A/N: (yawns) I just changed my profile. Man, hard work! Gosh. And my head is throbbing so bad... I miss my glasses...
Fang: Wear them. (looks up from playing the PSP)
Me: I can't! You know that!
Iggy: (enters my room and plops on the bed) Uhh, why? (gobbles up some popcorn)
Me: Unfortunately, my mom said I have to take them off every time I'm in the house. And she made it pretty clear that if I wore it everyday, I'll be getting painful headaches. Like the one I'm having right now! Thanks a lot, Mom!
Chapter 4
Fang POV
Sister?
Did I hear him say Max is his sister?
Are you freaking kidding me?
I just flirted with my butler/secretary/assistant's sister.
Oh, my God.
I didn't have to say anything because MY REACTION was written clearly on my face.
Ari shook his head. "Dude," He held up a hand. "It's OK. I'm fine with it. I didn't scare you, did I?"
I blinked many times before I could process what he was saying.
He was OK with me flirting with his sister?
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked Ari and crossed my arms.
He shrugged. "You never asked, Fang. Just one thing though. Don't mess with my sister. You don't know what she's like if she's mad. Capital M."
I nodded, taking it all in. "So, you knew her."
"Yep."
"And, why is she the only one left?"
Ari bit his lip. He sighed. "OK, I might as well tell you. Don't tell Max though. She's going to strangle me." He sat down on the love seat in front of me. He rested his elbows on his knees; I sat down as well.
I crossed my arms on the table, waiting for him to tell me the reasons. "Max is my half-sister. We had the same father and different mothers-"
I interrupted him. "Why 'had'?"
"He's dead. My mother's dead. Can I go on now?" I nodded. "I knew about Max when I was 7. She was 11. I don't know why Dad introduce me to her, but I bonded with Max easily," He snorted. "Two years later, I noticed that Dad loved Max more than me. I was pissed, I guess. But anyway, I began to hate Max. Dad didn't know about it because all he ever does was experiment and experiment. So-"
"He was a scientist?"
"Yes. A scientist. And stop interrupting me if you want to know why," He took a deep breath. "Well, my hatred for Max ended when Max ran away. She was fourteen; Dad was frantically worrying. I was really elated when she ran away. I was so determined that Dad was going to love me and forget about Max. He didn't, though. He still searched for her all over the country for almost three years. By then, he was dying. He told me he was suffering pancreatic cancer. The cancer already spread to his lungs, brain and heart. It was too late to save him,"
I saw a teardrop drip on his pants. "The funny thing was," he continued. "I didn't cry at his funeral. Or at his burial. I didn't. That was two years ago. I saw Max at the funeral. I was hoping my hatred would be back; it didn't. I kinda assumed Max would be crying too. She was so neutral. Like she didn't care that Jeb died. She looked so different since she ran away. Her hair was shorter, about shoulder-length and she was taller. She has always been taller than me.
"I also saw that there was a woman and a girl with her. I went to Max; just to talk. I was even imagining that she will punch me in the face. She didn't. She just introduced me to her birth-mother and to her half-sister. Like nothing even happened these past four years. She told me why she ran away. She was cleaning Jeb's office when she read some documents about her. Her birth-mother, where she lived, and real reason why she was living with me and Jeb. I'm not going to tell you, Fang. You'll know from her.
"Anyway, since Max was the only relative I have left, I lived with her mom and sister. I guess Ella is my half-sister, in a way," He smiled. "So, I began living with them. Max told me she was going to college soon, and that she's going to leave me with them. In those two years I was with Max, I felt happier than I have ever been in my life. So Max left for college. Unfortunately, she told us she's attending Penn State. I can't believe she lied to us. She's so clever and wise. I knew she lied, though."
He chuckled. "For two years, we never heard from Max. Not even a single word. Thankfully, Ella's stepcousin, Nudge called Dr. M. She told her that Max was attending University of Chicago, and not Penn State. That made Dr. M very worried but to me that was just hilarious. I told Dr. M that I wanted to talk to Max, so she gave me the phone and told Nudge that I wanted to talk to Max. Max was really shocked that I knew where she was. She told me to forget that conversation even happen. I can't forget that."
I rubbed my forehead. "Let me guess, you were close to her since then."
Ari nodded. "That's why I moved here in Aurora. So that I can be close to Max. She was definitely ignoring me."
"OK," I ignored the rumble of my stomach. "Get to the part why you wanted me to hire her."
I saw his face warm up, so he dropped his head. "I wanted to be close to her."
"Because she's your only blood relative left?"
He nodded, his head still looking down. "Do you want her to stay here?" I asked Ari.
His head snapped up. "Are you serious? You'll do that?" I nodded my head. "Man, you're my hero!"
He jumped up and left my office. "Get me some aspirin!" I yelled to him.
Everything Ari told me was blurry. I couldn't think about anything except Max.
God, she's distracting me from my work.
Get her out of your mind. Get her out of your mind. Just ignore her. Just ignore her.
My phone rang. The caller ID said the call was coming from a cellphone.
"Yeah?" I don't say hello in the phone. I think it's getting obsolete.
"Hey, Fang."
Holy shit! It's Max!
I almost dropped the phone because my hand was shaking so hard. Or maybe because my conscience was jumping up and down in excitement.
"Yeah?" Let's just hope my voice wasn't shaky.
"Quick question. Do I have to stay in your house since I'm going to be your sister's maid-slash-nanny or I'm just going to stay in my apartment?"
I remembered my promise to Ari. Speaking of him, he came back, holding a whole bottle of aspirin and a water bottle. He started to open his mouth, but I put a finger to my lips to shut him up. He mouthed "Max" and laughed.
"You're staying here."
"What?" I pulled the phone away from my ear because she yelled. Ari must have heard and he just laughed harder. "I'm staying in your house? Are you kidding me?"
I carefully put back the phone to my ear, just in case she won't shout again. "No, I'm not."
"Argh! You know, if I stay there, you'll just have to learn that I'm not best roommate in this world." I heard her sigh heavily and then she hung up.
I rubbed my forehead again because my it was throbbing harder.
"Tell me what's your sister is like." I told Ari while I took the aspirin and water bottle from him.
He plopped on the loveseat once again, but his feet were resting on the left arm of the seat. "My pleasure, Fang. My pleasure."
A/N: Quick shoutout. I can't update on my other story today because my DAD is making me leave this laptop.
Fang & Iggy: SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS!
Me: RnR?