Thunder: Back Through the Rain-Chapter 13

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

I lay awake on the couch, watching the shadows of the palm trees dance around the room. My leg throbbed, begging me to find relief. The painkillers were in my bag, but I refused to take them. I was convinced they didn't work and I didn't want to show weakness, even though I knew that no one really cared.

Against everything my leg was telling me, I reached for my crutch and got off the couch, moving towards the back door which opened up to a small in-ground swimming pool. I needed air to clear my head. Maybe I would get some sleep after that.

"Couldn't sleep?"

I turn, stumbling and startled.

"Relax," Gazzy said. He held out something. "Soda?"

I took it without question, just to occupy myself with something for a few seconds. We sat down on the cheap lawn chairs.

"It just doesn't feel right, Max and Iggy," Gazzy sighed. "Even though they're asleep, I just had to get out."

"None of this feels right," I answered.

He seemed to agree and we sat in silence, nothing else to say. If the sun never rose, we could have sat out there for an eternity, sifting through our thoughts.

"How bad is it?" Gazzy brought me back to reality.

I closed my eyes. "It comes and goes. It's never…the same."

"What about now?"

"It was enough to keep me up all night," I replied, staring at the light now appearing just over the horizon.

"Well, we better get back to our rooms before they notice we're gone," Gazzy said after a while. "Max will bite our heads off, or something."

Gazzy crumpled his can, effortlessly. "G'night."

"Night, Gaz."

I wanted to go home, or at least get far away from Max and Iggy. It makes me sick how close they sit next to each other, the way she held his hand and talked to him. The anger made the pain worse too. She was supposed to be with me.

We were at the beach again. Angel and Nudge were off building a sandcastle. Iggy and Max were walking along the edge of the water. I tried not to pay any attention to them.

"Hey, Man, you hungry?" Gazzy sat down next to me.

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess a little."

"Max gave me some cash. She said to buy food from the stand that we passed on the way here," Gazzy explained.

"Oh, alright, just get me French fries or something."

He nodded and jumped up, running through the sand. I picked up a handful of it and chucked it, the grains showering only feet away from me. I needed a rock to throw, but the closest one I saw was out of reach. That made me angry. I clumped another handful and threw it again. The girl who was with the family nearby glanced at me. I gritted me teeth and looked away. She probably thought I was crazy.

I lay back on the blanket, under the umbrella Angel insisted on renting. Strange that it wasn't too sunny in California today, but at least the light wouldn't blind me.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

My moment of peace had been interrupted. I sat up and looked around.

"But you…" Gazzy stood, food now scattered around him.

The man that was yelling kicked some sand at Gazzy, French fries flying along. I stood and headed towards them, my crutches sinking into the sound, pretty much useless. After five more steps, I chucked the back to the blanket and continued forward.

"Have some respect, ya punk!" The man pushed Gazzy.

"Hey!" I started to move a little faster.

Gazzy was backing away.

"Leave the poor kid alone," I said, finally reaching Gazzy.

The man scoffed. "Mind your own business."

"You clearly walked into him," I frowned. "Just give him a few bucks for the food."

A number of things happened next. None of them were clear, but the man punched me in the stomach and I leaned forward, the blow unexpected. He knew I had a bad leg and he kicked it, causing me to fall, my face in line with his upward fist. I fell into the sand, disoriented.

"That'll teach you disrespectful teenagers," the man snarled, walking away.

Gazzy fell to his knees beside me. "Fang…I'm sorry…Are you ok?"

There was a crowd standing around us now. I pulled my bad leg out from under me, grunting in pain.

"Fang…" Gazzy repeated my name, anxious.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." But that was a lie. We had to get away from these people before someone called the cops. The last thing we needed was to be noticed by the cops.

"We should call 911," I heard someone say.

I turned to them. "I'm fine."

They seemed taken aback. The circle around us dissipated, the people mumbling to themselves.

"Where the hell was Max?" Gazzy sat down on the sand, staring at the French fries surrounding us. "She should have stepped in to help. No offense, but you know, it's true."

I pushed myself into sitting position, my body screaming out in pain. "Does it matter anymore?"

Gazzy shook his head. "I guess not."

The fact that Gazzy and I had decided not to tell Max about our incident made me think about how our trust was deteriorating and jealousy was setting in. Iggy had been Gazzy's best friend and Max was supposed to be mine. They barely even spoke to us anymore. We were going to spend our whole time in California, parading after them as if we didn't exist. Angel was the only one content on hiding her annoyance. To Max and Iggy, I was always in a bad mood, Gazzy was just being Gazzy, and Nudge was just rambling about nothing. They didn't see how we really felt.

One day at sunrise, I was going to go outside again to get some fresh air to breathe, but Iggy and Max were there, sitting at the edge of the pool, they're feet dipped in. I think I died a little inside when he leaned in to kiss her.

Thanks for reading!!