Chapter: 24

"I'll do the dishes." Max offered hoping that the shaking of her voice was unnoticed. Of course she was wrong. Three heads turned at her directions. First one was Fang, second one was Iggy and the last one was her mom's.

Dr. Martinez.

Iggy grinned. "Well I would've taken you up on that offer, but you know, Angel's doing the dishes tonight."

This time Angel's face whipped up. "What? You were serious?"

"Uh-huh, and also the laundry. Now get on with it."

Angel huffed and got to the sink, Max felt bad for her when she saw the huge pile of dishes there.

Max sat on the couch beside her mom and stared at the TV. Rest of the Flock was scattered around the house and Max didn't know where Evan was. It made her a bit nervous, not knowing where her daughter was. But not as nervous as she felt while sitting with her mom. She vaguely thought if that was how her mom felt when she went missing.

Dr. Martinez was also very nervous. But she didn't let it show, instead she let her happiness took over her.

"Ella really wanted to come." She said in an attempt to break the ice. "She was very happy when she heard about you."

Max smiled to the thought of her half sister, she really missed her.

"Where is she again?" She asked.

"She's going to college in Boston."

"That's great."

They sat there in silence for a while.

"Evan is very sweet." Dr. Martinez said finally.

Max laughed softly. "Thanks."

"If you don't mind me asking Max," She said hesitantly. "I've seen Gazzy that age, he never really looked like nine more like twelve, but, uh, Evan looks younger for her age."

That was true. Evan looked way younger then nine, she looked more like six or seven.

"Yeah, she does." Max nodded. "But I don't know why." Maybe because she wasn't as strong as the whitecoats expected. Maybe because after all she was weak.

Did it bother Max? Yes, it did.

Did she feel relieved that her daughter was weak? Yes, she did.

They were interrupted as Evan walked towards Max. She looked sleepy and she stumbled twice on her way. She still wasn't very familiar with the house and the fact that she was almost dead on her feet made it more difficult.

"Hey baby," Max pulled her on her lap and Evan rested her head on her shoulder. "Are you tired?" Evan nodded. "I'm sorry," She told her mom. "I'll be right back." She got up with Evan still clinging to her and took her to the room that they'd showed her as Evan's. She tucked her in and pulled the covers up to her chin. Evan's eyes were closed, Max thought she was already asleep, but when she was about to straighten up, Evan fisted the hem of her shirt.

"Mom," Her voice was groggy and her eyes half closed. "I love you."

Max's chest swelled. Did she ever imagine those silvery blue eyes to be so full of love and innocence?

No she didn't. The only thing she expected them to hold was hate and arrogance and lust. Not love. Not trust or affection.

And right that moment, Max knew, weak or strong, nothing or everything, monster or human, she could never hate her daughter, even if everyone else did so.

"I love you too."

Max woke up with the sound of blasting music from the next room. She sat up and thought about what the hell. It was four-thirty.

Who plays music at four in the morning?

The room next to her was Iggy's. Max opened the door and got out, sleep was totally gone now. As she walked out in the hall, the door opposite hers opened. Angel's messy head came out and she yawned.

"Max," She rubbed her eyes. "I think it's better if you just leave it alone."

"What?" Max said confusedly. "Wait-is that Iggy?"

"Yep." Angel nodded. "You're thinking about talking to him, right?"

"It's just…he seems so changed."

"Look," Angel came out of her room wearing a white tank top and pink shorts. "How about we go to the kitchen get some coffee and I'll tell you what happened these nine years, huh?"

"All right, I guess."

So they sat there with their mugs of coffee and Max waited for Angel to start.

"He's relaxing." She said.

"Relaxing?"

She sighed. "Max when you were gone, someone had to take over. Someone had to make the decisions. And, well, Gazzy and I were out of question. Nudge was too, you know, because she's Nudge and Fang was way too depressed. He wouldn't even remember to eat if we wouldn't tell him to. He was too focused in finding you, no offense."

"None taken." Max shrugged. Though she didn't expect it from Fang. When she left, she thought that Fang would be the one to take over.

"So Iggy was the only one left. And he just had his sight back and somehow he was the only one who knew what the others were feeling. Sure I was the mind reader, but whenever I tried to tell others about it they were always like don't read minds Angel, again no offense."

Max smiled.

"So, he was the only one sane among us and he tried to pull us together again…"

Angel continued. By the time she was done with how they started living with her mom, how they started school and settled because Iggy thought it would be easier for Max to find them if she ever wanted to, how Fang was never around, how after two years Iggy convinced him to start a normal life and stay with them because the Flock needed him, how both of them never stopped searching for her, how everything and everyone changed bit by bit, and how Fang finally found her, it was almost five-thirty.

"See, Max," Angel said. "Nothing was same without you. We only made it out because of your mom and Iggy. And well," She sighed. "Maybe Iggy did pull us together but he's…he's changed! From the day you were gone, he never broke down. He never showed any weakness, he was always strong, he was…was our rock. The only one keeping us sane.

"But sometimes…he gets depressed. He gets so depressed that it scares me Max." Angel shook her head and Max saw the pain in her eyes. "He's falling apart, bit by bit. To hold him together, we need you Max. You always knew what to do. Please Max." Angel put her hand over Max's. "You can't leave, not again. Please."

Max squeezed her hand. "I won't." She promised. "I won't leave."

"Hullo girls!" Iggy cheered in his fake British accent as he came in and started to pull things out of kitchen cabinets. "What de ya lot wan' for breakfast?"

Max laughed and Angel scrunched up her nose. "Are you trying to do British."

"Uh-huh."

"That's weird Ig, stop doing that!"

Iggy grinned evilly and Max searched his face for any kind depression. His face was normal, well, as normal as it can be with evil laughs and grins and rolled up eyes, which he was doing currently.

"Again, breakfast!" He said not loosing his accent.

After a while when Iggy was making pancakes and Max was sipping her second coffee, angel asked her first question.

"So where were you?"

"What do you mean?" Max asked though she knew what Angel implying to.

"You know, where were you these nine years?"

Iggy stopped what he was doing and looked at her with scolding eyes. "Angel."

"No, it's okay." Max said as she looked at the mug thinking if she should get another one. "Do you want to know form the start?"

Iggy stared at her for a second, his eyes calculating. "If it doesn't bother you. We do have half an hour before everyone else wakes up."

Max sighed. She knew she had to tell them. They deserved it.

"Well, I, uh, when, I, you know, left mom's, I… a man found me."

"A man?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. Charles Siemens. I was unconscious in his porch, I was exhausted and I couldn't go on, the house looked like it was abandoned. But I was wrong. When he found me, he brought me inside." Max thought about that time, the memory was fuzzy. She was scared, of the future and of her daughter, of what she might become. She had left the only family she had ever known and she had nowhere else to go. So when Charles Siemens gave her the offer to stay with him for a while, she took it. She took it because she didn't know what else to do.

"So you stayed with an unknown man for nine years?" They turned to this new voice and found Fang standing on the doorway, his face, as usual, emotionless.

"If he wanted to do anything he could've done it in the first few weeks." Max answered. "He earned my trust and so I decided to stay with him."

"Really?" Was that disgust in his voice?

Max felt the urge to defend herself. "I had nowhere else to go!"

"You had us Max!"

"All right! Okay!" Iggy stood between them so they couldn't suddenly jump at each other like old times. "I think we've been over this. Angel, go wake up the others." Angel got up and scurried off. "Fang, watch the pancakes I don't want them to burn. Max I think you should go wake up Evan." When both of them continued to glare at each other he yelled. "NOW!"