Silence – Chapter 14

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

They sedated Gazzy and redid his bandages. Nudge and Iggy now sat in there, talking in hushed tones. I felt bad for the poor kid, but it wasn't hard to see that Gazzy was in denial and it was going to take a lot more to pull him out to accept what had happened. It made dealing with Iggy and his issues seem like a walk in the park. I mean, at least Nudge had control over him. Gazzy had just gone on a rampage, almost killing Fang.

And yet Gazzy had gotten Fang to talk, but I'm pretty sure he only did it to protect us. Who knows what Gazzy would have done if Fang hadn't said anything. He might have gone after someone else, screaming or something. Seeing Gazzy like that was terrifying. I should have probably been sitting in Gazzy's room, waiting for him to wake up so I could give him support, but maybe I was a coward too. Part of me was afraid to face all of this. I had been so naïve to think I could just find them all and we'd be all happy and carefree, that we could just go back and be ourselves again.

I was in Fang's room now, waiting for him to regain consciousness. His pen and notepad were on the table beside him. I got the feeling that he still wouldn't be talking. The doctor said he had a concussion. They had to shave the back of his head to stitch up the wound from the glass. His leg was also heavily bandaged, resting on top of the blankets, Teddy's bullet grazing him as it had bounced around the room.

"You don't think he's going to wake up talking, huh?" Teddy took a seat next to me, no longer dressed in the clothes he was wearing before, his badge and gun now gone from his belt.

I shook my head. "He didn't want to. Fang could have answered Gazzy before all the violence started."

Teddy sighed. "What if you never found Gazzy? You think he's still stay quiet?"

"Probably," I answered. "Fang is stubborn. But you know, I know I'm stubborn too. He'll keep his word though and he'll talk if he needs to, if it'll protect us."

"Like today?"

"Yeah, like today."

"And you'd live with that if he never talked again?"

"Well, yeah, I would."

I watched him frown. "Don't you ever miss talking to someone?"

"I talk to him."

"But he doesn't answer."

"He does his best."

Teddy shook his head. He was trying to make a point and I was missing what it was.

"Every time I see you, you look more tired than before," Teddy said. "And I know you want to find all your friends, and I want to find them all too, but Max, you need someone else, other than Fang, to rely on."

"Why are you saying that to me?" I stared at him.

"Let me show you, Max."

And he leaned forward, kissing me, his arms coming around me. I felt him push me back against the couch, his body pressed against mine. As this happened, I felt like my mind had been separated from my body. Maybe I was too overwhelmed by everything that happened today to push him away, but whatever I was thinking, my arms didn't want to cooperate. It was like I was just lying there, letting him do this to me.

That was when it became clear to me that this was all wrong. Just before I shoved him off, something came flying at me, hitting Teddy and me. I grabbed it before it fell to the floor. It was Fang's notepad and when I looked up, a very hurt and angry looking Fang was staring at us.

"Oh, shit." Teddy pulled himself off of me. "Gosh, Max, I'm sorry…Fang, I'm sorry."

I looked down at the paper. In big capital letters that seemed to be screaming at me, it said, GET OUT BOTH OF YOU! It took me a while to register that too before I left the notepad on Fang's beside table before trudging out after Teddy.

"What the hell were you thinking!" I shouted at Teddy, closing the door. "Your job is to protect us! Not…not…"

Teddy interrupted me. "I don't what came over me…I just, I can't stand to see you this way."

"You know that I love Fang," I said, turning away. "You know that I'd give my life for him and now what am I supposed to do? He won't trust me anymore. It's bad enough that he doesn't talk, it's hard enough on me that I've got to deal with that and the rest of them, but then you have to come around and express your feelings now? It's too late for that Teddy. You always knew I had someone else, and yet you still insist on being around me, not trying to control yourself, not trying to hide your feelings!"

He reached for my hand, but I turned and punched him across the face.

"I could get you fired!" I hissed. "And you know what, Teddy? Maybe that's exactly what I'll go do."

"No, Max, don't."

"Just…Leave, Teddy."

He gave me one last look before turning and trudging down the hall, hand over his eye. Nudge was standing farther down the hallway, giving me a questioning look. It was safe to say that everyone up and down the hall had heard all my yelling. Turning in the opposite direction, I ran, finding the exit, and taking off into the snow night in New York.

Some drama here. It'll strain things, no doubt, for the characters. Heh, I always have to complicate things, don't I? Well, thanks for reading! Chapter 15 will be on its way soon!