Sorry it took so long; I've been trying to update four stories at once. I'm starting to have serious writer's block with this one so keep some ideas coming for me, thanks! Did you all have a good Christmas? I did, I got lots of great stuff like CDs and adiamond ring! They're my best friends! Anyway enjoy the new chapter!

Just to let you know this is NOT, I repeat NOT a yaoi fic so don't even go there.

A life not worth living

Chapter 3 – Secrets revealed and a kidnapping

"OH YEAH! I win again!"

"You're cheating"

"No, you're just a sad loser" Ray had won another match against Tyson, much to Tyson's disappointment. Max sat in the doorway. He couldn't get the thought of Uncle hunting him down out of his head. He almost had a heart attack when he appeared like that at the park. Good thing none of his friends knew whom his Uncle was. They'd never met him.

What made matters worse is the fact he didn't want his friends to know and he suspected that Ray had his suspicions. He really didn't want the longhaired teen to find out 'cause he was one of his best friends and if Ray got on the wrong side of his Uncle, well, he didn't want to think about it. Max shook his head to remove those horrible images.

He got up and walked onto the kitchen, sitting down at the table. He hid his face into the table and closed his eyes. He still felt it, those large hands crawling up his leg and…ok, now was a good place to stop. He jumped as a hand was placed on his shoulder. Max looked behind and found that Ray was standing there with a concerned look on his face. The raven-haired boy took a seat beside the younger male and looked at him seriously.

"Wanna tell me why you're so jumpy?" Max shook his head and turned away from the golden eyes that were full of concern. Ray sighed.

"Look Max, I'm gonna keep asking until you give me an answer. This is a serious matter; someone is physically hurting my best friend and I wanna know how to help. Please tell me" Max continued to stare blankly at the table, hoping the conversation would end soon. "For God's sake Max you've been stabbed and still you hide the truth. Why?" The blonde finally let his eyes meet with the pleading golden orbs. He turned and looked out into the garden to make sure no one was standing in the doorway.

He whispered to Ray. "If I tell you will you promise not to tell anyone else and to leave me alone" He nodded. "A man, I'm not going to tell you who, took a knife, beat me and then stabbed me because he hates me. He's an alcoholic and threatened to hurt you guys if any of you found out the truth" Ray just sat there with a half-shocked half-angry face. He closed his eyes for a second and then opened them again.

"Is that all?" Max quickly nodded which made his friend raise an eyebrow. "Max?"

"I said that's all you were getting to know anyway"

"I knew it, there is something else"

"No there's not so just drop it!" Max almost shouted. He was sick of Ray pestering him for answers. The older male looked upset that his best friend would tell him everything.

"Please Max. I wanna know what's really happening, I know there's something more"

"I…I…just can't…" He tightly shut his eyes and looked to the ground in his mind, wishing it would swallow him up. He felt his face being forced back up by Ray.

"Look at me" Max obeyed. "Tell me, believe me you'll feel much better when you tell someone. I promise to keep it a secret and never let it escape my lips" Max gave a small smile. Ray truly was a great friend.

"All right, you win. I'm still not gonna tell you who it was but it wasn't the stabbing or the beating that scared me the most. He did something to me that no one else has done before" Ray's ears switched to full volume so he could take in everything that Max was going to say. "He had me on the floor bleeding and weak when…he…he tou…I can't say it"

"It's ok. Don't be scared, tell me"

"He touc…" Max was cut off by the sudden appearance of a laughing Tyson. He was laughing so hard that his eyes were watery. The other two just looked at him as if he were crazy.

"And, what's so funny?" Tyson finally noticed the presence of his teammates and looked at Ray while he answered his question through fits of laughter.

"The Chief…he beat…the…great and almighty…Kai with a…homemade beyblade" He used the worktop as support so he didn't fall to the floor. Kenny came into the room with a white face and grabbed Tyson to use a shield towards Kai, who came strolling into the doorway with a smirk on his face.

"Please don't hurt me! Please! I didn't mean to…" The taller male smirked at the panic in Kenny's voice. He stood in front of Tyson who was smiling like a mad man. Max couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the scene before him.

"Kenny, tell me what happened just now 'cause I wasn't paying attention" Kai was smirking and Ray could tell he was playing with Kenny. The Chief was still standing behind his laughing shield.

"Um, I can't remember!" He let go of Tyson and ran for the nearest doorway, which was blocked in no time by Kai.

"Where you going? Tell me what happened first" Kenny walked backwards into Max's chair and fell onto his lap.

"Max hide me!" He hid his face in Max's shirt. The blond looked up at Kai and mouthed "you're cruel". Kai just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Suddenly a knock at the door cut everything to a short halt while Tyson ran to answer it.

"Did Kenny really beat you?" asked Ray.

"Yeah, I got distracted by Tyson and Kenny ended up winning. So, I'm gonna make his life misery" Kenny whimpered and then squealed when Max pushed him of his lap. Tyson reappeared in the doorway.

"Max it's for you" He got up and walked to the entrance. When he got to the door he stopped dead in his tracks and before he could do anything he was pinned to the wall by rough hands.

"Shout or make any noise and I'll break your neck!" he whispered. Max just nodded as his Uncle quietly closed the door and dragged him away from the dojo.

"MAX! WHERE ARE YA DUDE?" They were searching the streets for him once they realized he was missing. Ray decided to search the park in case he was there again. No luck. Tyson went to their old hangout by the river but there was no sign of him. Kenny tried the hobby shop, which had been given to an old friend of Max's dad, but according to him Max hadn't been to the shop for two days.

Kai walked into the park after searching the streets. He found Ray sitting on one of the swings looking upset. He sat on a swing beside. "Sorry Ray, I couldn't find any trace of him" Ray ignored him and continued to look at the ground. "Why do you blame yourself for Max's disappearance?"

"Because I knew something was really wrong and I did nothing about it. I should have kept a closer watch on him"

"You can't watch him every second of the day you know"

"Yeah, I know but…Max told me something more about what happened. He said that they did something worse than beat him and, I know I shouldn't think like this but, because he was jumpy when someone touched him, I suspect he was…"

"Sexually abused" Ray turned and faced the older teen beside him.

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"Because I was the same when that happened to me"

"You mean…you were…" The blue- haired boy looked away and nodded. Ray couldn't believe what he had just heard. "When" was all he asked.

"A certain purple-haired man at a certain dark place"

"The Abbey"

"Yip. He got away with it all too, all the abuse and…rapings"

"Oh my…I had no idea. He didn't, you know, ra…"

"Yes he did and I'll never forgive him for it!" His blue hair was hiding his eyes and he clenched his hands so they turned white. The younger teen looked at his friend with sympathy. "That's why I distance myself from everyone, I'm afraid of being touched in that way again"

"What happens if you fall for someone? Are you going to let them get away just 'cause you don't like being touched?" Kai didn't answer and his eyes were still hidden by his hair. "Well? Have you even fallen for someone?"

"Yeah, I have but I didn't have the courage to say anything because then we would get close and there would be certain things she'd want that I couldn't do…"

"You mean that you're too scared to do" He didn't answer. Ray sighed, what if that was happening to Max? They had to find him. "Come on, let's keep looking for him" He stood up and was pulled round so he was facing the older blader.

"Promise me you won't tell the others what I told you"

"I promise" Kenny ran into the park and stopped in front of them.

"I know where Max is staying now, the guy in the hobby shop told me!"

"Tell us Chief!" said Ray. "Where is he?"

The young blond sat in the corner of his room, crying and in pain. Three hours, three long agonizing hours he never wanted to live again. Fresh wounds and bruises had made their home on his fragile body but that wasn't what he was crying about. He did it again. The hands, the hands…

This time it had gone a bit further than before. His Uncle truly was a mad man, only a mad man would do things like he did. His T-shirt had been ripped off so he was shivering in the cold. He wanted to move and get his other top from the drawer but it was agony just moving an inch. He tried again but winced, as his lower half became painful.

That filthy, perverted old man, well middle aged man, had passed out in the hallway and was snoring louder than a world war II tank. He tried to rape the young boy but he was too strong and pushed the drunken pervert off him. Unfortunately his hands managed to get what they wanted, yet again. His neck had several bite marks on them and he could feel the blood dripping down.

Suddenly the creature in the hallway stirred and sat up. He looked through the doorway into Max's room, seeing two of everything. Max quickly but painfully lay down on the floor on the other side of his bed so he was out of view from his Uncle's prying eyes. His Uncle got up and staggered down the stairs and ended up falling half way down. Max shook his head and quietly laughed.

Wow, I'm able to laugh at a time like this? He thought. But his smile soon disappeared when he went to sit back up. The pain was almost unbearable especially down below where the most damage had been done. He looked at his trousers and blood was smeared here and there. If he was going to go outside he was going to have to change his clothes. He crawled to the bathroom and used the sink to help him stand.

His reflection was different than the last time he looked into it. Bruises were clearly seen on his face, he wasn't going to be able to hide them this time. He took a cloth and began to wipe his face with warm water. It was hard because any pressure onto them caused more pain. A loud bang was heard and he fell onto the floor in a sitting position. His Uncle had fallen right outside the bathroom door.

"Where'd you come from?"

"Don't give me cheek!" He coughed before he talked again. "You're a cheeky little shit that needs to be taught a lesson"

"But…you already did"

"Obviously I didn't!" He crawled over to the young boy, knowing he was trapped. Max kicked him in the face when he came too close. He wasn't able to run for it due to his beaten legs. His Uncle growled and pinned the boy to the floor by sitting on him. He held down his arms and laughed as the small figure struggled to get free from underneath him.

The young teen began to find it hard to breathe and began coughing. "Aww, can't breathe? TOUGH!" He held up both his arms with one strong hand and let the other one roam. The lack of oxygen wasn't helping Max to shout. He tried shouting his friend's even though there was a slim chance that they would come. Just when his Uncle was going for another chance two figures appeared and flung him off Max and into the next room.

The small boy was coughing like mad and his stab wound was hurting once more. "Max, Max calm down, you have to calm down if you want to stop coughing" He felt two hands place themselves on his shoulders even though he had his eyes closed. "Max, listen to me, calm down!" He was trying but it wasn't working, he couldn't obey Ray's commands.

A new voice began speaking to him and he recognized it as Tyson's. "Hey buddy, can ya hear me? You gotta relax if you wanna stop coughing" It worked and he began to breathe heavily until it gradually became slower and slower. "He's really hurt…" Tyson's voice trailed off as he fell unconscious.

There, all done! Hope you all had a good New Year as well, so I'll see ya later! Remember to leave me nice reviews!