Not Alone – Chapter 21
By MyNameIsCAL
-Max's POV-
My mom used to make the most amazing chocolate chip cookies, and Iggy's might have just come close to them. Yet as I started to the second one, I felt tears roll down my cheeks.
"Max…" I felt Fang put his hand on shoulder.
"I'm fine," I managed to say. "My mom just used to make…really great cookies."
Iggy stopped chewing on his cookie. "Oh gosh, Max, I'm sorry, I didn't know."
I shook my head and managed to give him a shaky smile. "No, they're great, Ig, thanks."
He hesitantly began to start eating again and I wiped my eyes. Fang picked up a cookie, closing his eyes as he took the first bite.
"I've never had freshly baked cookies," he laughed. "God, Ig, where'd you learn to cook like this?"
Iggy swallowed, looking a little dazed now. "I used to sit around the kitchen when my mom cooked. She'd read of recipes to me, tell me what she was doing. I…I never told you that, Fang?"
He shook his head, and then almost as a second thought, replied, "No, you didn't."
"Well, now you know," Iggy spoke so softly I could barely hear him.
Before I could say something, there was a knock on the door. Fang rose, putting a hand on my shoulder to keep me from standing. Nudge and him appeared a few minutes later.
"I'm sorry, the garage door wasn't opened," she apologized, taking a cookie off the platter.
"It's alright," I insisted.
"Nudge, correct me if I'm wrong, but school ended an hour ago," Iggy remarked.
And that was when I realized Nudge was holding bags.
"I went shopping for Gazzy and Angel."
"Oh?" Angel's face brightened. "We haven't gotten new clothes in a long time!"
With their excitement erupting, Fang and I slipped out to the back porch to get some air.
"Max, do you know how to tie a tie?"
I turned to Fang who entered my room, nicely dressed in the clothes Nudge had gotten us to wear for Thanksgiving. Gazzy and Nudge were a little more excited about dressing up for Nudge, partly because she had bought them other clothes that they had been wearing for the past couple of days.
"I think so," I said, taking the tie from Fang, putting it around his neck.
He rested his arms around me after I finished and I looked up at him.
"You look nice," he said, almost anxiously.
I smiled. "So do you."
Maybe I was imagining it, but he started to lean in.
"MAX!"
He stopped, inches away from me.
I let out a laugh.
"Later," he sighed, taking my hand and we went down the stairs.
"Max! Gazzy can't do his tie!" Angel pointed at her brother who was standing in front of the mirror in the hallway. I motioned him over and did it quickly.
"Shall we go?" I inquired.
"Yes, I'm hungry!" Gazzy exclaimed.
They rushed to Fang's car and we went after them slowly.
"I hate dresses," I grumbled, closing the garage door. You could see one of my scars, just the beginning of it because the dress was cut a little lower than I liked.
Fang gave me one of his rare complete smiles, instead of one that seemed to be stuck halfway. "Max, you look beautiful."
It was hard not to smile back at him and he opened the car door before hobbling to the driver's side.
A few minutes later, we arrived at Nudge's house. She was waiting for us, standing on the porch in a dress. Angel and Gazzy jumped out of the car and she gave each of them a hug. Fang put his arm around me, leaning on me just a little. Inside, Iggy was already cooking in the kitchen with another woman, Nudge's adoptive mother.
She turned to us, giving us a warm smile. "Well, hello, it's so good to finally meet you."
Max introduced all of us and she insisted we sit in the family room, help ourselves to drinks. Fang grabbed a couple of sodas and we sat, watching some movie marathon.
"Iggy's not in a good mood." Fang had his eyes on the TV. "I couldn't remember why, and I still can't, but there's something about Thanksgiving he doesn't like. He invited us because he needs a distraction."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Just, I don't know, watch yourself," he finished, taking a sip out of his soda.
I glanced into the kitchen. Iggy was sitting at the table, running his fingers through his hair. Nudge went over to him, rolling up his sleeves, trying to loosen his tie. I caught a glimpse of a scar that ran from his neckline to the side of his neck. He swatted Nudge's hand away, hiding the scar quickly. I touched my own scar and wondered how even with the people we were most comfortable around, we still felt we had to hide them. Now that I thought about it, Iggy was always in a collared shirt.
"Just get me a soda," Iggy snapped.
"Ig, the last thing you need is caffeine."
He said nothing and Nudge went to the fridge, producing a soda. I wondered what had him so wound up. A few minutes later, the oven beeped. Nudge began to set the table and I turned my attention back to the TV. Soon enough, they were calling us for dinner. We sat around the table, Nudge and Iggy across from Fang and me. Gazzy and Angel squeezed at one end of the table while Nudge's mom sat at the other.
"Shall we go around and say what we're thankful for?" Nudge's mom suggested. "I'll go first. I'm thankful that we're here today, sharing this wonderful food that Iggy cooked for us, that we're okay and we're moving forward."
Nudge went next. "I'm thankful that all of us here are safe, that we have a place to sleep and to eat, that we have each other. I'm thankful for Iggy's ability to cook and that we'll have many more Thanksgivings together."
Iggy was next and he let out a breath, as if he was trying to clear his head. "I'm thankful that I got through cooking all of this, that I've been lucky enough to have all of you around to keep me together."
"I'm thankful that Fang and Max saved us," Angel began sweetly. "And that Gazzy and I are safe together and also because we're having a real Thanksgiving for once."
It was hard not to smile at Angel. Even Iggy seemed to be less tense now.
"Well, I'm definitely thankful that Fang and Max came for us. I'm thankful for this food, that Nudge and Iggy have been helping us out too." Gazzy looked around at all of us. "Yeah, I guess that's it."
I thought for a while before I spoke. "I'm thankful that I'm here now, with all of you, that I don't have to spend Thanksgiving alone. I mean, we've all been through a hell of a lot of things. I guess we're definitely all thankful for surviving."
Fang was last, and we waited patiently for him to start.
"I'm thankful that I won't be spending Thanksgiving alone either, that I'm here with all of you, and that you put up with my times of silence." Fang paused, taking my hand under the table. "But I'm mostly thankful that I don't feel so lost anymore."
I got the feeling Fang was saying it was because of me that he didn't feel so lost anymore. Nudge caught my attention and gave me a grin. I squeezed Fang's hand and we started to pass around food.
Time had gone by slowly since the beginning of dinner. Gazzy and Angel were inside with Nudge, watching TV while Fang and I headed out back with Iggy to sit outside.
"You know why I hate Thanksgiving?" Iggy implored. "Because it was the day my father blinded me and violently beat me and my mother up. It was the day where everything went wrong, even though it had started out so perfectly. The last thing I ever saw was blood. My own blood. It's the one image that haunts me whenever I close my eyes. I cook because it's the last thing I have to hold onto about my mother."
Iggy touched his neck with his long fingers.
"What happened to your father?" I hadn't meant to ask that, but it had sort of just slipped out of my mouth.
"He killed himself." But it wasn't Iggy who answered, it was Fang.
Iggy nodded. "The bastard was a coward. Couldn't own up to anything he did."
"I'm sorry, Ig," I murmured.
But he only shrugged. "Every year seems a little less harder to deal with remembering. I just wanted to thank you for coming, to keep me occupied."
"Of course," I assured him. "Anytime."
And then quietly, we sat, the three of us, staring up at the stars until it grew cold out and Nudge came out to tell us Gazzy and Angel had fallen asleep on the couch.
A little bit about Iggy there and what happened to him. Thanks for reading! New chapter soon, hopefully.