DISCLAIMER – I DON'T OWN MAXIMUM RIDE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.
As soon as I pressed the receive button I knew that I had made a huge mistake. I took a shaky breath and answered, "H-h-h-ello…?"
The caller bellowed a laugh (a/n does that make sense…oh well). No answer.
My patience was already running thin, the first time this dude called there was no answer and the same thing seems to be happening this time. "Hello? Whoever you are, please just answer or something! I mean…isn't that what a phone is for – talk bitch talk! If you don't then it'll be a complete waste of my time and seriously, cut me some slack, I don't need blank calls and messages or you laughing like a f*cking paedophile down the phone. TELL ME WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU WANT!" My voice had risen to a shout – thankfully, everyone was probably in their classes by now. My whole body was trembling due to the sudden anger and adrenaline.
The person huffed and (a/n I reaalllly want to put 'puffed' after that…) answered, "Hello to you to…"
Surprisingly, the voice seemed to belong to someone quite young – I was expecting more of a deep, scary threatening voice with all the 'ggrrrr' and jackassness…
"Let's get straight to the point…who are you? What do you want?"
His voice suddenly became serious, "I'm Isaac and I'm calling to warn you."
I laughed bitterly, "If I should trust you so much then why did you have to be all creep-o on me?"
Isaac let out an exasperated sigh, "Look, let's clear one thing – I didn't call you any time before this. All I'm asking of you is to stay safe and be cautious of who you mess with and who you are friends with. You'll never know who will turn against you."
"God – why should I trust you? Give me one reason."
"Max, you really don't remember do you?"
"…awahhaatt..?"
"OK, when you go home just ask your mom who I am…maybe then you'll remember."
"Fine then. Moving on…what situation have I actually gotten myself into…"
"I'll make it brief for now but, obviously, there's a lot more…Basically, you know your dad went into prison, right?"
"Uhuh."
"Well, he's still in prison but…he…has connections. These 'connections' want you because, to them, you're, how do I put it, 'valuable'. You are the eldest of Jeb's children and the more tough one –"
"Right now, I'm one of Jeb's ONLY children. If you seem to know me THAT much then you must know about Ari."
Isaac's voice seemed a little strained, "Yeah Max, I do know about Ari – probably more than I should."
I was awfully confused, "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Look, I have to go…NOW."
"Bye…?"
"I promise to tell you everything bit by bit. Bye."
"Why –" Isaac hung up on me before I wanted to ask the 'killer question' – WHY. Why were Jeb's 'connections' doing this – what the hell was their motive? And, Ari – my sweet, little, Ari. Is it possible that he is still alive? Was that what Isaac was implying? NO. Ari is DEAD…he can't possibly be alive.
'Maybe he can…after all, his body wasn't actually found. And, besides, who said you can't dream of possibilities?' I thought to myself.
If Ari was alive…what would he look like? Would he have changed ? Will he still be my little Ari or is he now grown up? Would he even remember me?
Tears threatened to spill – partially due to the happiness that Ari MAY be alive…and partially because he may not be alive at all…that Isaac wasn't implying that at all. I slumped against the sinks and slid down to the floor. No point in going to class now – what would I say and how would I even cope in the state I was in?
Suddenly, the door opened and I jerked. I looked up to see who it was.
"You know, hiding in the toilets never works – trust me, I've tried it a million times." I could hear the smirk in her voice. It was that girl from registration – Courtney.
I let out a bitter laugh, "So have I but, right now, there's not really anywhere else I can go."
I looked up at her and she gasped at my current state. My face was probably a mess – with the full water works, red eyes, puffy nose, rosy cheeks – you get the idea.
Her sarcastic look was replaced with one of concern, she crouched down to my level, "What on earth happened?"
"Nothing. Nothing happened." I replied bitterly. I wasn't planning on letting anyone else into my life again. Frankly, the thing with Fang didn't seem to go too well and now between us, the atmosphere was worse than awkward – it was like…the awkward turtle was having babies (a/n yeah, I had to use that one – my friend told me about it the other day and now I'm obsessed with it).
"Look, you must be Max right? –" I gave her a face which screamed 'stalker', "Don't give me that look, Iggy told me about you before class. OK, Max, you need to learn to let people into your life -obviously, not too many, but people who you can trust – you never know how it may help."
"You seem to be saying that from experience…"
She cocked her head thoughtfully, "Yeah, you could say that… but, that's a story for another time. What I'm trying to tell you is that you need to learn to trust people, Max. However crazy or diabolical that may seem to you, it'll help you more than anything." Courtney gave a genuine smile and I instantly knew that I had made a new friend.
The next few minutes seemed like a strange sense of déjà vu. Like with Fang, I couldn't resist Courtney's honesty and kindness. During all of my school experiences, nobody actually treated me like a true friend – I was always 'the girl who kept to herself' or 'the girl with the bad reputation'.
I told her everything, even the bits which I didn't tell Fang. I told her about Ari, Jeb, the fights, Isaac and even, dare I say it, Fang.
When I finished telling her, she thought about it for a bit to process the sudden amount of information.
"Well…" I urged her for a reply.
"What I think you should do is be cool with Fang – after all, for all the years I've known him he's never betrayed anyone and will always keep your secrets safe. And yes, before you ask, I've known Fang and Iggy for God knows how long. Secondly, ask your mom about Isaac – you need to know more about him so you can make a clear judgement if he's ok or not. The issue of your dad…well, that's up to Isaac to tell you, he seems to be up to date with sorta thing. But, be careful, you don't really know who he is and how he knows your phone number – take cautious steps when you're talking to him, never let out unnecessary information. Well, that's as far as I can go with helping you…"
All this kindness was a bit too much for me to process so it was slightly awkward when it came to thanking Courtney. She laughed it off and said that 'we could be great friends.' And, for one of the few times in my life, I seriously believed that.
A/N Hiyaaaaa. Sooo a bit surprised there – I UPLOADED…LIKE TWICE IN ONE WEEK. I'm proud of myself – like totally. I hope you liked that chapter, peeepps. I was gonna make it longer but it would've made more sense if it was one chapter on its own. So, before I go and do some homework, I've got some questions…
What do you make of Isaac and who can he possibly be?
ARI! Woahh…what do you thinks gonna happen to him?
How much do you hate Jeb – grrr? That man is totally evil.
What are your opinions on this chapter and how the story is going so far?
Well, that's it for now – sowwwwy no randomness in this authors note – its 8:30pm and I haven't done ANY homework yet. Ooppss. Yeah..its a realy bummer – its raining here… A LOT. AND ITS SUMMER. WELL… THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR LIVING IN ENGLAND…
Pssst…PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I was a bit disappointed with the number of reviews for the last chapter…*sniff sniff* BUT THANKS TO THOSE WHO DID REVIEW *HUGS*
Thanks!
Lotsa love,
LiveLifeLOUDxoxo :)