Second Chances?-Chapter 10

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

The only thing left to do was wait and see who showed up first, the cops or Roland. I stood, pacing back and forth from the door to the couch where Fang was.

"You should go to sleep," I said finally. "We have to start packing our things for Arizona tomorrow."

Fang looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine. I stopped pacing, knowing he wasn't going to go anywhere until the cops showed. He didn't need to talk to tell me that he would stay up all night with me if I felt unsafe. The one thing we would always have would be that silent understanding. It would be the one thing that would always draw us back to each other.

"Well, why is it that you have so much trouble sleeping?" I asked.

He looked like he was searching for an answer. "Nightmares and dreams. My thoughts just keep racing, nonstop. The medication barely helps. If it really worked, I would be knocked out within minutes of taking them. And they work, sometimes."

I sat down next to him.

"Medication is a temporary fix." Fang leaned a little closer to me. "It's like the temporary high from shooting drugs. It all comes crashing down in the end. Drugs, medication, treatments, therapy…Hell, it takes a lot to fix people like me. Most people are never truly repaired, just temporarily being held together until something inside snaps again."

I stared back into his eyes. His own personal, internal pain seemed to be reflected out of the intensity of his eyes. It was like I could feel how he felt.

"And when you realize that," Fang spoke quietly. "It's hard to wonder why even bother to try to fix yourself in the first place when falling apart again is inevitable."

It took me a while to process that. "Fang…"

But there was someone knocking on the door now and my thought was interrupted.

"Max!" Roland yelled. "Max, please let me in."

Fang stood by the door, waiting for me.

"I'm not letting you in," I said.

"Why? Is it because he's in there with you?" Roland accused. "Telling you what to do?"

He started to pound on the door. Fang still stood silently, showing no intention of moving unless I told him to.

"I called the cops, Roland," I shouted over his pounding.

There was silence, and then the door came crashing down. Fang pulled me aside, the door missing me by inches.

"You!" Roland hissed. "YOU BELONG LOCKED UP!"

Fang dodged a punch.

"Stop!" I pleaded.

Roland lowered his fist as I stood in front of Fang.

"Don't leave me, Max." Roland started to walk towards me, his arms outstretched.

"I know you're upset, Roland," I said. "But if you could control yourself, we could talk. We could still be friends."

He glared at Fang, over my shoulder. "It's not enough."

"Then I can't help you."

"Please, Max," he begged.

There was a cop standing in the doorway, another one behind him. I made eye contact, and then continued to talk to Roland. "The world doesn't revolve around you. You can't always put yourself first. Take this as something to learn from. You'll be miserable if you don't move on."

Now Roland looked like I had just stabbed him. He backed up, no longer angry, but scared and upset. One of the cops grabbed Roland by the arm, handcuffing him.

"No!" Roland tried to break free, but the other cop grabbed him.

They led him out, reciting his rights. That's when Agent Wilkes stepped through the door. Fang let out a deep breath. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was growling.

"We could lock him up for good," Wilkes offered.

Fang shook his head.

"You know we're gonna have to let him go," Wilkes frowned. "He didn't hurt any of you and it's his first time offence."

"We're moving in a few days," I told Wilkes.

Wilkes looked distressed. He was here to try to win Fang back. But I wasn't going to let Wilkes mess with Fang's head. I had already decided earlier that Fang still needed a lot of looking after.

"Well, then goodnight to both of you." And with that, Wilkes left.

We started to box things up the next morning after dropping Alex off at school. Fang worked quietly on his side of the bedroom, the only noise the noise of clothes rubbing against the inside of the cardboard boxes.

There wasn't much to pack. Most of it was clothes and pictures. Alex had some toys, but the TV, some paper, and crayons could keep her occupied for hours. If someone who didn't know us came to survey our apartment, they would probably think that a single person, or a couple without kids, lived here and worked all day. In many ways, it had been empty. I hoped that emptiness wouldn't follow us to Arizona.

"So you're going to stay with Mom?" Fang asked quietly.

"Yes, we are," I answered.

Fang shook his head. "I'm going to stay with Ella and Iggy."

I blinked, trying not to show that I was disappointed and angry. But Fang needed his time away from me, and I wasn't going to stop him.

"But I'll be around," he added quickly.

"And what are we going to tell Mom?"

Fang paused, thinking. "Maybe you should tell her the truth."

The movers came, loading the boxes up into the truck. The couch and bed were being moved too. Ella and Iggy would use them in their new house. They had left this morning already, house hunting. Their stuff was already on route to Arizona. Fang, Alex, and I would be leaving today.

Fang stood at the window, staring at the city. He looked sad again, his eyes pained as he watched the city bustle below. I wanted to go up to him, hug him, and tell him that everything was going to be ok. To think that I had even thought about pushing him away when he needed me the most was starting to eat away at me.

"Maybe I'll miss the snow." Fang put his hand against the window. "Are you really sure you want to move?"

"Of course I'm sure."

He pulled the blinds closed on the window and we headed out, off to the airport once more.

Sorry for updating chapters so far apart. Once I get through February, things should be less hectic. I've got a lot of ideas. Finding the time to get them all down into story for has been hard. Thanks for reading!!!