Aftermath – Chapter 4
By MyNameIsCAL
-Iggy's POV-
"I saw Max a few days ago."
I felt Fang stiffen next to me as Gazzy said Max.
"Ari's sick again," Gazzy explained. "And it's not looking good."
Fang spoke, surprisingly. "What do you mean?"
"He's in a coma and his brain activity is weak. The doctor said he got some kind of infection."
"Infection? But isn't he immune to everything like we are?" I frowned.
"That's what the mystery is. But the tests are coming back inconclusive. They don't even know if it's an infection for sure because they don't know what's causing it." Gazzy stuffed the last of the food in his mouth and rose from the table. Lately it seemed like he couldn't sit still, but then again, he was rarely around. "Anyways, I just thought you should know. You'll probably hear from her soon. She's kind of a mess. Dylan and she were fighting, but I talked to her yesterday and she says things are better now."
He disappeared down the hallway as he spoke his last words.
"I should call her," I muttered.
Fang said nothing.
"Maybe we can send some flowers." I was just thinking out loud now.
"Maybe I should talk to Max."
Did I hear what he said correctly? "What?"
"Her kid is what, four? Five? I shouldn't be so selfish." Fang let out a sigh. "He's part of our family and we don't even know him. It feels like the flock doesn't even know each other anymore."
We sat there in silence. Fang was right. The last time the flock was together was when Angel died. The only things we heard about Nudge were from the tabloids and news. Besides talking to Max every now and then, I didn't know a single thing about her life right now.
"I tried to reach out to Max, even just as a friend after Angel died," he said quietly. "But she pushed me away. I guess I've been expecting an apology all these years. But maybe when she realized she should say anything to me, she thought it was too late."
This talk of Max was making me uneasy, but he sensed it.
"I just want to set things right, Ig. I wouldn't leave you or change any of this. I'd go through all of it again." He reached out and squeezed my hand. "For you."
Then he fell back into his silence again.
PAGE BREAK!
When I woke the next morning, Fang wasn't in bed. I let out a sigh. No morning conversation for us today. Usually he waited for me.
Just before I called out his name, he entered the room. The smell of pancakes entered the room and I grinned. He settled a tray on my lap and then sat on his side. Oh, Fang. Always surprising me.
"Well, good morning," I replied.
"Morning," he said. "I think I burned them a little."
I took a bite. "They're perfect, Fang."
After we finished eating, Fang took our dishes to the kitchen. He climbed back into bed and pulled the blankets back over us. I rolled over and pushed myself on top of him. His hands rested right between my wings.
"Can we just stay in bed all day?" I asked.
He took my hand and pressed it to his face so I knew he was smiling.
"Of course," he said anyways.
We began to undress each other under the sheets. The rest was history. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.
Halfway through dinner, Gazzy burst in through the garage door.
"What happened to you?" Fang asked immediately.
It must have been really bad if Fang said something right away.
"LEAVE ME ALONE, ANGEL!"
What?
There was a loud crashing for glass.
Fang rose from beside me.
"GET OFF OF ME, FANG!"
They were punching each other. I got up, ready to put myself between them, but then they went flying onto the table. Needless to say the table broke in two and they lay sprawled in the debris.
"Gazzy, that's enough!" Fang growled.
There was no response.
"I think I knocked him out." Fang began to stand, but then he fell back down.
"You're bleeding," I muttered, kneeling down next to him.
"He stabbed me with a piece of glass in the leg." Fang leaned against me. "Iggy, call an ambulance."
I gulped and did as I was told. Fang was unconscious by the time the paramedics arrived. The smell of all that blood was making me nauseous.
I almost puked on the way to the hospital. It was serious. Fang had lost a lot of blood because Gazzy impaled one of his arteries. They rushed him off to the ER as soon as we got there.
"Excuse me, do you know anyone who matches his blood type?" a woman asked me. She must have been a nurse or something.
We weren't a match. Only Max was. I remember all those years ago when Ari attacked Fang and he lost all that blood and almost died. Max was the only one who could give him blood.
"Max…"
"Max who?"
"Maximum…Maximum Ride," I managed to say.
The woman led me to a chair and sat me down. "She's in this hospital. I'll go find her."
I nodded. She must be here for Ari. I swallowed. Everything felt like it was spinning even though I was sitting down.
I'm not sure how long I had been sitting there until someone tapped me on the shoulder. I almost jumped, but I recognized the voice, even though I had not seen her in over five years.
"Max…"
"I didn't think it would take this to see you again," she said quietly. "Why don't you come with me to Ari's room. It's quieter there. I told the nurse I was taking you there already, so they'll know where to find you."
I nodded and let her lead me through the hallways. We went down in an elevator and entered another hallway.
"Is Dylan here?" I asked.
"No, he went home to sleep." Max opened a door and guided me to a couch.
"Th-thanks for giving Fang blood," I told her.
"You think I was going to let him die or something?" Max hesitated. "I know I haven't spoken to him since Angel died. He's probably mad at me. He went and opened up to me and I pushed him away."
"He was mad at first," I admitted. "But just the other day he was saying how he wanted to make things right again. That he didn't care about that anymore. That the entire flock doesn't seem to know each other anymore."
"What happened to us?" Max's voice was unsteady.
"I don't know. I miss everyone."
There was a long silence. The only thing I could hear was the blips from the machine monitoring Ari's vital signs.
"Exactly what happened tonight?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. Gazzy burst in and started yelling, 'ANGEL, LEAVE ME ALONE' and then Fang stood up, trying to calm him, and then Gazzy attacked him. Stabbed him with a piece of glass in the leg and pushed Fang through the kitchen table."
"Gazzy was fine when I saw him the other day. He just looked tired."
"I haven't even seen him," I muttered. "He comes home late and leaves early. He sold his magazine. I don't even know what he's doing. I've been meaning to talk to him, but he's never around. The last time I spoke to him was when he told me about Ari."
"I meant to call you." She let out a breath. "Maybe this is a sign that we should, I don't know, try to be a family again."
I could only nod.
"By the way," she said, sounding tired now. "Thanks for the flowers. Those are my favorite."
"What flowers?" I thought about sending some, but I never got around to ask Fang to go order them online.
"The ones you sent. The card said it was from you and Fang. I just thought you sent them." She rose from the couch and crossed the room.
"I guess Fang must have sent them then." It was the only explanation. He would know they were her favorite.
She came and sat down next to me. "I'll have to thank him."
"He'll have to thank you for saving his life," I laughed.
We lapsed back into silence. I guess Max and I never really talked. Perhaps the deepest conversations we ever had were about Ella. Jeez, I hadn't thought about Ella in a long time. I had been so young back then. It still hurt me that I never had any kind of chance to save her. I never even said goodbye. That alone should have torn me up, but all the death that had happened after that made it numbing.
I shut my eyes and sunk into the couch. Maybe this was the reason the flock went its separate ways. We didn't want to think of the past and that's exactly what we would remember when we saw each other. That was probably the reason Fang had felt so conflicted about seeing Gazzy. How could you spend time around Gazzy without thinking about Angel? The only reason Fang agreed to let me tell Gazzy about us was because he felt guilty.
Speaking of us. I wondered if I should tell Max. I must have looked like a nervous wreck sitting there in the waiting room. Would she take it well? I mean, she was fighting with Dylan according to Gazzy. What if she was thinking about Fang? Wondering if he'd take her back someday?
"Fang's going to be okay, Iggy," Max said softly.
Why was she telling me that? To reassure herself?
"Look, I'm not going to skirt around the fact that I know about you two." She let out a breath. "Gazzy told me when he came to visit the other day."
"I'm going to kill him," I muttered. "I wanted to tell everyone, but Fang isn't ready for that. He's still…trying to make sense of everything that happened."
She wasn't angry though. "I don't care that you didn't tell me. I just want to stop being strangers now. The past few weeks the world has been spinning again and I need…I need stability. Dylan and I can't get through Ari being sick alone. It's tearing us apart. I don't…"
She sucked in a breath.
"Then let's start right now. We're going to have each other's backs again. Don't cry, Max. You're going to make me cry."
"I'm sorry," she sniffled.
I wanted to say that I was sorry too, but there was a knock on the door and so the moment was over. I just hoped that everything would be ok again.