Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 9
By MyNameIsCAB
Jeb got us some pizza, which I guess, was better than having no food at all. We sat in an unused conference room. Gazzy was spinning around on the chair as he ate his pizza. Angel seemed amused and Nudge was talking to Iggy about how cheese is made.
"Fang…are you okay?" I asked, watching him pick at his pizza slowly.
"Yea, I'm fine…just…exhausted," his free hand found mine and squeezed it. "Stop worrying."
I lay awake listening to Fang's unsteady breathing. For some reason, it didn't feel safe to fall asleep in a facility that Jeb was running. The last time I checked on him, he was asleep in his own room, classical music playing in the background.
But sleep did find me eventually and I slept until Fang was shaking me awake. He still looked tired, and he was limping, but he talked to me like nothing was wrong, so I didn't pester him with questions.
"So let's get out of here," he said. "I can't stand it here. We gotta get out."
"I know," I nodded, getting our things together. "Are the others awake?"
"Yep. I told them to get ready to leave," Fang said with a half smile.
I smiled at him and got out of bed, running my fingers through my hair trying to make it look like I didn't just roll out of bed.
We bid farewell to Jeb, heading back to Mom's I guess. We didn't really have anywhere else we needed to be, and Fang was probably in a lot more pain than he would ever admit to us.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Jeb asked.
"No, I like the fresh air," I told him. "Flying is better for the environment."
Jeb seemed annoyed that I had said that, but we all waved goodbye and unfurled our wings.
Arriving at Mom's, she seemed glad to see us as we all filed in. I watched Fang straighten up and walk in without limping. He headed towards his room. As Mom turned her back to him, he started to limp again.
"So Jeb lost the sample?" Mom asked.
"Yea, Fang handed it over to save his sorry butt," I frowned.
Mom sighed. "Well, at least everyone is safe."
"Yea, I guess," I agreed.
The others were heading to their rooms. It had taken us a long time to get here and the sun was already setting. No one seemed to care there was food waiting for us on the table.
"You're not happy, are you?" Mom asked.
"I don't want Fang so suffer anymore," I admitted.
"No one does," Mom said, taking a seat.
"But Jeb is the only one willing to help reverse the affects of the saliva, so Fang decided to save Jeb," I explained to Mom.
"It was probably the right choice," Mom said. "Come and eat now, Max."
I sat down next to Mom as Ella came in. She smiled and said hello to me, telling me she had seen all the others in the hallway. They were all now filing back into the kitchen, thanking Mom for cooking food for them. Fang came in last. I could tell he was hiding the pain away now because he looked more tired.
But Fang survived dinner and retreated to his room early, even though the rest of us were sitting around talking.
I went to go check on him. He was sitting on the bed, massaging his knee.
"Hey," he threw one of his shirts at me.
I smiled. "Thanks. How're you doing?"
"Okay…" he sighed, grimacing as he moved his knee. "Just hurts a lot. Nothing new."
