Chapter Seven
That afternoon, Megan and Max made their way across to the medical centre. Apparently every new cherub had to have loads of injections, and they both needed a medical before they were pronounced fit to take basic training. Max and Megan had had plenty of jabs before so they weren't scared at all. During the tests they sat and waited for each other. At the end, the tubby German doctor smiled.
"I have to say, these are the best pair of medical results I've ever seen from some new recruits. You're a credit to your mother."
He twinkled a smile at them. The twins smiled at him and ran off, hoping to explore more of the CHERUB campus.
They decided to go to the food cupboard, to stock up their little kitchens. Although their mother had been a vegetarian, Megan, Max and Jamie had never taken to it. They piled fizzy drinks, chocolate bars, bread, milk, microwave meals and other suchlike into a few bags and lugged them through the elevator doors and up to their rooms.
They spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking their bags, which had been brought from their house. It was then, faced with all her stuff that didn't really seem to belong at CHERUB, the realisation of what had happened hit Megan.
It was like a wave crashing over her; a wave of misery and sadness. The feeling of lack of hope and desperation was overwhelming. Megan simply collapsed on the floor, rocking silently back and forth, staring into space.
This was how Kerry found her, when she came to collect Megan and Max to have supper at her house.
"Oh Megan," whispered Kerry. She rushed over, sat down on the floor beside the little girl and wrapped her arms around her lovingly. If anything, this made it worse. What Megan missed so desperately was her mother's touch; the way Lauren would greet them warmly after each day at school, and enquire about what they had done that day.
The way that she always knew when something was wrong, even if they tried their hardest not to show it.
But the thing that upset Megan the most was the fact that she could not look at Max without thinking of Jamie. Dear, sweet Jamie, who had always looked out for her and protected her. Somehow Megan felt like a part of her was missing. She knew that none of this was Max's fault, and that he was feeling awful as well, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him properly.
All day, Megan had only briefly thought of Lauren and Jamie; it had seemed not to be real – the shock of it had yet to sink in. And now that it had, Megan felt as though she could never be happy again.
She lay in Kerry's strong arms, sobbing her heart out. She just didn't know how she would ever feel normal again. Not with Mami, or Jamie.
"We're always here for you, Megan," whispered Kerry. "And James is coming home soon. I can't believe what this must be like for all of you. I mean, we were all friends with Lauren but she was the only relative that James had. And now…" she broke off, a delicate tear slowly falling down her cheek.
"Oh, Megan." She sighed, and hugged her tighter. Megan didn't know how long she sat there. All she knew was that Mami and Jamie were dead, and they were never coming back.
For Max, unpacking in his room, his feelings were slightly different. He simply could not comprehend that his mother and brother were dead; to him, it felt like they were in some sort of dream – as if they were on holiday or something.
When he thought about it, and he tried not to because it made him extremely sad, Max couldn't help feeling guilty and unwanted. It was always Jamie that was the best son; always Jamie that won all the competitions, always Jamie that had looked after Megan, and Lauren. Jamie was the protector of the family, the man of the house. Max was always the one on the sidelines.
And now, dreadful although it made him feel, Max couldn't help but wonder whether Megan would have preferred Jamie to live, rather than him. Although Megan and Max had always been much closer than Megan and Jamie, Max felt that in the situation they were in now, Jamie would have been a much more reassuring person to have with his little sister.
Max sighed. He never cried; that was one thing he could establish over Jamie. Jamie was never afraid to show his feelings, whereas Max was quiet, reserved. This had worried Lauren sometimes. And although he didn't know it, it worried Kerry, and Meryl, and Zara, and everybody that felt responsible for him at that moment. Losing a mother and a brother is a massive ordeal for a ten-year-old boy to deal with, especially with no known relatives to support him – apart from James, of course.
So, for once in his life, Max Carlos James Adams let go of his emotions and started to cry.
