Smiles :-: Chapter Two :-: Appointments Never Mean Well
:-: MAX :-:
"Darling, Dr. Knight is supposed to be a good-humored man… maybe he would be a good choice?" Mom asks. I stare at her, disbelievingly, from across the breakfast table, before continuing to shove another spoonful of cereal into my mouth.
Pretending to look thoughtful for a moment, my expression changes to a scowl. "No," I mutter, shaking my head so my bangs fall in front of my face.
A shuffling noise comes from behind me, causing my mother's face to immediately perk up, to her 'perfect hostess' smile. "Good morning, Fang! Did you sleep well?" Not only did her expression change, but the tone she used to talk to him did as well.
I turn around to glare at Fang, memories from earlier this morning flooding through my brain. Involuntarily, I shudder, and he averts his onyx eyes from mine, as I do the same. Not even going to go there.
He nods in response to Mom, saying, "It was comfortable, thank you."
She beams, nudging me with her elbow. "Max, maybe you should learn manners from Fang while he's staying in our house!" Mom suggests, her cheeks spread out into a grin.
With a scoff, I roll my eyes. "Like hell I would do that."
Fang walks by me, mumbling something under his breath — something I don't quite catch.
As soon as Mom gets up to 'do her morning routine', I whirl around to face Fang. "What was that?" I snap, my eyes narrowed, voice steel.
He looks at me, a bored expression on his face. "What was what?" Fang wonders, feigning innocence, his tone irking me to no end.
My hands clenched together, angrily. It was as if he knew all the little things that bother me, and decided to play them all out. I fought back the urge to snap back, 'You know what I meant!' It would get me absolutely nowhere, and even though I admit, I'm not the brightest book-wise, I've got enough smarts. Instead, I ground out, "What did you just say?"
Fang stays silent, and I glare at him even more. Finally, he cracks. "I said that maybe you should learn how to smile! Dammit, Max, I didn't think you were emo at home too."
Breathing laboriously, I try to calm myself. Honestly, I really do try. Don't explode Max… Control yourself… Don't say anything you don't want him to hear. Of course, being me, I snap. "How dare you tell me to try and smile? Do you think you could bring a smile to your face when the person closest to you is taken away from you — from this world, — right in front of your eyes? Hell, your life's practically perfect, yet you barely manage a grin!" I burst, my nose flaring, breathing coming in heavy pants, as I stare at the ground angry at not only him, but myself as well.
When I glance back up at him, I'm surprised at what my eyes see. For a second, I almost think they're deceiving me, and what I think I'm seeing, actually isn't true. For a second, I almost think that Fang's face actually softens sympathetically.
I shake my head clear and stare at Fang again. That same look is still there, before his eyebrows furrow and his mouth opens and clenches closed. Then, it opens again, and he clears his throat, about to say something. "I —"
"So, Max! Dr. Knight?" Mom walks in, prepped up for the day.
His jaw clamps shut, abruptly, and I turn to look at Mom. She blinks in surprise, her eyes shifting from me, to Fang, back to me, and then Fang again. "Did I… interrupt something…?" she wonders questioningly.
Fang unfreezes and answers first. "No, of course not, Ms. Martinez."
She laughs breezily, replying, "Fang, I've told you to call me what?"
"Val," Fang sighs. I almost snort at how childish their little exchange sounded. He shoots a glare at me, strands of his dark hair shrouding his equally dark eyes.
Mom nods and then averts her attention back to me. "So should I call Dr. Knight and set up an appointment?"
Fang looks at me curiously. "Appointment…?" he asks, still staring at me.
I shoot a glare at my mom, mentally asking why she brought it up in front of him. "Oh, just a little thing… Maxie-dear hasn't really smiled since…" she trailed off, her once bright face becoming solemn as she recalled the memory. Mom clears her throat. "We're trying to find someone to help her with it."
Her cell phone rings, and then Mom scurries off to go find it, wherever it was laying around the house, leaving Fang and I in an awkward atmosphere.
We're both just standing, kind of gangly-looking, shoulders slumped, eyes trained on the ground. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, almost to the point of making it bleed. Why did she bring that up? And why did she tell him?
"Moxi — Max…" Fang starts to say.
I try to tune him out, reciting the states in reverse alphabetical order in my head. Wyoming… Wisconsin… West Virginia... Washington… A hand touches my shoulder, and I jerk back, out of their grip. "What?" I huff, almost sneering. "What is it that you could possibly want?" I ask exasperatedly. "You already invaded my house, scarred my brain for life, and insulted me under my own roof! What else do you want?!"
He doesn't skip a beat, as he stares into my eyes, saying, "I want to make you smile."
And then my jaw drops, hitting solid ground. He did not just say that.