[This chapter is crazy long, but I really enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it!]

Chapter 11:

Later at night, I was sitting on the couch playing a board game with Nora, while Matt was standing up, leaning against the table with his hands, and constantly throwing the board game pieces to the other side of the coffee table.

"Matty, stop!" Nora screamed for the fifth time. I reached across to the opposite side of the table to grab the piece and put it right back where it had originally belonged.

"Nora," I said and she looked up to me, "he doesn't understand yelling." I repeated what Max always said to her whenever Nora raised her voice at the baby.

"But he can't ruin our game!" she said in all seriousness.

"I know," I said, trying to be sympathetic. "He'll stop when he gets bored."

Reluctantly, Nora sighed and rolled the dice, just as Matt reached his hand across the board.

"Matty!" Nora whined. Quickly, I grabbed Matt's hand before he could reach the pawn, and he looked up at me, before resting it back down to the table.

"Good," I told him, and he squealed and stomped his feet in response.

Nora was still silently sulking but continued to play her turn while Matt stood still, watching intently. Quietly, Nora held out the dice and dropped them into my palm while I thanked her.

Shaking the dice in my hand, I watched as Matt squealed before grabbing my pawn on the table.

"Stop it!" Nora almost screamed, losing her patience. Before I could say anything, Nora's tiny fingers wrapped around Matt's wrist, obviously mimicking my motion before. But I saw how hard she squeezed, and Matt promptly burst into tears.

I dropped the dice and reached over to grab Matt's torso. Nora let go and I hoisted him into my lap. Still crying, he buried his face into my chest and I placed a hand on his back.

"Nora," I said sternly, and she looked at me. In the background I heard the keys clicking in the lock and I knew Max was home.

"That wasn't nice," I said, and she blinked in response. I could tell by the pout of her lips that she knew that squeezing his wrist was wrong, but she stubbornly didn't want to admit it.

"What do you say?" I prompted, hoping for an apology, just as Max walked through the door and into the living room.

"But he was messing up the game! It's not my fault!" she said, without glancing up at Max who stood next to me, crossing her arms.

"Nora," she started calmly, "what happened?"

"Matty was messing up our game! He kept throwing the pieces across the room!"

"Why is he crying?" she said, motioning to Matt who was in my lap while I was rubbing his back. His crying had basically stopped but he was still sniffling in recovery.

Nora looked up at Max without saying anything. Max raised her eyebrows, but Nora stayed silent.

"Nora," she warned, her voice getting sterner.

"I grabbed his hand so he wouldn't throw it," she mumbled looking down.

"Did you grab it too hard?" Max asked, and Nora shrugged.

Max bent down so she was eye level with Nora, except she was still looking down at the ground. "You have to be gentle with babies, Nora. You know better than that."

Nora stayed silent.

"All right, well I think you're done with the game for now. You can finish it later, once you apologize to Matty."

"Mommy," Nora whined, "I was playing with Fang."

"He'll play with you later." Max stood up, while Nora looked from me to Max before huffing and walking away from the both of us and into her bedroom.

Max sighed, before looking at me. She dropped her bag near the end of the couch.

"So besides that squabble, how were they?" she asked.

"Good," I answered honestly. "I picked them up, we walked through the park, Nora ate half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then we just played some board games."

Max nodded. "She was hungry?"

"Yeah, but I said we should wait for you to have dinner."

Max sighed again. "I'm too tired," she said. "I'll just order pizza or something."

"Sounds good," I said.

"I can order it now, I guess. Anything special you want?"

I shook my head, just as Matty looked up from my chest with red eyes and a frown.

Max laughed at his expression and her entire face lit up. "Hey, little man," she said, placing her hands on the arm of the couch and leaning forward. "Were you being a trouble maker?"

Matt gripped my shirt and shyly smiled at Max. She leaned forward to kiss his forehead, her hair spilling over her shoulders and brushing against me. I could still smell her shampoo, even though she had showered this morning, and I could hear my heart speed up.

Max pulled away. "I'll go call now," she said, walking into the kitchen.

I leaned back on the couch with Matt in my lap, pulling him to his feet by supporting his waist with my hands. His expression was a strange mixture of still reeling from the pain from the previous experience, and trying to change his mood into a more pleasant one.

I couldn't help but to smile, which made Matt smile as well. He stomped his foot on my thigh, which kind of hurt, so I lowered him back down to sit on my lap. He promptly grabbed my shirt again and lifted it up to his mouth.

Just as I reached down to take it away, Max came back into the room.

"Oh, don't let him chew that," she said, walking over to the couch. She sat down next to me and smiled at Matt.

"What are you doing, silly?" she said, tickling his stomach which made him shriek in delight. Max laughed, and kept doing it, leaning closer and closer to me until our bodies were touching and she leaned across me.

Max suddenly leaned back across the couch, smiled faintly. Matt looked at her expectantly, then looked back up at me, but I was focused on Max.

We didn't speak about our discussion on our way to work a few days ago. It's been about a week and I've been tiptoeing my way around Max whenever we would talk, and I think she was politely trying not to let it drive her crazy. Part of me wanted to bring it up again, and a larger part of me almost wanted to forget about it.

"You all right?" I asked, already knowing what the answer was. The corners of her mouth pulled up in an effort to smile, and she nodded.

"Just tired," she said. "It's been a long day."

I didn't say anything and neither did she for a few moments. From the other room, there was a loud noise that sounded like a collapse of a pile of toys. Max exhaled loudly and closed her eyes, leaning back into the couch.

"I'm not going to even bother," she said.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, Max resting her eyes, leaning against the couch and me with Matt in my lap, slowing bouncing him and he entertained himself with the hem of my shirt. The buzzer to the apartment went off, signally that someone was down at the door to the building. Max stood up slowly and walked away to the entrance to let the pizza delivery man upstairs.

Reappearing next to me, Max bent down and reached into her bag and came back up with her wallet. I watched as she pulled out crumpled singles and bit the inside of my mouth so I wouldn't laugh.

She looked up at me slowly, her eyebrows crinkling when she saw my expression. "What?"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head.

"Uh," she started slowly. "I hate to ask this, but do you have cash on you? I only have a few singles and I thought I had more…" she trailed off, emptying the contents of her wallet onto the couch.

"Yeah, I got it." I stood up and rearranged Matt to my hip while I walked into the den to get my wallet. I pulled out a few folded bills and called out to Max just as there was a knock on the door.

"How much is it?" I looked out of the entrance way to the den and saw Max at the doorway. I made my way over to them as Max grabbed the two boxes from the man and I handed him the money. Max silently walked past me as I got my change, and closed the door behind him.

"Can you get Nora?" she called from the kitchen, and I obliged, walking into the small bedroom.

Nora was sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by a pile of wooden blocks that were her favorite. She was in the middle of lining up blocks in the shape of a square and she looked up at me.

"Dinner's ready," I said, and she smiled at me. Reflexively, I smiled back, glad that she was in a better mood.

"Ok, I'm coming," she announced, standing up and walking past me and out of the doorway.

In the kitchen, Max was standing at the counter, her back towards the three of us, cutting up a slice of pizza for Matt. Nora took a seat in her usual spot and I slid Matt into his high chair. Walking over to Max, I asked if she needed help and she replied with a head shake.

"No," she said. "And I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it," I said, meaning it. She didn't respond, but she sighed again, and wiped her hands on her jeans. Grabbing the stack of plates and a box of pizza, she walked over to the table.

I stood by the counter as I watched Max place the two plates in front of her kids, and I knew for sure something was off. Max had been pretty quiet for the few moments she had gotten home, and she was even really patient with Nora when she had hurt Matt, which was unusual for her. The way she walked and sat was almost defeated, and I had been around her enough lately to know that something was wrong.

Later that night, after Max had closed the door to the kids' bedroom after putting Nora down to sleep, I was setting up the sheets on the couch in the den and I could sense Max standing in the doorway behind me.

"What are you doing this weekend?" she asked me before I had even turned around. I smoothed down the blanket, looking up at her.

"Nothing," I said honestly.

"When's your last day of work?"

"I have a meeting Thursday morning."

"Perfect," Max said with a slight smile. "We're going down to Florida. I'll make our flight reservations for Thursday afternoon."

I paused, straightening up and staring at her. "What?"

Max swallowed. "I want to go down to Florida this weekend. To the house."

"Max, it's Tuesday," I said. "You're leaving in two days?"

Max stared straight ahead at me with a stern look. "Two days is a ton of time."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why now?"

She looked down at the floor and shifted her feet. "I, uh," she started but didn't finish.

I waited patiently for her to continue, and I could tell she was uncomfortable with the way she shifted her feet and clenched her hands in her grasp.

"I lost my job," she said quietly.

"Max," I said softly, biting my lip and wanting to reach out to her. Instead I played chicken and stayed in my spot. Max held up her hand.

"Don't," she warned, her voice attempting to be strong and smooth. "Don't say anything."

So I didn't. We were both quiet for a few moments, me watching Max for any sign of movement and Max looking down at the floor, not moving at all except the constant wringing of her hands.

Slowly, I watched as Max brought one hand to her face and held it there in silence for a moment. Carefully, not even sure what I was doing, I walked the short distance between us, and gently grabbed her elbow.

I lead her down so she was sitting on the couch, and she brought the other hand up to her face as well, still just as silent, as I sat down next to her with my sweaty palms constantly rubbing against my knees.

She inhaled a deep breath and rubbed her eyes with her fists before looking at me.

"So, Thursday?" she asked quietly.

I looked at her and had to bite my tongue. I couldn't stand to look at her, knowing that everything she had gone through before now had been completely my fault and now that I was finally here, she was still being hurt in ways that I couldn't even fix.

"Thursday sounds great," I said with meaning, and she burst into tears.

She didn't even try to hide it this time. She bent forward, resting her arms onto her knees, her back shaking and her breathing heavy. Slowly, I placed one hand on the small of her back, listening to her quiet sobs, desperately want to bring her closer to me, but knowing I couldn't.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered between breaths. "I can't afford this."

I started to carefully outline small circles around her back, gently moving across the feathers I could feel beneath her shirt. Her breathing slowed under my hand, and I could tell her short relapse was over.

Her back straightened but I kept my hand there and she looked straight ahead at the wall.

"I can't afford this," she repeated.

"We've been in worse situations," I reassured her. "It'll be ok."

"No it won't," she said. "I barely could afford rent as is with Nudge moving out, and now I definitely won't be able to stay here longer than a month at most. And what about my kids? I don't want them growing up the same way we did."

"It'll be fine," I said. "I can help."

"No," she said stubbornly.

"Max, I can lend you the money."

"No," she said again. "I don't need anything from you."

My hand stopped reluctantly and I blinked. My chest constricted and I swallowed hard.

I knew Max had noticed, because she looked down at her hands, and I saw the muscles in her neck tighten as her entire back stiffened. We were silent for a few minutes, and I couldn't bring myself to say anything or move my hand off her back.

Of course, Max spoke up first.

"I think I might possibly need some help," she said so softly I didn't know if I heard correctly. I didn't responded, but Max sat up straighter.

"My last day is tomorrow," she said in a much stronger voice. "Since they're letting me go on short notice I get a two-week bonus. The husband has to move to the city of his new job transfer by the end of next week, and the wife is quitting her job at the end of this week. So I'll give myself this weekend in Florida before I start job searching again. It'll help that I wasn't fired or let go for a reason of my doing."

I didn't respond, because I could tell by the tone and speed of her voice that she was talking out loud just to reassure herself. I looked at her and she was still staring at the wall in front of her, but she turned to face me.

"I would really appreciate it if you could give me your part of the rent early this month," she said in a very professional tone.

I blinked. "Of course," I said. "I can pay more if you want."

Max shook her head. "No. I just have to think about this. It'll be fine. It's just for a little while."

I didn't say anything, and Max stood up. I followed her; rising as well as she placed her hands on her hips.

"It'll be fine," she repeated, and I couldn't tell if she said it for my sake or hers. "Florida will be fun. I should go call Angel and Gazzy and let them know we're coming."

"All right," I replied.

I watched as she left the room, and listened as the door to her bedroom clicked shut. I sat down on the couch, my hands on my knees as I overheard Max talking cheerfully on the phone to Angel. Even without that little scene before I knew that she wasn't herself, and I knew her well enough by now to realize that something else was on her mind. It wasn't like Max to cry over a job loss, even now.

"You don't know what you're doing," Iggy warned as he landed on the beach behind me, pulling in his wings.

"Actually, I do," I said, turning away from him.

Iggy sighed. "You should at least talk to her or something.

"I have," I answered.

"Like a serious conversation? You know how she gets."

I turned back around to glare at him, even though it was useless. "Yes. A serious conversation

with a very serious answer."

Iggy bent his head down, and I swallowed hard.

"You're crazy," he said harshly. "You have no idea what you're doing."

I crossed my arms. "Yes I do."

"Well you don't want to do it."

"You're right," I said, matching my tone to his. "I don't want to do it."

"Then why are you?" he spat.

I didn't answer right away, and Iggy crossed his arms.

"See? You can't even answer me! You're being ridiculous. Get over yourself."

I stayed quiet.

"Fang. Take a step back. Think about it. If Ella and I were having this problem I would just talk to her."

I spoke sternly. "You cannot compare us with you and Ella. Ella actually talks to you about these things, Max doesn't. You're relationship is completely different than mine."

Iggy sighed heavily. "If Max knew what you were thinking she would answer differently."

I glared at him. "That's funny, because I remember having numerous conversations about this and Max's answer was basically somewhere along the lines of 'no'."

Iggy opened his mouth to answer and I cut him off. "And what did Max say to you again?"

His mouth shut, and I crossed my arms.

"And what if I had told her the truth?" he asked me.

"What?"

"What if I had told her that you wanted to marry her?"

I held my breath. Iggy smiled smugly and I clenched my fist. I couldn't stand yelling at him like this, and I knew it was because a huge part of my subconscious was telling me he was right.

But an even bigger part was telling he was way off base.

"She probably would've laughed."

"Fang, I sincerely doubt that."

"You forget that I know her better than you do," I pointed out.

"Oh yeah?" he said, crossing his arms. "Then tell me, how do you think she's going to react when you tell her? Do you think she's just going to accept this?"

"No."

"So you know that Max is going to be beyond upset, and yet you still plan on doing this," he said. "That just blows my mind."

"Do you even think about how I feel right now? Do you think I wanted that answer from her?"

"You didn't even ask her! Have you ever once said the words "would you marry me?" to her in that exact order?"

"Yes!"

"Really? And her answer was...?"

"She laughed and told me to get real."

Iggy stood there silently. I breathed heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb.

"I still think you're making a mistake," he said softly.

"Shut up," I said, my eyes still closed. "Just shut up."

I heard Iggy walk over to me. For the moment, I was glad it had been Iggy that followed me all the way out here to the coast. I knew that this spot was deserted, which was good because no one had heard our conversation.

And now especially, when no one could see my face.

I could feel my face growing warmer, and I grinded my teeth in order to make the stinging behind my eyes go away.

Iggy placed a hand on my shoulder expertly and without missing, and I turned my head away from him, dropping my hand from my face.

"Seriously. Don't do this."

"What else I am supposed to do?" I said flatly.

Iggy didn't answer. Instead he responded with, "I don't agree with this."

"It doesn't matter what you think of it. It has nothing to do with you."

His hand dropped from my shoulder. "Are you kidding me? I may not be part of this relationship that you're just throwing away, but regardless, I live with the both of you. I've seen the way you interact with each other, I know how you feel about each other-"

"I don't care," I interrupted.

"Fang. You love her."

"Of course I do," I retaliated.

"So why are you doing this?"

"I just have to, all right?" I said.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "You're a freaking idiot. I've spent the last week trying to convince you otherwise and you're too stubborn to even look at it from Max's perspective. Like really. And I'm the blind one here?"

He crossed his arms. "I've given up. You can do whatever the hell you want. But let me just say one last thing. I am behind Max in every way possible. Every horrible thing she's undoubtedly going to say about you, I'm going to agree with. Because it's true.You love her, and you knowthat she is in love with you too, but you're too scared and pathetic to actually have a legitimate conversation with her."

I took half a step back, blinking at Iggy.

"And you know what else? I would never, ever, say this about Max, but I hope she cries. I honestly hope she cries, right in front of you. Because I know that would just make you miserable for the rest of your life."

Iggy spread his wings behind him, and I swallowed hard.

"And you deserve to be miserable."

He took off, leaving me staring at the spot he last stood in, biting my tongue until I tasted blood, and knowing that every last thing he said was correct. I did deserve to be miserable.

More miserable than I already was.

"Go to hell, Fang."

I didn't move, but inhaled slowly and shallowly, while Max sat there, glaring up at me from behind her eyelashes.

She crossed her arms. I didn't know what else to say to her. I had everything carefully planned in my head, but I've never been so nervous in my entire life. My head was spinning and I felt my stomach turning and I couldn't even truly process our conversation.

Max shifted her weight on the flat rock she was sitting down, leaning forward. "So that's it? That's all you have to say to me?"

I didn't respond, knowing whatever would come out of my mouth next would probably be bile.

She stood up slowly, her eyes boring into mine. I turned my eyesight away from her face, knowing I wouldn't be able to handle that.

I was afraid of what she was seeing. Knowing fully well that I haven't gotten more than an hour of sleep a night for the past two weeks and that this entire conversation had been swirling in my at every waking moment, I probably didn't look up to par.

"Look at me," she ordered, and I clenched my teeth and looked into her eyes.

She didn't look upset. After having been dating for almost three years, I would've known upset if I saw it. In her eyes and on her face lacked every trace of hurt or upset possible.

She was pissed, that much I knew. Her eyes were made of fire and she was glaring at me with every muscle in her face she could possibly even attempt to move.

"You don't want to do this," she said flatly. "I can tell."

I didn't respond.

"So why are you?"

I swallowed hard. "I just told you."

"Oh, that's BS Fang. What, you 'don't have confidence in our relationship anymore'? That was it? Really?'

I looked up at the sky for a second, before grinding my teeth.

"Tell. Me," she said.

I looked at her, and I kept swallowing to try and stop my eyes from stinging.

"You owe me that much."

"I heard what you said to Iggy."

"What did I even say to Iggy?"

I swallowed again. "You told him you didn't want to marry me."

Max crossed her arms. "Are you freaking kidding me? You're breaking up with me over that? We're seventeen, Fang! Why is marriage even on your mind?"

"Why is it so wrong to think of a future with you?" I asked quietly.

Max didn't answer, but continued to stare at me, her gaze harsher than it was before, if that was at all possible.

"And this is your only option," she stated calmly. "To just end it."

I grinded my teeth.

"Drop it Fang. I can tell how upset you are. Why are you doing this to yourself? We don't have to do this," she said.

I looked over her shoulder to her right, watching the waves brush the shore in the distance. I could feel her eyes going straight to my soul, and my throat was tightening.

"Why are you doing this?" she repeated, a little more sternly.

"I can't," I started, and swallowed before continuing. "I can't..." I trailed off, this time trying to steady my voice. "I can't..." I stuttered again, before inhaling.

I couldn't. I couldn't do this. I couldn't leave this. I knew I was destroying myself, and I knew that behind her stance, I was probably destroying her too. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay with her if it meant that she wasn't sure of where we were going.

"I just can't," I said finally. Max's face softened into one of a neutral tension. She didn't say anything for a little while, but she continued to look at me, while I was looking everywhere except at her.

Slowly, Max started to back away from me, and I looked down at my feet. Wordlessly, Max took off, leaving me standing alone on the beach, while I crossed my arms, gripping the sides of my body, and grinding my teeth in frustration.

I thought back to what Iggy had said, and found myself thinking the impossible.

I sort of wished Max had cried. I probably deserved that.

"Is Fang still in his room?"

Nudge's voice floated up to me while I lay in bed. The afternoon light was coming through the window blinds, and I heard muffled voices coming from the other end of the hallway.

"Probably," Iggy answered her.

"Should we go talk to him or something?" I heard Angel ask.

"Whatever. You can. I'm not."

I closed my eyes, and turned over in bed, facing the wall. I sighed slowly, hoping they weren't actually going to come in.

Unfortunately, there was a knock on the door. When I didn't respond, Nudge called, "Fang?"

The door cracked open, and I inwardly scolded myself on forgetting to lock it.

"Fang?" she asked again. "Are you sleeping?"

I didn't respond, and kept my eyes closed, hoping she would get the hint.

The door closed, and I breathed a sigh of relief, rolling onto my back and opening my eyes.

"I told you he wasn't asleep," Angel said.

I sighed, looking over at them standing by the doorway. Angel crossed her arms.

"Are you going to just hole up in your room forever?" she asked.

I didn't answer, but took my arms out from underneath the blanket and laid them down by my sides.

"Look, you've been in your room for a week. That's kind of pathetic don't you think? At least try to make an appearance downstairs once in awhile," Nudge said, coming closer to the bed.

But that was exactly it. I was pretty pathetic. Max had been all moody for about twenty-four hours, and now she was completely acting all normal and everything, and I was the one who couldn't even get up from bed. It was pretty pathetic.

"You're not pathetic," Angel said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. "It was just a figure of speech."

I sat up, letting the covers fall around my waist. I ran my hand through my hair.

"Fang," Nudge said, placing her hands on her hips. "You should get something to eat."

"Not hungry," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

Nudge narrowed her eyes. "You haven't left your bed in a week."

That wasn't true. I snuck downstairs at night to get food, and went to the bathroom occasionally.

And besides. The real reason why I hadn't left my bed was because my sheets still smelt like Max.

"Aw Fang," Angel said, rolling her eyes. "Really? That's why you haven't left your room?"

I glared at her, and she gave me a look.

"Get up."

"No," I replied.

"Look," Angel said. "Max is upset too. Beyond upset."

I looked at her. That wasn't making me feel any better.

"The point is that Max is dealing with it. You're just lying around. Go do something."

Max was dealing with it because she is a stronger person than I am, and everyone is on her side. I couldn't even face Iggy, and if I probably ran into Max, which was bound to happen, I would probably fall to pieces.

"Iggy's not that mad at you," Angel said to me. "I promise."

"Yeah," Nudge said. "You know how Iggy gets. He just thinks that you're stupid, but he's pretty worried about you, too. We all are."

I looked at her and swallowed.

"Please come downstairs," Angel tried. "We're having lunch soon. Max is out flying."

I sighed.

"Fang you honestly can't stay in here forever," Nudge said. "And besides. You and Max are going to get back together. It's bound to happen. Just give it a few weeks for everything to blow over and then you guys will be like 'oh I just miss you so much' and everything will go back to normal."

I looked up at her and she greeted me with a believable smile. I swallowed again.

"I'll come down tomorrow."

"Really?" Nudge asked. "No chickening out."

"All right," I agree, and they both smiled.

"You better. Or we'll come get you and drag you down stairs by your feet," Nudge warned.

"Ok," I said.

Angel got up off the edge of the bed and stood beside Nudge.

"All right, well I'm going back downstairs. I'm starving," Angel announced, turning towards the door.

"Yeah, same. You'll be ok, right?" Nudge asked me, and I nodded.

"Ok," she said, while they both headed back towards the door. "We'll see you tomorrow."

They both waved as they shut the door behind them, and I collapsed backwards on the bed with a sigh, and brought the blanket back up to my chin.

"Hey Fang?"

I turned my head around from my laptop screen, to see Max standing in the doorway, her arms crossed.

"Angel and Gazzy are really excited for us to come down this weekend. Gaz is going to call Iggy to see if they want to come too," she explained.

"All right," I said. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Are you busy right now?"

I looked down at the screen. I had been working on an article that wasn't due until my meeting on Thursday, and I was starting to get pretty tired.

I saved the piece, and shut down my laptop. "Nope.

"Are you sure?" she asked, taking a step in the room.

"Yeah, it's getting late anyway." I sat up on the couch, swinging my legs over the side. I smoothed back the blanket, and Max came and sat down next to me, crossing her legs and leaning against the arm of the couch, so her body was facing me.

I watched as she fumbled with her fingers, until she finally sighed and clasped her hands around her ankles.

"Look, about before—"

I cut her off. "Don't worry about it.'

She blinked at me, and looked back down. "I didn't mean to act like an idiot."

The corner of my mouth curled up. "You weren't."

I could tell by the way that she was avoiding eye contact that something was wrong, but I didn't want to ask so I stayed quiet, knowing that Max probably wouldn't even tell me anyway.

"Are you sure you're ok with going down to Florida this weekend? I don't want to force you," she said uncharacteristically, still looking down in her lap.

"No, it's fine. I want to go," I reassured her.

"I just need a break, you know?"

I nodded in understanding.

Max cleared her throat, her voice getting stronger. "So I'm going to order plane tickets tonight, and I'll let you know what time we can leave on Friday. After the weekend do you have anything on like, Monday or Tuesday?"

"We could leave Thursday night if that's better. And I have another meeting Tuesday morning," I answered.

"Ok, so Thursday night and come back Monday," she clarified and I nodded.

"You sure you don't just want to fly down?" I asked and Max dropped her gaze quickly.

"No," she said curtly, before her voice softened. "It'll take too long and I have the kids you know? It'll just be easier to take a plane."

"All right," I said slowly. "I can get the tickets."

"What?" Max said, sounding surprised. "No, you don't need to do that. I'll buy them."

"Max, plane tickets aren't cheap. I know," I pointed out, reaching for my laptop that I had placed earlier on the coffee table.

"Fang, seriously, I can pay for them. They're my kids."

"Max, it's not a big deal, I can afford it."

"So can I," she pointed out, and I gaze up at her over the laptop screen, which had rebooted, and she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm serious; you don't need to buy my tickets."

"All right," I said in agreement, opening up the Internet. "I'll buy my own."

Max opened her mouth, to protest I'm sure, but I cut her off. "So now you're telling me I can't buy my own?"

She closed it, crossing her eyes, and I smirked at her in victory.

"So what airline do you take?" I asked.

"Whichever one flies in to the airport for the cheapest price," she answered.

"Coach?"

Max raised an eyebrow at me. "No, I fly first class," she said sarcastically and I smiled.

"Maybe I'll get my ticket in first class and the three of you can sit in the business class," I joked, and Max glared at me.

"You're funny," she said dryly.

"I try."

"So try to find a row that has three seats next to each other," Max told me.

"Three?" I confirmed, moving the laptop so I could get up off the couch to grab my wallet.

"Yeah, Matty is young enough to sit in my lap," she said, and I nodded.

"Three is still a lot of seats to ask for two days ahead of time," I pointed out, moving the laptop back to my lap.

Max didn't say anything, but instead looked down as I put in my information into the site, trying to find three seats together.

"Ok, so how about this row?" I said, pointing to the screen. "There are two seats here, and then one directly across the aisle."

Max leaned closer to me, pulling up her knees and bending over towards the screen, her hair spilling over her shoulders.

"Yeah that's perfect," she said, leaning back against the arm of the couch.

I put in my credit card information, selecting the seats I wanted, and waited for the confirmation before I spoke up again.

"Ok, I got the seats," I said.

"What?" Max asked them.

"The seats," I repeated. "I bought them."

"Why is that plural?" she said flatly, and I looked at her with a neutral expression.

"I got three seats," I said. "Don't you speak English?"

"What," she deadpanned, her voice dropping. She stared at me, and I couldn't tell if she was mad, which unnerved me, because I've learned after the weeks of living with her now, that hidden angry Max was way worse than vocal angry Max, unlike how it had been when we were teenagers.

I didn't say anything, but I watched her carefully, until she brought her hand up to her face, placing her elbow on her leg and leaning her head down.

"You didn't need to do that," she mumbled.

"I wanted to," I said honestly.

"Why?"

I shrugged, even though she wasn't looking at me. "Think of it as an early Christmas gift."

She looked up at me from behind her hand, and I couldn't help to laugh at her expression.

"I'm not a charity case," she said, her voice quiet.

I swallowed. "I know," I said. "I'm just trying to help you out."

"I don't need help," she said, stubbornly, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Max," I started. "The polite thing to do would've been to thank me and be grateful for it. Not to complain," I mentioned, lightly.

She sighed, and we were both quiet for a moment.

"Ok well," she said, rubbing her hands on her knees. "Thanks," she said.

I smiled at her. "You're welcome."

She looked down at her hands. "This is pretty pathetic don't you think?" she said with a slight laugh.

"What is?"

"The fact that I'm getting financial help from you."

I swallowed and turned back to my computer screen, starting to shut it down.

"I would hardly call if financial help," I said, ignoring the rush of heat that made its way up my neck. "I just bought you plane tickets."

I could feel Max's eyes on me as I placed my computer back onto the coffee table and leaned back on the couch.

"Did I upset you?" she asked.

"What?" I asked surprised.

She looked at me, staying silent, her hands wringing her fingers.

Max sighed, looking back down.

"Well," she started after a few minutes of awkward silence. "I think I'm going to bed."

"All right," I said, watching as she stood up. "You'll be ok?"

Max paused, her back towards me. She turned around with a slight smile. "Of course."

I smiled back, which made the corners of her mouth curl up.

"Thanks," Max said, walking past me and towards the doorway.

"It's really no big deal," I said.

Max turned again so her whole body was facing me and nodded. "Well, good night Fang," she said, and without even waiting for a response, she walked resolutely out of the room and into the living, but paused once she made her way through the doorway.

[Things are starting to get fun! :]] I can't wait for the next few chapters, they're awesome (in my humble opinion). Let me know what you thought. Next chapter will be up next Wednesday!]