Blood – Chapter 2

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

This had to be a dream. It was all a dream.

But I couldn't let go of Max. Not yet. I was going to hold onto her hand for as long as I could because at least this wouldn't end up being a nightmare.

I was tired though. It was hard not to close my eyes, but I tried to focus on her hand, not letting Iggy's and her voice lull me to sleep. They were talking about food. He said he would cook when we got home.

She'slivingwithhim.

Maybe this was a nightmare still. I thought he had Ella though, and Max always said Iggy felt more like a brother to her.

The door to the room opened and Max shook me, disrupting my thoughts. I gripped onto her hand tighter, letting her lead me through the hospital halls. The smell was appalling, but I was used to it. This was just another part of my vivid nightmare. Things were going well now, but it wouldn't be long before there was blood.

The sheriff drove us back to the apartment. It took me a second to realize this was our apartment. She led me up the stairs and unlocked the door. Things seemed the same, with the addition of some of Iggy's things. I was relieved to see that her room, which was actually my room too (which I guess made it ours), was still the same. My things hadn't been moved and my side of the bed was made, unlike her side. Maybe she and Iggy didn't have anything going on between them. Maybe he was just living there.

I would have let that unsettle me too, but the blanket she had on the bed was red. Images of blood flashed through my head and I shut my eyes.

"Fang?" She squeezed my hand. "Are you alright?"

When I opened my eyes, I focused on her. "Y-Yeah."

She reached her hand up, trying to flatten my untidy hair.

"Do you want to shower before we eat?" she asked.

I touched my face. "Y-Y-Yes, I'd like to sh-shave too."

"Of course."

I raised my hand to my hair. "W-would you give me a h-haircut?"

"Well, I can try my best."

I nodded.

She dropped my hand and I held my breath for a few seconds. Things weren't disappearing yet.

I watched her pull open my drawers of clothes in the dresser. When she turned back to me, she held clothes for me. I took them to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. The image that greeted me in the mirror was one I didn't recognize, but it was me.

There was an unopened razor in the drawer. I undressed and entered the shower. Hot water. This was something new to me. Or at least it had been so long since I had felt it. It had been a long time since I actually felt clean.

Stepping out of the shower, I eyed myself in the mirror. There were two scars that ran down the left side of my face. One extending from above my eye and all the way down to my jaw line. The other ran from below my eye. I traced them with my fingers, wincing as I noticed the rest of the scars on my body.

Lookatyou.You'repathetic.

I was half hoping I'd wake up already. Slowly, I pulled my clothes on. They were two sizes too big for me, drooping around my body. I couldn't live like this. There was no way Max was going to accept me back like this, so damaged looking. In fact, I'd be more of a reason for her to fall for Iggy. And my stutter. It was pathetic.

"Hey, Fang? Are you almost done? Food's almost ready." Max knocked gently on the door.

"D-d-don't come in here!" I backed away towards the wall. This was some kind of trap.

"What's wrong?" The doorknob began to turn.

I slid down the wall, pulling my legs against me. With my back pressed up against the wall, I could feel the beginnings of my wings growing back.

"Fang…" Her eyes fell on me and I flinched away, trying to hide my face from her.

"D-d-don't look at me!"

Still, Max came and crouched down in front of me, pulling my hand away from my face. She rested her hand against my scarred cheek, and I wondered if she could feel them under her palm.

"Is that all you're worried about?" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter to me, Fang. I'm not going to let that scare me away from you."

Max slipped her hand into mine. "C'mon, let's go eat. I'll cut your hair afterwards, alright?"

She pulled me up into a hug and I rested my arms around her, my chin on top of her head. I could tell that she was trying very hard not to cry.

"Th-This isn't a dream," I heard myself say.

"No, it's not." She squeezed me tighter. "Fang, I missed you so much."

"I missed you t-too."

It was after we collected ourselves that we headed to the kitchen. Iggy already sat at the table. He hadn't changed either. I looked around, wondering if maybe Ella was here too, that somehow they were living here, but it just appeared to be us three.

"I made some steak," said Iggy. "I hope that's alright with you."

"Th-that sounds g-great," I managed to reply.

They started to eat, but my hands shook as I picked up my knife. Max quickly noticed, taking it from me and cutting my steak into pieces for me. I felt childish, and maybe embarrassed, but she gave me a reassuring smile, and I started to eat. For so long my hunger and pain turned into emptiness and I hadn't realized how much I missed real food. Especially Iggy's cooking.

"H-how's Ella?" I asked after a while. It was clear none of them were going to ask me about anything right now. I was thankful for that though.

"I guess she's good," Iggy answered. "We haven't talked in a while though. It wasn't too long after you disappeared that we broke up."

He sounded bitter.

"That's why he's living here," Max added.

Right, he had been living with Ella before. I guess that made sense. Who else was going to take care of him?

"How l-long have I been gone?" I was expecting them to say five.

"Two years," replied Max. "And eleven days if you want to be exact."

Two years she had been with Iggy, living in this apartment. It bothered me. Why was I letting this bother me so much?

"Nudge just finished college," Iggy went on. "Angel's still in high school and Gazzy just started college last year. I'm not sure where they're all headed."

"Fashion for Nudge," Max said. "Angel's been busy with Nudge though. They're visiting colleges. Gazzy thought about majoring in chemistry, but he couldn't stand the professor or the classes, so he's trying to figure something else out. "

"Are y-you and Iggy—"

Iggy already started to laugh. "No, Fang. Max and I have nothing going on between us. I'm sure she'll reassure you later about why. You know I'd never do that to you either."

I felt foolish now.

"Don't worry about it," he added. "I'm glad you're back, okay?"

"O-okay."

Max helped Iggy clean up after we finished eating. He said goodnight to us after that, heading off to the guest room. I opened my mouth to say something to Max, but I couldn't stand to hear myself stutter.

"C'mon, I'll cut your hair now." She took my hand.

I sat on the toilet cover listening to her cut my hair. When she was done, I ran my fingers through my hair. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my head.

"Does it look alright?" she asked.

I turned to the mirror and nodded.

Her hand rested on my back for a brief moment and then she pulled it away. "Does it hurt?"

"W-what?"

"Your wings."

"Th-they grow b-back." I rose up off the toilet. "T-takes about a m-m-month. I g-guess it d-does a little."

She looked relieved though.

We settled into bed a few minutes later. Back in the mental hospital, if you could even call it that, I slept on the floor with a very deflated pillow.

"W-w-will you hold m-my hand?" I asked Max.

She took it right away. "Of course. I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

I squeezed her hand, closing my eyes, hoping to God, if he did exist somewhere, that I would wake up and she would still be there.

Sorry for not updating recently. I'll get some more chapters up for all my stories over Winter Break! Happy Holidays everyone!