Journal NOT a Diary!

Max's Journal

June 18, 2010

I was laying in one of the beds, Fang in the other. I stared at the ceiling, not wanting to get up. We went to bed at eleven. Woke up at six. Spent all day searching for them, showing random people photos, but no one has seen them.

Fang was counting the remaining money. I knew we were running low. "We don't have enough for another stay," he said. My head turned. I still saw that little silver bag he had by his pillow, by his head when he slept. He had one hand on his pillow while he slept, slowing inching for the bag, as if it were the first thing he would grab if there was a robbery. "Maybe we should just...head back to Arizona. To your mom, and Angel and Nudge."

"No, Fang! I came out here with the sole purpose of finding them! Analie has been reported to the police, they're looking for her, but we report Iggy and Gazzy and they're sent for tests about why they have wings! They're probably not even in New York anymore. No one's seen them. Someone would have to see them on the sidewalks or something. You can leave if you want, but I'm staying. I'll buy a lottery ticket and hope I get lucky. Or pretend to be some homeless person and hope someone's generous."

I got that all out in one breath. I just pulled a Nudge. Oh yeah.

He glared at me. "I'm not leaving you here alone, Max. We can both pull off a homeless act."

"Then don't suggest we go back to Arizona!"

"Okay, okay. We won't go back to Arizona. Okay?"

I rolled I eyes and turned to stare back at the ceiling. "You're impossible."

"Maybe we can catch Cash Cab again."

Normally I would have laughed, but I wasn't in the mood. "Not likely."

"Max." He didn't say anything until I looked at him. He reached out his hand and nudged the silver bag forward, towards me. "Open it."

I frowned but took the bag. I reached in and felt the back velvet under my fingers. It was smooth. If only pillows were velvet. Bad sleep would be much less likely. I slowly slid it out. A rectangle. I shot Fang a look before popping open the lid. I gasped.

A chain. A thin silver chain. In the middle, connecting two sides of the chain, was the word forever in cursive writing. Two sides, two halves connected by forever. I looked at Fang, my mouth open to say something, but I couldn't. The words were stuck in my throat.

He sat there, blinking.

Was this part of his plan? To prove to me he loved me? His face was expressionless was he waited for me to say something. I pulled it out of the box, letting the delicate chain fall between my fingers. I opened the little...what is that called? Hook? Yeah, I opened the hook and attached it around my neck and let my fingers graze the word forever. And yes, both ways.

I had forgotten Fang was sitting there. I looked at him. "Thank you. It's ..." The word was caught in my throat.

"Beautiful?" he finished. I nodded. "Two sides forever." He flashed a smile. "Do you believe me now?"

"I think I do." I bit my lip and turned my head back. Then I swung my legs over the side and slid my feet in my shoes. "We better get going."

Ten minutes later we were outside the hotel, asking random people if they'd seen Analie or the boys. Like we always were. Neither of us expected to find anyone who had. So Fang wasn't afraid to go look for them himself. But today, I stopped a young woman with flowing blond hair and sparkling green eyes, a woman I'd almost passed.

"Excuse me," I said. She stopped and smiled. "Have you seen these kids?" I held up the picture of Iggy and Gazzy, then the one of Analie.

She studied the pictures for a minute. "Yes, I have. This girl." She pointed to the picture of Analie.

"FANG!" I screamed, hoping he was close. He pushed through the crowd to me. "Where have you seen her?"

"About an hour ago I was walking downtown and saw her. She looked so lost. I thought it was strange that a little girl would be wandering these streets alone. I stopped her and asked where her parents were. She just burst into tears. She said her father left and she wanted her mom back, tell her she was sorry. I offered to help her find her mother and...she's in the candy shop." She pointed to a little candy store packed with dozens of children and parents.

My eyes widened. "Thank you!" We both ran in the candy store and looked over the see of kids. Then I saw a flash of long back hair and sparkling brown eyes. I pushed through the kids. "Analie!" I said. She turned.

"MAX!" She jumped in my arms and cried into my shirt. "I - I -"

Fang walked over and stroked her back. "It's okay, Analie. We'll get you back to Mary L - Mom." Analie turned and my arms and jumped from me to Fang. She buried her head in his chest. Fang looked around nervously, like comforting his sister would 'ruin his image' or something. But the store was so packed hardly anyone noticed.

We walked out of the story, Analie still riding in Fang's arms, and walked the many bocks to the end of the city. They must not have had very much publicity about Analie being missing, since no one noticed her on the streets. "Do - do you think Mom'll want me back?" Analie asked.

"Of course," Fang said, stroking her long hair. "She loves you. Much more then you know."

Analie nodded. It's been over a week, almost two since she'd seen Mary Lou last. Meanwhile, Mary Lou was worried sick. She wouldn't answer the phone, even with caller ID, and wouldn't answer the door when we tried to visit her. It was like she'd just...disappeared.

Fang banged on the door. "Mom? It's Fang. With Analie!" he called. This time I heard shuffling behind the door. Mary Lou opened it.

"Momma!" Analie jumped into her arms. Mary Lou buried her face in Analie's hair and cried. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I love you!"

"I know, I know, honey. I love you too. It's okay." She walked inside her house, me and Fang following closely behind. We sank on the sofa while Mary Lou and Analie sat in the recliner. "I'm so happy you're home! Are you hungry?" Analie nodded. Mary Lou tried to stand up, but couldn't without Analie. They both walked into the kitchen.

I kicked off my sneakers and rested my back on the armrest, pulling my knees into my chest. Fang did the same. "It's lucky you caught that woman on the street, Max," Fang said, watching the archway that led to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I almost passed her." I didn't even realize my fingers were playing with the necklace.

Fang noticed it, too, but he didn't say anything about it. "Now we just have to find Iggy and Gazzy and we can leave, right?"

I shot him a look. "I'm not leaving without them."

"I didn't suggest we do."

Then my pocket vibrated. I jumped up and hit answer. Only one person knew this number. "Mom?" I asked.

"Hey, Max!" Mom said. "How's it going in New York? Are you close to finding Iggy and Gazzy?"

"We're fine, Mom. We found - someone. Her name's Mary Lou Yarde. She's very helpful." I decided not to mention that Mary Lou was Fang's mother. "But we haven't found Iggy and Gazzy yet. We were close, but we lost them. We haven't heard anything about them for a week."

Mom sighed. "Max, I really miss you. You need to come home soon."

"I'm not leaving without Iggy and Gazzy! Same as I told Fang! I search every inch of this country if I have to!"

Mom sighed. "Okay, Max. If you tell me where you are, maybe I can send Angel to you." I heard squeals in the background. "But only if you come home in at least a month. You're money has to be running out. Make sure you come home when your money is gone, at least to get more."

My eyes widened. I couldn't let Mom know our money was gone. "Um, we found Cash Cab. Six hundred!" That wasn't a total lie. We did find the Cash Cab. We just didn't make six hundred. "And Mary Lou is...letting us stay with her for a cheap board."

"Yeah? Mary Lou sounds like a very nice woman. How much is the board?"

"Um..." How much was board, usually? I glanced nervously from side to side. "Just forty dollars a night." That wasn't too much, was it?

"Forty?"

"That includes meals and sheets. And...stay." I was dying here! "So just send Angel to her address. And don't worry, she reads Fang's blog. She knows about the wings. But we haven't shown them to her yet." I told her Mary Lou's address.

"Okay. I'll head her that way. Have fun and be careful!"

Fun? We're in a huge city, looking for two boys. It was like needles in a haystack. Moving needles in a moving haystack! "Love you, bye," I said. I pressed the end call button and looked at Fang. "Angel's coming. Here."

"Angel?" Fang repeated, lifting his eyebrows.

Before I could respond, Mary Lou came in with a tray of cookies in her hands and Analie around her neck. Wow. That shows you how young she is. Thirty-one with a fifteen-year-old son. "Here you go, guys. Eat up. I know you're hungry."

I took a bite of cookie. Yum. Chocolate. "Fang, we need to get going soon. We still have to find a cheaper hotel."

"Any cheaper and they'll be free," Fang mumbled, picking up a cookie and looking at it hungrily.

Mary Lou wiped her hands on a hand towel. "You need a place to stay? You can stay here!"

"No, no, no," I said. "We don't want to intrude."

"I insist! It will be like William never left! And, of course, Max."

Fang and I exchanged glances. He shrugged. We did need a place to stay. We had to find a thirty-per-person stay or we'd be living in the back of an abandon SUV. I sighed. "Okay, I guess. Thank you." I tried to smile. Even though this was the only place, Mary Lou was the last person I wanted to stay with.

Analie cheered.

The next day Angel arrived, with her backpack strapped to her back. She landed in the woods, not wanting to freak Analie out. Max, I'm here, she said in my head.

I met her at the door. "Hey, Angel. Fang's taking a shower and Mary Lou and Analie are heading out the back door for the park." We walked in and sat on the sofa.

"She has a nice house," Angel said. "So who is...Mary Lou Yarde?"

My palms got sweaty. "She..um..."

"Fang's mother," Angel said. Ugh, that mind reading can get annoying. "Heard that. So how did you meet her?" I opened my mouth to answer. "Oh." I frowned. It was like she just, suddently got boring or something. I didn't think that then, but looking back, I wish I would have. Just to get her mad.

I heard Fang's shower turn off in the bathroom. I didn't notice my hand creep up to touch the necklace Fang gave me. Angel's eyes bugged out. "Max! That's beautiful! Where did you get it?" She looked at me with wide eyes.

I blushed. You know who, I thought. His name starts with an F and rhymes with boomerang.

Angel grinned. "I saw your MaryEllen interview. He loves you. He always has, Max! And you rejected him!"

"I haven't after yesterday morning when he gave me this." Then I realized what she said. "What do you mean he's always loved me?"

"He's aways been in love with you! You've just never known it. From the time Jeb saved us from those dog crates until now." She chuckled. "You should have heard his thoughts when you told Cindy you loved him. He was screaming like a little girl. In his head, I mean."

I laughed. Fang walked in, his hair still wet, and shot us a half smile as he took a seat in the recliner. I laughed harder.

We kept up small talk until Mary Lou and Analie came back from the park. Then Angel tensed. She's hiding something.

I almost laughed. Mary Lou? Hiding something?

Yes! But she knows that I read minds, and she's trying not to think about it. She loosened up a bit. I don't think it's anything bad.

What about Analie?

Clean. She still thinks her mother is a saint.

That's all that's happened. Apparently Mary Lou is clean. And was hiding that she had extra Fuggy bars in the freezer for us.

Our days were spent searching for Iggy and Gazzy. Angel couldn't cover all of New York City at a time, only half. But she could still read the minds of people we asked and showed the photos. Unless Iggy and Gazzy spend their whole time running back and forth from the North of the city and the South, they weren't even here.

Maybe we can get out of Mary Lou's house soon. Move on to the Ozarks or something. Canoe the Buffalo River. I've always heard it's beautiful there. A few more days without results, and we're out of here. I can grantee that.

The next few days should be pretty interesting.

-Maximum