So so sorry! I'm trying to make update days Tuesdays but I have had final reviews and such. At least summer is almost here :)
Max POV
Iggy came home the next day.
He wasn't as happy as I thought he would've been. Sulking is one way to describe how he was acting by the time we pulled up to the house in the car.
Gazzy and I had to guide him from the car to the base of the stairs inside. Just that resulted in me getting a scrape on my knee and Gazzy being poked in both eyes. Mom had to go to work so it was our job to keep Iggy safe.
While walking, Iggy was breathing extremely hard. I couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or from anger. Probably anger. Anger for losing his eyes. Anger for the fact he would need to be helped around the house. Anger for feeling weak. Anger for being crippled. Just anger.
"We're going to go up the stairs now. You think you can handle that? Or do you want to stay down here?" Gazzy said quietly to his older brother.
"You think I can't handle a couple of stairs?!" Iggy spit out. "I'm fine."
I looked at Iggy. Even with no eyes I could see the anger on his face. Anger.
"Alright then." Gazzy said with an a loud exhale of breath.
"Left." I called out and Iggy lifted his left foot onto the first step.
"Right." Iggy put his right foot on the right step.
"Left."
"Right."
"Left."
"Right."
And so on. All the way to the top. All the way to Iggy's room.
As soon as Iggy touched his bed he was out cold. Gazzy and I positioned his body under the covers and tucked him in. As we were walking out I whispered an "I love you" then switched the lights off and shut the door quietly.
Gazzy went to the bathroom and I made my way down stairs after that. When my foot touched the bottom step I heard a voice that wasn't my mother's. As quietly as I could I made my way towards the kitchen and peeked around the corner. There I saw the one girl who I knew that truly loved Iggy not for his looks, but his personality. Ella.
"Max!" she practically shouted when she saw me. She hung up her phone and embraced me in a rib cracking hug. While hugging, I realized the she was crying. I patted her back gently as she sobbed onto mine. No matter what would happen we would still be best friends.
"M-M-M-Max it's terrible." Ella blubbered.
"Shhh it's okay. It's okay. Don't worry Iggy is fine."
She quickly dropped her arms and stepped back. "What? What's wrong with Iggy?"
"Wait what are you talking about?" I asked clearly confused.
"You go first." Ella said in between sniffles. "It can't be worse than my news."
"No. No. You go first. You're the guest."
"And as the guest I insist you should go first." Ella countered. "What could be worse with my news?"
I shook my head slightly and stared at the ground. How was I going to tell her that the one guy she loves was blind and we didn't tell her? How will she react when she finds out Fang knew before her, my best friend?
"Well," I started reluctantly, "Iggy has been sick," I cleared my throat, "for quite some time." I coughed, choking back the tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes at any moment. "We didn't find out about this until a couple days ago. It all started with his headaches and fevers. He didn't tell us about those because he feels strong when he doesn't ask for help. Sometimes the strongest thing someone can do is ask for help. Then all of a sudden Iggy couldn't handle it and he fell, along with his hopes and dreams. He fell down those stairs and busted his head open." I said pointing my finger behind me. "I wish I could say he was okay but then I'd be lying. He was hurt physically and mentally." I paused. "Ya know the Life Alert Help I've Fallen and Can't Get Up commercials? How everyone thinks it so funny to see the elderly actors and their terrible acting?" Ella nodded weakly. "Well it's not so funny when it's your brother whose head is bleeding and has a burning forehead hotter than hot coals because of a fever.
We called 911 and they took him away. I drove Gazzy to the hospital while Mom rode with Iggy. I stayed for a bit but I couldn't be there. I felt trapped. The pale white walls were closing in on me and I had to get out. For some reason I drove to school. I just needed my friends and y'all were there but school is not the place to go when you want to cool down. People laugh and point at you when they see you've been crying. So I started to cry harder and yell louder at people. It's just hard for me to express my feelings when you bottle up your emotions. That's why I exploded like that. I just couldn't hold it in anymore." I stopped.
"What happened next?" Ella asked quietly.
I started to feel tears run down my face. "I needed my best friend and you never came. Fang is just Fang. He has no emotions. No sympathy for the hurt or accused. But yet I opened up to him anyway when it could've been you or B or Anabel. Anybody but him would've been fine!"
"Max I'm so sorry I didn't-" I cut her off.
"So Fang drove me back to the hospital and we waited. We waited. And waited. We waited quite a while for the doctors to tell us what happened and what was going to happen. I was told earlier that Iggy had eye cancer in one of his eyes. The doctors had three options I think but Mom choose the one she thought would be the best. Iggy had his eyes removed. They removed the other eye just incase it had the cancer cells in it also. We got to see Iggy after the surgery. We all thought Iggy had glass eyes in but they weren't. They were just eye-like sticker things on his eyelids."
It was like it was some cruel joke the doctors played on us.
"Iggy said he was fine because it was fate. He believes everything happens for a reason and that someone or something will benefit from this. I don't. I think we are being punished for..."
"For what?" Ella asked.
For what we are. Because we aren't humans, we're bird kids who don't belong on this planet. We're abominations.
I ignored her and continued, "He stayed overnight for observations and was let go today. Just getting him into the house from the driveway caused me to get this." I said pointing to the dry blood on my knee.
I stopped. There was nothing else to say. I didn't realize I was mad at Ella for not being there when I needed her most until now. We're best friends and best friends help each other through hard times. I mean like Fang is one of my good friends to but he's not the ideal friend that would help a girl through a block in the road.
"I sorry." Ella wailed. "It's just so hard to read you sometimes. Sometimes you can be acting like this after you forget your homework or something because I know how serious you are about your education. I just wish you would trust me completely."
"I do trust-"
"No you don't. There are things you don't tell me. Things that don't relate to school, sports, or the social life you barely have. I'm not going to be suspicious and investigate your life but it would be nice to not be left out of the loop so many times. Plus I thought you like liked Fang. Y'all seem close enough so we sent him."
"I understand. Some Things I might never be able to tell you but I want you to respect that." I told her.
"You left out the fact that you invited Nudge and Angel to the hospital and not me."
Oh shit.
"I know you're mad at me but maybe I should be mad at you because you didn't tell me. I'm a bad friend? You're a bad friend for not telling me the one person I love has cancer!" Ella screamed.
"How did you find out?" I whispered
"Nudge sent me a picture of y'all playing Never Have I Ever."
Screw you Nudge.
"She can't ever shut up can she?" I said with a quiet chuckle.
"No she can't. She almost told Iggy that I made a scrapbook with just his face in it."
I snorted but then I remembered how Fang looked so mad at her for talking about Itex.
"The thing is," Ella started, "I feel like the Ride's and Walker's are much closer than I thought and have more in common then all of us think. Y'all seem like opposites in some ways but when y'all are together it's like your powerful enough to rule the world."
I froze up. My heart was hammering in my chest, threatening to explode at any moment. I know she knew. She had to know. Just then Gazzy walked in saving the day.
I felt his hand on my back. "I heard everything. I think she knows." He whispered into my ear and then went to sit at the island. I watched him at he grabbed a green apple and bit into it.
All of a sudden we heard a crash. I hurried to the stairs where I saw Iggy out of bed clutching his hand.
"Iggy! What are you doing?!" I asked alarmed. I helped him down the rest of the stairs. "So I'm assuming you hurt your hand trying to get down?"
"I heard y'all yelling."
"How? The walls are sound proofed. You shouldn't have been able to hear anything?" I whispered to him.
"I don't know. But I heard it." He paused before adding, "So she really made a scrapbook of me?"
I groaned out of disgust for the two lovers who would not confess their love for each other.
I carefully led Iggy to the kitchen and helped him sit onto a chair near Gazzy.
"Ella? Are you here? I swear I heard your voice." Iggy asked looking around the room.
"I'm here." Ella squeaked.
"Come here." Iggy said while putting his arms out.
Without hesitation Ella practically skipped into his arms and help him.
Then I remembered Ella wanted to say something.
"Hey Ells? You said you had something to tell me?" I asked.
She let go of Iggy and shrugged her shoulders. "It's nothing."
"C'mon Ella just say it." Iggy insisted, "We won't judge."
She looked at me. Then Gazzy. And Finally to Iggy. She took a deep breath a said two words I'd never expect her to say, "I'm moving."
If anyone is even reading this I have an announcement to make. I will not be able to update from June 11 - July 6. I am going to camp and am not allowed to have any electronics. This includes my laptop, phone, MP3, etc. You don't need to worry about me not writing. I'm just going to be on a little vacation.
More on the way! \(*o*)/