Chapter 10
I walked outside the front door of the house and looked to my left. Then to my right. And left. I spun around. No sign of Fang.
"Fang?" I whispered loudly.
"Yo," a voice said from the direction of the porch swing. I looked left again and saw nothing.
Just then, Fang shifted his arm and his silhouette came into view. He'd been sitting on the swing the entire time. I had forgotten I was looking for the Master Blend. Fang could conform to his surroundings. Like a chameleon. Sometimes a useful skill; mostly, an annoying one.
We both stared at one another for a protracted moment, both of us wanting to speak and knowing exactly what we should say, yet we remained silent. Finally, Fang patted the seat beside him as I broke the silence.
"Sorry," I muttered, not moving.
"You haven't done that in a while," Fang said quietly, referring to my quick disappearing act. His voice was low, guarded. A pit began to form in my stomach.
"I know." I still hadn't moved.
After another discomfiting silence, Fang rose, charily walked to my side. His hand grazed my cheek and that pit in my stomach was suddenly attacked by butterflies.
He embraced me and all the nagging thoughts of permanence were suddenly not so distressing. I felt whole. Complete. Fang completed me. I loved it. Loved him. Did I need someone to complete me? No. Yes. Maybe.
Ugh. My mom was right. Just relax, Max. Enjoy the ride.
I squeezed Fang tightly, whispered another "I'm sorry" into his chest. He just stood there, held me, kissed the top of my head. Finally, Fang disentangled his arms, looked at me with a bemused smile, and reminded me why I loved him.
And hated him.
"So - you going to run off every time I try to touch you?" he teased, backing away toward the swing.
I scowled. "Maybe," I barked, my face reddening – and not all from anger. He smirked. "And what if I do?"
He hesitated by the porch swing, then sat, a rare smile stretched across his face. "Then, I'll be waiting right here for you to come back."
I stared at Fang, shook my head. He would wait for me and all of my idiocy. Had already been through a countless number of my flights of fear – when he'd kiss me, I'd run away, return and not talk to him for an eternity. And he was telling me he'd still wait for me. I didn't have a middle name, but I'm sure if I could give myself one right now, it would be schmuck.
"I'm not going to do that again," I murmured, approaching him. I sat next to him on the swing and he put his hand on my knee. "At least I'll try not to."
He smiled again, leaned back into the swing, arms crossed behind his head. I turned and leaned my back into his side. We rocked on the swing for several minutes in silence, just existing in the comfort of one another. We were both happy.
But, as you know, far be it from me to experience happiness for too long.
Just then, a reflection of light in the windows of a car parked across the street caught my eye.
A loud blast suffused the air, causing Fang and I to jump off the swing and stagger into the small front yard. We observed a splattering of glass and chunks of brick taking off in all directions.
And then, the top floor of our safe house burst into flames.
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A/N: Hope you all had a great fourth! I'll try to update by Tuesday. I just had another story attack my brain as I slept last night. That makes five that are swirling in my head and eager to jump onto the written page. I'm going to be soooo busy. :D
