Maximum Ride: If I Never Come Home Again

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Chapter 8

I woke up and realized my head was resting on something that was harder than my pillow. I looked to see Jax’s bare chest. I blushed deeply, embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed that last night when I decided to be all cuddly and crap.

I gently slid off of the bed before I could wake up Jax. I looked at my watch.

“Crap.” I said, a little too loudly. Jax woke up and rubbed his eyes.

“What’s wrong Max?” His voice was sleepy and rough, but it still sounded sexy. I blushed and mentally kicked myself for thinking that. I was turning soft.

“It’s eight so we got to go to my Mom’s.” He looked at me in concern.

“Are you sure you want to go Max? They would understand if you took a day or two.”

“No it’s fine. I promised Angel, and that’s all that matters.” He got out of bed and I tried to ignore his shirtless state.

“Ok, I’m gonna take a shower really quick. You can get dressed and get whatever you need. We should do a supply run on the way there or back. Maybe both.” I nodded. Jax walked around the large bed to the door. When he passed me he grabbed me into a quick tight hug. “Good morning by the way.” He winked at me and then went down the hall to the bathroom.

I shook off the shocks that went down my spine when he touched me. I was probably embarrassed about yesterday.

I got dressed into a tank top and some jean shorts. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. I looked in the kitchen and noticed that Jax was right. We needed to do a supply run. Having no money made it hard to get supplies. We had to steal them, but hey, I save their lives, the least they can do is give me some food so I don’t starve to death.

I heard Jax turn off the shower. I headed to the bathroom to wash my teeth and wash my face. The door was open and steam covered the mirror. I wiped the mirror and stared at myself. My face was still skinny and my eyes were red and puffy from all the crying. But the bruises and dark circles were fading. I looked healthier than I have in a long time.

“Max?” Jax stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. Water dripped off of his hair and down his chest.

“I-I-I…” I was speechless. I couldn’t look away from him. I wanted to lick the water away. WOW! What was I thinking?! I think I’ve gone insane. “I’m sorry. I thought you were gone.” I bolted out of the bathroom with my face burning. My heart was pounding, and I felt… heat in my lower abdomen. I shook my head and tried to get the images of Jax out of my head. I don’t know why I was so affected by him.

‘Maximum… You are the definition of denial.’ The Voice muttered in my head.

‘What do you mean by that? And wait… DID YOU JUST INSULT ME?! Meaniebutt…’ I was amazed that the Voice could be mean.

‘It was the same thing with Fang when you were younger. Max, you like Jax. Stop being in denial. You’re free now so you should let yourself become soft. You don’t have to be a leader anymore. Yes, you should still be tough for your family and support them, but you don’t have to be steel. The Max who sang lullabies to Angel and Gazzy is who you should be. The Max who helped Nudge through all her feminine changes. The Max who helped Iggy without embarrassing him or making him feel bad about his disability. You don’t have to be the defenses-always-up Max. Or the fighter. You can be the loving, carefree mother figure that you’ve always secretly dreaming to be. You can fall in love without worrying about danger or betrayal. Jax will always be there for you and you can be everything you’ve always wanted. I know that you originally wanted that just for the Flock, but they have that now. Now it’s YOUR turn to get what you want.” This was the longest speech that I had ever gotten from the Voice. And it was also not a cryptic code or something that I had to struggle to figure out. It finally hit me, the reality that I no longer had danger over my head.