HEY GUYS! Alright, right now I feel hyper so I'm writing this to blow off steam. I'm also writing this because of the comments you guys are giving me. It makes me feel all warm and bubbly inside to know you guys like my story. So yea, I'm going to shut up now and right this chappy for you guys already. ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, I do not own these characters and I don't own a big house. But you know who does own all these things? James Patterson.
10 MONTHS 25 DAYS UNTIL DEATH
"Max, wake up." My eyes sprung open. Slanted sunlight crept in through the shutters but didn't reach completely into the room, casting over half of the room into eerie shadows. I could feel my body tense as my eyes flitted around looking for any immediate danger until they landed on Ari. I immediately relaxed.
"What's up little man?" By the way the light from the window was slanted, I could tell that it was around 6 am.
"We should probably leave for school now." Ari's eyes shifted from me to the door and back. Across the hall was Jeb's room. At first I was confused at what he was implying but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was Monday. The only day Jeb wakes up early.
You see, Jeb has a unique, ever changing schedule. Some days he wakes up early and some days he doesn't get up until its dinnertime. At first it had been challenging for me and Ari to predict when he was going to wake up, but gradually we got the hang of it. Certain days bring certain things. For example, on Monday's he has first shift at the laboratory where he works (Jeb is a scientist). On Saturdays, he works all day, from 4 am to 11 pm. What with yesterday being as hectic as it was, I forgot all about how we have to wake up early to sneak out undetected.
I threw aside the covers, pulled on a pair of ripped jeans and a sweater over my tank, splashed some water onto my face, and pushed me and Ari out my bedroom door. We speed walked down the corridor and came to an abrupt stop in front of the stairs. The hallway was no problem, but the stairs are a different matter entirely. Every single step has at least one creak in it, and if you're not careful, you could wake up the entire house with the wrong move.
I lifted my foot up off the sanctuary of the corridor floor and gently brought it down onto the very top step of the stairwell while Ari and I held our breaths. We nearly shouted for joy when no sound came from the steps. We slowly made our descent and with every step we were closer to freedom. When we reached the ground floor without making so much as a squeak, I became suspicious. It might have been just a little superstitious, but something didn't feel right with the fact that we came out of those deadly steps scratch free. I shrugged it off but proceeded to the kitchen with caution. Once there, we immediately, grabbed some bread, a couple slices of ham, and 2 bottles of Gatorade. We were about to step out the door when…
"Where do you think you're going?"
I grabbed the food and shoved Ari towards the door. Jeb grabbed my arm and yanked me back hard. I cried out for Ari to run.
Jeb slammed me into the couch and leaped on top of me, clamping my hands over my head with an iron grip. I squirmed and wiggled under his grasp on my wrists, but wouldn't let me budge. Apparently my squirming made him angrier so he put his hands around my neck and squeezed.
"Stop moving. NOW." His face was so close to mine that I could feel his rancid breath against my face. A shiver spread throughout my body.
I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. All I could do was wait for the blackness to swallow me whole and never spit me back out. Just as I was about to pass out, Jeb's grip loosened a bit, allowing me enough space to breathe again. I gasped down breathe after breathe, devouring as much as I could. While I caught my breath, I had stopped moving, which pleased Jeb.
Jeb leaned down so that his mouth was right next to my ear. "Now that you finally will listen, answer my question. Where were you last night?"
"I was out." A stupid answer on my part, but hey, it was true. Jeb back-handed me across the face.
"Who were you out with?" Jeb stretched his words for emphasis. I stayed silent. "Were you with Ignacio (Iggy's real name) and Zephyr (Gazzy's real name)? Or were you with Nicholas?" When Jeb mentioned Fang, I shivered because of the obvious resentment in his words. Unfortunately, Jeb thought I shivered because he was right. "YOU WHORE, YOU SLUT! HOW CAN YOU SELL YOUR BODY TO SUCH IMBE-"
"Jeb, it wasn't like that-" Before I could finish defending myself, Jeb slammed my head on the coffee table beside the couch.
"I AM YOUR FATHER, MAXIMUM! TALK TO ME WITH RESPECT!" He kept slamming my head down on the counter. Sometime later, he finally stopped his temper tantrum. "Until, you learn some respect, young lady, you are not allowed to leave this house. Ever." And with that he calmly put on his shoes and socks, grabbed his keys, began whistling a single note, and was off. Although I couldn't see, I heard his car back out of our driveway and barrel away.
My body had become numb from the pounding pain in my forehead. My sight was speckled with dark spots and there was an endless ringing in my ears. Groaning, I rolled onto my butt and made an effort to sit up. Both the coffee table and the carpet were covered in blood. My blood. I raised my fingers to my right temple and pulled it back sharply when I felt a burning sting on impact. My fingers glistened with blood. In all the jumble in my brain, I had a single thought. Is it possible to bleed out from a head injury? Am I going to die? After I thought this, I had this strange feeling inside. Almost as if I were already accepting death. But then again, if I died there, wouldn't it make things so much easier for me? No more abusive father, no more responsibilities, no more pain or suffering, no more hating myself for being a curse. At this point, I almost wanted to die. When I was about to close my eyes and let go, I had another thought. Ari. If I died, who would take care of him? I'd be damned if I were to let Jeb get anywhere close to him. But what if Fang and his family…? No, I won't do that to them. I won't push such responsibility onto their shoulders. But why not? They do already have four kids, what would be so bad if I threw one more into the mix? Ari would never forgive me if I died. It was true. Ari was just stubborn like that, like me and mom.
I pushed those dark thoughts away and fought to stay awake. My eyes were becoming incredibly tired, my head droopy, my thoughts fuzzy, and my body numb.
CREAK.
That was the door opening again. A wave of fear enveloped me and thought of Jeb coming back for round two. A hand covered my mouth right when I was about to scream.
"Relax, Maxie. It's me." Ari appeared into my vision and my anxiety was washed away. His worried eyes took in my head wound and had a sharp intake of breath. He scurried away, retrieved the first aid kit. He doused a piece of gauze with rubbing alcohol and applied it to my right temple. Once again, for the umpteenth time, I felt a pang of sorrow at the fact that a boy so young already knows how to tend a wound. Once he was done, he helped me onto the couch and intertwined our fingers.
"Why aren't you at school yet?" I gurgled.
"Because someone has to take care of you when you try to be hero." Ari smiled.
"Trying? Honey, I am a hero. I'm Maximum Ride, for crying out loud." I grinned at him.
"Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, you need some rest. I'll be lookout for old Jeb will you get some Z's, alright." I nodded my head in agreement and before I knew it, I was unconscious.
FANG POV
Unconsciously, I kept watching the door to see if Max would show up. It just wasn't like her to skip school. I mentally checked myself. Who cares what she does? I don't. I blinked in surprise at my own thoughts. Where did that come from? Yesterday, when Max said that she was going on a date, I felt this strange feeling growing in my stomach that made me sick. I'd never felt it before and I was starting to think that I was suffering from the flu or something.
Ring, ring. The bell for lunch signaled and all the students rushed out of the classroom. Instead of heading towards the lunch line as I usually did, I raced to my locker in hopes of being alone. The halls emptied fast and soon enough I was by myself.
I rested my head on the cool locker surface and sighed. I didn't want to think and I ignored that growing feeling in my gut. I just stood there and breathed in deeply. Unfortunately, my beautiful silence was interrupted by a pair of clicking heels. Skinny arms draped around my torso and pulled me tight. I turned around to see Lissa. She had fabulous red hair, was about 5 foot 4 and had these HUGE coconuts-scratch that WATERMELONS-on her chest. She wore skimpy, basically see through clothes and was hotter than hell.
"Hey," I breathed.
"Hey," she pulled me down into a lingering kiss. "That was my way of saying that I had fun last night. Thanks for taking me."
"Anytime, babe." I grinned.
"See you later," she flashed me one last dazzling smile and then sauntered away, her hips wagging behind her.
Damn, how in the hell did that happen, again?
Last night, when I left the house after Max had yelled at me, I went for a walk around the old playground by the elementary. There I found Lissa and she asked me if I would like to go out with her and eat. I said sure, got dressed and ended up taking her to La Bella Luna. What with fate being a bitch, it just so happened that Max and her date were there as well. And then the strangest thing happened. Gazzy and Iggy came out of nowhere, threw spaghetti all over Max's white dress and ran off with Max in Iggy's arms. I am still totally lost on why they did that, but at least they were gone.
I glanced at the clock to my left and was surprised to find that lunch was over halfway over. Had I really just stood there thinking for 20 minutes? I pushed away my thoughts and ran for the lunch room. Grabbing a tray, I rushed through the line and briskly walked out into the courtyard to eat in peace.
3 HOURS LATER
The finally bell rang and I sighed with relief. I had enough of this day already and it was only 2:00. Again, I raced to my locker in hopes of peaceful silence. And again, fate had other plans.
While I was getting my backpack out of my locker, someone silently walked up behind me. When I turned around, there was a guy with white blond hair, muscular arms, broad shoulders, and a smug grin that I wanted desperately to punch off his "handsome" face.
"Hello. Are you Fang?" Dylan asked with innocents eyes that belong to a devil.
"Yea…"
"I heard that you are a friend of Max. I was just concerned as to where she was. I believe she didn't come to school today." He sure as hell didn't look concerned.
"If you so much as touch her, I swear to God that I will rip you apart limb by limb." I growled.
"Ooo, you're quite scary when you're mad." He sarcastically raised his hands in mock surrender. "Like I said before, Fang, I'm just concerned as to where she might be. Besides, if I were you, I would keep my mouth shut." I swung at him. He ducked and then magically reappeared behind me. He leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "I know your secret." At this I paused. "You're in love with Max."
Hey I'm back and feeling really guilty about not writing. Blame my teachers for giving me so homework *cough cough* Mr. Schweitzer *cough cough*. So tell me what you guys think about this story so far, your likes and dislikes, any feedback at all would be helpful. Please follow this account and give me any review you can think of, story related or not story related. I officially give you guys permission to ask me any question you want, no matter how personal and I will answer it by private messaging it. And when I say that I will answer all questions, I MEAN ALL QUESTIONS. Just cuz I feel bad and I'm really bored. So, yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed this chappy!
Watch the skies,
Doctor Bessy