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And Then There Were Two
Third person
Angel sat in the corner of the hotel room watching her family fall apart over the top of her book. Horror rooted her to the ground. They couldn't fight, Max and Fang never fought, especially in front of the flock. There wasn't even a reason for the fight as far as Angel could tell, Max was just yelling at him. Fang sat on the bed taking it, not because he deserved it, or he wanted to hear it, he had heard it all before, he took it because Max was over the edge, and he knew his mate well enough to know that defending himself would only make it worse. So he took it, nodding and saying sorry for things that weren't his fault, all because he loved her. Angel continued to watch in horror and pain, mostly Fang's pain. It echoed in her mind and it hurt so she watched as the closest thing she had to a mother tore the closest she had to a father apart.
Angel wanted to cry, they weren't even fighting over anything. They were literally fighting over nothing. Nudge was crying. Max had lost it; none of them had ever seen her like this, not even Fang. Max yelled and yelled till she couldn't yell anymore. Max then set into motion a chain of events that the flock had never even dreamed was possible. "I can't do this anymore Fang. We are done." With those last three words Angel's world came crashing down around her.
Fang did the only thing he could do in a situation like this, he retreated into himself like he had done at the school. His eyes grew almost dead, and his mind seemed to shrink.
Max knew him well enough to know that how badly she had just hurt him. She knew that for her to cause him to retreat the way he had, she had hit him harder than he could handle, but she didn't care. "I don't want you in the flock anymore."
Angel gasped, how could she? He was her right hand man, her mate, her rock. She knew that he depended on her, that she kept him going like he had kept her going, only she did it for him on a daily basis. Fang had left himself vulnerable to her and too her alone, and for Max to abuse that as she had was low, very low.
"Angel, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, let's go." Max said.
The rest of the flock slowly started to move, a sense of surreal had washed over them. It hadn't gotten to Angel though; it was all real she was hearing thoughts so it wasn't a dream. It was real, Max was leaving her Fang. It would be the biggest mistake of her life-Angel knew-but she was going to do it, she was going to leave him and she wasn't going to come back. Angel stayed rooted to her spot in the corner. She didn't want to choose, Max was her leader but it was Fang who held her when she had nightmares.
She could do nothing but listen to Fang fall apart inside. Max would leave and take the flock with her. The only two reasons he had for life would be gone. Without a reason to live, he would cease to live. He would die.
Anger flared inside Angel. It wasn't fair. Fang didn't deserve this, the flock didn't deserve this. The flock would fall apart without Fang, because Max kept the flock going and Fang kept Max going. They wouldn't be the flock anymore.
"Angel, let's go." Max said quietly. There was no regret in her voice, no acknowledgement in her mind to the fact that this was her fault, and that this was a mistake.
Angel made her decision. One of them needed her; the other would have to live without her. "No." Angel whispered as tears began to fall.
"What?" Max asked shakily.
Angel took a deep breath and focused on Fang, she could do this. Fang needed her, Max could do without. "No, I'm staying with Fang." She whispered standing and moving to stand beside the bed.
"Why?" Max whispered, hurt that Angel hadn't chose her.
Good, she needed to be hurt to, she deserved to suffer, Angel told herself. It didn't feel right though, she didn't want to hurt Max. She never wanted to hurt Max. "Because this is wrong, and it will destroy the flock." Angel whispered, "Take him back or get out." That was the ultimatum, Fang and Angel or no Fang and Angel; she couldn't leave him because he needed her.
"Angel-"
Angel closed her eyes, "Get out!" She yelled. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she was fifteen Max had been fourteen when she took up the responsibility of leader; Angel could make her own decisions now. She had learned how to function on her own. With those two words Angel did the unthinkable, She turned on her leader, her role model and her mom. Max had turned on Fang first though. She was putting him on the brink of death by leaving him.
The flock left the hotel room. She herd her brothers thoughts of fair well and good luck and sorrow. It hurt. Nudge was last she turned back with tears in her eyes she mouthed "Sorry" She raised her hand to her face, Call me. Angel nodded. They were following orders and doing what was best for survival. Angel herself felt the pull to go with Max, because she promised the best chance of survival, and that's what they were built for. Angel had no grudge against them, only Max. She had to have a grudge against her because that way she wouldn't miss her.
Angel sat down beside Fang, "And then there were two." She whispered.
Fang turned to her, he was barely there. He was broken, hurt and scared, but he was there, and she would cling to that little part of him that was there. He would not heal easy, but Angel understood how Fang worked. He was a protector and as long as he had someone to protect, he had a reason to live. Angel would be that reason. She hugged him. With time, and her help, he would begin to heal. He would never fully recover, he would always have a scar, but she would help him heal as much as he was capable of. He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. She vowed that one day; she would make a smile reach his eyes.
Then when he did heal, she could tend to herself; she blocked out her feelings and focused on her older brother, her broken surrogate father. He needed her, he really needed Max, but Max wasn't coming back so she would have to do.
Angel woke up with a start. She looked around to see Fang on the branch below her. He was asleep, that was good; he hadn't been sleeping much lately. She jumped down to the ground and walked silently-for she was just as silent as Fang was now-away where she wouldn't wake him.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
"Hello?" A familiar deep husky, sleepy voice answered.
"Angel." Angel whispered identifying herself.
"Angel? Angel! How are you? How is Fang?" The voice asked.
Angel smiled, "I'm as good as I can be, Fang, he's the same." She whispered.
"I'm sorry." The voice said ringing with remorse and sincerity.
"I know, I understand."
"Where are you?"
"No way, just because I understand and I still love you, doesn't mean I trust you. How is every one there?"
The voice sighed, "Just like you said we would be, we're falling apart, infarct, we think Max and Nudge have been caught. After you left it kind of became every man for himself. It's just me and Iggy here we won't turn on each other, but Max may have already turned on us and we don't know it. Max and Nudge disappeared nine months ago." Gazzy said.
Angel sighed, "She wouldn't. She would have at least told you that you were out."
"I don't know anymore Angel, She left Fang, and she let you go with him, anything is possible. I miss you so much Angel. I should have backed you up. I'm your brother and I didn't back you up. I'm so sorry."
"You were just going where you had the best chance of survival, you couldn't hear his thoughts, this is Max's fault and no one else's." Angel said. If she hadn't heard Fang falling apart and losing it she would have gone with Max too. She was glad she didn't though. Fang was her brother and she loved him just as much-more now-than Max. He was healing, more than she had expected him to in a year.
"That doesn't make me regret it any less." Gazzy said sighing.
"I miss you too." Angel said, "I have to go now, I'll talk to you later. Bye Gazzy, I love you." She whispered.
"Same here Angel, same here." Gazzy whispered.
Angel shut the phone and climbed back up into the tree. It wasn't that she didn't want Fang to talk to the flock; it was that she knew that it would reopen the wounds when he hung up, and he wasn't much of a talking person anyway. She sighed and settled into the crook of the tree and went back to sleep.
She couldn't wait to get to New York, she didn't know why, but she really wanted to get there.
Well?
