I can't believe what she's telling me. I mean, this is Max we're talking about. Leader of the flock and partial girlfriend. Though, granted, she's been spending a lot of time with Dylan. I think I still love her though. After all we've been though together, how can I not? I hear a small cough and look down.
Max is sitting there, knees pushed together, head slightly bowed. She glances up to see my reaction. I'm still in shock, not seeing much. Finally I choke out
"Are you sure?" Her head goes back down. She whispers,
"I checked more than once. All positive." I'm reeling. How did the heck did this happen? How are we fix it? This is all a dream right? I shake my head to clear out those thoughts. One thing is clear. I still love Max. I can't just stand by when she needs me. I move over and sit on the bed next to her, wrapping her in a hug. She's quivering and I gently pet her hair.
"Don't worry, we'll get through this." I whisper to her. She gulps and nods her head.
"We have to. Fang, let's go somewhere. Get away until after...... its over." I take her head in my hands.
"Max. It's our baby. You don't have to act like its a process." She shivers
"I'm just so scared." She whispers. "What if my mom and Ella find out? Jeb will be thrilled, remember how he wanted me to do this with Dylan?" My hands clench. Why did you have to mention Dylan? Is there some reason I don't know about?
"It'll be okay," I soothe, "we can leave by the end of the week for somewhere if you want." Max nods her head quickly.
"I don't want Iggy and Ella getting any ideas, or for my mom to know just yet. But where can we go?" I lift my head up to think. Where can we go? I want to be near a city, in case Max has problems and I have to fly her there. But if that's not needed, I don't want us to be noticed.
"Why don't we head for the northeast US? Stay in a country house, not to far from a small city. Does that sound good?" Max gives a slight nod.
"Okay, then that's what we'll do. It's a good thing Angel is in California, otherwise we wouldn't be able to do this." Max gives a small smile.
"I guess I better start finding stuff to pack. You look for a house, we'll leave on Tuesday." 4 days. That's all the time I have left here for awhile. When I come back, I could very well be a father. I give Max a quick kiss on the head and stand up.
"We'll get through this Max. We always do." She gives me a half smile, and I smile back. It's going to be okay, I tell myself. Everything will be fine. I leave the room so Max can have a little time alone. Dang it, I forgot to ask how far along she was. Oh well, I'll learn soon. I go to my room, grab my laptop and sit on the bed. Even though stuff on this laptop can't be traced, I open an InPrivate tab. You never know when people will snoop around. I start looking around for small places in Vermont. I find something that looks a bit promising and click on it. Gah! They want $3,000 a month and for us to pay utilities? No way. I click back to the search results.
After an hour of searching, I've only found two things that look remotely promising. One is still a bit over priced, but will work in a pinch. I sigh as I put the laptop away. I'll look again later. I still can't really believe this isn't all a dream or a joke. I mean, we did it twice. And once we didn't even go all the way. Unless........ unless those jacked up white coats somehow did something. But I sure as heck don't remember it if they did, and Max doesn't seem to either. There's also the chance that Max has been with Dylan...... The thought makes my blood run cold. Dylan. The jerk who claims he was made for Max. I smirk. Wait till he finds out. That'll be a slap in his perfect face. Yeah, you were made for Max, but look who she chose. Me. That's right you pig. Me.
I hear Dr. Matinez calling us for dinner, so I get up and go to the dining room. It's so weird to see Max and think 'She's pregnant. And it's my kid.' I just stand in the doorway for a moment, looking at the room and the flock, minus Angel and Gazzy. None of them show that they suspect anything, and Max is acting as if nothing's wrong. I give a slight smile. Let's see how good I am at playing the 'nothing's wrong game'. I sit down between Iggy and Max. Iggy, of course, is talking to Ella. I wonder if they'll end up like me and Max some day?
Jeb comes out of the kitchen carrying steaming bowls of potatoes and chicken something-or-other. Dr. Matinez is carrying a big bowl of salad and a basket of homemade bread. That's what I love about eating here. Almost everything is homemade. That's also one thing I'm gonna miss when Max and I leave. I guess I better take a cookbook or two, and try to learn to cook. Max certainly can't do it. Me and Iggy have a bet that if Max ever tried to make ice cream it would come out like cement. But she hasn't tried to date, so the bet still stands.
The meal passes uneventfully, and after dinner I decide to go fly for a bit. No one notices me slip out, and I walk a ways before taking to the sky. I fly up as fast and high as I can. My emotions are flooding everywhere and I need to blow off some steam. I really need to sort out my emotions.
1. Love. How can I not love Max? She's like my best friend only better. And not only that, but the baby is mine. No doubt, I love Max and the baby.
I jolt as I realize what I just thought. I love the baby. Our problem could go away if we aborted the baby. But the fact that it never crossed my mind makes me proud. Max hadn't suggested it either. Maybe we'd actually be pretty good parents. Back to the emotions.
2. Disbelief. How did this happen? We've only done it twice, once not even all the way. And we were careful. I do a mental shrug. What will be, will be.
3. Suspicion. Maybe it's not mine. I mean, there's a chance Dylan took Jeb's words to heart and decided to just do it. Or maybe the white coats knocked us out and did something. But for some reason I think it's mine.
4. Anger. If Dylan had anything at all to do with this, I'll probably find him and kick him so hard he'll never be able to separate his legs ever again. Especially if Max didn't want to do it.
I slowly come out of my thoughts to realize that it's getting dark enough to see the stars. I coast around a bit, enjoying the cool air. Dr. Matinez know we like to fly at odd hours, so she won't mind if I get back late. I turn to the south, and an outcrop of rocks I found a month ago. I glide down gracefully and land at the tip. I lay down and turn my face back to the stars. Max and I'll get through this, we have to. I start to lose myself in the swath of stars above me. Names are floating through my head. Marie. Emily. Abby. Dan. Zack. Rachel. Carmen. Cameron. Terry. Tony. Lydia. Jacob.
I hear a cyote cry in the distance and decide it's time to get back. I stand up a brush myself off. With one last look to stars, I jump up and unfurl my wings. I feel the exhaustion of the day and can't wait to get back to my bed. My warm, clean bed. I fly on autopilot all the way to the house. I climb in my window, change my clothes, and drop into bed. I fall asleep almost instantly, but not before telling myself I'll talk to Max first thing tomorrow, see if she has any particulars on the house.
