The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 49
By MyNameIsCAL
---Max's POV---
We were heading out to Alaska now. The cars had been secured in the holding are of the plane. Ramirez would await us at the airport, joining us on our search for Nudge and Angel. Mike and Eli were excited to see him, but me, I was anxious. And then there was Fang. There was something that was bothering him. Maybe now was the time to ask him because he had nowhere to run to.
"What's got you so worked up?" I asked quietly.
"Nothing," he answered. "Just thinking too much."
"Thinking about what?"
He sighed. "Things I shouldn't think about. I mean, you've forgiven me already, and hell, we can all blame ourselves and each other, but I've just been thinking about what if it had been me instead of Nudge and Angel."
I blinked. "You'd be dead."
"Well, I've just been thinking," he concluded. "It's nothing really."
But I could tell it was really bothering him. I reached for his hand, settling my head on his shoulder. He squeezed my hand.
---Iggy's POV---
Planes were too loud. I would rather be out there flying. It had been too long since I'd been able to spread my wings and fly for hours, but I didn't have the heart to leave Fang all alone on the plane. He still seemed like he needed company even when there were people around him.
"Ever wish it was you instead of them?" Gazzy suddenly questioned.
"I think we've all wished that at some point." I replied.
"I guess so." Gazzy sounded angry and then the next thing that came out of his mouth would explain why. "But not Max."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because she's the only one that didn't suffer," he said bitterly. "I mean look at Fang, he's falling apart. Even now, he's still struggling. You went to the circus! I failed at trying to rescue Angel and Nudge. But Max, she actually went and did something. She wasn't even looking for us!"
He was right. I wouldn't have spent my entire life at the circus. It was easy to blame Max though. But in a way, none of us had really made the attempt to go after each other. Sure, maybe a few days of searching, but then, that was it, we parted ways. All of us knew where Dr. M's house was. I only went because I knew it was time to find them all again. Somehow, we all got that feeling. We did need time apart, but we chose the wrong time to do it.
---Fang's POV---
I watched my heart rate rise as the plane took off. It was all in my head, really. Any normal person wouldn't worry about this.
"Stop looking at it." Max let go of my hand and started to remove it.
"Hey," I pulled away. "What are you doing?"
She reached for my wrist and continued to remove it. "You'll be fine."
"Max…"
But she ignored me.
"No, Max, stop."
And she finally pulled it off, revealing the newest cuts I had done only recently, out of stress maybe. She had been asleep and I couldn't resist. A moment of desperation, maybe it was.
"Fang…" She stared for a while. "When…"
"A couple of days ago." Alright, that was a lie. It was only last night.
She turned off the beeping monitor and shoved it into her pocket and pulled down my sleeve, her head returning to my shoulder surprisingly. And then she said, "I don't want to lose my trust in you, Fang."
"I'm sorry, Max."
She took my hand and said nothing for the rest of the flight.
---Gazzy's POV---
It was like one storm to the next. Snow was falling as we touched down in Alaska. We filed off the plane and into the vans. Max's friend, what's his name? Oh, Ramirez, had a hotel booked for us.
"Why a hotel?" Max asked.
Mike seemed annoyed. "Well, do you want to sleep here?"
Fang opened his mouth to say something, but then sighed.
It took about five minutes to get to the hotel. Ramirez introduced himself to us. He seemed like a nice guy. After some small talk, he gave us our room keys and we squeezed into the elevator, minus Eli, Mike, and Ramirez who were heading to the bar.
There was an uneasy silence in the elevator, at least between the flock. Max leaned against Fang, her eyes closed. He had a hand on her shoulder. Something was going on between them. But then again, when wasn't there something going on between them? Even Iggy seemed to be thinking about something.
"I'll let you in on something later," Iggy whispered.
I glanced at Iggy, but he continued to look deep in thought, like he was trying to stare through the floor of the elevator even though he couldn't see.
