In and Out of Love-Chapter 12
By MyNameIsCAL
I went to get food around midnight. There were two pieces of pizza left. I had a feeling Max had purposely left them for me. I ate them cold and in the dark. Max was sleeping on the couch and I listen to her breathing, wondering how we had gone wrong so many times. Iggy's words from earlier echoed in my head. You two were the ones that gave me hope through all the mess Itex caused for us. Did we really? You can't screw this up anymore, Fang. No, I couldn't.
"Max." I whispered as I walked over to the couch. "Max…"
She stirred and sat up, yawning.
"You should sleep in a bed," I said to her. "Come on."
She followed me, sleepily, into my room and nestled herself under the sheets. I crawled into bed next to her and she snuggled up against me.
"Fang, I'm sorry," she said after a while.
It took me a moment to respond. "It doesn't matter anymore. Just sleep now."
"Carter sent flowers," Iggy said as we came into the kitchen. "Actually he delivered it himself and the media is all over it."
Max's hand slipped from mind as she plucked the envelope from the flowers and opened it. Iggy gave me a questioning look before returning to his coffee.
"What's it say?" Iggy asked.
Max shook her head. She pulled out several sheets of paper, full of Carter's handwriting. "It's long. I don't care to read it."
"Wait, the media?" I questioned.
Iggy sighed. "The media caught sight of him with the flowers. They think that he's been Max's Mystery Man all along."
Max closed her eyes. "I swear when this is all over, Carter is so dead."
I don't think I had seen Max so angry before, and I thought I had seen her mad. Most times, I was the one that made her angry, but today, she was fuming. It was probably a good thing I wasn't still angry at her. Iggy was always right. The fact that I doubted him sometimes made me feel guilty.
"Maybe you should read his letter," Iggy said.
We sat around the TV, watching the news. The letter, inside the envelope now, sat on the coffee table. I had the urge to read it, but I knew Max wouldn't appreciate that.
"If that idiot has anything to say to me, he can tell me in person," she snapped.
Iggy's gaze found me. That creeped me out sometimes. It took me a minute to understand his expression. He wanted me to calm Max down. Unfortunately the expression I returned, he would never see. I didn't know what to say to Max, though.
"Once we get through our battle with George," Iggy spoke in my silence. "We can deal with Carter."
Why could I never say the right thing? I had a lot to learn from Iggy.
"Yeah, I know." Max let out a deep breath. She slouched into the couch, finally resting her head on my shoulder.
I put my arm around her, trying to be comforting. "Everything is gonna be ok. We're all going to get through this."
Iggy gave me an encouraging smile.
"I hope so," Max whispered.
I lay in bed with Max now. She still seemed upset.
"The letter is still on the coffee table," she said just as I thought she had fallen asleep. "You can read it with Iggy if you want."
"Wouldn't you rather read it first?" I replied.
"I think I already know what it says." She turned away from me. "Go, read it. I'm not stupid. You and Iggy want to read it. You're just waiting for me to fall asleep."
"Max…" I wasn't even thinking of doing that.
"Even if that's not what you intended, go read it now anyway," she went on.
"Then why don't we read it in the morning, together?"
Max turned to face me again. "Alright."
I woke up early the next morning to help Iggy with breakfast.
"Carter is at the door," Iggy muttered.
"What?" I put down the knife I was using to cut the onion with.
"He's the only one that walks with a slight limp like that. It wouldn't be noticeable to you," Iggy explained quietly. "It's like how you don't walk the same way because of the accident or the way you favor having Max on your right side because it's the side that's had the least injuries."
I frowned. How was it that the blind guy knew everything?
"Now go open the door," Iggy said.
I headed towards the door, paying closer attention how I stepped. Maybe Iggy was right, but I couldn't remember how I walked before.
"What do you want?" I questioned, opening the door.
Carter was about to knock. He shifted his weight and then backed away. "Is Max around?"
"Anything you need to tell her you can tell me," I told him.
He gulped.
"Well spit it out or get out of here. The entire media thinks you're dating Max or something," I growled.
"Did she read the letter?"
"No, not yet."
"Well, tell her to call me when she does."
"Alright, we'll see," I replied. "I can't promise anything."
"I'm sorry, Fang." Carter took another step backwards.
"No you're not," I scoffed. "Once this ordeal with George is over, we all have a lot of things to get straightened out."
"I know."
"And you better be ready to deal with it. Now get out of here."
He nodded and then turned, half running, half speed walking down the hallway. I wondered what the reporters would make out of today's visit.
Or maybe I was afraid to know.
Thanks for reading.