Not Alone – Chapter 14

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

A week here and Angel seemed to trust Max now. In fact Max had grown quite fond of Angel. I think that Max being able to help Angel also made Max feel better. After I watched my mother get killed, I just remembered letting my nightmares of my dad get to me, telling me that I was useless. It was good to see that the same wasn't going to happen to Max. Her nightmares seemed to have lessened too since Angel's arrival, well, even ever since she's been around me. Of course mine, well, they persisted as usual.

I had my eyes closed, my head resting against Max as I lay across the couch. Her fingers played with my hair as she watched the news. Angel sat in the armchair and they were carrying on a conversation, thinking I was asleep.

"So…" Angel trailed off. "You and Fang, are you like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I guess you could say that," Max answered.

"He doesn't talk much though," Angel remarked. "I never got that. He always talked to Iggy and my brother. He talks to you too."

"When he wants to," Max said, but she sounded like she was smiling. "Before all this, when was the last time you saw him?"

"I don't know, maybe a few months ago," Angel responded. "My mom pulled us out of the program because our dad found out. I…I don't know where she is now. She ran away. She left us."

"She left you?"

"My mom always gave in to what my dad wanted," Angel explained. "You could say she was just as bad as he was sometimes."

They carried on a conversation about Angel's parents for a while. Angel never had a problem talking about what had happened to her, but Gazzy on the other hand always tried to forget what had happened, tried to push it off as nothing even though inside he was hurting a lot. I wondered how he would be after he got out of the hospital. But it was good he and Angel had a close relationship.

Eventually, talk turned back to me, and I continued to listen, my eyes closed.

"I always thought Fang seemed lonely," Angel said. "He doesn't seem like it anymore. But, can I ask you something about him?"

"Sure," Max seemed to be nodding.

"Iggy always told us that he had the worst nightmares, even after all the time that's passed," Angel let out a breath. "Does he still have them?"

"Sometimes."

As little as Angel was, she picked up on a lot of stuff.

Another week dragged on, but it was mostly long because my leg hurt a lot. Max tried to keep me distracted from the pain. At least today we were bringing Gazzy home. Well, to Max's house, but I suppose it felt like the closest thing to a home that I've had in years.

"Iggy and Nudge are coming for dinner," I said as we got into my car.

"Oh, that'll make Gazzy happy," Angel said.

Max started the car and we zoomed off to the hospital. While Gazzy was getting himself discharged, I would be stuck in Dr. Theo's office with the surgeon who had operated on me. It was my weekly examination, but my encounters with the surgeon had never been pleasant. Dr. Theo was only there for psychological support and while Dr. Theo always had a nice way to break bad news to you, that surgeon, I think his name was Dr. Verrine, didn't really know how to deal with people. In fact, if he wasn't so good at what he did, I swear he wouldn't have a job.

We arrived at the hospital a short time later. Max helped me into my wheelchair and I followed Angel into the hospital. She was anxious to get her brother out of here. They would have to wait until I was done before Dr. Theo let us all go.

As we came out of the elevator on Gazzy's floor, I spotted Dr. Theo and Dr. Verrine talking outside of Gazzy's room. I picked up my pace, wondering what they were talking about in hushed tones. Just as I reached the two, Dr. Verrine walked away.

"What's going on?" I asked shortly.

Dr. Theo let out a sigh. "You know how Dr. Verrine is. He's not the best with dealing with people. And he forgets your leg is already damaged too. I'm not going to put you through an examination with him when he's in a bad mood. Besides, Gazzy wants to get out of here."

The doctor led us into the room. Gazzy was sitting, dressed in fresh clothes. His arm was still in a sling, but thinking back to the night, it had been in pretty bad shape. This probably wouldn't be the last time we would be at the hospital.

"Hey, Fang," Gazzy said, sliding off the bed. He wobbled for a moment and then took a few steps forward.

Angel went up to her brother and hugged him. He put his good arm around her, trying not to lose his balance. Dr. Theo escorted us to the entrance of the hospital.

"I'll be seeing you again soon, probably," Dr. Theo was never the one to lie. "But do try to relax, all of you. Call me if you need anything, I'll be here for most of the day."

I nodded and the others thanked him. We were homebound now, or well, it felt like it.

Dr. Verrine seems pretty much like an insignificant character, one to forget and one I probably should have never even written into the story, and most of the time, unimportant people, I won't even name them. But I think he'll show up again later, and it was important to introduce his character now instead of later. So yeah, if you were wondering about that.

Max's POV is in the next chapter. We'll get to some more stuff between her and Fang soon enough. Oh, and I will mention, it's the end of October in the story soon. Let's see how they all deal with Halloween and a ringing doorbell. Well, let's just say front door and I'm sure you'll all understand. And Max must face her fears of going upstairs. Lots to get to, so I'll be updating soon. Thanks for reading!

Check out my new story Meant to Be if you get the chance too.