Okay. I owe you all an apology. I know I'm , like, an updating machine on the weekends normally, and this last weekend I updated……what? Once?
The reason for this is my family took a tiny little trip and….there's no wireless internet on the interstate, unfortunately.
So: here's the next chapter.
Max's POV
"So, why exactly are you going to Baja?" Mom asked, stirring the sizzling meat in the pan. I love taco night.
"The Voice said we needed to meet someone there, and that meeting would make or break our trust in her." I said, frowning.
"Do you think Mack's okay?" Iggy asked for the bazillionth time. I was beginning to wonder if the flock needed a chef that badly….
"She drank wine, Igs, not poison," I reminded him.
"Yeah well," he muttered.
"Hey, Max, can I give you a makeover?" Nudge asked, skipping into the kitchen.
"No." I said flatly, staring pointedly at the floor to avoid the Bambi eyes. I was grateful when Fang shooed her off.
I heard slow footsteps on the stairs and turned to see Mack clambering down them. She had a hand pressed to her temple and a scowl on her face but was otherwise fine.
"Hey honey. Feeling better?" Mom asked, softness on her face.
"Yeah. The headache has decreased to that of a piercing throb." She said flatly.
I tossed her the aspirin bottle.
She gave me a grateful look and downed a couple without water.
Mack's POV
I could feel the part of me that was Mackenzie slowly coming back in- the dark, brooding street fighter with a sucky home life invading my thoughts.
I'd told Iggy before; premonitions and the like drained my energy totally and utterly, and this past life thing was no exception.
Hating myself was a habit that died hard.
I forked a piece of lettuce on my taco salad and chewed mechanically.
What had I been doing these last couple of weeks? Fooling myself into thinking everything could go back to being fine and peachy just because I'd made a few new friends?
These kids didn't technically exist.
I did.
God I was an idiot.
I thought randomly of Riley, the street fighter that was a fierce opponent, a fiercer best friend, then something more. His anger that gave me more bruises than strictly necessary even out of the ring…..
Had he been right? When he'd said that if I couldn't even act like a normal criminal, I'd never be a normal human being? That I'd never find a niche anywhere?
Well, I thought wryly, apparently I never was a normal human being. I wasn't even completely human! And Christina was right when she said I was a mistake……
"Mack, stop!" Angel cried suddenly, breaking my reverie.
I hadn't noticed, but everyone had been talking and laughing as I'd drifted off into space. Now it was dead quiet.
"Stop rifling through my head, Angel. It's not exactly rainbows and butterflies up there after a big psychic thing." I muttered, sipping calmly at my drink.
I flinched when Iggy reached out to stroke my cheek, trying to decipher my emotions via touch.
I hadn't flinched when I was touched since Riley had moved away.
In a weird, sick way, it was comfortably familiar.
"Mack, I said stop." Angel said sternly.
"And I said get out of my head." I snarled, slamming down mind blocks.
"May I be excused?" Gasman asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, us too." Nudge chimed in, glancing anxiously at Ella.
"Of course." Valencia nodded and the three scampered up the steps. A moment later I heard them playing happily with Total.
That dog freaked me out almost as much as Max's Voice did.
"This episode on Max's Flock-Unedited," Max muttered under her breath.
Fang's lips twitched.
"Do you want to tell them? Or should I?" Angel asked politely.
My mouth fell open. "Angel, there are some things people just shouldn't know, okay? It's no one's business but mine."
"We can help you with it though." Angel said, big blue eyes innocent.
"I don't need help." I grumbled, looking away.
"She was thinking about this guy named Riley she used to date and how he used to hit her, but then he moved away, and she was thinking her step mom was right and that she is a mistake." Angel blurted.
"Gee, thanks Angel." I hissed and went to put my plate and things noisily in the sink.
The flock and Dr. M was staring at me with wide eyes when I turned around.
"Oh come on," I pleaded, my voice an octave higher than it should have been, "it's not that big of a deal. Where's Jeb, anyway?"
"Don't try to change the subject, Mack." Max said quietly.
"I'm not! I honestly wanna know." I squeaked.
"Anything else we should know? Have you been addicted to meth? Cocaine? Are you a former gang banger?" Max asked and I could see her cheeks turning redder the madder she got.
"Hey, we happened to run into a very hospitable gang in California." Iggy protested in my defense, but everyone ignored him.
"Did you screw this Riley guy?" Max demanded next.
I snorted at the irony of it all. "No. That's the main reason he got so ticked at me. I refused to."
"You let some guy hit you?" Fang asked, clearly disgusted.
I gaped at him. "My mother had just died. I had severe depression. I'd been sent to live in the darkest pit of hell imaginable. Do you honestly think I cared what he did to me?"
"Touché." Fang mumbled.
"Would you guys leave her alone?" Angel asked angrily. "I didn't tell you so you could yell at her, I told you so you could tell her that she isn't a mistake."
"Mack, honey…..those aren't faults of yours. Those are just bad things that have happened to you." Dr. M said when everyone else was silent.
"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged.
"That sort of is like the whitecoats and us. If you really squint your eyes and turn your head to the side," Max joked, giving me a tiny smile.
I smiled back at her.
"Mack, phone!" Nudge called, dashing in to give it to me, then dashing back out, probably to tell the others a war hadn't broken out in the kitchen.
"Hello?" I asked, leaning heavily against the counter.
"Hey Mackenzie," Christian mumbled.
I could tell from his voice something was wrong.
"What is it?" I demanded.
"Um, dad's home. Early. Am I on speaker?" He asked and I knew it was bad.
"No," I managed, and glanced at Fang. Instantly he was by my side and I turned the phone out so he could hear better. This was his family now too.
"Dad came home a day early and Gabe still hadn't cleaned his room, and was talking on the phone to a friend from school," Christian began.
"Oh, God," I moaned, and Fang gave me a weird, questioning look.
"Bruises?" I asked next.
"No, worse. Mackenzie….I'm in the hospital. He's got a broken cheek bone." Christian told me.
I blinked and my knees almost buckled. "But…no…that's not possible. He's never, I mean, he wouldn't take it….that…far." I stuttered.
"The excuse he came up with was that we'd been playing baseball and I hit him with the bat on accident." Christian went on, tone bitter.
"Dad's blaming you?" I snarled, my fingers curling into my fist in anger.
"Yep." Christian's grim voice said simply.
My mind raced. I had to get them out of that house. For good.
"Christian, you turn18 tomorrow!" I gasped.
"Yeah. Happy birthday to me," he laughed without humor.
"No, I meant you could fight for legal custody." I giggled to avoid going into full blow hysterics.
The other end of the line was silent.
"Think about it! You could run tonight, take the train to Knoxville or Nashville or somewhere big with an airport….hop on a late night flight." I persuaded.
"To where?" He finally asked and I squealed.
"Houston, Texas. From there to Phoenix." I said instantly. Dr. M nodded her approval and Max did too.
"Why there?" Christian asked absently and I knew he was writing all this down, making lists of things to bring.
"I'm in Arizona. I can meet you guys there." I said.
A beat, and then, "Mackenzie, do you honestly think this can work? Even if we get to Arizona, then what?"
"You were accepted to Arizona State, right? You can go to college here, rent an apartment for you and the kids to stay in, get a job or two. We can do this." I said in the steadiest, most reassuring tone I could manage.
"Okay. Yeah. I'll call you back in a couple hours. I've got a train ride and a flight to book." Christian said and the line went dead.
"I'll be back in awhile," Fang snarled and punched the front door out of his way so hard I saw the skin on is knuckles break.
Max, wide eyed, ran out after him.
Oops. He hadn't known Dad was abusive.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused, Dr. Martinez," I apologized earnestly.
"Oh, honey, no blood no foul." She smiled warmly and I grinned at her.
Okay, scrappily written chapter. But that's okay, because I free handed that one. The next ones aren't nearly as morbid and serious. There's smut between our four love birds coming up. Yay!
