “M-Max, is everything okay?” the sheep asked through the electronic monitor mounted to the wall.

“He’s okay,” Corey replied on Max’s behalf. “Can you give us a few minutes of privacy though, Otto?”

“Oh, h-hello Corey. Yeah, of course,” Otto replied. “Just press the call button whenever you’re r-ready for me to turn the mic on again, okay?” A moment later, the blinking red light on the monitor went dark.

Corey held Max even closer, pulling the blankets up over the pair. “Shhh, Max, it’s okay buddy. We’ll figure this out. Just breathe, bud. We’ll make a plan. I’m not going to let you leave.” Corey chattered soothingly into Max’s ear as he held the distraught canine. It was breaking his heart to see his best friend in such pain.

After what felt like an eternity of heartache, Max’s sobs began to slow. Corey held him tightly and refused to let go until Max’s breathing had returned to normal. “There we go, baby bro. That’s it, there we go,” Corey cooed. The boys laid together in silence for a while. Max’s mind was a whirlwind of panic but his body had cried itself out, for now. I’m going to have to tell Stephen I’m leaving, he thought darkly. I’m going to break his heart. Damn. FUCK!

Corey rolled Max gently until the canine was facing him, then he kissed Max’s forehead and wiped his wet cheeks. “There we go, a little calmer now. Do you feel up to talking about it now, baby bro?”

Max nodded slowly. His body was still trembling slightly, but his breathing had almost returned to normal. He still felt sick to his stomach, but his brain was desperately clinging to the reassuring sound of Corey’s voice.

“Okay,” Corey said softly. “So, let’s review what we know. Douchebag has a couple of compromising pictures of you that he’s threatening to send to your mom an’ dad. So… options. We could tell management and they could go in and confiscate his phone? Oh, except he uploaded the pics to his cloud, so that wouldn’t stop him sending them. Maybe we make a deal with him in exchange for getting those pictures back? Or we sneak into his room and look for that phone so we can delete the pics. Or maybe we can dig up something on him, then like… reverse blackmail him into deleting them! We got options, bud. We just have to come up with a solid plan.”

Max’s chest hurt. “We don’t have much time,” he croaked, his voice raw. “My performance review is Monday morning. If I don’t give my notice by then, I’m sure Marcus is going to go nuclear.”

Corey nodded. “So we just have to think quickly. I’m a cheetah, dude. Quick is the only speed I go.” Corey grabbed Max’s paw and squeezed it softly. “We can’t tell anyone, so it’s gotta just be me and you. Unless you think Mr. Andrews could help? Where is he?”

“He’s out interviewing somebody,” Max replied. “Here, hand me my phone. I can text him and see when he’s coming back, I’ll tell him we need to talk ASAP. He’s the only manager I think we can tell, I know he won’t do anything that might get me outed to my family.” Corey reached through the open crib gate and grabbed Max’s phone from his nightstand, then passed it to Max.

Max turned the screen on and unlocked his phone. He opened his messenger app and saw a pair of unread texts from Stephen. He clicked.

Hey pup! You around?

According to the time stamp, Stephen had waited for three minutes and then sent the second message.

Well, just wanted to let you know I’m going to be staying overnight. Interview is going really well, I think the guy I’m interviewing will work out so I just need to do a bit of vetting on him. Got crap signal here, this guy lives in a tiny town in WA, right outside the Tiger Mountain State Forest. It’s funny, because he’s a tiger! Haha! Sorry but as your Daddy I get to appreciate Dad Jokes, that’s the rules! I had to drive fifteen minutes just to send you this message so don’t panic if I don’t reply back. Be back tomorrow afternoon! Maybe see if Corey is free and you guys can do another sleepover? Daddy loves you, sport! Don’t stay up too late! :D

Max sighed. Of course. For a moment, he felt the urge to fling his phone at the wall as hard as he possibly could. Instead, he turned the screen off and dropped it on the bed next to him.

“Well, that’s okay,” Corey said. “He’ll be back tomorrow, we can talk to him then. I know Mr. Andrews won’t let that asshole hurt you. And in the meantime, we can try to figure something out ourselves. Don’t worry, I’m not leaving your side tonight. I’ll stay with you tonight like Mr. Andrews said. It is going to be okay, Max. It just is. You just gotta have faith.”

Max nodded, trying to put on a brave face for Corey, but he didn’t see how they could stop Marcus. Max knew that Stephen wouldn’t take any action that would put Max’s relationship with his family at risk. But the canine worried that if he told anyone else, management would try to discipline Marcus and the donkey would retaliate by sending those pictures.

Max felt bile rising to his throat again, burning in his esophagus. He’d spent so long being ashamed of who he was and what he was interested in, loathing himself and living in fear of his own interests. But then Stephen had swept into his life and brought him to this amazing place where nobody judged him or made him feel different or weird for the kinks and interests he had repressed for so long. He’d made real friends here, for the first time in his life. Stephen, Corey, Seventeen, Connie, Astral, Mr. Warren, Mr. Jennings, and too many others to count. These people welcomed him for who he was, and his life had grown so much richer for having them in it.

One month… just one month of feeling truly loved and accepted, and now the self-hatred was roaring back like a heavy black stone embedded into his chest, crushing him and ripping open his heart. In a single, hateful moment, Marcus had managed to destroy all the progress Max had made in learning to accept and love himself over this past month. And worse, Marcus stood ready to destroy Max’s life outside StartAgain, too.

Max’s emotions flickered rapidly and uncontrollably, from blind panic to murderous rage to hopelessness and defeat, then back to panic again. And the clock kept ticking. He and Corey only had a day and a half to find a way out, or Max would be forced to give up everything he’d come to love. How could he possibly go back to the “real world” after experiencing the life he’d discovered here at StartAgain? How could he accept the emptiness of his life before? How would he survive losing everything that mattered to him?