Dr. Martinez POV
Max and the rest of the kids agreed to move in with me. I finally get the opportunity to be like a real parent to them. Sure, parenting six unique kids with the appetite of a bull may be hard at times, but I have always wanted a big family and I love them all very much. Besides, I know Ella gets lonely all by herself.
I won't admit it to the kids, but another reason why I want Max to move in with me is so I can watch her and Fang with a closer eye. Those two have been very intimate lately. I know they are very responsible for their age, but they are still just teenagers. Hormonal teenagers at that.
The kids are all arriving tomorrow. Max needed a day to pack up the house and clean it so they could sell it. One of my friends is a realtor and will be able to get us a pretty good price on it. I don't know how Max will take not being in charge all the time. She is a born leader from the inside out, a very good one at that, but still she is only a child.
- The next day –
There was a knock on the door. They are here! "Ella, Max is here!" I shouted, racing to open the door. I was greeted by tight hugs coming from all the kids.
Ella came to the door as well. I welcomed them in and let them put their stuff in their rooms before sitting them down in the living room for a talk.
"Since you guys will now be living under my roof, I need to lay down the law. There are a few rules that need to be followed." I began. "First of all, there is to be absolutely no leaving the house for flying or any other activity after curfew without my permission." There were shocked looks on all of the kids faces. I guess they had never had a curfew before.
"Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, your curfew is nine o'clock. Max, Iggy, Fang, since you are older, your curfew is ten o'clock. I expect you inside the house by that time. Understood?" I said. They all nodded.
"Another thing, now I'm sure this goes without saying but when I am not here Max is in charge, and there is absolutely no answering the door for anybody, you hear?" I continued. Hopefully there will be no attacks anytime in the near future. They all nodded again.
"Okay then, go ahead and unpack." I finished, dismissing them from the living room. There was complete and utter silence. I hope they didn't take the new rules too harshly.
Max POV
I agreed to move in, not to let Mom control my life! I'm still responsible for my Flock, and nothing will change that. A few rules I'm ok with, but curfews? We have never had a curfew before! What's next, school? We tried that once before and it didn't turn out so great.
I had to unpack all of my stuff. We had to take both cars to lug all of our bags here, meaning I had to drive, meaning all hell broke loose. Mom said we needed to get a driver's license before we could drive again. I honestly think that would be a good idea.
Some stuff was already unpacked from before we left for the Bahamas, but I still had four suitcases left to empty out. We had to leave some stuff behind, but Mom promised to take us all shopping tomorrow. Joy to the world.
Fang knocked on my door, cautious to not have a repeat of the last time I unpacked my stuff. "Max? Can I come in?" he asked.
"Sure." I replied. He opened the door.
"Need some help?" he asked. I nodded and handed him a small bag. How was he done so quickly?
"This is all stuff for the bathroom." I said. He nodded and went to unpack it.
Fang POV
Geez girls own a lot of stuff. If Max has twice the amount of stuff as I do, I wonder how much Nudge owns. Scratch that, I don't want to know. I unzipped the duffle Max gave to me, shoving various shampoos and soaps into the shower where they belong. Since the two of us are the oldest, we not only get our own rooms but we get our own bathrooms as well. Being the oldest has some advantages.
I put Max's toothbrush and toothpaste by the sink, lining them up neatly as if she would care. Maybe I'm becoming OCD or something. As I finished unloading the contents of the bag, I pulled out a box of tampons. Turning slightly red, I quickly shoved them in the cabinet trying to block out memories of that horrendous experience.
I exited the bathroom, finding an overly stressed Max trying to open a jammed drawer. She is kinda hot when she is frustrated. I walked over to her, pushed her gently aside, and carefully jerked the drawer open. "See?" I said obnoxiously. I liked making her blood boil sometimes.
"It just doesn't like me!" Max exclaimed in a voice so cute it almost hurt. I pecked her on the lips and went back to my room before Dr. M could catch us together again. I wonder what rules she would make to keep us "in line".
- The next day -
Max POV
As promised, Mom took us all to the mall. She handed me a credit card and told me I could go off on my own with the rest of the older kids. Thank god I didn't have to shop with Nudge. All I can say is I hope Mom and her bank account survive.
Fang, Iggy, Ella, and I walked in and out of many stores. Ella wanted to stop at some store called Abercrombie and Fitch. The store had some cute clothes, but between the smell and the music I almost passed out. Fang and Iggy were feeling the same way.
"You have five minutes." I said to Ella. She quickly disappeared into the store. Iggy felt some shirts as Fang and I went to look at some clothes. I had adjusted to the smell and the music was getting more and more bearable. Fang picked out some slutty bikini and raised an eyebrow. He has to be joking. I did need some more bathing suits, but I was defiantly not buying that one.
"Just try it on." Fang whined. I shook my head. "Pleeaasse! I will let you buy me a colored t-shirt." He argued.
"I am only trying it on." I muttered. Fang smiled and pushed the bikini into my chest. I got into an open dressing room and shut the door. The bikini was something Nudge would wear. It was red and navy plaid, not to mention s-l-u-t-t-y.
I put it one, tying it as tightly as I could. I looked in the mirror. It was cute, but I would never wear it out in public. It was way too revealing. Knowing Fang was waiting outside eagerly, I opened the door to the dressing room. Fang smiled as he saw me.
"You look amazing" he said. "Ella, tell Max how amazing she looks in that swim suit."
"Max! Oh my gosh you have to have to have to buy that! I have one just like it! It looks so cute on you please?" Ella pleaded. I glared at Fang, knowing I didn't have a choice. I nodded. Ella gave me a tight hug. I gave Fang my famous I-will-kill-you-in-your-sleep look as I went back into my changing room to put my normal clothes back on. I would buy it, but who says I had to wear it?
Now it was Fang's turn to hold up his end of the offer. I went over to the t-shirts and picked two out. "You're choice, but I think pink is totally your color." I said evilly, holding up one pink shirt and one orange shirt, each with the Abercrombie logo on it. Fang gave me the same glare as I gave him earlier as he snatched up the two t-shirts and went to try them on.
"Fang? Are you ready?" I asked in an innocent tone.
"There is no way I'm coming out there." he replied. Stubborn little bastard.
"Come on, I held up my end of the deal, now it's your turn." He opened door. I almost exploded in laughter, but I contained myself for his sake. I had never really seen Fang in any color except black. Pink looked well, ridiculous on him. "Ella, come tell Fang how amazing he looks in this t-shirt" I said in the same way Fang said it about my bikini.
Ella had the same reaction as she did with my swim suit. Fang ended up purchasing it, along with a pair of jeans. I ended up with two more pairs of shorts, curtesy of Ella. She tried talking me into a skirt, but not even Bambi eyes and Angel's mind controlling could ever get me into one. Ella had a wardrobe full of clothes as she happily paid for them with Mom's credit card. I almost keeled over as they handed Fang his bag. There was a picture of a shirtless model on it. Let's just say Ella carried all the bags from that store.
We met up with Mom and the rest of the kids an hour later at the food court. Fang and I each were carrying a single bag while Ella had five of her own with the other four in Iggy's hands. I see the rest of the Flock was equally as successful. After catching up and showing off our new clothes, we got some lunch and headed back home. Thank god we were getting away from this place.