The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 61

By MyNameIsCAL

-Iggy's POV-

Angel had this crazy idea that we were going to cremate Gazzy. You know, sort of his last blaze of glory before he left us for good. It seemed right though, so we did.

"When Fang is better," Angel said. "We'll go and fly for a while and scatter his ashes. He'd like that, I think."

It was her brother, we weren't going to argue with her.

"He'll be okay, I promise," she said in a daze, staring out the window. "Wherever he is, he's alright."

And I wondered if she was just saying that because she was trying to reassure herself and us, but part of me still wondered if she knew more than we actually did, more than we would ever understand.


-Fang's POV-

Being with the flock, minus Gazzy, wasn't the same as it had been before. There was something that I felt was still holding us apart, like there was an invisible barrier dividing us. It was easy to see that Nudge was upset with Iggy and Ella's relationship. I tried not to be bitter, and Max tried to keep me happy, but it would be a while before I got over what happened to me. The only people that really seemed to be fine were Angel and Iggy. Seeing Angel get over Gazzy so quickly, I almost felt jealous.

The days seemed to drag on at Mom's house, but I guess I was happy to be out of the hospital too. Iggy cooked for us, so for those few hours we spent around the kitchen table, it seemed like we had all forgotten about what was bothering us. You could tell people needed the distraction because we could sit for hours around our empty plates, trying to hold a conversation about nothing. And one day, I grew tired of it, so I retreated to the TV room. Max followed me eventually, taking a seat next to me. It was almost automatic that my arm came around her as her head leaned against me. I guess the one thing that I'd actually manage to settle into was our relationship.

Max had been persistent too, trying to convince me that there was nothing wrong with me. Our talk before bed usually included talking about wedding plans. Well, it was more of a monologue for Max, as I would lay there listening. Part of me resisted wanting that, knowing that Max would have to spend the rest of her life looking after me, but the truth was, I needed someone like Max to do that, someone who cared for me, someone who actually loved me no matter what.

And so I'd give in to her talk.

"I think having our wedding here in the backyard is a nice idea," I said after a while, lowering the volume of the TV.

She looked surprised that I would bring this up first.

"Help me up. Let's go outside," I murmured.

Max stood, pulling me off the couch. I unsteadily walked towards the door. My leg, it felt better than it had been when Max and Ted first found me. That seemed to be a good thing, in all this pain I was in. She had her hand around my arm, but after I gained my balance, she let go.

"Well you can walk, that's for sure," she smiled.

I held the door open for her.

We stood outside, the stars above us. I unfurled my wings, stretching them in what seemed like an eternity. I took her hand.

"C'mon, the roof, I can make it up there," I whispered.


-Max's POV-

My landing was more graceful than Fang's, but his leg, that seemed to have better days now, gave him trouble with landing. How long had it been since he had even flew two feet in the air? Maybe that time he saved Ted.

He looked down at his heart rate monitor, but his expression gave nothing away. We lay down next to each other, staring up at the sky. I listened to his breathing, quicker than usual, until it slowed back to normal.

"The stars, you can see them here," he breathed out. "It's not like Chicago."

His hand was planted on his chest, massaging almost absentmindedly. I learned not to worry about that too much.

"They remind me of you," he continued.

"Do they?" I asked, closing my eyes.

He took my hand, but gave me no explanation. I wanted to ask, but he started to talk again.

"When are Ted and Cal going to come?" he questioned.

"When Cal's school finishes. The end of next month," I told him. "They want to move out here, get married so we can all go to the wedding."

"That would be nice," he said quietly.

And we lay on the roof like that for a few more hours, whatever that was going on down below us forgotten.