I'm back! Again! It feels fantastic to be back, even though it's been a while since I posted the first chapter. Thank you all for being so patient!

From now on, the chapters will have alternating points of view- Max, Fang, Max, Fang, etc. I'll make sure you know if I switch it up from there. Otherwise, read on! And review, review, review! : )

Fang's POV:

"Now the sky could be blue,

I don't mind,

Without you it's a waste of time…"

6 years ago, I began medical school, and today will mark my completion.

2 years ago, on this day, Max and I lost our only son.

There were really no words to describe how this day felt. It's true that I'm not a sentimental person, and I don't like to show too much emotion, but even stones crack under pressure.

In the pit of my stomach, all of the overwhelming feelings bubbled up, desperate to surface. I was happy, relieved, nervous, sad, angry… any emotion you can think of. But most of all, I was worried.

Not about graduating. I was way too ready to be done with the whole "walking across stage" junk. The college even wanted me to give a speech, but come on, me? Speaking, long paragraphs, in front of thousands of strangers? Ha!

No, the worry stemmed from Max. Beautiful, strong, stubborn Max. I could always read her like a freaking book, even before things got serious between us. It would make sense if I could read her even better now. Heck, with how long we've been together, you'd think I could read her mind!

But after Malachi's death, things changed. Max completely shut me out. She's still around in spirit; laughter still lingers in her voice sometimes, and life still beats in her heart, but she's empty now. Cold. Nothing I did, nothing I said, would ever change the fact that she lost her son. No one could ever fill that hole in her existence.

For a while Max was straight out depressed. It didn't take any extensive training to tell that. She slept all the time, barely moved from our bed to change or take a shower. Everything was a challenge for her.

As the months went by, I convinced her to get up, to live again. She reluctantly agreed.

And then the nightmares came. Visions of Malachi coughing, choking, dying all over again. Dreams of nothingness, of dirt and earth and blackness, swirling around and around. Whenever she woke up, she'd scream out in terror. She stopped sleeping for days at a time, a drastic change from earlier.

Not long after, Max turned to drinking. Heavy drinking. Even now, she drinks as if she wants to kill herself, as if she cannot bear just one more day without her son.

I worry about leaving her alone. But I also worry about smothering her. She needs to cope, to heal, and she won't do either if she's being forced to.

But deep down inside, where no one can see, I worry that the next time I leave her alone, she won't come back to me.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Five minutes past 6, the ceremony began. All of us graduates marched down the steps leading to the stage, then up again at the last second. As instructed, we faced the mass of people and smiled, showing off our teeth and our cheeks, no matter how much it hurt. The whole thing felt like a cheap performance.

At last, we were allowed to sit. Our head administrator, Dr. Wren, stood and made his way to the podium, a forced smile stretching out the skin that hung off his face. After speaking briefly, he turned the mic over to a good friend of mine, Keith Renner.

Keith began his speech with no signs of nervousness. He, unlike me, was born to be in the spotlight. It's one of the principle reasons why I asked him to take my place as speaker.

Though he was addressing an entire room of people, Keith's eyes stayed glued in one place. I had a good guess as to where, but I turned to look anyhow.

Sure enough, I followed his gaze to the section where my family was sitting. Everyone was here tonight, with the exception of Max.

Nudge and Ella spotted me immediately and flashed double thumb's ups. Iggy and Gazzy talked quietly together, and Sadie sat on Gasman's knee, giggling to herself. Keith, I'm sure, saw none of this. He had, without a doubt, focused in on the remaining member of the flock.

Sweet, not-so-little-anymore, Angel. The pair had been dating for a few months now, despite the decade span between them.

"He's still way too old for you," I thought towards her. We'd had our share of conversations like this, and it soon became a running joke between us. Next would be a snarky remark that only Max would be able to top, and I'd turn back, un-approving but understanding as always.

Instead, her reply came as one word, drawn out. "Fang…"

Everything in me tensed. Not a whine or an exasperated expression, the sound was serious. Desperate. Scared.

"What's wrong?"

There was no hesitation. "Nothing. Turn back around. The diplomas are next."

Refusing to be told what to do, I yelled inside my head what the rest of me was unwilling to say. "It's Max." There was no question about it.

Angel glared at me, but the attempt was weak. Sadness softened the edges. "Don't make me influence you."

For a few brief seconds, we kept our eyes locked on each other. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, Angel's eyes returned to the stage. She smiled and raised her hands to applaud, signaling that Keith's speech- and our conversation- was over.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"Nicholas, Ride," Dr. Wren announced. For the first time that night, I let loose a real smile. Behind me, I heard my entire family cheer. Gazzy even imitated a crazy teenage girl's voice, screaming "You GO, boy!"

I grabbed my diploma in my left hand, and took Dr. Wren's wrinkled palm in my right. Through his smile, he sneered, "I expected you to fail."

I grinned at him and squeezed his fingers together until a small pop was audible. His face fell, but my smile never faltered. If anything, its intensity brightened.

"You're an old piece of shit," I whispered at the last second. The fire in his eyes was worth every second of his torment before. I would not miss him anytime soon.

7 people took their diplomas after me, and at last, Dr. Wren said, "I present to you, the newest doctors of our generation!" Through the cheers and loud cries, I heard him mutter, "Lord help us…"

I found myself grinning even harder. It was an exhilarating feeling…

Until I looked out at my family- all gathered here for this moment- and everything inside of me sank.

People began to rush forward, congratulating their loved ones, pride on all of their lips. I shoved my way through them all, narrowly missing a collision with an elderly woman. After what felt like forever, I reached my small, somber group.

Sadie's face was my only happy greeting. No one else even dared to meet my eyes.

"What's going on?"

Nudge opened her mouth first, but shut it quickly after. With a deep breath, Angel took Nudge's place. "You were right. I just didn't want to ruin your graduation. It could be nothing but Max just being stupid, or maybe…"

My fists clenched involuntarily. "What. Is. Going. On?"

"She won't answer her phone." I looked at her as if she were speaking another language. Max always answered her phone.

"Call her again," I insisted

"We've all tried to call her, at least twice each." Angel bit her lip, unwilling to say what the worst news was. Eventually she couldn't keep the secret any longer. "I've been trying to talk to her all night. You know, check in on her." She tapped the side of her head, indicating that the conversations were done mentally. "But I can't hear her. At all. It's like I'm talking to air. We're all really worried about her."

I swallowed hard past the lump that formed in my throat. My tongue was dry as I croaked out, "Ella, Iggy, can you watch Sadie for tonight?"

Iggy nodded. Ella looked reluctant. "Are you going to check on Max?" She asked, even though the answer was obvious.

My silence said it all, anyways. Ella took my hand in hers, worry tight across her face. "Be careful. Don't jump to conclusions." She squeezed my hand, once, in reassurance, "I'm sure we're all just overreacting."

But we weren't.

I flew home as fast as I could, but apparently that wasn't fast enough.

There, in our living room, I found Max face down on the carpet, just like earlier, only this time, her skin felt cold, and little puddles of blood trickled out from under her open palm.

It was my worst nightmare, finally come true.

"Now the sky could be blue
I don't mind
Without you it's a waste of time
Could be blue

I don't mind
Without you it's a waste of time
Could be blue,
Could be grey
Without you I'm just miles away."

~Lyrics from Strawberry Swing by Coldplay

Cliffy! What? How could I?

I'm the author, that's how! Joking, joking.

Stay tuned. (No worries, it's not as bad as it seems!) : ) It'll all work out, Author's Promise.

Read and write on, my awesome, awesome readers,

~Faxisthegreatest123