Chapter 1:
I looked over at Fang as he hung up the phone. "Are they okay? They had fun at the Aquarium, right?"
"They're fine. Max… we've called the kids almost every day since we moved out. It's been six months. Don't you think you should, you know, start focusing on us?" I sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just hard. I took care of them for almost eight years. It's hard to just… leave it alone, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it. I was right there with you almost all the way. I feel the same way, believe me. I just want to think about us, and starting our new life. Together."
I admit, I had been a bit paranoid and over protective since we moved away. I guess I was just still connected to those kids. They were my flock, my family. Ever since we got off of that island three years ago, I had been a bit jumpy. Turns out, the so called "end of the world" only hit a few small islands, one of which just happened to be the one we were on. Figures. However, just because the tsunami didn't hit the rest of the world didn't mean it hadn't changed. We could barely walk outside without being surrounded by either government officials or press, let alone fly. Anyway, Fang and I agreed that when we turned eighteen, we would move out of our small house in Arizona and get married, start a life together. We planned on legally adopting Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge, but my mom insisted that we needed alone time, and offered to adopt them herself. I don't trust just anyone with my flock, but my mom wasn't just anyone. She was my mom, and as far as adults go, she's the most trustworthy person I know. Besides, she was always like a second mom to the kids anyway, and I knew they'd be okay with it. Iggy decided to stay with my mom too, claiming he wasn't ready to part with the flock. Personally, I think he just wasn't ready to part with Ella, but whatever.
Fang stepped forward and put his hands on my waist, snapping me out of my revere. "Okay, from now on, we'll only call them once a week. Sound good?" He smiled that lopsided smile that I loved so much, and, instead of answering, kissed me. I smiled against his mouth, so grateful that after all we had been through; we were finally married and had some time to ourselves. But apparently, that time wasn't meant to last long, because right then we were interrupted by a knock on the door of our small, one story, two bedroom house. I pulled away from Fang, frowning. "Were you expecting someone?" He shook his head, his face covered in confusion.
Carefully, he stepped into the living room and opened the door. Suddenly, something jumped out and hit into him. I went into battle mode, but then saw the familiar blond curls as Angel's arms wrapped around Fang's neck in a big hug. "Hey Ange." He choked out, having the wind knocked out of him by the ten year old. The door opened wider as more people flooded into my home, and I recognized each of them, one by one. My family. Angel plopped onto the small couch in our living room, followed by Nudge. Iggy, apparently sensing where I was, came into the kitchen to greet me, Ella following close behind him. I was barely aware of Fang and Gazzy talking, or of my mom slowly coming in and sitting down, clearly exhausted, as Iggy hugged me, but I was overcome with happiness. My flock was here, at my house, after six months of being away from me. We were all together again, and I realized just how much I had missed them.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked to no one in particular, smiling. Nudge perked up and looked around the corner into the kitchen. "We're here for Thanksgiving! It was Iggy's idea. He didn't want you guys to have to be alone on such a great holiday."
"Plus he didn't want Fang to have to suffer through your cooking." Gazzy said under his breath. I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. "What did you just say?"
"Um, nothing…" He put his head down, but I could see him grinning. I rolled my eyes and smiled. I missed being the head of the house. Although it had been a tough job raising three kids when I was so young, it did have its perks.
After dinner, Angel went to bed and the rest of us talked in the living room. Gazzy crashed after only about ten minutes, and an hour in Iggy and Ella left. My mom had fallen asleep while Nudge was telling us a story, and I almost did a few times myself. I was sitting on the couch, Fang next to me, and Nudge was on the other side of the small room on the floor. Nudge yawned. "Alright, I think I'm gonna try to sleep now." She lay down and covered herself with a small blanket. "Night."
"Goodnight." I said quietly, not wanting to wake my mom, who was in the chair next to us. I put my head on Fang's shoulder and we sat in silence until we knew for sure she was asleep. I sighed. "What time is it?" I was whispering, knowing that the house was so small and not wanting to wake anyone. Fang looked at his watch. "Eleven." I sat up and closed my eyes. "I'm so tired."
"Well it's been a long day. C'mon. Let's go to bed." He stood up, then helped me up, holding my hand as I walked over to my mom and pulled a blanket over her. I looked at her and smiled. "I'm so happy to see them again."
"Me too."
We walked into the kitchen and down the nine foot hallway that contained the two bedrooms and a linens closet. I silently opened the first bedroom and peeked inside, checking on the kids. There were two chairs in there, one of them occupied by Iggy and Ella, the other by Gazzy. Angel was sprawled on the floor in front of Gaz, her curls spreading across her pillow. "She's still so pretty when she sleeps." I looked at Fang and nodded, remembering every night that I checked on her like this, every time thinking she was more beautiful than the night before. No matter how creepy that kid could be, I loved her to death, and I knew Fang did too. I closed the door, making sure not to wake them, and walked the short distance to my own room. Fang crossed the room to the bed and climbed in, and I went into the bathroom to change into my sweats. By the time I came back in, Fang was already asleep. I climbed into bed, putting my head on Fang's chest. My eyes drifted shut. "Goodnight Fang." I whispered, drifting off to sleep.