Third Person PoV
Fang was once again up all night, thinking about Max. It was partially worry, and partially fantasizing. Max was also up all night, thinking about Fang. Part of her insisted that he didn't really want anything to do with her, and another part argued that she was being silly, why would he waste his time pretending?
So when morning came, they were both even more exhausted. Fang was heading downstairs to hopefully talk to Max for a little while when he was stopped by none other than Valencia. She had stepped out of Maxs room just as Fang passed it.
"Fang?" He stopped and looked warily over his shoulder at the woman, who seemed small and frail now that she wasn't in her neatly pressed business clothes and high heels. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" He nodded, though a little reluctantly, and turned to face her.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for what Jeb and I said to you the other day." she said sincerely. "It was cruel and unnecessary, and I'm sorry." Fang just watched her, so far unimpressed. She continued, undaunted. "I know that I hurt Max, badly, and I did say sorry to her. But I know that isn't enough, so what I'm wondering, is why aren't you down there making her feel better?"
Fang blinked in surprise.
"Oh don't give me that look." Valencia said with a wry half smile. "I saw the way you two were. You're together, aren't you? So why aren't you comforting her?" There was a pause. Then, Fang spoke.
"She said she wanted space." his voice was flat, as was his face. He wouldn't let her see how he felt. Only Max had that right.
"Oh, I see." Fang waited, but she didn't say anything else. He turned to leave.
"You were abused too, weren't you?" Fang snapped around and stared at her, eyes wide. How could she have known that? Valencia chuckled slightly.
"The scars were one factor." she said, as though she could read his mind. Fang bunched his black hoodie sleeves in his hands, even though he was wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath. "And I know the look, in the eyes."
Fang frowned at her. "How?" was all he said, but she understood the question.
"Jeb." One word, and that explained the entire picture. "Thats why I had to send Max away, as much as that hurt her. Because if I hadn't, Jeb would have done awful things to her. You can understand that, can't you?" her eyes, so similar to Maxs, were pleading with him.
And he could understand it. If he was in that position, he probably would have done the same thing, or at least something similar. So, he nodded.
Valencia sighed in relief. "Thank you." she breathed. Fang didn't respond, he just turned and continued downstairs.
He found Max still laying on the couch, with her blanket pulled over her head. He smiled a little to himself and pulled the blanket off of her. She instantly curled her slim frame into a ball, fastening her fists over her eyes. He could hear her grumbling crossly to herself.
"Come on Max, time to get up."
Maxs PoV
I was so tired. I had been awake most of the night, and whenever I managed to fall asleep I had a nightmare. So I was none too pleased about Fang waking me up.
"Don't talk to me, I have res sickness." I groaned, rolling over to face away from him. He chuckled. If this was a normal morning, he would have picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder to get me up. But since I had asked for space, he just started to move away.
For some unknown reason, I bolted upright and grabbed his hand before he could. He looked back at me, surprise showing in his eyes.
"Can I ask you something?" I said softly, trying not to look at his eyes.
"Sure. Whats up?"
"Um... What do you think of me?" He frowned and tilted his head to the side, obviously confused. "I mean, am I annoying? Am I whiny? Do you hate being around me?" He sat down next to me on the couch, facing me and crossing his legs. He took both of my hands in his and looked me in the eyes.
"Max, I love being around you. If I didn't I wouldn't have opened up to you. I would have treated you the way I treat everyone else in this house." I nodded and looked down, feeling relief settle in. "Whats gotten into you?" Fang asked, concern tinting his words.
I shook my head. "I think I'm just a little off because of Valencia. It's no biggie."
Fang looked skeptical, but he accepted my explanation and pulled his hands out of mine. He moved to get up, but I grabbed him and pulled him back down.
"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, a little smile on my face.
Fang grinned. "You said you needed some space." My smile widened. As much as he doesn't want to admit it to anyone else, he is really sweet and caring.
"You gave me enough, I think." I said flirtatiously before kissing him. I could feel him smiling against my lips, but before we could deepen it we heard footsteps on the stairs. Pretty much everyone in the house already knows about us, but neither of us really likes PDA, so we pulled away from each other.
I watched Valencia pass us and walk into the kitchen, pointedly avoiding eye contact with me. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about her. Will I end up forgiving her? Or will I hold on to my resentment? I don't really know.
"I think you should forgive her." Fang whispered in my ear. I sent him a shocked look.
"Why?" I murmured back to him.
"Because it might help you." was all he said, but I could read between the lines. Maybe if I forgave her, I would be a little less angry and violent. Maybe I would be better.
I bit my lip and answered, "Maybe. Eventually. But not yet."
He just nodded in understanding.
(A/N sorry I haven't updated this one in a while. I've just been really busy stressing over going to highschool. Which, by the way, starts on friday. Wish me luck.
UNC-
Silence)
