Hello readers! How do you do? Alright, I believe that's enough formal for today.
So right now I have 193 reviews for this story. It would mean the world to me if you guys could make it 200. Seriously, if I woke up (It's like 10:00 right now) to 200 reviews I would pee myself. (Just kidding)
And my offer I gave in the last chapte still stands. If I get three more reviews for my Hunger Games fic I'll update this story by the end of February vacation. (Which begins on Saturday, (or 2-16-13) and ends on the next Sunday. so... yeah.
I apologize for not updating in awhile, school is really taking it out of me. I swear, this summer, there will be multiple updates for multiple stories every week.
Alrighty, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! :))))
And I know it's a bad chapter. Sorry. ^^^Still do that, though.
"Not even slightly," I hissed, backing away. This guy had already tried to rape me, why would I go anywhere with him?
He walked closer, and I thought I saw something glint in his hand. His arms wrapped around me, and suddenly there was a knife digging into my side. He kept his smile on his face, looking pleasant. He directed his pearly whites at the woman at the desk. "I haven't seen my girlfriend in so long, she's always at the hospital, looking out for her family."
The woman smiled, probably thinking we were the cutest things she had ever seen. "Oh, that's adorable, have fun kiddies."
He was good looking, I'd have to admit. With the tan skin, blue eyes like the Caribbean, blonde, perfectly tousled hair, and those shining pearly whites. That does not make me like him, though. That does not make what he's doing okay. He's trying to rape me! He has a knife.
I felt his disgusting breath on my ear and his teeth nipped my neck. "You scream, I kill you." He leaned away so he could be heard by everybody. "Alright?"
I nodded and tried to look like I was in love. If he killed me, nobody would be watching out for Angel. If Angel was fine and in no danger, I'd let him kill me. In fact, I would have probably killed myself by now. There's no use in living if you're scared all the time, is there? But I do have a use. Angel. Maybe even Fang now. I can't die on them. Not when life is actually beginning to look up for the first time in what, five years?
"Of course," I murmured, and he smiled that fake smile.
"Come on outside, I have a surprise for you." He leaned in close. "Oh, and it'll be a surprise."
I swallowed the gargantuan lump in my throat, the one that was practically choking me. "Yay," I gasped out.
Keep your cool, I told myself desperately. If you lose it, he'll kill you. Then where would you be?
I allowed myself to get dragged outside, wincing when he dug the knife in. I whimpered when we turned a corner and the hospital was out of sight.
"Shut up," He ordered, dropping the act.
I didn't reply, just took a much needed breath. He was going to rape me, then he was going to kill me. I'm going to die. I should've just screamed back there, at least they would have caught him.
Finally, he paused his relentless dragging and pushed me against the dumpster in the ally we were now occupying.
I was able to get a good breath before his lips were pushing against mine, trying to get a response from me.
If there's one thing I refuse to do, it's let go of my dignity. I will go out with pride. I won't answer to this monster. Not a sound will come from me. I will go out like a flame on a candle, silently.
He shook me, dragging his tongue across my upper lip, and I grimaced, giving him access to my mouth. He took this as a good sign, and slipped his tongue into my mouth.
Then something inside of me snapped. My knee jabbed up and hit him in... a man spot... He immediately fell back, groaning in pain.
"What the hell, Max?" He groaned, trying to step back.
"Stay away from me!" I screeched, immediately pushing him back down and stepping back. "Don't touch me!"
"No baby, come back," He hissed, raising the knife, and I almost stopped for a second to admire the way the sun glinted off of the blade.
Instead, I turned and ran, knowing there was no way he could ever catch up. He was slowed down from his injury, and just not fast enough. He was built for fighting, not running.
My breaths were choppy and unsure, but they were enough to keep the air flowing through my lungs and the oxygen reaching all through my body. I continued to run, not even caring what direction I was going in, as long as it was away from him.
For a while I could hear his loud footsteps behind me, and his shouts of, "You'll be sorry, Maximum!" I had flinched when he said my name. It sounded wrong, emerging from his lips. He made my name sound like a curse word. Like dirt.
All I remember was finding a white house that was considerably close to the hospital, slamming my fists against the door, and falling like a sack of potatoes to the ground as the red door opened.
MAXIMUM RIDE
"Max!" Came a shout, and something cold dripped onto my face, rising me from my slumber.
"What Angel?" I murmured groggily, not really caring or wondering about the fact that Angel's voice sounded strange.
It took a second for my frenzied and sleep deprived mind to realize that the voice wasn't Angel. It couldn't be, she's in the hospital. So, unless she made a miracle recovery, there's no way she could be... wherever I am.
I began to open my eyes and turn on my brain to study my surroundings.
A small, light blue room, with two beds and a pull out couch pushed together in the tight space, and a door that probably revealed a closet or a bathroom.
"Where am I?" I hissed, immediately rolling off of the bed. Oh God, Dylan got me, I'm at his house. What did he do to me? I began to check myself to see if there were any fresh bruises. Nothing.
"Max!" My head snapped up. "You're at our house! It's Nudge! And Iggy! And Gazzy!" I searched each of their faces carefully to make sure they weren't lying. "You knocked on our door then blacked out!"
My friends surrounded me, with varied worried looks on their faces.
"Oh," I muttered, "Sorry."
A frown appeared on Nudge's face. "What happened?" Her large brown eyes were practically filled to the brim with concern. "You came to the door and blacked out!"
I swallowed the unusually large lump in my throat. "Do you guys know Dylan, from school?"
Iggy and Nudge nodded, and I saw Gazzy's confused face.
"Well, he did something very bad, that shouldn't be exposed to children's ears."
Nudge got my hint and told Gazzy to go get her a drink. He gave her a confused look but obeyed. I guess they don't eat that much here. I know what it's like.
"He tried to rape me," I blurted out as soon as Gazzy was out of earshot.
Nudge's eyes widened so wide I swore they'd fall out o her head, while Iggy's did the opposite, eyes narrowing to slits.
"What..." Nudge murmured, breathing heavily. "When did this happen?"
"As long as it's still the same day I collapsed on your doorstep, today."
Iggy began to clench his hands into fists. I could tell all of the rage needed to come out. The funny part is, the rage is probably only partly for me. The thing about us abused kids, is that we are angry about these things that are happening to us. We just can't release our anger when at 'home', because the fear overpowers it. So when we're given the chance to release all these pent-up emotions, we do.
"Iggy, calm down," I instructed the red faced boy.
He didn't answer me, just sat down and buried his hands in his face, but we could all hear the muttered obscenities.
"Did he... go all the way?" Nudge asked, quieting her voice at the last part.
I shook my head. "I got away."
She let the silence speak next. It was only interrupted by Iggy's quiet ranting.
After I couldn't take it anymore, I stood on wobbly legs and gave Nudge a shaky hug. "Thanks, but I have to go check on Angel now."
Nudge gave me a look of disbelief. "Are you crazy? You're not going anywhere!"
I pulled away from the hand she placed on my shoulder. "I have to. Angel needs me."
After an unbearable long moment, Nudge nodded. "Alright. Come back if you need anything."
Nodding, I let Iggy guide me to the front door.
"If he ever touched you again, I swear to—"
"If he does touch me again, I think I'll be the one to hurt him Ig, but thank you. It really does mean a lot to me," I interrupted. The thought that someone actually cares for me enough to protect me is comforting. It makes me feel safe. Like somebody is looking out for me. And I guess somebody is.
I walked out of the house, but not before I heard a shout. "What are you worthless kids doing?" An enraged voice screamed, and as soon as the sound pierced the air, Iggy was pushing me out the door and slamming it, apologizing quietly in my ear.
I tried to open the door to help them, but Iggy had successfully locked it before he had faced the maniac responsible for their abuse.
It was a slow walk back to the hospital. I was checking every ally, looking around every corner, constantly looking for Dylan. I am officially paranoid. Well, I was paranoid before, now it's official.
"Did you have fun sweetie?" The nurse at the front desk asked kindly, giving me a smile.
I nodded mutely, giving her a fake, worn out smile in return.
That seemed to be enough for her, because she picked up a ringing phone and began to direct calls.
My footsteps echoed down the empty stairwell, and all I could do was listen to the loud sound as it bounced off the walls, even though it was driving me insane.
Doctors shouts woke me from my daze as soon as I exited the stairwell, and I tried to rearrange my face into a smile, or at least something besides the terrified scream I have pasted on.
Emotionless, I thought, and the mask I had worn so many times slipped on. The one that had kept me sane through all those years of abuse. The one I'd passed down to Angel. The one that had probably kept my secrets much more than I'd like to admit.
"Max!" Angel cried as I entered the room. "You've been gone for hours!"
I nodded slightly, telling her that I recognized this.
"Max?" A deep voice asked. Fang is still here? I cannot believe that he'd stick with me for so long. What is going on in his head? "Is something wrong? Who called you?"
"Nudge," I invented wildly, grabbing at the first name that came into my mind. Technically, I wasn't lying that much. I mean, I did go see Nudge. She just wasn't the one that had called. I was simply choosing not to talk about Dylan. It's not like I was lying. They didn't ask if Dylan had attempted to rape me.
"Oh, that new girl?" Fang asked, and I was a little surprised. She's still considered the new girl? She's been here for a few months... but hasn't really made friends. She still hasn't made a name for herself besides Quiet Girl. That's not even a name, though. Lissa is Ms. Popular. Bridged is The Queen Bee. Fang is The King Of Campus. I only know because I heard a group of girls gossiping about in the bathroom. I had been trying to apply concealer when they'd burst in.
"OMG," A girl had said. "That Max girl is such a nerd."
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, as if that would get the mean girls to leave. I wouldn't tell anyone, but sometimes these words hurt. Most of the time, actually.
"Yea. We should call her Book Worm," Another girl invented, chuckling at her own creativity.
The others agreed in unison. There was giggling and a few muffled whispers before they left.
Book Worm. Interesting name to choose, considering I barely read. All of those happy endings make me sick. The way the main character always ends up happy in the end. There's never a sad ending. Unless the author wants the hero to find inner peace with the sadness or something stupid like that. So I stopped reading a while ago, unless I was forced to for school. At least the text books had no story line to them.
"She's not new," I informed Fang. God, he still thinks like a popular.
He shrugged, obviously done with talking for the time being.
"Max..." Angel began, a devious tone to her voice. Wow, being here with Fang has changed her a little. She seems... happier, almost. She's almost a kid again.
"Yea, Angel?" I prompted, giving her a 'go on' look.
"Fang has something to tell you," She giggled mischievously, before rolling around to 'go to sleep'.
I turned to Fang, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"I'm not sure what she was talking about," He murmured, but the way he avoided my eyes made me think that he knew exactly what she was talking about. Angel always sets things up perfectly. When we were't being abused, she would pull pranks on me all the time. The scary part was, no matter how hard I tried, I could never avoid the traps.
"Alright," I said easily. I wasn't going to push him.
"It's just that..."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Never mind."
"Alright."
Unlike all of the other silences we've shared, this one was uncomfortable. Fang kept wringing his hands and swallowing, and because of his nervousness, I felt that I had to be anxious too.
It was in that moment I realized that he hadn't been home in... a few days. Three, I believe it was. I had somehow missed the fact that he had slept here, eaten here, and kept me company for nearly half of a week.
"Fang," He turned to look at me. "You're allowed to go home, you know."
He furrowed his eyes in confusion. "Do you want me to go home?" He asked, obviously taken back. Maybe even a little offended.
"No," I admitted. "I just realized that you haven't gone home. You shouldn't waste time on us. You have a life. You need to go to school!"
He snorted. "Max, it's Monday. I've missed one day of school. And it's only," He paused to check the clock. "Ten. I could still get there if I really wanted to. Which I don't."
I didn't press further.
Again, the silence overtook us. This time, I didn't interrupt it.
Well, it was interrupted, just not by me.
A nurse walked in and said, "If you're refusing the tests you can leave now. You can go home."