Save Me From Myself

Chapter 12

Max laid next to me, not talking. I watched her, wondering what she would do now. She had just kissed me and liked it. But, recently, Max would like something but then change her mind. After ten minutes, she got up. I started to follow but she held up her hand.

"Stay Fang."

I stayed where I was, wanting to follow but also wanting her to be happy and apparently, her being happy would mean me staying. I laid on the bed, loving then fact that Max had been there minutes before. She came back and laid down next to me. I looked at her.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Bathroom." Max said. "Fang, I think that you're an idiot."

"What?"

Max gulped. "Saber is close. I know he is. I'm leaving tonight."

I shook my head. "No. If you run, then what? Eventually you either face him or get caught. I'm facing him."

"No." Max shook her head.

"Why not? Trust me Max. I will never let him take you again."

"You were never supposed to let him take me in the first place!" Max seemed to get angry.

"I messed up." I took a deep breath. "I know that you're angry and I know that it's my fault. You don't have to keep telling me!"

"No Fang, I think I do." Max glared at me. "You act like I should just get over it!"

"Well, maybe you should!" Oops. That wasn't supposed to come out like that.

Max stared at me. "I would rather be with Saber than you!"

She got up, running out of my room. I laid there, listening for the front door to open and close but it never did. She was still in the house.


Max's POV

None of those annoy kids seemed to be around. Good. I sat down on the couch in the living room. I put my head in my hands, trying to figure out what to do. I love… Fang? Saber? No one? Saber is…evil but…he can't help it. Can he? Fang is nice...too nice. Is he faking it. Highly possible. Fang loves me…like Saber does. Who loves me more? Fang. But Saber is stronger. I need him. Or do I? A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. I waited for one of those annoying people to get the door but they didn't. Sure, leave me for four years and then expect me to answer the door! I got up and opened the door.

"Hi I'm here to-" The man stopped talking for a moment and stared at me. "Max!"

He was a white guy, early forties late fifties. I looked at his eyes. "Jeb Batchelder."

"Yes." He hugged me. I didn't hug back. When he pulled away he looked at me. "How are you?"

I was raped, beaten, and tortured. "I'm fine."

Jeb nodded. "Good. And they are taking care of you here?"

Fang's yelled at me, followed me constantly, and refuses to let me leave. "Yes."

"Good." Jeb nodded. "Can I come in?"

I shrugged. "Your house."

"Right." Jeb walked in as I stepped aside. "Angel wasn't too descriptive on the details of what happened to you but-"

"I was raped the whole time I was there, beaten constantly, not eating very much for months at a time." I walked back over to the couch. "Why are you here?"

"To see you. I have not seen you for four years. And on top of that, after hearing what you have gone through-"

"What do you know about what I've gone through?" I yelled at him. "You guys all think that all it that happened was that I was raped and that I'll get over it. Fuck you!"

I ran out of the room and back into Fang's. I slammed his door behind me. He looked at me questioningly, standing.

"What-"

"Shut up. Just shut up!" I looked up at him. "You don't get it and you never will so shut up!"

Fang nodded. He walked over to me, bending down, so that he was at my level. He kissed my head and I flinched, flashing back to Saber doing the same thing. Fang pulled back and looked at me. "I'm always going to be there for you Max."

I stared into his eyes. "You have never been there for me."

I could literally hear Fang gulp. "I try Max."

"Yeah, well, you are horrible at trying because you failed."

Fang sucked in a breath. "I love you Max."

"Sometimes love isn't enough."

"What do you want from me?" Fang yelled. "One minute you're on my bed, kissing me and then you're yelling about how love isn't enough!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

Fang took a deep breath. "Max, I know that I'm upsetting you but I don't get what's going on. Tell me. Talk to me."

"Every time I try you get mad at me."

"Because you want to tell me how bad I am. That's not what's bugging you." Fang kissed my head. "Tell me."

I shook my head. "I-I've told you everything."

"No, you keep telling me that you're hurt. I know that you're hurt." Fang sighed. "What I need to know is what exactly is going on in your head right now."


Fang's POV

Max looked at me. "What do you mean?"

I stood up, picking her up in my arms. I carried her to the bed and sat her down tenderly before getting on the bed with her. She looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"Tell me." I repeated. "Tell me whatever you think you need to."

Max looked away from my eyes. "I hate you."

I sucked in a breath. "Okay, keep going."

"I think that I might need Saber." Max brought her eyes back to mine, as if looking for my reaction. When I gave her none, she continued. "For the past four years, all I've had was him. I can't think without him."

I nodded, biting my tongue. "Continue."

Max sighed. "Is there a point in this?"

"Yes now keep going."

"It hurt." She whispered.

"What hurt?"

Max did seem to hear me. "I know that everyone says that it hurts but for some reason I wasn't expecting it. I guess I thought that if it was rape, it wouldn't count or something. But it being rape made it hurt worse. Not just physically but mentally." Max paused.

"It's okay." I told her. "I'm still listening."

Max looked away. "I always thought that it would be you. That you would be nice and would go slow. It wasn't his first time and it seemed to go on forever. He left and then came back. IT happened like that. He would bring e clothes and food when he thought that I needed it. I ended up almost dying a lot because-" She stopped. "Sometimes he would forget to give me food and I would starve."

I looked at her, waiting. "I know that you want to tell me more than just that."

Max sighed. "One time he made me…"

Max told me a few stories of what he did to her and I couldn't help but feel like I wanted to kill someone. I'm not going to tell you because it's Max's business not yours. She cried through most of it. At times she would let me hold her and I would stroke her cheek, not believing that a man could do that to her.

"Hey guys it's time for dinner." Angel said, walking into the room. "What's wrong?"

"Go away!" I yelled at her, not meaning too. I was just angry and she was the closest person that I could vent it on. She closed the door quickly. Max looked up at me.

"Jeb is here."

"He is?" I wiped away some of her tears.

"Y-Yeah." She closed her eyes. "He, if any of you, should have had an easy time finding me. He has connections."

I kissed her head and she cried out before leaning against me. "Shhh, I will never hurt you."

Max opened her eyes. "You think I should stay?"

"Definably." I kissed her head again. "I'll go and get us food, okay?"

Max nodded. "Hurry."

I smiled a fake smile. It was so hard to even think about smiling after what she told me. Max didn't seem to notice that it was fake. She just laid there, staring at the wall. I got up and went down stares. The others were at the table, no one talking except for Nudge. Figures… I grabbed two plates and filled them, balancing them and one soda, figuring that Max and I would either share it or she would just drink it. Jeb smiled at me.

"Hello Fang." He looked at me. "Will you and Max not be joining us?"

I shook my head no, heading up the stairs. I heard Dr. Martinez tell him that he needed to talk to Max and I just rolled my eyes. She wouldn't talk to him, she wouldn't talk to any of them. She'll only talk to me. I think, though she denies it and says that she hates me, I think that she loves me! Or at least like me. I walked into the bedroom, closing the bedroom door with my foot. Max sat up as I sat a plate of food in front of her, setting the drink next to the empty cans on my night stand. I sat across from her, picking up her fork and feeding her. She allowed me too and then watched as I ate. Once I finished, I sat our plates on the floor. Max laid down and I lay next to her.

"Fang?"

"What?" I gave her another smile.

"You're not going to, you know, talk about what I told you…are you?"

"Never."

Max nodded. "What will you do when he shows up?"

"Kill him."

"How?"

I kissed her head and this time she only flinched a little. "You let me worry about that."

Max sighed. "Are you mad at me?"

I looked at her in disbelief. "Why would I be mad at you?"

Max looked away. "For allowing him to do it. I should have been stronger. I'm Maximum Ride! Or at least I used to be…"

"You still are Maximum Ride and always will be." This time I kissed her on the lip, gently. She whimpered but didn't push me away. I pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I love you."

Max looked back, her eyes filled with fear. Not fear of me but for me. "You'll die."

I stared also, my eyes filled with love. "And if I die for you, I'll be alright."

Max just shook her head. "You're a fool."

My eyes turned to amusement. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Max didn't answer, apparently not in the joking mood. Truthfully, I wasn't either, I was just trying to cheer her up. Well that backfired. I kissed her head. She sighed, leaning against me. "Can we go to the mall tomorrow? I want new clothes. The talkative one said that it seems weird when I walk around in your stuff."

"Who gives a damn what Nudge says?"

Max curled into a ball, huddled against me. "I just want new jeans. I was supposed to get them. Saber said so."

I ran my hand down her back. "Are you tired?"

Max nodded against me. "With Saber, all I do is sleep all day except when he's around. Sometimes, they don't feed me for a while and then see how fast I can run and how far."

I growled, anger flowing through my blood. I hate them a little bit more every time she tells me something. Each time, I think that I can't hate them anymore but then she mentions something else and the hate builds a little. It went on they way through the night. I heard the flock and our guest go to bed, one by one turning in for the night until it was only Max and I awake. I looked at the clock and saw that it was now 2:30 in the morning. I sighed. Max looked so tired. I kissed her head.

"Sleep Max."

"Why should I?"

"Because you need it." I pulled her to me, pulling the blanket up around us. "Sleep."

Max yawned a little. "You'll be here in the morning?"

"Of course." I smiled down at her. "And if you wake up with a bad dream, wake me up. I'll make it better."

Max nodded. "Night Fang."

I kissed her head as she closed her eyes. "Goodnight Max."