A/N Sorry that it has taken me so long, but this is the final chapter, so I wanted to get it right :)
I really hope this conclusion pleases you! R&R! :D:D:D

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride! :D

A Lifetime by the Bedside
Chapter 9: Max – Kiss of Death

'What do you mean? The one I love most?' I asked.

I looked at Ari, standing there, the body of a young boy and the expression of an aged and tired man. Slowly, he turned his head to me. I nearly expected it to do a full 360 like the exorcist, but no, it stopped directly in front of me. His eyes were dark and unforgiving.

'I think you know what I mean. Or rather, you know who I mean,' Ari said confidently.

I gulped loudly and began to shiver, but it wasn't because of the cold. His expression was hard and so were his words. Suddenly, he snapped his head away and stared at the floor, his eyes boring into it.

'And when you say hurt?' I dared to ask.

'I mean kill,' he said bluntly, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

I nearly collapse. 'Wait, what? I-I can't kill him,' I stuttered uncontrollably. 'W-what are you talking about? Are you insane?'

Ari was still staring at the ground, like he's waiting for something, when he screamed, 'That's - exactly - it!' Enunciating every syllable, Ari's tone was one of determination as well as desperation – desperate for me to understand.

'Stop yelling at me!' I screeched. 'I thought you were supposed to be on my side!'

Tears started to cloud my vision. I was violently shaking and felt like my limbs were suddenly going to fall off. My knees buckled beneath me, and I crashed to the floor with a sickening thud. I didn't feel the pain though. I was numbed by his words. Ari crouched down and tugged on my chin so that I had to look at him. His fingers were burning hot, scorching hot, as if branding me. A single tear squeezed out and trickled down my cheek, gaining momentum, no way of stopping now.

'You have to kill him to get back...' He sighed. 'I know you can't stand the idea of hurting Fang, but he's a fake, Max. And if you can't come to terms with that, then you'll never get out of here.' He paused, his eyes watching mine carefully. 'I'm sorry.'

Giving me a pitying look, Ari caught the tear and sighed. He was swallowed up by the ground in a second and my mouth dropped. It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. He had fallen down the rabbit hole, however I wasn't convinced that he would find himself in an even more crazy and twisted place. I patted the ground next to me, where Ari had been only a second before. But it was solid. Desperately, I pounded the earth with my fists, my hair falling into my face. And I sobbed so hard. I heard the sound of crows circling overhead, batting there wings slowly and eerily. An omen... An omen of death. One squawked and I fell away from the square of ground that I had been pummelling. I scrabbled back rashly, distancing myself from Ari and his words. There were perfect indentations of my fists in the dirt, and I examined my fists, despairing at their scratched and bruised state. Purple splodges were already rising to the surface.

So that was it... The only way I could get out of here was by killing Fang? I had never felt so sickened by anything in my entire life. Bile rose in my throat and I heaved, clutching my stomach. I spat out the acid and breathed deeply, my hands on my knees, my head hung low.

I sat perched at the edge of the couch, rocking back and forth, staring at Fang. The rest of 'the flock' had gone to bed. It was just me, Fang, and an unconscious Angel who was lying in the corner. It was unnervingly quiet apart from Angel's soft snoring. Fang casted me a sideways glance and smiled. My heart fluttered slightly, and I bit my tongue to distract myself from him.

'I think I should put the little princess to bed, don't you think?' he asked, laughing to himself.

He stood up and looked ready to scoop Angel into his arms.

'Wait,' I demanded, holding out my hand to stop him.

He frowned at me and held his hands up as though I was about to make an arrest.

'I-I'll do it,' I said nervously, cautiously getting up from the comfy seat.

You would have thought that I'd never put her to bed before. Reminding myself to be strong, I picked Angel up, my hands slick with nervous sweat. I placed her over my shoulder tentatively. I didn't lock eyes with Fang and walked speedily to her bedroom. My right leg, which I had been leaning on, was half asleep, so every other step I took was heavy, as if lead had been injected into it, weighing me down. So it went, step, thud, step, thud... The door to her bedroom creaked as I edged it open. I set her lightly on the bed and just looked at her. I didn't move her hair off of her face. No bedtime story. No kiss goodnight. No goodbye. She smiled innocently in her sleep, but I no longer felt any maternal instincts. As the door clicked behind me, I rested against the door, taking a deep breath.

There was just one thing left to do.

I trod lightly back into the living room, but Fang wasn't there. I forgot how to breathe. All of the lights had been turned off, and I began to wonder if Fang had already gone to bed. Or maybe there had been a power cut. Huh, I naively hoped. My heart began to hammer harder in my chest, like someone was driving the nails into a coffin from within me. With each hit, I shook. It was like a horror film. I knew he was there, but, unless my eyes were deceiving me, he wasn't there. My eyes darted from one side of the room to the other. A collapsed stack of magazines. A toppled over coffee mug. An abandoned shoe. A carelessly flung jacket. The TV screen had become pixelated, rotating black and white dots – millions of them. I couldn't even recall the TV being on a moment ago.

Fang.

I gasped and held a hand to my heart, in shock.

'Christ,' I gasped.

How did he appear out of nowhere like that? There was no whine from the floorboards as he stepped over them. Maybe he glided over them like a ghost. No breath seemed to escape from him. He was silent and still. He was like the morning fog, threatening to choke me, even at this distance. His head was bowed, like the grim reaper. It was like he was already dead.

'F-Fang?' I whispered through dry lips.

No response. I took a step back, knocking into the side table with my leg. I was scared.

'You're going to have to do better than that if you're going to go through with it,' he murmured.

He knew. He had known all along. That's why he had been so angry when Ari was here the last time. He was scared that he'd tell me the truth.

A lump rose in my throat, and then Fang was looking down on me, barely any distance separating us. His breath tickled the top of my head. His chest rose and fell heavily in front of me. His right hand went to his belt loop and I nearly screamed as I saw the reflective glimmer of a blade. With his other hand, he held a slender finger to my lips.

'Shh,' he soothed, his eyes shimmering. 'I thought this might inspire you,' he explained, holding the knife higher, tilting it from side to side, observing it from different angles, even admiring it. The blade was thin, but deadly, it's tip sharp.

'I-I don't understand,' I said, my lips moving against the finger which was still held to my lips.

Fang's eyes darted to mine with deadly precision.

'I actually find the touch of your lips strangely erotic,' he said, smiling slyly at me.

My eyes found his and we just stared at each other, but he did not blink once. After a few seconds, our breathing became in sink. Startling me, he grabbed my hand and pressed my palm to his chest. I gasped, and he sighed in a kind of ecstasy. I could feel his heartbeat. It was slow and steady. Thud thud. Thud thud. Thud thud.

'Your target,' he explained, whispering in my ear.

Intertwining our fingers on his chest, he brushed his lips against them, sending a shiver up my spine. This sudden mysterious and forbidden persona was strangely hypnotic and seducing. He traced his lips up and down our hands and I was frozen in place, watching him. Towering above me, he seemed so dominant. There was an urge inside me to grab him and kiss him. He acted before I did. His lips came down on mine hard and with his free hand scrunched up my hair behind my head, pushing us closer together. I was drowning in him. It had taken me by surprise, and before I could act, he pulled back and laughed spitefully. He knew what I had wanted and I hated myself for it.

'Kiss of death, Maximum,' he cackled evilly.

I didn't know whether he was referring to my death or his. He took several strides back from me, observing me.

'Catch!'

He flung the knife at me, and I instinctively snatched it out of the air without a second thought. I nearly dropped it, thinking of what I must do. My brow furrowed, worry lines forming on my forehead.

'Do you want to die?' I asked quietly, confused as to why he was helping me.

He chortled and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, standing casually.

'It's not at the top of my wish list.'

I nodded and experimented with my grip around the knife handle, tight, loose, firm and strong. The weight in my hand repulsed me, but I couldn't bring myself to let it go. To let it go would mean letting the flock go. Fang ran a hand through his jet black hair and sniffed.

'You don't believe in attacking?' Fang questioned, though it sounded more like a statement, calling on a weakness.

I licked my lips which felt chapped and dry. 'Not when I haven't been provoked.' My voice sounded hoarse, as if it was the first thing I'd said that morning, my voice box not fully broken in.

'Fine,' he replied enthusiastically.

I was tackled to the floor, and Fang straddled himself on top of me. I found his weight on me overwhelming. I struggled to breathe. He punched my shoulder repeatedly until I was sure that it was dislocated, a sharp pain ran up my arm and I cried out, kicking at him to get off me frantically, squirming. Yanking my hair, he brought his face close to mine.

'Are you ready yet?' he yelled loudly at me, some spit spraying onto my face.

The knife had fallen from my grip, and I stretched my hand, straining my muscles, to reach it. Grunting, I jutted my knee up abruptly. I got him in the gut and he heaved. Shuffling away from him in a panic, I grabbed the knife tightly and pulled myself up to my feet using the arm of the chair. I panted loudly and winced from the pain in my shoulder.

'Crap,' I cursed.

Fang growled and lunged for me again, his hands outstretched to grab me. It's not him. He is the enemy. Fang's waiting. I closed my eyes shut tight and protruded the knife out in front of me, waiting. Waiting for it to be over. The image of the flock, the real flock, swooping in large arches in the sky materialised in my mind. Cruelly snapped out of my reverie, I screamed as the blade sunk into his flesh. Blood covered my hands.

'It's ok,' he whispered, sinking deeper into the blade. He grunted a bit from the pain.

I began to cry, but he comforted me. 'It's ok.'

Fang – Awake

With one hand still in Max's, I used the other to rest my head on. My eyes were drooping, and I could feel warm drool on my fingers. I started to frown. Sobbing. I could hear someone crying? Were the others back already? Frowning, I slowly opened my eyes.

'Max?' I sounded half asleep. I'd been dreaming of her.

Tears were streaming down her face, and she had scrunched herself up into a tight ball, trying to disappear. I blinked several times, trying to clear the sleep away. Max? Max. Max! She was here, she was back. Please, God, let her be back. I was overcome with relief, blood pounding in my ears. Pulling her up into my arms desperately, my jacket fell off her and onto the floor. Was I dreaming? Was this some cruel and twisted dream? I could hear the roar of the wind outside the barn, threatening to blow it down. Her tears kept coming and felt warm on my neck.

'Shh. Shh,' I soothed, stroking her hair protectively. 'It's ok.'

She sobbed even harder, and I pulled her closer towards me, cradling her. She felt so small. The moans that escaped her sounded more animalistic than human. I rocked us back and forth repeatedly like a metronome. She was trembling, and, with one hand, I grabbed my jacket, wrapping it around her like a blanket.

'Shh. Shh.'

She snivelled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She was quieter then. I wouldn't have said calmer, just quieter. She looked at me for the first time, and I stared into her eyes intently, trying to understand.

'I-I'm sorry,' she whispered, reaching out cautiously for my face, as if she worried I'd reject her.

Wiping the tears away with my sleeve, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her on the forehead. She was really there. I didn't understand why she was sorry. I didn't ask. She seemed too distressed, too scared. There was movement outside of the barn, and she tensed up immediately. I had never seen her so petrified. Her eyes were wild with fear.

'It's just the rest of the flock,' I assured, rubbing her shoulders up and down, trying to infuse warmth into her. 'You're home.'

She exhaled a long breath – I feared she had been holding it. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she requested urgently, 'Please, just hold me.'

And so I did. I would have done anything for her. The feel of her next to me felt so right. And I just held her. We just held each other. A silence followed, and I focused on the sound of her breathing and the strong, reassuring beating of her heart.

'I love you,' I told her. I couldn't remember the last time I'd told her that, and it nearly killed me.

Nodding stiffly, she hugged me tighter. 'Love you.'

Max – Guardian Angel

A few days later, when I had finally calmed down and planted both feet securely in reality, Fang had asked me if I wanted to talk about it. I'd said no, and he accepted my decision without questioning me further. He was being so understanding about everything. I didn't want to dwell on what had been. It was too painful to do so. My primary focus was that I was back. I was home.

I had to keep myself occupied, caring for the flock, on the verge of obsession. Fussing them and mothering them. Often I'd overdo it, but they bared it, because I needed it to cope. Fang had done me proud, caring for them when I couldn't; I was eternally grateful.

Sometimes though, in my dreams, I'd see Ari, watching me. The first time, I feared that I had been sucked back into the other reality. But I'd woken up like every other day. I decided that he was like my guardian angel, my little brother. And he'd have wings in these dreams. I'd make them glorious wings. Glorious wings, with the longest and most magnificent span which glistened in the sun.

I hope you've enjoyed my story :)
Thanks for reading :)

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