Saving the Villain

[ From: Unknown number

We are attending a party tomorrow evening and I'm already bored. How about you go in here on Sunday? Or should I go to you on Sunday so we can hang out? Or are you busy with work? Let me know. If you don't reply, I will just go see you. *o*/ ]

Maxen had his brows furrowed when he received the first message the unknown number. But after reading the next message, he laughed.

"It sounds like her," he muttered while staring at her message. "Even during weekends, she bothers me."

He just stared at the message, amused at how he could hear her voice just by reading it. He could even imagine her frowning and glaring. Maxen was engrossed in imagining her by reading her text that he forgot to reply back. Only when his phone rang did he snap his eyes.

"It's almost midnight. Can't she fall asleep?" he muttered, letting his phone ring for a while before answering it. As soon as he placed the phone in front of his ear, he drew it away slightly.

"Maxen, are you alright? Are you in trouble? Still, breathing? Did some people ambush you again?" her continuous inquiry went on for a minute before she calmed down. "Max? Are you there?"

"Here." He glanced at his old phone and shook his head, placing it back in front of his ear.

"Gosh… I thought something happened when you didn't reply."

"Hey, how the hell did you think I will reply to an unregistered number? How did you get my contact number anyway? And do you think everyone is still awake at this hour?" Maxen collapsed on his back, lying on the small foam in this crappy small apartment studio type apartment.

"Oh, right… I just stole your number when you were sleeping," Cosette mumbled as she bit her tongue, realizing she didn't ask for his consent and just got his number. "But how can you not ask for my contact info? How can we communicate during weekends and holidays?"

"Are you planning to bother me even when you're not around?" he asked in an annoyed tone, but his face showed otherwise. Maxen bit his lower lips to suppress the smile on his face.

"Of course! You might forget about me if I don't talk to you!" Cosette placed her daily journal inside the drawers before trudging toward her bed. "So, are we going to hang out on Sunday?"

"I have a part-time job in the construction during weekends. I'm not like you who doesn't worry about that."

"Should I work part-time too?"

"Hey, you…"

"Why?" Cosette frowned, lying on her side. "I didn't mean I will work as a construction worker — I can't do that manual labor. But I mean, I will apply as… hmmm… a contractor? Do they hire a muse?"

Maxen bit his tongue to keep himself from bursting out in laughter. "Apply if you want, but I'll be busy." He heard a deep sigh from the other end of the line, making his brows rise.

"Then, I will be in touch. Do you hate weekends, Max?" she asked with a sleepy voice. "Ah, wait, hang on. I will charge my phone. Let's talk all night until our phones overheat and we fall asleep. Hehe."

His eyes softened as he listened to the clumsy noises on the other end of the line along with her devious giggle. She had no idea how she moved him with her gestures.

"You should sleep," he said, genuinely concerned about her.

"Come on. Just humor me."

"I can't. I'm sleepy."

"Then sleep, but don't end the call."

"Why?"

Cosette hummed as she blinked her weary eyes. "So we stay connected, obviously."

"Hah…" Maxen stared at the low ceiling that had traces of the water leak every time it rained. Usually, his room would be cold at night, but her voice warmed it up like magic.

"Max, are you asleep now?" she asked and yawned. "I'll keep my phone to my side, so keep yours near your pillow, alright?"

He didn't respond, covering his eyes with his arm while listening to her. How the hell he would sleep if his heart was racing as if he ran a marathon?

'Just what will it take you to stop stirring my emotions?' he wondered, peeking through his one eye.

"Max, do you know I had a dream?" Cosette murmured, knowing that he was still probably listening. "In that dream, you are a bad guy who does all sorts of bad things. Bad people will always face retribution, so in the end, you died. It's really a sad dream, and even when I woke up, I was crying because of it."

She paused and sighed, eyes partially closed. "Max, can you promise me that you will not do those bad things? Don't hurt people or kill them. Don't always resort to violence, alright? Maxen, do you hear me?"

Maxen kept his mouth shut while listening to her voice. If she didn't come into his life and brought colors to it, it wasn't impossible that he would turn out to be a criminal. He was on the verge of losing hope in this life before she appeared, after all.

But now… he didn't know anymore. He wanted to become a better person even though life was still unfair to him. He was once again trying, so he could get out of his crappy life and out of this crappy apartment. Just a normal life where he could walk with his chin held high.

"Mhm," he hummed when she stopped talking, replaced with her deep breaths as she had fallen asleep. "I promise."

Maxen glanced at his phone and smiled subtly. "Good night, Cosette." But he didn't end the call, because he wanted to stay connected to her one way or another as well.

'I will try, Cosette,' he promised internally, closing his eyes to sleep with her on the line. 'For you, I also want to be a better person.'