The Soldier's Poisoned Heart

Max slams his drink on the table, sloshing half the small glass onto the wood. “I don't know how! I know I fucked up, but... I love her, Frank!” He doesn't say that they have been fucking ever since they broke up and that she's always been distant with him, even when they were dating. It's not like she lived a bad life, so she had no reason to have that emotional wall up. Max just chalked it up to being emotionally stunted or having Daddy issues, but it may just be that Charlotte is a bitch.

Fire pulls up from his stomach and into his throat, and Max apologizes to himself for saying something so

harsh about his beautiful goddess. She's not a bitch. Maybe he's just a bad person.

Frank hands Max another shot and then turns to help another customer. Her melodious voice is familiar to Max, so he looks up and drinks in the sight of Tiffany Jackson's long, unnatural red hair. It nearly swallows her whole body when she lets it down. He's seen her with natural hair or long black weaves before, and she looks beautiful either way.

“When's the last time you got a haircut, Red?”

“When's the last time you did volunteer work, Rich Boy?” Her thick lips turn up into a mean smile.

Max sticks his tongue out at her and downs his shot. A sudden vision of Charlotte's beautiful dark face, with her long nose and dark brown eyes sends a jolt of pain to his heart and tears to his eyes.

“Whoa,” Tiffany says, sitting down next to him and draping a dark arm over his shoulders. “All the blood just drained from your face. Are you sure you aren't sick or something, white boy? Maybe you should be drinking water instead?” All these nicknames were Tiffany's idea, of course. She was teasing him before they were even friends.

Max tries to shoo her away, shrugging her arm off his shoulders. “Mind your own business.”

“Is Charlotte teasing you still?”

Max wonders if everyone in the world knows that Charlotte secretly detests him. He keeps the thought to himself. No reason to piss off his only other female friend. He's had enough heartbreak for today.

“You must think I'm an absolute joke,” he says. Frank brings him another shot, but Tiffany shoots the old man a dirty look that makes him back off.

“I don't, dear. I just don't understand why you're wasting your time with her. There are so many others that would kill to be with you.” She doesn't mention that she's one of those people. Partially because she would never admit it, and partially because it doesn't really need to be said.

“I love her so much, Tiffany.” Max's words drip with depression as much as they drip with alcohol. Tiffany winces, trying again to place her hand on his shoulder. He doesn't push her away this time.

“She doesn't love you, though.” She rubs his back. Tiffany's ability to hide her own emotions has helped ever since she was the only middle-class kid in one of the most elite private high schools in the country. Tiffany got there on hard work, studying, and perfect grades. Max and most of the other kids got there on their father's bank accounts.

His head droops toward the table, a single tear splashing on the dark wood. “I just don't understand why!” A couple men from the bar look at Max, annoyed at being disturbed. Paradise is a sanctuary, a place where only good things happen. Not many people come here to mope.

“Alright, come on you big dork. It's time for you to get home.” Tiffany grabs Max's thick arm, wrapping it around her neck and pulling him up. For such a small girl, she's strong from years of weight training and martial arts classes. She's been taking them ever since her first homecoming date tried to take things too far.

“No, I need to drink more,” Max whines, trying to pull away from her. He's really a lightweight. Even a few shots makes him a drunk mess, every time.

“I don't think so, Rich Boy.” She tugs him and waves to her friends. They roll their eyes, turning to complain about her taking Max home again. They're all used to Tiffany having to bail out this sad sack of emotions any time something bad happens. They also all know her feelings for Max, which is the source of a lot of teasing and attempted interventions much like this one.

“Give me your keys,” she demands, holding out her free hand.

“No way, I can drive,” Max says, pulling his keys from his pocket. He fumbles them and they fall to the ground.

Tiffany sighs and props Max up against the wall before picking up his keys. “Yeah, clearly you aren't under the influence at all. Get in the passenger seat.” She opens the door for him, which is answered with rolled eyes and a snort. She slams the door shut and closes her eyes for just a second to gain control of herself. She runs over to the driver side before he can scramble into it.

“Ugh,” she whines. “It's a manual. What happened to that cute Mercedes you had?”

He doesn't answer, his arms crossed over his chest. He looks just like he did when he was younger, pouting and insolent. Even this is cute on him.

Struggling with the clutch, Tiffany finally gets the car driving and takes it slowly through the side streets until they arrive at Max's large family home atop a scenic hill. From miles away you can see the tall, green walls of his mother's garden, and as you get closer you can hear the barking of his 3 Rottweilers. They're less attack dogs and more slobbering beasts as they run up to Max's car to greet their favorite master.

The car is still moving when Max flings the door open and struggles to get out. Lucky for him, his seat belt is still on as he tries to claw his way out of the moving vehicle, the dogs licking his hands as he flails and squirms.

“Damn it!” He yells. The car slows to a stop, an awful sound grinding from below.

“You might need to replace the thingamabob,” Tiffany says, grimacing at the sound the car makes. She reaches over and flips his seat belt loose, which sends him flying into the pavement with a wail. The dogs bark and whine, each one jumping over Max and licking his face.

“Get off of me, you wretched beasts!”

Tiffany laughs as she steps out of the car, handing the keys to Madelaine. Madelaine is the head maid of Cooper House, and has been for some 60 years. She's old and a bit cranky now, but once upon a time, she was Max's beloved nanny.