Chapter 6- Fang P.O.V
Everyone lay sprawled out on the floor wrapped in blankets, except for me. I stayed up on one of the the couches in Nudges living room. We had ended the game of truth or dare a long time ago, and everyone started to fall asleep. My stomach dropped as soon as Lissa was pulled into the picture, and the phone call was just asking for disaster.
I couldn't say that I didn't feel bad, something in me snapped when her face went from nervous, to shut down. She looked scared, ready to draw off into her own world again. I rolled from my back to my side, one arm under my head. It was uncomfortable sleeping with my leather jacket on, but I couldn't take it off, not in front of these people, who I barely knew.
I squinted into the darkness of the room, looking for Max in between Iggy and Nudge, but her spot in the blankets was flat. Silently, I sat up and pulled my legs to the side of the couch, standing up, careful not to step on Gazzy. I wandered down the hall till I found the bathroom, I juggles the knob, but it was locked.
"Max?" I asked through the door, and I heard a thunk as the back of her head must have hit the door.
"Fuck...owww." She groaned, and I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a little awkward.
"Uhh...are you okay?" I asked, and there was a rustle of fabric on the other side of the door and the lock clicked and The door opened. max looked down at her socks, and tried to push past me to get to the others, but I stopped her. her face was red, like she had been crying.
"Go away, Nick." I didn't budge, I didn't want to bother her, and I definitely didn't want her to cry. Maybe this was my chance to try to patch a few things up.
"Why are you crying?" I asked, and she stood back and her eyes were fixed somewhere off to my left as she bit down on her bottom lip.
"Why do you suddenly care about what I do so much?" She asked, looking uncomfortable.
"Because...because I feel bad for everything I did to you, okay?" I told her, gripping the door frame with one hand, I was nervous, scared of being shot down. Her huge eyes moved to look at mine, and they flicked back at forth between mine, as if looking for something in them. I felt my body grow warm, just by having her eyes on me.
"Apology accepted." She said, and she shoved past me, keeping her head low as she disappeared around the corner back to the family room. I groaned and knotted my own fingers in my hair, pulling hard.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." I mumbled to myself. She was so beautiful, too beautiful for the treatment I gave her. Too beautiful for me, or anyone else. I went into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it and sat down on the white tile, leaning against the door like Max had probably done. I stretched my legs out in front of me, what was she even doing in the bathroom? She should have been asleep its the middle of the night.
I rolled up my jacket sleeves and leaned the back of my head against the door. I itched the scabs that littered my arms as I peered around Nudges bathroom. The cream coloured walls and vintage looking sink and trimmings made me feel out of place. I boosted myself up off the wall and went to the cupboard under the sink, opening it and immediately finding a bottle of lotion. I squeezed a glob of it onto my right arm and rubbed it in with my other wrist, trying to soothe the itch.
I pulled my sleeves back down over my arms, not wanting my scars to show anywhere but at home. I pushed up from where I was sitting on the floor in front of the sink, looking at my hair in the reflection of the mirror and fixing my fringe a little.
Sighing, I opened the door and felt the bathroom and went back to the family room, flopping back down on the couch. I looked down at where Max was supposed to be sleeping, and saw her staring at the ceiling, lying on her back.
"Hi Max." I said, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds, before they opened again and looked straight at me.
"What now Nick." She asked irritably, her eyebrows drawing together. I wanted to smile, because she was so cute.
"Nothing." I mumbled, and turned away from her to lie on my back like Max was. She let out a breath, and silence settled over the room.
"Did I make you cry?" I asked, feeling the question itching at the back of my mind. She sucked in another breath and the sound of blankets shifting as she turned to face me.
"No, not you." I turned to look at her, and her eyes quickly flicked away fro mine when I looked at her. I smiled a little bit in my mind, maybe I could get her to open up a little bit.
"I'm sorry, you know." I told her, and she just snorted at me. Why was it so hard for me to sound genuine to her? I wanted her to be okay, but at the same time I wasn't exactly willing to risk my entire reputation for her. Even if all my friends were all airheads, they were still my friends.
"You're not sorry. And even if you were, why would you be sorry now?" She asked, starting to sound angry. This was probably the most I had ever heard of her voice, and as nice as it was, she was still mad at me. With understandable reason.
I turned back onto my side, catching her eyes, but she didn't look away this time, she held my gaze, but she was still glaring at me.
"I like you Max." I told her, and her glare broke for a second, her eyes widening before narrowing again.
"What?" She asked, unable to hide her curiosity. I just turned away from her, pulling the thick blanket that I was sleeping under back up to my shoulders, thinking of it as a sort of safety net, to keep out my own disappointment. She didn't say she liked me too, or even smile, All I got was a fucking, "What?" I heard her sigh behind me and the rustle of blankets again.
I waited for all the breathing in the room to even out again before I turned to look back over the dim room. Max had snuggled into Iggys side, her face hidden by his chest. I felt a rock settle itself on my stomach, and I looked away from them. She deserved someone like him, with a good track record and who was nice to her. I buried my head under the blanket, I would not be sleeping tonight.