Max
I stared at the sign and felt my breath catch in my throat. No. Please no. Let it be a lie- or a dream, anything but my reality. I choked on the words that I wanted to use to call out to Lupo, and backed away from the pregnancy test, leaning against the wall. I tried to take a deep breath, but I couldn't. Suddenly, I didn't know how to breathe.
I slowly sunk down to the floor and rested my head in my hands. "No, please no." I mumbled to myself over and over again. "Why me?" I whispered quietly, banging my head against the wall and staring up at the ceiling.
"Max? Hon, let me in." Lupo's voice filtered through like a savior's and I shakily stood up and unlocked the door, hugging myself and trying not to cry. Maximum Ride does not cry. Maxine Martinez however- she was a different story. Though I wasn't her anymore.
"It- It's okay to cry, Max." Lupo whispered. "We should call Fang, too. Have him come-"
"No! He's not gonna know. I'm gonna this thing out of me." I snapped.
"Yeah, nine months from now." Lupo said.
"No, Lupo. Today- or tomorrow, or as soon as I can get in to a doctor- if not, I'll just have to kill the thing myself." I muttered. She just stared at me for a moment, as if I was a different person entirely.
"Max, that's a little Fang in there. How could you just kill it?" She asked finally.
"It's not a little Fang- it's a big problem- okay, so it's some sorta Fang." I decided since he was a big enough thorn in my side already.
"Max, that baby is just as much Fang's as it is yours. You need to at least tell him what you're gonna do!"
"Fine, give me a phone." I snarled, frustrated. Lupo smirked and fished her phone out of her pocket, handing it to me. I dialed Fang's number and called. No answer. I tried again. Nothing. I left him a couple messages and tried once last time. Still no answer. "PICK UP YOUR GODDAMN PHONE!" I shouted into the receiver before hanging up.
My legs shook worse as I made a different call. To the operator. "Yes, I need the nearest doctor to 214 British Avenue." I said. When I got the address and number and called the doctor, asking when I could make the soonest possible appointment for an abortion.
I rolled my eyes when I was told I first needed to make an appointment to find out if I was actually pregnant or not. I mean, two positives. What's the possibility of both being false?
Lupo sighed and walked out of the bathroom, me following. She called Iggy and he must've picked up because she went into her room and shut the door.
The earliest they could get me in was tomorrow. I groaned and walked into my room, collapsing on my bed and tapping my stomach. "Fang isn't a killer." I mumbled. "I wonder if he'd be okay with me killing whatever you are." I stared up at the ceiling
"Well, he loves me. I have him wrapped around my finger. He'll agree with whatever I say. Sucks for you, kid." I muttered, closing my eyes and taking a breath.
"Max!" Lupo screamed, bursting into my room. "Get your shoes on! Iggy thinks your boyfriend's dead!"
…
I stared at the lake. It had once been a calm, crystal blue- and now was a roaring rage of red, orange, and yellow. Bits and pieces of metal lazily floated around as if they were relaxing in the warmth.
Fang lay in the sand, breathing slightly and shivering violently considering he was soaked, and it was cold out here. A cold I never noticed because I was too preoccupied in Fang's burned body. I sat down and gently set his head in my lap. "Sweetheart, wake up." I whispered, wishing I had brought a blanket as his teeth chattered. I tapped his cheek but he wouldn't budge.
"Max, we need to get him home or he'll get pneumonia." Iggy said solemnly, soaked himself from diving in to help Fang. Ari, for some reason, had tried to stop him. Speaking of which, where was my going-to-be-dead-when-I-find-him brother? I glanced around but all that was there was Lupo and Iggy.
"I know." I mumbled, getting Iggy to grab his feet while I hooked my arms under his. "We'll carry him to the car and you can change him into some dry clothes." I told Iggy casually as we carried my surprisingly light boyfriend towards Lupo's car.
"I don't have to change his underwear too, right?" Igster asked, getting a gross expression on his face.
"Yes you do. He needs to be in warm, dry clothes." I stated calmly.
"Why can't you do it then?" Iggy whined. "I don't wanna see his-"
"Well, if you would've stayed blind you wouldn't have ever had to worry about it." I snarled at him, pausing for a second. I was still kinda angry from when he told us last week about him letting scientists do experiments on him. I mean, he's seen what it's done to Lupo and me. I'm a fugitive and well, Lupo's Lupo.
"Whoa, testy. Max, I explained this to you. Anyways, come on, Fang's important right now." Iggy said, shoving the rest of him in the backseat. I sat in the back too, resting Fang's head in my lap. Okay, if he died and it was my fault, I was gonna rip some heads off.
"Where's Ari?" I asked on our way home.
"I don't know, honestly. I got in the water to get Fang, and when I got out... he was gone." He mumbled from the passenger seat while Lupo drove.
"Doesn't... like... me." Fang mumbled, his voice crackled and I could tell just those three words took all of his strength. He was insanely pale, his lips were an icy blue, and he still shivered even with the heaters on full blast in the car.
"Shh, rest Fangles." I mumbled, and he tried to shift his position, but ended up groaning in pain instead. I kissed his cheek and ran my fingers through his hair. "Stay still." I snapped. I realized if I just stayed angry, the sorrow, guilt, and hurt wouldn't show through.
Fang's hand traced my leg and I rolled my eyes and intertwined our fingers together. A smile twitched at his lips, and his breathing slowly became more even- yet still ragged. I watched the scenery as we passed it. The buildings, the trees, the people. London was a beautiful place.
For one forbidden moment, I wished I was still Maximum Martinez. I wished I still lived in that two story brick house with a huge oak tree in the front yard that had a tire swing hanging from it. I wished I was still at the house that had a warm fireplace when it was cold, and hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. I wished for the woods and the creek that was the backyard. I wished for... home.
Though, now, Ari was my home. He was my warm fire, my hot chocolate, my tire swing, my woods and creek- and I could never ask for a better home. But sometimes I dreamed of still being normal, dad- no Jeb- never hurting me, never making me work for food or water.
Everything started to boil over inside me- but I couldn't cry. At least, not around all these people. That was not the Maximum Ride way. And so I shoved all my emotions into a bottle and locked that bottle up in the back of my mind. Fang was who I needed to worry about right now. Not myself.
…
When we got back to Lupo's home, Iggy and I carried Fang upstairs and I motioned for us to go to a different room for him. No need for me to scream him awake with nightmares. Iggy nodded and we laid him on the bed.
Once he was there I went and got a fresh pair of clothes. "Alright Iggy, get him changed." I said, handing him the clothes. He whimpered but didn't object this time and so I walked out the door and shut it, walking down the hall to get a first aid kit. Ari was good at bandaging people up, I wished he was here to help me with the burns so I knew what to put on them. About fifteen minutes later Iggy walked out with a scowl on his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.
"He's bigger." Iggy mumbled under his breath and I smirked.
"You measured?" I asked, trying to stifle my laughter.
"No! But... it was just kinda obvious." Iggy admitted and I burst out laughing. Once I finally calmed down and realized Iggy had stormed off, I walked into Fang's room and rolled my eyes immediately. His shirt was inside out. I sighed and shut the door, pulling it off and sitting next to him. "So, what should I fix first?" I asked the walls, checking him over for broken bones. None, thankfully.
I looked down at Fang for a moment before getting some burn cream out, cleaning out the burns before rubbing the cream on them, then bandaging them up. Next I fixed up all the smaller cuts and threw a blanket over him.
""D- Don't leave." Fang croaked out, and I could feel myself about to cry again. Instead I crawled back on the bed and cuddled into Fang's side gently.
Once I was sure he was asleep I slowly got up and left, going to my room and laying down on my own bed. It had been a long day, and I just wanted to sleep. And for once, I got my wish.
…
I woke up to my own screams the next morning. This nightmare had been horrible. Fang died and I was left on my own... with a kid. I sighed and rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands, trying to clear my mind. When it was obvious that I couldn't, I leaned against the headboard of the purple bed and hugged a pillow.
And for the first time in a long time, I let myself cry. I let the silent tears roll down my cheeks, and I let the world disappear when I began to sob. I hated myself right then. I was weak, and vulnerable, and if somebody jumped through the window to kill me right now, they'd probably succeed.
Suddenly, the door knob turning brought me back to the world and I furiously wiped away my tears, trying to hid the fact that I had been crying before Fang could walk in.
He grinned at me and shut the door behind me, walking over to the bed. His smile faded as he sat next to me and he wiped a stray tear from my cheek. "What's wrong, Max?" He asked, the concern in his voice and in his eyes was way too emotional for Fang, which had to mean he really cared about me and would do anything for me. I could trust him with anything. Couldn't I?
Instead of answering, I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest. He tensed at first, obviously not used to girls flinging themselves on him in the middle of a sobfest. But slowly, his arms wrapped around my waist and he was whispering sweet nothings in my ear as he rubbed my back in circles.
"Please tell me what's wrong, Maxie. I promise I can make it better." Fang whispered. If only. I thought bitterly.
"You can't Fang. You just can't." I sobbed harder, hugging him tighter.
"Shh, my princess. Calm down. We'll fix it together if I can't do it alone." Fang said, kissing the top of my head. Princess. That's what he thought of me of? Royalty, beauty, wealth... I was none of that.
"Fang... I- I'm... Go to the bathroom down the hall." I mumbled, unable to tell him. Fang smiled weakly.
"Already did this morning." He muttered, kissing me gently. "It'll be okay Max, I promise you." For a moment I was utterly shocked. He had known, but he didn't come in mad at me, or upset.
"I... I want an abortion." I mumbled, barely under a whisper. Fang pushed me back so I was shoulder length, searching my face to see if it was a lie.
"Max, that's murder." Fang said quietly, looking me dead in the eyes.
"Like I'm all innocent and have never killed anyone." I snarled, shoving him back and standing up. Fang yelped in pain but followed.
"You've never killed a child, Max. I know. If anything, you save the kids from dying no matter where you're at. Max, you're not a heartless witch. I know you aren't." Fang said firmly, hugging me again. I tried to pull away, but after realizing I couldn't... I didn't even try.
"Why do you make me feel so perfect when I know I'm anything but that?" I asked him in a whisper, looking up at Fang.
"I could ask you the same thing, Darling. Please, do this one little thing for me. Do not get an abortion. I mean, I know it'll be hard on you, but there's a little you or a little me in there. You don't wanna kill it no matter how much you say you do." Fang told me.
I was utterly shocked at how well he could read me. I didn't even know I didn't want an abortion till that moment, staring up at his boyish smile and sparkling golden brown eyes. How could I kill something that could be like Fang? I couldn't.
"Fang, if it's not like you-"
"Max, don't even finish that sentence. You will love this baby unconditionally whether you know it or not- and it will love you back just the same." Fang said and kissed me softly, putting all the love and passion he could into that one little kiss. I kissed him back the same way, wrapping my arms around his neck. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe... maybe I could get through this. As long as Fang was by my side anyways.
Do you all love me again? It took me three days to write this chapter so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and you'll get even more that take less than three days to right but are equally awesomesauce.
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