Chapter 10- A Promise is A Promise, Remember?

Fang POV

That wasn't smart…I thought as Max stared in shock at me. She only got the benefit of surprise for, oh, thirty seconds before she broke out into coughs again. As her head bent down, past her dirty blonde hair I thought I could see a line of black numbers. I squinted, and with my bird kid vision, my theory was confirmed. Definitely an expiration date. Finally, she was able to breathe again, and Max snapped her head up to look at me once more. I still remained silent, just as I did for all that time I was away. Her name crossed my lips once again; I couldn't stop myself from saying it again.

"Max," She blinked, not reacting. I could see what she was doing. It was an act I had perfected in the past years. It was something that made me labeled as "emo" by many of my blog readers. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke.

"Nice of you to drop in, you promise breaker," Though it was true, it still stung. I shrugged, hoping to just let this slide like so many other things. Max's eyes hardened and I realized I wasn't going to get off so easily. Probably deserved it, considering the situation…

"Go ahead. Give it all you got," I dared. "You know I deserve it," She shook her head rapidly, and I stood there in complete awe as her blonde hair swung about and formed a hypnotizing frizzy halo around her head.

"You don't even deserve that. So I'm giving you what you deserve. Nothing. You should leave now, leave, go back to where you came from,"

"Where would that be? A test tube?" I shot back.

"Your parents,"

"They're dead," I stated matter-of-factly. I noticed a flicker of sympathy on her face before it was drowned in anger and pain. "So I have nowhere to go,"

"What about Lissa, the Red Haired Wonder?"

"She's a bitch, as you know,"

"Bridget?"

"Same as Lissa. I have nowhere to go, no one to be with. Except you, Max," Her mouth twitched into a frown. She was unconvinced. I had to try harder. I had to persuade her with the new ability I gained the second I had left Max.

"I have an internal clock," I told her. Still no reaction. I might as well have just told her the weather. So I continued.

"This internal clock tells me you have been hurting, not just for days, but for weeks, and months, even. The second you opened that letter, it unleashed a storm of pain that raged on and on, and still is raging, though I stand in front of you in an attempt to make it all better. I can tell by the looks in your eyes that you think I'm crazy, but think about it. Would I not care about you if I left Antarctica, not headed anywhere in particular, only to end up here? Would I not care about you if I didn't end up circling the house for hours and hours? Would I not care about you if I didn't follow you here, concerned about you?" I used up probably a year's worth of words in less than five minutes. But at the moment, that wasn't my concern. Max gaped in shock at me, but quickly recovered so she could respond.

"I…want to believe you," she murmured, struggling for the right words. I could read her better than she ever knew, and I could tell that she believed me. She just didn't want to give me the benefit of seeing her emotional side.

"And you do, don't you?" I asked. As an answer, she walked up to me and punched me in the nose, hard enough to break it and send blood flowing down my face. I readjusted my nose before it could set broken, grimacing just slightly so that she could see it hurt. But only a little. And then she stepped back, looking me straight in the eyes for the first time.

"All right, I admit, you deserved that," Max said. "But don't think this means you're off the hook. You'll have to suffer a little longer," She started coughing again, harder than before. I wanted to help, but was unsure as to what I should do to help.

"Check your neck," I said. She felt her neck, and I watched as her eyes widened.

"What's on my neck?" she asked in a too-calm voice.

"An expiration date,"

"How long do I have to live?" she continued.

"A week," The two words were like a bombshell on Max. It took a lot to shock her. Me, I could feel the panic starting to set in. But I knew that none of it would show in my face. I had to let it show in my words and actions. Mostly actions, though, since I deemed words unnecessary most of the time. We flew back to the house together, holding hands. Of course, I knew getting back into a relationship with Max was out of the question as long as Dylan was around. We landed silently landed in the grass not too far away from the front door. Max motioned for me to wait while she alerted the others with her grim news, then shocking news. I could hear Nudge's squeal of delight from inside, so I knew she gave out my return as good news first. Then I heard quiet sobbing from inside. It didn't sound like anyone's I was familiar with. Dr. Martinez? I drifted toward the doorway. I could see Dr. Martinez from the window. Her back was to me, and her shoulders were shaking with sobs. I walked into the house, not bothering to wait any longer.

"The only person to help me…is dead?" Max growled. Dr. Martinez nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

"Jeb is dead," she whispered. "The only man I ever loved…" She sobbed harder. Angel, being the sweet seven year old, went up to the woman and hugged her tightly. Dylan stood awkwardly in the background. I didn't think he noticed me yet, until he suddenly locked eyes with me. Turquoise on black. He seemed unsurprised, as if I had just been over here yesterday instead of two months ago.

"Great," Max muttered. "Guess we have to talk to Dr. God again. Dylan?" He looked up at the sound of his name.

"I'll need you to arrange us a meeting with him…any way you can. Even pretend to be part of his experiment again if you have to, I don't care. I'm not going down without a fight," I felt invisible, which probably wasn't far from the truth, since I could camouflage myself by simply standing still. Dylan nodded.

"Shouldn't be too hard to convince that idiot," Dylan said. "I'll be back by dinner," He ran out the door to take off. Nudge and Dr. Martinez were still in the room, along with the others in the flock.

"Uh…" I said awkwardly. "A promise is a promise, remember? So, that's why I'm back. For Max. For you guys," Silence. Then…I was suddenly hugged by everybody. What is this? I was the jerk that left in the first place, right? What the heck? I let myself be squeezed to death by Nudge before I finally said something I should've said two months ago.

"I'm sorry I ever left. That was stupid of me,"

"You got that right," Iggy muttered. "I was the one that called you a butthead,"

"Oh yeah…" Gazzy said. "Where's Angel?"

"Right here," she sang out from above him, using her wings like a parachute to bring herself back to the floor safely.

"I knew he was here before Max even came inside," she bragged. "His thoughts can be pretty loud sometimes,"

"Hi Angel," I said weakly, bracing myself for another torturous hug.

"You do know that you're not supposed to be Max's perfect half, right?" Angel asked, her blue eyes gazing up at me.

"Yes," I replied dully. "But that's not why I'm here,"

"I know,"

Dr. Martinez POV

Why is it that everything precious must be destroyed? Everyone here celebrated the return of Fang, oblivious to my pain. Even my own daughter, Max, just stood there and acted as if I wasn't there. Ella came home from school and saw what was going on. She took in the sight of Fang being in the house, of Angel folding in her pure white wings, and last of all, me, red eyed and teary still.

"What happened, Mom?" she asked. That just got me sobbing all over again. Still crying, I took her into my room to tell her the terrible news.