Soooooooooooooooooo sorry it took so long, I was having serious computer problems. I promise it will never happen again.
Disclaimer: Hell no, I don't own Maximum Ride because if I did I would actually be able to buy my mansion, ninja whales and magical powers. Possibly also a giant rubber duck or a dinosaur…..
MAX POV
"I said you're going to live with your mother." Said Elizabeth slowly.
"That's impossible. My mother is dead." I explained to her, my patience already wearing thin."
"Is that what Jeb told you?"
"Yes and I know it's true. I never met my mother; she wouldn't have left me there with a monster like him." I desperately wanted it to be true. I know it sounds awful to hope my mother is dead but look at it my way. It's much better to not have a mom than go live with one who would leave you in the hands of a madman.
"It wasn't like that from what I know, but they didn't tell me everything."
"What! First of all, who's 'they' and second, you better tell me everything you know right now." I warned her icily. She sighed and pulled over to the side of the road.
"When the police identified your father they found out he was a wanted criminal and-"
"Well, duh! He KILLED my brother! That bastard!" I screamed, slamming my fist against the dashboard.
"Don't interrupt. Besides, that's not what I meant. He's been a wanted man for years. You see, your father used to be a scientist working for a place called the school which was a branch of Itex. Shortly before you were born, Itex was shut down and the school burned. Without his job, Jeb went kind of crazy. Your mother noticed and got a divorce. She had custody of you, but your father was in an insane rage. He kidnapped you and ran to Colorado. Your mother searched for years, but got nowhere. Eventually, people assumed that the two of you were dead. The case got no farther until…..that night. You see, your mom was worried sick about you and tried to find you. She's not a bad person."
I tried to take all of this new information. Honestly, I was astonished. I can't begin to tell you how offsetting it is to find out you had a mother who cared about you your whole life who you didn't know about, who you thought was dead.
"What is her name?" I asked, for the first time without any anger or sarcasm.
"Dr. Valencia Martinez." Elizabeth replied with a smile. "You can change to her last name if you'd like. I can understand you wouldn't want to be associated with your father."
"It just doesn't fit or seem right. I mean, I don't even know her. Besides, I already picked a name. Ride, Maximum Ride. You know, like Sally Ride? I like the sound of it."
"Me too. Oh, you also have another half sibling, her name is Ella. She's only a year younger than you. Unfortunately her father, your stepdad, died in Iraq four years ago."
I sighed. I was excited to find out I had family, but I was also extremely scared. My mother had already been through so much I didn't want to be a letdown. I know I'm not the cute little baby she lost years ago. What if she doesn't want me? Elizabeth announced that we were only ten minutes away and my hands started sweating. I was terrified of my new life, but there was nothing I could do now. I mean, I could run away, but I have nowhere to go. I lost and left everything behind. There was nowhere to go but forwards. Well, at least for now.
Ohh! Looky! Steve the line is back! He's going, he's goooooooooiiiiiiiing…Bye Steve!
I stepped out of the car in front of a brick house at the end of a cull de sac. I pulled my few belongings out of the trunk and walked towards the porch. This was it. I saw a face flash by an upstairs window and then a muffled shout of 'she's here!'
A few seconds later a hispanic woman opened the door. She leaned against the frame, wiping her hands on her jeans and brushing her dark curly hair behind her ear. I saw a younger girl who looked remarkably like her appear behind her shoulder.
"Max? Is it really you?" She whispered quietly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. I nodded awkwardly and she ran forward catching me in a tight embrace. I just stood there limply, not knowing what to do. It was all so overwhelming.
"Oh, my baby, I can't believe it! After all these years I never would've guessed. Look how tall you are! Oh, Max, I'm so sorry!" Dr. Martinez then just stepped back and looked at me. "This must be very awkward for you. Why don't you come inside? I made cookies!" I couldn't believe that she understood my perspective. I had been expecting her to think that I would feel at home immediately.
I walked in the door and smelled the most amazing thing ever! Dr. Martinez pulled a pan of fresh, hot, chocolate chip cookies from the oven. I could hardly keep from drooling over them. When she told me to help myself, I fell upon them like a starving animal. It seemed like an awesome idea until I started to feel the insane burning. Dr. Martinez and Elizabeth had left the room to discuss some things so the girl was the only one left in the kitchen. She started giggling like crazy when I ran to the sink and started pouring water down my throat. I gave her one of my worst glares.
"I'm sorry," she said, smiling and handing me a towel and a glass of milk, "This should help. It's like you've never had homemade cookies before."
"I haven't." I told her simply. She just stared at me with a blank expression.
"Then I'll let you catch up on what you've been missing out on for years." I smiled. I mean, there was a real genuine smile on my face. It wasn't sarcastic or a sneer or a grimace, I was smiling and I was happy. I actually liked Ella already. Maybe I could get used to it here.
While I gobbled down every last cookie, Ella told me about our mom and reassured me that she was kind. She told me how heart-broken she'd seemed whenever I was mentioned. She never really lost hope that I was out there somewhere even though the case had been cold for years. Ella told me that everyone was thrilled when they got the call but became worried after they were told what happened. I was completely shocked; I didn't know anyone could care about me so much, let alone without really knowing me. Now don't get me wrong, just because I wasn't completely opposed to the idea of living with them anymore didn't mean I trusted them. It wasn't even close. I knew that it was too dangerous to let people in. If I lost someone else, I didn't think I could recover.
"Ella?" Dr. Martinez called. I wasn't comfortable even thinking of her as my mom yet. "I have a few more things to wrap up here, why don't you show Max the house and her room?"
"Okay! Come on Max!" I followed her around the corner to see a cozy little room with an overstuffed couch and a fire crackling in the corner. There was also a T.V. mounted on the wall and I could see a large DVD collection on the shelf along with tons of books.
"This is the den. You can hang out here whenever you don't want to be in your room or want to be near the fire. You already saw the kitchen and dining room, let's go upstairs." I followed her up and she burst through a door. "This is my room." She said proudly. I looked around at her large four poster bed with a purple comforter and her fuzzy purple beanbag, her purple curtains, and light lilac walls. I also then noticed that she was wearing a purple shirt with a ruffle down it diagonally, light grey skinny jeans, and purple converse.
"You really like purple don't you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Well I suppose It's better than pink." She gave me a small smile.
"Come on let's see your room." She pushed open another door just a little farther down the hall. In between the two rooms was a bathroom for the two of us. When I looked inside my room I was a little shocked. It was set up as a nursery with white walls and a little crib and everything. "Sorry it's a little weird. Mom couldn't bear to move anything after you disappeared and we didn't have much notice ahead of your arrival. You can sleep in my room tonight and we can go furniture shopping tomorrow. Mom says you can decorate it any way you want."
I was really excited. I was already formulating ideas in my head.
"Did you bring many things with you, any clothes or books or anything?"
I just shook my head and looked away. I didn't have much in the first place and that I did carry memories that were too painful. The only thing I took with me from my old life was a photo album of Ari. There were his baby pictures, his first day of kindergarten, him on Christmas, and a few of the both of us. It was wrapped securely in T-shirts in my backpack. I only brought that and one small suitcase.
"That's alright. We can get you anything you need tomorrow. Plus, this means I get to take you shopping!" My face fell.
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