Don't Go Without Me - Elmax

📌(This story was originally written in Portuguese and posted in 2023)

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Max's
Point of View

"It's crazy that New York is already covered in snow, while in Hawkins it still feels like autumn," Wendy says calmly, gazing out the large window at the city she left behind.

"You know I didn't come here to make small talk. I want to clear up everything that needs to be cleared up and leave for good, just like you did," I say with as much confidence as I can muster, addressing the girl sitting across from me.

"Calm down, Max. I see you're still as fiery as ever. I just want to have a civilized conversation with you, if that's even possible."

I hate when she does this. I hate when she makes me feel like I'm the one who's out of control and angry, when in reality everything I feel is justified.

"Then could you please start your 'civilized conversation' so I can get out of this boring and uncomfortable situation?" I snap, and Wendy's only reaction is to roll her eyes.

"It's going to be hard if you keep being so defensive," she says. I take a sip of the espresso I ordered, waiting for the blonde to start talking. "Look, I'm well aware that I messed up in our relationship. I know I left very suddenly..."

"Right after that night," I interrupt, making sure to emphasize the circumstances under which she left.

"Max, I know that when it comes to your first time, it seems like a big deal, but with time you'll realize it was just another night."

I let out a low, humorless laugh.

"Just because it didn't mean anything to you doesn't mean it didn't mean anything to me."

"Max, please, let me finish what I need to say," I take another sip of my hot drink, waiting for the rest of my ex's monologue.

"I admit I never saw you as more than a friend, but suddenly, that summer, my heart started racing for you. It was fun, but August seemed to end as quickly as a bottle of wine. Everything happened so spontaneously, and from the beginning, I knew it was just a summer fling. It's not my fault if you built up expectations that it would be more than that."

"Wendy, I know you're saying all this because you know how much you hurt me, and now you want to feel a little better about yourself," I spit out the words with pain and anger. "You know that if I had expectations, it's because every single day of those damn three months, you told me you loved me, that you wanted to marry me and live somewhere far away from everything. We planned our future together, we exchanged rings. You weren't just my first time that night, Wendy. You were my first time in almost every possible way, including my first love."

"I see that being overly emotional is still your biggest flaw, and that has nothing to do with me."

"You know what your biggest flaw is, Wendy?" I ask, standing up and staring at the blonde, who seems to be getting affected by not being able to control the conversation as she probably imagined she would. "You're a vampire. You have no heart, you don't care about anyone. You just want to suck all the good out of people and then leave, playing the victim, lying to yourself that you're a good person. If you want to ease your conscience about what happened between us, just stay out of my life. Your conscience will still be heavy, but at least I won't have to deal with it."