There's finally some excitement in this chapter! Very important. It's basically the beginning of the end.

Chapter Forty-Three

Max

I sat on Ella's bed while she dug through her closet. She was looking for something to wear to the party she was invited to on the weekend. I personally didn't see the point of dressing up for these things. I'd probably just show up in jeans and a t-shirt.

"What about this one?" Ella asked, spinning around and holding a pine-green off-the-shoulder dress stopped just above her knees. I shrugged, resting my hands on top of my stomach.

"It looks nice," I agreed, not really paying attention to it. I was thinking about Fang. I hoped he was alright. If any of the other scientists found out about what he was doing, then he was as good as dead.

"How about this one?" I didn't even look up that time.

"It looks nice," I repeated.

"You're not even looking!" Ella accused. I looked up for a second, then looked back down at my knees.

"It looks nice."

"You're not helping me," Ella said. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, Ella," I said honestly. "I'm just worried about Fang."

"Oh. Well, you shouldn't be. He's probably okay," Ella told me. I sighed. Maybe she was right. Fang could take care of himself.

And then, the weirdest thing ever happened.

I felt totally soaked. I jumped to my feet. Ella glanced over her shoulder at me.

"Max?" she said. She saw what had happened to me and gasped. "Oh, my God! Max! You're…you're water broke!"

"What!" I shouted. "No! My due date isn't for two weeks!"

"Max, due dates aren't always 100% accurate," Ella said. "They're just guesses."

"Well, then, what are we supposed to do?" I demanded. Ella shrugged. She looked frazzled.

"I don't know!" she shrieked. "I guess we should call Mom!"

She ran out of the room and I hurried behind her, clutching my stomach like if I didn't, the baby would just fall out. My stomach clenched and I stopped dead in my tracks and sucked in air. Ella snatched the phone off the hook and dialled the number so fast that if I hadn't known who she was calling already, I wouldn't have been able to tell which numbers she was pressing. She looked at me and shooed me toward the couch.

"Mom?" she said to the phone. "It's Max! Her water just broke! What do I do?"

Ella listened to the voice on the other line, looking like she was about to cry. My stomach seemed to clench again and I let out a cry of pain. Ella looked at me worriedly.

"You want me to what?" she gasped. "No way! I can't drive!—Yeah, I know, but—Yeah, but—"

She brought the phone over to me and I took it from her hand. A week, breathy, "Mm hmm?" was all I could get out.

"Max? It's Mom. I need you to listen carefully to me, okay?" she said. I nodded. "Ella's going to drive you to my friend's clinic." I tried to interrupt and say that I didn't want to go to a doctor, but Mom continued. "I know this isn't what you wanted, but she understands the circumstances. She'll help you, Max."

I figured I wasn't really in a position to argue, so I just agreed and gave the phone back to Ella.

"Okay, Mom," she said. "I'll see you soon."

My stomach clenched again and I cried out.

"Oh, my God! This thing is trying to kill me!" I gasped. That was when Nudge finally entered the room.

"Max?" she gasped after seeing me. She ran to my side.

"It's coming!" I gasped. Nudge grabbed my hands and squeezed them.

"It's going to be okay," she told me as calmly as she could manage. Iggy was next to enter.

"What the hell is going on?" he exclaimed. Ella stepped in.

"We have to leave right now," she said. "Mom said she has everything you're going to need with her."

She shuffled us into the van and put the key hesitantly in the ignition. I could hear her mumbling silent prayers that she wouldn't crash. I would have consoled her, but I was too busy trying not to let my head explode. My hands were clutching the arm rests so tightly that my knuckles were turning white.

Just then, a thought occurred to me.

"Ella?" I said breathily. "Do you have a phone?"

"Um, yeah, it's in my pocket," she said. "Do you need it?"

I nodded stiffly. She pulled the phone out of her pocket and handed it to me. I passed it back to Nudge, sitting behind me.

"Call Fang."