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CHAPTER 21

Max POV

I leaned back against my pillow, glad to be lying on my back again. Granted, it did hurt, but it was better to have finally moved again. My mom was going to give me more pain medication in thirty minutes. I guessed she'd been giving them to me since I got here.

Fang leaned closer to my bed, his head propped in his hands.

I let out a sigh and said, "And, here, I thought we would've been able to enjoy San Francisco."

Shrugging, he replied, "Guess we'll have to try again next time."

I gave a quiet laugh and shook my head. Fang scooted his chair closer to me and rested his arms on the edge of my bed.

"Max," he sighed and hesitated. "The other day…on the balcony…"

I honestly couldn't figure out where he was going with this. Flyboys tried to attack us on the balcony; what was there to talk about?

"Yea?" I pressed.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he replied quietly.

Uh oh. That never meant anything good. I gave him a look that said "continue."

"Well, for a little while, now, I've been catching some emotions of yours and…"

"What?!" I interjected. My heart monitor beeped a little faster while I blushed slightly.

"Not on purpose," he argued, holding his hand up innocently and leaning back.

"This is so unfair," I muttered, mostly to myself.

"What's not fair?" he asked curiously.

"My current lack of privacy," I groaned. "Between the mind-reader, the empath, and the heart monitor, I can't hide anything!"

He laughed and gave me a quick smile.

"And there goes my stupid heart monitor again!" I complained angrily. "Why am I still connected to this anyway? I'm not dying!"

"Sorry, Max," Fang chuckled before getting serious again. "Can we get back to our previous conversation?"

"About you reading my emotions?" I asked to make sure.

"On accident," he corrected me. "And yes."

Dang it! Why did he feel the need to talk about this now? Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to get out of this.

"Continue," I sighed.

We sat quietly for a moment; Fang staring at his shoes, me staring at the ceiling.

"Well," Fang finally began. "I'm having trouble fully understanding all of it."

"What do you mean?" I asked looking at him.

He glanced at me, then toward the window. I knew he wanted to have this conversation elsewhere, but I couldn't go anywhere.

"I don't know," he replied quietly. "I wish I could understand you better. I get so many mixed emotions and reactions from you. I…I just…"

I blushed and it felt like my stomach dropped. I'd always been confused about "us," and, now, I made it worse for Fang.

He took my hand in his, and my heart audibly pounded.

"Max. Can you please just…" he said, slightly frustrated. "…Just talk to me. I've told you before, I can't take not knowing."

That was one thing I'd learned over the years: Fang hated being surprised. By anything!

I didn't know what to say to him.

"What do you want me to say, Fang?" That question carried a little bit of my anger and confusion with it. Fang caught that.

He shook his head and looked back to his shoes.

"I just want to know how you feel. About us. Why do you always run? Why do we always get jealous?" he groaned.

I squeezed his hand gently, trying to comfort him and show him I wasn't angry.

"I don't know, Fang," I whispered, looking back to the ceiling as if the answers were up there. "You probably know more than I do with your ability."

He nodded and looked back to me. The disappointment was obvious in his eyes for a second until he gave me a half smile.

"I'm sorry, Fang," I said under my breath.

Fang POV

We sat there quietly for quite some time. All the while, I kept her hand in mine.

Both of us were trying to figure everything out. I knew what Max told me was true. I could tell in her emotions, but more so in her eyes. I probably did know more about how she felt than she could decipher.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean I knew much about it.

Finally, the kids came crashing into the room, rushing to line her bed.

"Max!" Angel and Ella shouted simultaneously.

"How are you feeling?" Iggy asked Max.

"Ready to get out of this room," she joked.

Angel giggled in my head and asked, "So, are you and Max together, now?"

That question received a strange look. "What gave you that idea?" I asked in my head.

She glanced at my hand. The hand that was holding onto Max's hand.

"No," I said through thought. "We…I…I want her to know I'm here for her."

She giggled aloud, and I rolled my eyes. Thankfully, no one bothered questioning her random laughter.

Not long after, Dr. Martinez gave Max some medicine.

"Honey, if you think you can walk, we can take you back to my place," Dr. Martinez suggested.

Max's eyes lit up, and she replied, "Yea. Let's go!"

She struggled to sit up, so I helped her, placing my free hand on her lower back, just below her stitches.

"Guys, why don't you get everything together while I help Max up," I announced.

I was answered with "ok's" and "alright's" from the kids as they skipped out. Iggy followed, then, Dr. Martinez.

I wrapped my arm around Max's waist, while she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. When we were finally up, she tiredly rested her head on my shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

I smiled and kissed the top of her head before we left the room.