Chapter 29- Surprise!

Max's POV

"Er, Fang. Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" I asked, scrutinizing his bare chest. It was actually very well developed. I'd never really noticed before.

He smirked at me and walked over to the side of my bed. He picked up his shirt and pulled it back on.

"How are you feeling?" he surprised me by asking.

"Umm, a little light-headed. What the hell happened?"

He studied me impassively, like we hadn't known each other our whole life.

"Fang…?" I asked, frowning. What was wrong with him?

"We need to get out of here. My dad knows I got my memories back and he could be sending someone after me as we speak."

I stopped and thought about everything that had happened. I remembered everything: the operation, my life as a normal teenage girl and…the kiss with Nick/Fang. Well, kisses, actually. I swallowed. I didn't know how I felt about that.

That's when everything dropped on me. I had to find the flock! I had to get out of this place. I had to SAVE THE WORLD!

"Oh, my God. What are we still doing here?" I asked him, standing up abruptly.

Too abruptly, it turned out. My vision went black and I staggered. Fang caught me and leaned me against his side. When my vision cleared I saw concern in his eyes. I smiled reassuringly at him, but didn't stop leaning on him.

"How about I go downstairs and grab some food while you pack some clothes and essentials from in your room?" Fang asked after a moment of silence.

"Good idea," I agreed. I moved away from him and walked into my closet. I grabbed two bags and threw one to him. He headed out of my room while I rummaged for suitable clothes to take.

Okay, so I wasn't really looking at the clothes I packed. All I own is like, jeans and shirts. Except for the rare dresses that people have forced me to buy. Or given to me. After the clothes, I got a brush, toothbrush and toothpaste out of my bathroom. Also a hair tie for when we fly. Then I was looking all over the top floor of the house for money. I managed to find a stack in my mum's bedroom.

Do I feel bad about stealing from her?

No way!

She stole me in the first place!

Finally, I was done packing. I zipped the bag up and started to make my way downstairs.

That's when I heard a car pulling up.

I raced to the window and peered outside. It was my dad! He was home from work early. What was I going to do?!

I watched as my dad got out of the car and slammed the door. He made his way to the house, moving out of my sight. I ran to the stairs and peered over the banister. I couldn't see anyone. Where was Fang?

I went down the stairs two at a time and bounded into the foyer. My father – I realised that he wasn't really my dad, but a stranger—was just stepping into the house.

"Hello, Max," he said with a somewhat forced smile. He was glancing around the room, probably looking to see if I was hiding anyone.

"Hey. You're home early," I said, trying to act like I usually would. It was hard, because I felt a hatred for my 'father' that I'd never felt before. He'd kept me here, away from my flock. He was the enemy.

"What's the bag for?" he asked as he took off his jacket and headed into the kitchen. I followed him, hoping to God that Fang had found a hiding place. At the same time, I remembered the bag I was still carrying.

"I'm going to sleep over Cynthia's," I lied quickly.

"Oh yeah? Why didn't you ask me?"

"I talked to mum, she said it was okay," I said, hoping that I didn't get caught out in the lie.

"Really? I was just speaking to your mother. She didn't mention anything," he said as we entered the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge and started rummaging around in it.

Crap!

I swallowed. "She must have forgotten."

"I don't think she would've," he argued.

"Does it matter? Do you want me to ask you if I can go?" I asked, starting to lose my cool.

"Is anyone else here?" he suddenly asked, stepping away from the fridge to look at me.

I raised my eyebrows at him, hiding my shock. "Like who?"

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" he persisted.

"…No. Why?"

Something seemed to snap inside him. "Don't lie to me, Max! Tell me the truth. Where is Fang?" he yelled.

I froze. "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked. My voice luckily didn't shake.

"Where. Is. Fang?" my 'dad' practically growled. He took a step towards me and I took one back.

"Who's Fang?" I asked innocently, trying to figure out my dad's bizarre mood change. How was I going to get out of this one? Was my dad capable of stopping me? Or worse: hurting me?

"Don't play dumb with me. I know about you and Fang. I know you have your memories back. If you won't tell me, I'll just have to kill you," he stated.

I swallowed. Kill me? That was a bit extreme. This would be a good time to escape, I told myself. But of course, I didn't have any bright ideas.

The only thing that came to mind was: fight or flight.

I couldn't fly out of here, but could I fight?

I looked at my 'dad' closely. He was well muscled and I knew he had experience in combat. I was stronger than a normal adult man, so I thought I could take him. But it would be weird fighting my dad, even if he wasn't really my dad.

Suddenly, my father ran at me. I was so surprised, that I only managed to throw a punch when he was on me. Unfortunately, he dodged it and clasped his hand a round my neck. He lifted me up and pressed me against the wall, still holding onto my neck, slowly cutting off my airway.

My legs flailed as I tried to get him away from me, but he pinned them against the wall with his body. He watched my face as it slowly began to turn red from lack of oxygen.

I tried inhaling, but nothing got through to my lungs. He was choking me, and there was nothing I could do.

"Help," I croaked, but I could barely hear myself. I tried to suck in air to no avail.

My dad grinned at me, knowing that he was winning. "Are you going to tell me where Fang is?" he asked intently.

I couldn't move. My vision was narrowing, darkness seeping into the edges. I struggled futilely against him, my strength leaching out of me as the seconds passed by without oxygen.

Suddenly, I registered a change. My dad dropped me and I landed on the ground, gratefully sucking in air. Fang had come out of his hiding spot and was fighting my dad. I concentrated on breathing. The oxygen was magnificent. My vision was back to normal, just blurry from unshed tears.

I glanced up to see Fang punching my dad furiously. It looked like Fang was majorly pissed off.

But suddenly the fight turned. My dad got in a kick to Fang's chest. Then he was punching him. Fang flew into the wall with a loud thud. I tried to call out to him, but my voice was croaky and pathetic.

Fang leaped up and literally pounced on my dad, sending him sprawling. He punched him in the head once, twice, three times. Fang stayed his hand before the fourth punch and studied my dad.

It seemed like he was unconscious. Lifting his eyelids to make sure, Fang glanced over at me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded shakily.

He looked into my dad's eyes and seemed to confirm something. He stood up and walked over to me. He sat by my side and gently draped an arm over me.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to realise you were in trouble," he said. It sounded like he was really angry with himself.

"Fang," I croaked, "it wasn't your fault. You saved me."

He sighed and drew me into his side. His touch made me shiver. I wasn't used to being this close to him. Well, the wingless Max was, but not me. I rested my head on his shoulder and inhaled his scent. It was actually rather comforting.

"We should go," Fang said quietly.

"I don't want to move," I whispered. I was quite content to stay where I was, in his arms. He chuckled and I raised my head off of his shoulder.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Tell me?" I demanded.

"Well, I just think that was really cute," he said with a grin.

"Cute?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Incredibly," he said, kissing my forehead.

I felt a blush heat my cheeks.

"That's even cuter," he said, referring to the light shade of pink that covered my face. He gently placed his hand on my cheek.

I took his hand away from my face and leaned in close to him. I pressed my lips to his. He immediately kissed me back. I was slightly surprised at how forward I was being. I was kissing him! Fang! But I was soon lost in the kiss. It was incredibly passionate. My breathing was ragged, my heart was beating furiously and I was practically shaking with pleasure.

Unfortunately, we had to pull away. We smiled at each other, catching our breath. I was still holding his hand, so when I stood up I took him with me. I collected my bag, and he got his. Soon, we were out of the house, running away from the school once again.

But I didn't care, as long as I was free. And with Fang.