In and Out of Love-Chapter 3
By MyNameIsCAL
Max spent a lot of the morning on the phone with George. What they were talking about I could only guess. Iggy plopped down next to me on the couch, perfect aim like always. Someday I was gonna move the couch so he'd land on the floor.
"This is your chance, Man," he slapped me on the arm. "You gotta make your move."
I rolled my eyes.
"You're rolling your eyes, aren't you?" Iggy frowned. "I'm being serious."
"This is complicated," I reminded him.
"You always say that," Iggy frowned.
Max walked out of her room and took a seat next to me.
"How is George?" I asked.
Max shrugged. "Upset. I told him already that I wasn't ready for this. He wants to get his stuff out of the apartment tomorrow."
I raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't have the key."
"Yeah I know," Max said. "I'm gonna meet him. There are some last things we have to sort out."
I frowned.
"You don't have to come. I'll be fine," she insisted.
"Alright." But I would follow her anyway.
I've convinced Max to let me drive her to meet George. I got this very off feeling about this whole meeting. He was up to something. Something bad.
"Stay in the car," Max said firmly. "He'll flip out if he sees you."
I nodded. There was no more leverage for me to bargain anymore. She ruffled my hair before she climbed out of the car. I watched her wait at the door. George turned into the parking lot and drove into his usual spot. He emerged from the car and they went in. I've became so anxious that I felt like my heart was going to beat through my chest.
Taking a deep breath, I turned the car on and blasted the AC. If there was one thing I hated about Arizona, it was the damn heat. The way I let Max sway me almost made me feel guilty.
And just as I was going to relax, I could make out a scream. Sometimes being a mutant human-bird hybrid paid off. This was one of those times. Up the stairs I went. This was déjà vu, except the sun was out this time. I pulled the door knob, but it was locked. Damnit, George.
I jammed the key in the lock and then kicked the door open. They weren't anywhere in sight. I was panicking. Oh no. I pulled the bedroom door. George had his hands on Max. She was fighting back. He had a big gash on the side of his head and the lamp lay broken on the floor. He pushed her onto the bed and she screamed again.
"GEORGE!" I growled, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him off Max.
George threw a punch at me. Humans were clumsy. I was swift and agile. He managed to clip my jaw and it threw me off for a second. Then, unexpectedly, he punched me in the nose. It hurt like hell. I thought he broke it.
"George, stop!" Max pleaded.
I ducked pass George and then elbowed him in the back of the neck. He fell to his knees and then keeled over. Humans were so delicate.
"Are you ok?" I asked Max.
She fumbled off the bed and ran into the bathroom, coming out with a cloth. "You're nose."
The entire front of my shirt was stained with blood. We moved to the kitchen and Max forced me to sit down. Even though it had been a long time since we had been in a situation like this, she could still be very mother-like sometimes.
"Call the cops," I said through gritted teeth.
Max hesitated.
"What?" I felt a new stream of blood drip down my chin.
And now I understood all of this. Max pitied him. But she didn't have enough sympathy to marry him. She still pitied him. How could she not see that he was just going to continuously hurt her? I didn't understand her logic. Then again, she must have seen something in him that I obviously didn't. Yet I could fathom the idea of saving him. He didn't deserve it.
"Fang…" Max knew exactly what I was thinking.
"I can't…He tried to hurt you," I said. "He hurt me."
"Please, Fang." I didn't understand. Max never gave many people second chances. In fact I was probably the only one because after all, we had been through so much together. But she didn't believe in second chances after Jeb had betrayed us. All those guys she had gone through, none of them ever got a second chance.
What made George different?
"Alright, fine," I mumbled. She had other motives which I couldn't decipher at the moment.
Defeated. I had let my undying love for Max get in the way of my better judgment. Max boxed the last of her things up. After a while, I headed to the bathroom and started to clean myself up. I had knocked out George hard. He wouldn't be conscious for another few hours.
At least I didn't feel nauseous.
We returned to my apartment. Max had set my nose in place and now I had a throbbing headache. I needed to lie down. She insisted I go to bed, so now here I lay, staring at the ceiling, trying to sort myself out. Max promised she wouldn't go anywhere. I could hear the TV on.
Max confused me. Sometimes I got the feeling that she wanted me back. Other times, I felt like I bothered her. It was like mood swings. And I would always be waiting on Max, whether she knew it or not. I'd always be right here, waiting for her to come back.