Chapter 7
Something was wrong, it all felt off. Max was acting strange and it was starting to piss Austin off.
It all started when they met up to finish their task at a cafe. Max seemed distant and would only look at Austin when they conversed about the questions or when they talked about what to order from the menu. Now, Austin lay on his bed, a frown on his face and his thoughts run around in his mind. Maybe Max was being distant to keep Austin from getting into further trouble with his father. Maybe he was rethinking their relationship? Was he thinking about breaking up with Austin?
He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind, closed his eyes and took deep breaths. It seemed to have done the trick, at least for the time being. Austin was never one for sitting around and doing nothing. He always took action. So, that's why he decided to ask Max what was wrong. He opened his messenger app and went to his chat with Mac.
Austin: Hey Max? Is something wrong?
Max: No. why?
Austin: I don't know...you seemed off at the cafe today. Did something happen? You can talk to me you know...
Max: No, nothing happened. I'm just tired. I need to go. Talk to you later.
Austin: Um, ok? bye then.
Austin growled in frustration. Now he knew something was wrong. Max never ends a chat like that. He is always the one that needs to say goodbye cause Max won't stop talking. This type of behaviour wasn't common with Max. Maybe he was busy? Maybe Austin just needed to talk to his brothers. Damon will probably know what to do. He always has the answers. Austin thought to himself as he lazily stood up from his seated position and went across the hall to his oldest brother's room. Damon wasn't there. He's probably in the kitchen, Austin said to himself. He made his way downstairs towards the kitchen and surely he heard his brother's voice behind the door.
As he approached the door he heard Damon talking with someone. He couldn't hear the conversation clearly so he decided to go closer to the door before he placed his ear against the cold wooden surface. Damon would probably kill him if he saw that he was eavesdropping on someone, not to mention the person being eavesdropping on being Damon himself. But it sounded very suspicious and Austin being the curious being he is, couldn't resist listening to the conversation. He moved his head around on the door until he found a good spot to listen where he could hear the voices somewhat clearly.
"Are you sure? Your father will not be happy if he finds out," Austin heard the somewhat older-sounding voice say. Must have been their butler.
"Heffley, it's the only way I'll know if he's up to his tricks again. It is the only way I can know what to do if Austin asks about it," He heard Damon say. What? What would Damon be interested in that regarded him? He was even more curious now and so he listened further.
"Damon, that is a very tricky and risky play. Are you sure you want to go through with it? I can still try to call him off. It's not too late.", Heffley stated, Austin hearing Damon's audible frustration.
"Yes, Heffley. I am sure. Make sure he finishes the job. I don't want anything to trace back to me.", Damon said, his voice going slightly deeper and softer.
"Okay, Damon," He heard Heffley's final words before he heard the opening and closing of a back door.
What could they be talking about? Trace what back to Damon? Maybe he could ask his brother? Austin was very confused and so he decided to take a deep breath and knocked on the door. He could trust Damon, right? He would never hurt them. Right? He heard footsteps approaching the door and it opened a few moments later.
"Austin? What are you doing here? Are you hungry? Lunch is almost ready," Damon asks his confused younger brother.
"U-uh yeah, I could eat. Um, Damon? I know I'm not supposed to eavesdrop but it happened accidentally and I heard some of your conversation with Heffley. Is everything okay?" Austin asked and as soon as those words left his mouth he saw Damon visibly tense up.
Did he say something wrong? "Austin what did you hear?" Damon's voice seemed stern, like when he scolded his brothers when they did something wrong. Austin obviously said something wrong.
"Just that you wanted Heffely to do something. But I probably just heard wrong," He said, after which he saw Damon's body relax a little. He had to lie to him. What if he heard something he wasn't supposed to?
"Uh, yeah you must have. I was just talking with Heffely about ingredients for the kitchen," Damon said, his tone playful again. Austin on the other hand had trouble believing his brother's words. Not that he didn't trust him. He just had a feeling there was much more to the story than what he had heard. He decided to let it go though...for the time being. "I wanted to ask your advice about something," Austin said, his voice small and soft.
"Yeah?" Damon asked, not looking up from his cooking. "Well, since Father found out about me, Max has been acting weird. He is very distant and he barely looks at me. I don't know if he's thinking about leaving me or if he's just really tired. I just don't know. Damon, what do I do?" Austin looked up at his brother, small amounts of tears brimming at the corners of his chocolate brown eyes.
Damon stopped his cooking, washed his hands and went to sit beside Austin on a bar stool. He sighed and placed his hand on Austin's shoulder.
"I don't know everything that happened between you guys, but I'm sure Max doesn't want to leave you. He's probably just intimidated by his father and his attitude. Don't read too much into it, it's normal behaviour if you have been put into a difficult position with people you care about. It'll all turn out okay, I promise," Damon said before he stood up and hugged his brother.
"Thanks, I know I can always count on you," Austin said, as he hugged his brother back tightly with his previous thoughts a thing of the past. Damon would never do anything that would hurt any of his brothers. At least, that is what Austin wanted to believe.