Although she was a bit slow to catch on, Anna started getting the hang of it. Max did her best not to play too competitively with the girl as she didn’t want to risk ruining her fun. Anna seemed to lighten up a bit throughout their time playing on Max’s system. It provided a much-needed distraction for her.

“You’re getting good at this,” Max praised. They were currently playing a game called ‘Monster Catchers.’

Anna smiled a bit and nodded in response. 

The sensation of a device vibrating in Max’s pocket drew the woman's attention. She pulled it out to see Beatrice's name along with a photo of the two of them during their high school days. 

The photo was taken of them during a club trip to the fairgrounds. Max had her arms wrapped around Beatrice's shoulders with a wide smile on her face, Beatrice looked annoyed and about ready to slam the girl into the ground, and Beatrice’s then-boyfriend, Alexander Valentine, stood behind the girls trying to maintain a cool facade.

“Hey hey, killer cop,” Max greeted joyfully as she answered the phone. Beatrice cut straight to the point.

“How is she?” 

“Who, the carrot top? She’s fine,” Max responded as she waved her free hand nonchalantly. Anna paused what she was doing to glance over at Max as she listened in on her conversation.

“I have to say, Beatrice, I didn’t think you’d be the type to take in a kid in need. Perhaps Queen Edgelord does have a heart,” Max said snidely. 

“Yeah, whatever. Me and Jay are finishing up in the office. I’ll be home in an hour,” Beatrice responded.

“Oh, tell Samuel L. Jay that I said hi!” On the other side of the line, Jay happened to be walking by and overheard Max on the phone. He smiled as he leaned over Beatrice's shoulder.

“What’s going on, Max-a-million,” he greeted Max.

“Hi, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you! Hows Maria and little Jay,” she responded with enthusiasm so strong that it was contagious.

“They’re doing wonderful, thank you for asking,” Jay responded as his smile got a bit wider.

Beatrice groaned eternally. “I’ll see you within an hour,” she said dryly as she closed the line.

“Heey, we were just getting into a conversation,” Jay complained. Beatrice ignored him as she went back to her work.

Max stared down at her phone in slight puzzlement as the call abruptly ended before shrugging and tossing her phone down. She glanced over to Anna, who had her gaze downward facing. She seemed to be lost in thought.

“What’s on your mind,” she asked as she moved to place her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Anna seemed a bit startled by this action. She immediately jerked away from Max and turned her eyes sharply towards her. She looked like she had seen the devil himself for the briefest of moments before what seemed like realization dawned on her features.

“S-sorry,” she apologized weakly as she turned her eyes back downward.

A look of concern dotted Max’s face. She wanted to figure out what was going on in the girl's mind but something in her gut told her not to press the issue.

She stared at Anna for a moment before she smiled as a thought came to her. “You know,” she began. “You remind me a lot of a friend of mine.”

Anna glanced up at the woman as she continued. “When we first met, she didn’t really talk to anyone. Most of the other kids and teachers at the time paid her no mind, thinking she was just either introverted, antisocial, or scary. But every time I watched her at the playgrounds or at lunch, how she sat alone, how she always kept her gaze held low and couldn’t face people, the arms-length at which she kept those around her, I knew it wasn’t that simple.”

Max turned her gaze up towards the ceiling as she slumped back on the couch. “I couldn’t begin to understand what she must’ve been going through then. I still don’t. But if there’s one thing I know it’s that being alone is something that people like you and her don’t need to put yourselves through. Yeah, coming out of that protective shell you have built around yourself may seem scary, and I won’t lie, it’ll hurt at first. But nothing is more painful than holding all that hurt in  and locking yourself in a cage with it.”

She looked over to Anna who seemed even deeper in thought than before as she fiddled with a dying blue flower. 

‘I hope my words are actually reaching this girl,’ Max thought.

“Point is, Anna, my friend, Beatrice, usually doesn't show the level of kindness to others that she has shown you thus far. I’m guessing it’s because, in some way, she can relate to you.” 

Anna looked over towards Max with a sad expression. “I don’t have a single clue what either of you have gone through and as much as I would like to help, I am, unfortunately, ill-equipped to handle stuff like this.” Max shrugged before sitting back up and facing the girl with a smile.

“But perhaps, you two might just be what one another needs. I’ll let you know straight up, Beatrice can be a bit… abrasive. But I chalk that up to all she has been through in her life up to this point. Just give her a chance, yeah? She could use more friends. Especially ones she can truly relate to.”

Anna looked down at the flower in her hand then back towards Max. She nodded once and that was all the confirmation the woman needed.

“Alrighty then. She should be home in a little less than an hour so until then, what else do you want to do to kill time?”

Anna contemplated that for a moment before looking back at the T.V. screen. She remembered seeing a game on Max’s console that interested her. She put her index finger on one of the thumbsticks to the controller she had and scrolled through the list of games till she found it and pointed towards it.

Max looked at the screen with a raised brow. “That one? Are you sure? I mean it has an interesting story but it plays more like a movie than an actual game. Plus it’s old.”

Anna nodded and Max smiled and shrugged. “Alrighty, Ex-Machina it is then.”