CHAPTER 48: FAMILY REUNION 2

His mother snapped out of thoughts, "No ofcourse not," she said quickly, stepping aside and motioning toward the house. "Come inside, Maximus. We should all sit"

Maximus gave a small nod before walking up the steps, still carrying Percy as he clung to him. He could see Casey’s gaze burning into his back, her lips full of unspoken words.

The air inside the house was several times warmer than that of outside.

He set percy down, and he immediately ran to grab one of his toys from the couch. Meanwhile, Maximus father finally moved, stepping forward to join them.

His towering presence had once been something Maximus admired, something that felt like a shield against the world.

But now? It was like there was a massive wall between them.

They all sat down, though Maximus remained on edge, his foot tapping lightly against the floor.

His mother sat across from him, smoothing out an invisible wrinkle in her dress, while Casey positioned herself on the armrest of a chair, still watching him intently.

His father leaned back in his chair, his arms folded and eyes unreadable.

For what felt like eons, no one said anything.

Then, his mother finally broke the silence. "Maximus... how have you been?"

It was a simple question, yet it carried so much weight.

Maximus shrugged, leaning back against the couch. "Busy."

Casey scoffed. "Yeah, we noticed..."

His jaw tensed slightly, raising an eyebrow at her. "Excuse me..."

Rosetta gave casey a warning look before turning back to him. "We’ve been worried about you."

Maximus exhaled through his nose. "Yeah? didn’t seem like it when I was in the dust..."

His father’s gaze darkened, and Casey’s grip on the armrest tightened.

"That’s not fair..." his mother said softly.

"We never doubted you, Maximus. We were just devastated when everything happened."

Maximus didn’t respond right away, he looked aside and tightened his jaw.

Casey spoke up, her voice quieter but still firm. "You didn’t even give us a chance, Maximus. The charges were dropped, and you just disappeared. You ignored us. Do you know how many times I called?"

His gaze flickered to her for a brief second before settling on the table.

"I saw it..." he admitted, his voice low.

Casey scoffed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable."

His mother placed a hand on her back looking back at Maximus. "You could have come home sooner."

"I could have come home sooner? Or did my home, did my family abandon me when I most needed them."

Another silence stretched between them.

His father finally spoke, his deep voice cutting through the air, "Not in front of Percy..."

Percy sensing the shift in mood, suddenly ran over to Maximus, tugging on his shirt. "Big brother, do you want to see my new drawings?"

Maximus glanced down at his bright, eager face. He felt something in his chest loosen.

"Yeah," he said, his voice softer. "I’d love to."

He laughed and dashed off like a salamander, his little feet pattering against the floor as he ran to get his notebook.

Rosetta sighed, rubbing her temples before looking at Maximus with a small, tired smile. "Let’s not do this tonight... This is the first time we have been complete for so long."

Maximus nodded. "Alright..."

Percy came back a few minutes later, notebook in hand and continuely flipped through the pages for Maximus to see his drawings, their mother moved quietly in the background, retrieving a plate of food from the kitchen.

The warm aroma filled the air, making Maximus realize just how hungry he actually was.

It had been hours since he last ate, probably longer than that, considering the adrenaline of the race had kept him going.

His mother placed the plate in front of him with a small, gentle smile. "You should eat."

Maximus glanced at the food. Simpel, home cooked, warm.

Something about it made his chest tightened, but he swallowed that feeling down and nodded. "Thanks ma."

He picked up the fork and started eating.

The first bite would always bring a wave of nostalgia. Comforting in a way he hadn’t expected.

He didn’t say anything as he continued eating, but he was grateful.

His mother sat across from him, watching quietly. She didn’t push him to talk, didn’t ask him any questions, just let him eat in peace.

It was something he appreciated.

Casey however, wasn’t as passive.

She had been watching him closely ever since he arrived, arms crossed, her lips compressed into a thin line.

She slowly walked towards him. Maximus noticed her approach but said nothing, focusing on his food.

He expected her to say something, maybe throw another sarcastic or insensitive remark about him disappearing.

Instead, she sat down beside him, hesitating for a moment before leaning against his shoulder.

Maximus tensed slightly but didn’t move, he just gripped his fork tighter.

She was quiet.

He felt her let out a shaky, trembling breath.

"... Thank you," she whispered, barely audible.

Maximus turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of her face.

Her eyes were watery and a bit swollen. Tears building up like a shut dam but she tried as much as possible to prevent them form spilling.

Maximus hesitated for a moment before sighing softly.

He set his fork down and shifted slightly, letting her lean into hime more comfortably.

Casey took that as permission and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder.

Maximus didn’t speak, didn’t push her away. He just let her hold on, to have this moment to herself.

Their mother watched with a soft expression, a quiet understanding in her eyes.

Maximus took in a slow breath, closing his eyes for a second.

He had expected awkward conversations, tension. But this was better.

There was silence stretched between them, but this wasn’t the kind that was unbearable, it wasn’t the kind that filled the house before when they were too afraid to say the wrong thing, too afraid to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

The silence felt peaceful.

After a while, casey finally pulled back, sniffling and quickly wiping her eyes as if embarrassed by her own emotions.

Maximus smirked slightly, "I’m still not letting you have some of my food though..."

Casey scoffed, elbowing his slightly. "Shut up..."

But her voice lacked the usual spite, it was softer now, more vulnerable.

Their mother chuckled lightly, standing up from her seat, "I’ll go make some tea."

His father, still mostly quiet, sat in his usual chair, observing everything with a neutral expression.

But Maximus could tell, there was something there, something unspoken that he was dying to say.

In a space of thirty minutes the atmosphere the household atmosphere had shifted to a more serene environment. Percy had been tucked to bed and the rest of his family members hung around the house hoping to get a conversation with him.

It was casey who seized her opportunity first, catching him in the hallway when he went to see fi Percy had dozed off.

She had been standing there for a while, working up the courage to say something.

Maximus met her gaze, waiting.

"...I just..." casey stopped, her throat working as she swallowed.

She exhaled shakily and tried again. "I wanted to say I’m sorry."

Maximus remained silent, watching her closely.

She shifted, clearly uncomfortable, but continued. "For everything. For the names, for what I saaid, for..."

She let out a bitter chuckle and shook her head. "For acting like I hated you when I didn’t. I never did, I was jut..." her voice broke off and sighed, looked away.

"I was angry and scared and instead of dealing with that, I pushed you away."

Maximus took slow breath, his expression unreadable.

Casey clenched her jaw, forcing herself to meet his gaze again. "I don’t expect you to forgive me, I just... I needed to say it." she hesitated. "And... I missed you, Maximus."

The words hund between them, heavy with unspoken emotions.

For a moment, Casey braced herself, as if expecting him to lash out or throw her words back in her face.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers tightening around her own arms.

But instead of anger, instead of resentment, she felt warmth.

Maximus stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and before she could react, he gently pressed kiss to her forehead.

Casey’s eyes snapped open in shock.

"Goodnight, Casey," he said simply.