MR: P.S. I Love You Ch. 6

FPOV

I just knelt there staring at her for what seemed an unimaginable length of time.

I gently touched her cheek, just to confirm to myself that this was really her, and not some messed up nightmare/dream I was having.

This isn’t happening.

Max is gone. She’s supposed to be saving the world. She didn’t want us.

But what other explanation was there for why Max was laying at my feet?

While I was kneeling next to her, I noticed that her collarbone and her right wing seemed to be bent at an un-natural angle.

Then it finally kicked in.

Max was hurt.

What the heck did I think I was doing?! I should be getting her to Dr. Martinez right now!

I gently picked her up bridal style, trying not to cause her any more pain than she was most likely already in.

She winced in her sleep, and curled up closer to me.

Determination took over shock and I launched myself into the sky.

I was flying as fast as I could, trying to get home faster so Dr. M could help Max.

Max was the only one who could fly 200 miles an hour, but I could reach speeds of about 80 MPH.

Trees that passed below me seemed like a huge, never ending sea.

I looked down at Max, her dirty blonde hair whipping around her face in the wind. It still hadn’t quite kicked in that this was really Max and not some crazy figment of my imagination.

I finally arrived at the house and landed. Sprinting to the front door, I kicked it several times, seeing my arms were full so I couldn’t really knock.

A very confused Dr. M opened the door.

When she saw who I was carrying, her jaw dropped and I began to wonder if she had done into shock or something.

“Oh my…! What…?” Dr. Martinez stuttered.

“I found her when I was flying. She’s hurt… I think she broke her collarbone and wing.” I said bluntly and walked past Dr. M into the house.

We ran into the kitchen, and I gently placed her on the kitchen table. Dr. Martinez went to work right away. She gently ran her fingers over Max’s collarbone and right wing, muttering to herself.

“Fang, I need you to get my first aid kit. It’s in my room next to the door.” Dr. Martinez murmured, “And try not to wake anybody up, everyone just went to bed.”

Unwilling to leave Max, I jogged up the stairs and into Dr. M’s room. Grabbing the bag, I all but sprinted back down. When I got there, Dr. Martinez was ripping off the sleeve of Max’s shirt.

“I need you to hold her arm while I reposition her collarbone.” Dr. M said.

I walked over to the table and we went to work on fixing Max up.

And hour later, we had finished and I was carrying Max into the living room. Dr. Martinez hadn’t put her in a cast because we healed so fast, so at this rate, she’d be able to fly again in about a week. If she didn’t move around too much.

I gently laid Max down on the couch and sat down next to her.

I just sat there and tried not to grin like an idiot.

No, I wasn’t happy that Max was hurt, but I was euphoric that she was alive and here, less than a few inches away from me.

I brushed a few strands of hair away from her face and just watched her.

I hadn’t noticed that Dr. Martinez was standing in the doorway, watching me.

“I’m guessing that you’re not going to leave her tonight, are you?” she said with a small smile on her face. I looked up startled, but I returned the smile and just shook my head. There was no way in heck that I was leaving Max.

“Thought so. But try to get at least a little sleep tonight, ‘kay?” Dr. Martinez said, slowly walking back upstairs.

When Dr. M left, I got up slowly so as not to jostle Max, and sat on the ground next to couch. I leaned my head against the armrest, and just watched Max, smiling. I think this was the first time I’ve truly smiled in what seemed like forever.

My eyes slowly drifted close, and the last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Max’s face.


MPOV

When I woke up, I realized that I wasn’t outside anymore. And whatever I was lying on was really comfortable.

I didn’t open my eyes quite yet, but I just assumed that I was sleeping in a hotel.

And then all the events from yesterday came back to me.

I shoot upright and immediately regretted it. Sparks of pain shot through my right collarbone and wing.

Where was I?

I was on a couch in a living room that seemed horribly familiar. Have I been here before?

Something nearby sighed, and I shot to my feet, ready to fight.

The thing that sighed was a sleeping guy that was leaning against the couch, with his head bent forward. He had messy, medium length black hair, and everything he was wearing was black as well.

I slowly relaxed my stance and tip toed up to him trying to figure out what his face looked like.

He shifted in his sleep and tilted his head back so it was leaning against the armrest of the couch.

I couldn’t help myself. I gasped.

It was Fang.

I was in Dr. Martinez’s house.

I was home.

Fang woke up and found himself staring at the ceiling. I just watched him for a second. His face was the emotionless mask it always was. But his eyes were a little confused, almost as if he was wondering why he was in the living room.

Then his eyes widened and he whipped his head towards the couch and sprang to his feet.

I suddenness of the motion made me gasp.

He whipped around to face me, his mouth slightly open, and eyes wide.

“Max…” he murmured, and that was all it took to make tears come to my eyes.

I took a shaky step in his direction and he all but ran at me.

He caught me in a tight hug and held me close to him.

“Max...” he murmured again.

I wrapped my left arm around his neck and buried my face into his shoulder.

And I cried for the first time in two years.

It seemed like I wasn’t the one standing there, it was almost as if I was standing on the outside watching someone else have a reunion.

But it was me.

His familiar scent of chocolate and spices washed over me, calming every worry and fear I ever had.

We just stood there, wrapped into each other’s arms, savoring the sensation of being one again.

The whole time we stood there, I kept murmuring his name over and over again, trying to convince myself that this was all real and not the best dream I’ve ever had.

It seemed all to soon when we pulled apart, but we still held each other, not quite ready to let go.

I stared into his eyes and was shocked to see tears gently trickling down his cheeks.

I lifted my hand and gently brushed them away.

I opened my mouth to say something, but found that words didn’t come.

I heard someone coming down the stairs, and I started hyperventilating.

Mom shuffled into the room wearing a robe over her pjs.

“Mom…” I said, eye wide.

She looked over at me and grinned.

“Good! You’re awake! How do you feel?” Mom exclaimed.

I just stared at her. This is the first time I’ve seen my mom in two years.

I took one step towards my mom but stopped. I didn’t want to let go of Fang…

He just smiled at me in a way that made me catch my breath.

“Go… I’ll be right here.” He said to me.

Unwillingly, I pulled myself away from him and walked to where my mom was.

Well.

Walking wouldn’t be the right way to put it. I tried to walk. I ended up running.

I crashed into my mom and just clung to her.

I might have ran at her a little to fast because she went ‘oof!’ when I collided with her, but I was too happy to notice.

“M…mom…!” I blubbered and burst into tears again.

Mom just held me in her arms and murmured condolences, assuring me that she was here and everything was going to be all right.

After a while, I managed to calm down and let go of her. Mom reached over and stroked my hair.

“So, what do you guys want for breakfast?” she asked.

I laughed. The simple sentence was so ordinary after such an emotional morning it almost didn’t fit in.

Fang walked over and put his arm around my shoulders and I slid my arm around his waist, treasuring the simple contact.

“Anything will be fine.” I said to Mom, smiling.

I glanced at the clock out of habit and say that it was already 10:00 AM.

My heart started hammering again.

Fang must have noticed my breath hitch and my heart rate increase because suddenly he looked down at me.

“What’s wrong Max?” he murmured into my ear.

“W… where’s the F-flock...?” I stuttered, terrified of the dreadful possibilities.

Fang’s eyes turned sad and I grew even more terrified. Normally they were up and about at this time.

“They’re sleeping. Ever since you… left,” he choked the word out, “they always sleep in until god knows when.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over me.

Fang led me to he table and sat down next to me.

“How bad was it?” I whispered.

Fang’s face immediately turned sad and pained, unwilling to call back the painful memories.

“At first, everyone was always depressed and crying. Everything that reminded them the slightest bit of you sent them into tears. After a few months, the tears slowly stopped and they all turned emotionless. Eyes empty, frowns always there. Angel was probably the worst. Her eyes were always blank and empty, her face pale white and emotionless. She always sat there like a little doll. Never moving on her own without someone asking her to get something or to come eat. She would sit there for hours sometimes, just staring at the wall. Nudge almost never talks now. Whenever she does, it’s always one-word sentences. Iggy never makes bombs anymore and rarely ever cooks. Gazzy doesn’t let ‘em rip as often as he used to. And he has tantrums. Every once in a while, he’ll throw down whatever he’s holding and holler that we need to find you, to bring you home…” Fang had started out speaking normally but then ended whispering. His eyes were distant and pained, recalling the nightmare that the flock had become.

Towards the middle of his speech, tears had slowly started coursing down my cheeks.

Did I really cause them all that pain?

Eventually, Fang sighed slightly and glanced over at me.

His eyes widened when he saw that I was crying again.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap, cradling me to his chest and holding me tightly.

Normally, I would have blushed like an idiot and started stuttering, but I needed him to hold me… I was falling apart, and I needed him to hold me together.

The scent of eggs and bacon wafted into the room and my stomach growled.

I haven’t had Mom’s homemade breakfasts in forever.

Mom walked in smiling and placed two plates of food in front of us; noticing the intimate position Fang and I were in, but not saying anything about it. Then she took a third plate of food and put it on the other end of the table, probably where she was going to sit.

But she didn’t sit down and eat.

She walked out and continued to cook more breakfast.

And then Iggy walked in.

My lips pulled apart slightly and my eyes widened.

He looked like hell.

His strawberry blonde hair was messy and clothes wrinkled from just waking up, but that’s not what shocked me.

He had dark shadows beneath his sightless eyes and his lips were pulled down into an eternal frown.

He sat down where the plate across the table was and started eating, not saying anything.

“Oh my god…” I whispered.

Iggy lifted his head and looked in my general direction, a confused look on his face.

Fang released me from his grasp and smiled nodding his head in Iggy’s direction.

I walked as if I was in a trance towards Iggy, not bothering to make my footsteps quiet.

“Iggy…” I murmured when I reached him.

He ‘looked’ at me, and his eyebrows creased in confusion.

“Who are you?” he asked in confusion.

Tears had started to trickle down my cheeks again and I smiled. (Why was I crying so much today?!)

“Max.” I said.

His eyes widened and jaw dropped.

“Impossible…” he whispered.

I lifted his hands to my face and let him trace my features.

His hands trembled as he traced the angle of my jaw and ran delicate fingers over my lips.

Suddenly, he shot to his feet and pulled me into a really, really tight hug.

I squeaked as Iggy squashed all the breathe out of my lungs. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his waist and let him hold me.

“Jeez, you’ve grown even taller… soon you’ll be taller than the ceiling.” I muttered, glaring up at him, and I was shocked to find tears running down his cheeks.

He gave a watery chuckle and shrugged.

“Not my fault.” He said, grinning.

Finally, Ig let me go and I backed up a step, smiling.

Mom had walked in during the middle of out warm little reunion and as leaning against the doorframe.

“Max, don’t take this the wrong way, I am extremely glad that you’re home, but what are doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be out saving the world?” Mom asked, finally popping the question.