The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 28
By MyNameIsCAB
---Max's POV---
Well, I stand now on the porch of Mom's house. I can see that the inside hasn't changed much and she sits sipping coffee with today's paper spread on the table. Ella isn't anywhere in sight. It looks like Mom is alone.
"Well…" Fang trailed off, waiting for me to press it.
Messina and Cal stood behind us. They were all waiting for me. I finally pressed it.
---Iggy's POV---
The doorbell rang. I was barely awake and stumbled down the stairs after Ella. We got into the kitchen and the door was open already.
"Oh my God…" Ella gasped.
---Max's POV---
"Max!" Mom almost screamed.
She hugged me and I looked over her shoulder. "Iggy?"
Iggy somehow looked at me. It amazed me how he could do that even though he was blind.
"Max…Is that really you?" he asked.
"Hey, you didn't forget about me either, did you?" Fang asked.
"Holy crap," Iggy said, his mouth now wide open.
Mom finally let go of me and Ella now stood in front of me. She squeezed me so tight that I thought I might have lost my breakfast.
"We thought that you guys had died or something," Ella told me.
I went over and hugged Iggy. Clumsily, he hugged me back. Once we let go, I realized I had to introduce them to Messina and Cal.
"So where have you been?" Mom asked, letting us in. "And you brought friends, Max?"
"Yea, this is Ted Messina and Cal Laughlin," I said, pointing at them for good measure.
We sat down and I explained everything to Mom and Ella and Iggy. Between Fang and me, along with Messina and Cal adding in a few things, it took more than an hour to explain. But Mom sat there, being ever so patient.
"You work for the FBI?" Iggy sounded astonished.
"Not anymore," Messina corrected.
"But that's still pretty cool," Iggy went on.
But Mom was more interested in Fang. "So you're on medication."
"Yea," Fang nodded and I watched him run his fingers down his arm which was covered by his shirt. He had purposely left out the part about his wrists. I didn't blame him for doing that.
"What for?" Mom continued.
Fang glanced at me. "The pain."
I knew that Fang didn't want to tell Mom about his depression. Messina and Cal exchanged glances with me, but said nothing. They knew why he wasn't telling the whole truth.
"So have you seen any of the others?" Ella asked.
I shook my head. "No."
"Nudge and Angel are still captured by Itex," Fang added. "And Gazzy…We don't know what happened to him."
Silence fell across the room. I guess there was nothing anybody could really say about that.
---Fang's POV---
Dr. Martinez seemed pretty overwhelmed by having so many people at the house. Ted and Cal had offered to leave, but she had insisted they stayed. Iggy had been helping cook meals and the rest of us tried to help too.
There weren't that many extra beds in the house. Max and I were sleeping in the downstairs guest room since it would be impossible for me to go up and down the stairs without help. Ted and Cal were in another bedroom up stairs and Iggy was sleeping on the floor in Ella's room now since there was nowhere else to put him.
"Why don't we go out to eat tonight?" Max offered. "I can pay."
"No, you don't have to do that, Max," Dr. M insisted.
Max shook her head. "I invaded your house with people. It's the least I can do."
Eventually Dr. M gave in and we were going out to dinner tonight.
Ella had suggested we go to a burger place that supposedly was really good. We had to travel in separate cars and parked across the street.
"I'm surprised we could get a table," Dr. M said.
"Yea, I know, right," Iggy agreed, sitting between Ella and me.
Max sat down next to me. It was actually nice to eat with a lot of people. It felt like eating with the flock. Not that Ella, Dr. M, Ted, or Cal, could replace Gazzy or Nudge or Angel.
But it was nice not to feel so empty for once.
