Agh! Hi! Sorry it's been so long. I've sort of been busy with homework and stuff. Also, I've kind of been living off of ibuprofen and macaroni, since I just got braces and can't chew, which honestly aren't the brain-food. But here it is. So…yeah…read it 'n' stuff. :D

Chapter Twenty-One

Max

God, my life was getting so screwed up. After sprinting into the bathroom to puke my guts up for the second time, I curled up on the floor next to the toilet. I leaned my head against the wall, which felt great against my head. I still didn't understand why I'd started crying in the kitchen. Now my life was so screwed up.

"Max?" Fang called through the door. "Max, I'm coming in."

"No," I protested weakly. He ignored my plea and let himself in.

"Damn, Max, you look like crap," he noted. I glared at him.

"No duh," I said. My stomach flopped and I leaned over the toilet where I puked again. Fang stepped over and pulled my hair back.

"Thanks," I croaked.

"Max, you're sick," he said.

"Again, I say, no duh," I groaned.

"I mean you're really sick and you're not getting better," Fang explained. "If you ask me, you've been going downhill for a month. You should call your mom."

"No!" I gasped. "I can't call her!"

"Why not?"

"Because she's totally not up to date!" I explained. "I haven't talked to her since she ditched us just after you left." I bit down on my tongue as my stomach somersaulted. "She's doesn't know that you're back, she doesn't know that we've made our relationship...serious. She doesn't even know that Dylan...expired." God, now I knew why the scientists called it expiration. I couldn't say that Dylan died. Not out loud. Fang sat down on the floor next to me, pulled me into his lap, and wrapped his arms around me. It was comforting to have him so close. I curled up against him.

"Call your mom," he whispered.

"No," I said.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny black cell phone. It was sleek and shiny, and I'd never seen it before. I decided to ask him where he got it later.

"Yes," he said, enforcing the word in a way that told me that I didn't have a choice. I sneered at the phone but took it from his hand, flipping it open and dialling the number. It buzzed three times before there was a click and my mother's voice rang through the silence.

"Martinez residence," she said.

"Mom?" I whispered timidly. "It's me, Max."

"Oh, Max! It's so wonderful to hear from you!" she shrieked. "How have you been?"

"I've been okay," I said. "Um, I'm sorry I haven't called in so long. I'm not into phones. I probably should have. A lot of stuff has happened."

"What kind of stuff do you mean?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Um...well...Dylan, um, expired a couple months ago," I started. My mom gasped on the other line, but said nothing, sensing that I had more to say. "Also, um, Fang came back."

"He did?" she gasped again. "Is he there now?"

"Yeah, he's right here," I said, looking up into his eyes. God, they were still really hot. I opened my mouth to speak, but instead dropped the phone and heaved again. Fang grabbed the phone off the floor.

"Hello, Dr. Martinez," he said in his dark, velvety voice. I could hear my mother's shrieking through the phone. "Yes, I know," he said calmly, answering a question my mom had asked him. "Yes, I know. Mm hmm. Yes, I know. No she's being sick right now. Yes. All day. I don't know."

I snatched the phone out of his hand and held it to my ear.

"Hi again," I said.

"Max, are you alright? Fang said you were sick."

"Yeah, I'm fine. But that's kind of why I called you," I explained. "The flock's kind of worried about me since I've been acting kind of weird for a while."

"What does 'acting weird' mean?"

"Um, I get really lightheaded when I stand up most of the time, I actually fainted a couple of times, I seriously have to pee all the time, I've been throwing up all morning, and I started crying randomly when Fang asked me if I was okay."

My mom made a hmm sound on the phone. "That's all?" she checked.

"Yeah," I said after nodding and realizing she couldn't see that.

"Alright. Ella and I will come by as soon as we can," she decided. I was shocked, nearly to silence, at her decision. I didn't want her out here!

"No, Mom! That's really okay. You don't have to come all the way out here. I'm sure I'm fine," I protested. But the only answer I got was the dial tone. I flipped the phone shut.

"She's coming here," I explained solemnly. Fang shook his head.

"When are you going to learn that sometimes it's more important to put your needs before you're paranoia?"

I sighed. Probably never.