Meant to Be – Chapter 8
By MyNameIsCAL
Tensions were running high. Gazzy would be home soon as soon as the doctor x-rayed his jaw one more time. The kid was okay though, talking, getting angry about Dylan. He just needed to go home now, to relax, get some real food from Iggy.
It was my turn tonight to keep an eye on Gazzy at the hospital. Fang had come along, and we sat on the couch, Gazzy already sleeping.
"Maybe when things cool off, we can go somewhere, just you and me," Fang suggested. "Dinner or a movie."
"That sounds great," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.
His hand lingered next to mine. "I'm sorry we haven't talked much lately, I've just…had a lot going through my head."
I took his hand and he squeezed it, eyes meeting mine. And then he leaned down and kissed me.
"Alright, guys. Gazzy is coming home today," I announced.
Dylan, Fang, and Nudge sat around me. Iggy was already at the hospital, waiting for me to arrive.
"So what does this mean for us?" Dylan knew that this meeting was only so I could direct things at him.
"Look, Dylan, he's not happy with you. And this goes for everyone, don't piss him off," I answered. "I mean, c'mon, we're finally all together for once. Let's not fight anymore."
"Are we ever going to go look for Angel?" Nudge suddenly questioned.
I had been thinking about it, but the question was, where the hell were we going to start looking? "She left us, Nudge. But yes, we'll try to track her down."
Nudge shrugged. "Just wondering. I know Gazzy's been thinking about her again."
"But she said she was leaving forever," Dylan reminded us.
Fang let out a sigh, but didn't say anything.
"What's your problem?" Dylan sneered.
"Hey, Man, chill out."
We all turned to see Iggy standing by the ladder that led to the roof. Gazzy was climbing down and Dylan shut his mouth.
"I told you to wait for me to come," I frowned.
Iggy shrugged. "He wanted to get out and I made the decision that we'd just come home already. No point in waiting around. Hospitals creep us out."
"Gazzy! It's so great to have you home!" Nudge ran up to him and gave him a sisterly hug. I had to smile at that and Iggy took a seat next to Fang.
Dylan rose out of his seat. "Tell me when we're having dinner."
Iggy was the one who acknowledged him. "Sure thing."
Gazzy glared at Dylan.
"Well, we're not going to starve him," Iggy grumbled, sensing the tenseness in our silence. "We're not inhumane."
"We're not even human," Gazzy said, and then let a crooked smile slip past his lips.
Laughter went around and he took a seat, rubbing the side of his face.
"How's it feel?" I asked.
Gazzy shrugged. "Sorta sore still, but everything's healed according to the doctor. Hey, Ig, you think you could cook me some food. That hospital stuff tastes like crap."
"Of course." Iggy rose, heading to the kitchen, sidestepping the armchair with perfect precision.
Fang shook his head, looking amused. "Not much has changed."
"No, not really," I agreed.
He gave me one of his infamous half smiles and stood, taking my hand, and dragging me to the kitchen with the others.
The rest of the day been spent keeping Gazzy occupied, and finally dinner came around. Iggy and I had always taken turns going to tell Dylan that dinner was ready. Nudge and Gazzy couldn't be bothered with him. Tonight was my turn to go and I stood outside his door. Before I could knock, he opened it.
"Dinner?" he asked.
"Yup," I nodded.
He let out a breath and I turned, feeling his eyes on me as I walked down the hallway.
"Max?"
"Yes, Dylan?" I closed my eyes, wishing I had convinced Iggy to go.
"Do…do you remember when we used to go out on the balcony and look up at the stars?"
"Of course I remember, Dylan."
"I don't know, Max. I miss that."
I hesitated and then turned to face him. "One night, we'll go out there."
"I'd like that."
I gave him a small smile and headed to the kitchen.
The table now only had one empty chair, the one for Angel. Gazzy was staring at the space. I realized Fang's gaze was locked on it too, even though Iggy was holding out a bowl of mashed potatoes in front of him.
"Fang, hey, this is sorta heavy," Iggy said.
Fang took the bowl, scooping some onto his plate and then my own before passing it across me to Dylan. The bowl finally got to Gazzy and he started to focus on eating, his eyes glued to his plate. I knew what was going through his head.
"Ig?"
"Yes, Gaz?" Iggy replied through a mouthful of food.
"Can we go to the roof tonight, toast some marshmallows?" he questioned.
"Of course we can," Iggy said with a smile. I don't know how Iggy did it, but he always handled Gazzy better than the rest of us.
Gazzy just nodded and went back to eating. Fang exchanged glances with me and we went back to eating, listening to Nudge ramble about nothing.
So I just read the synopsis of Angel, the eight installment in the Maximum Ride series. Things look complicated, they look like things might now go the way we want, but you never know. I don't think any of us saw Fang leaving coming at the end of the latest book.
Oh, if you're looking to read the summary of the next book (due out February 14, 2011), check out Amazon and search Maximum Ride Angel or Maximum Ride book 7…something to that affect, click on the search result you're looking for and scroll down to the summary. I'm up for a discussion about it, so I'd like to know what you're all thinking about it.
Anyway, I'll update in the next week or so. Thanks for reading!
