Authors Note: I felt it wasn't very fair to leave you guys with that for too long, and I probably wasn't going to get any more reviews, so HERE YOU GO YOU'RE WELCOME.

Chapter Seventeen:

Betrayal

It took all my will power to turn the other cheek and stay where I was. My emotions were conflicted and tangled in a giant jumble of unease and betrayal. Mostly betrayal. I was caught between wanting to show myself (and most likely inflict physical pain on both Fang and Lissa), and wanting to run the other direction.

I couldn't forget what I had seen though, no matter how much I wanted to.

So I stayed huddled where I was, enough time passing that they would hopefully be gone. When I finally forced myself to raise my head, there was no one familiar in sight. Gratefully I stretched to my feet, trembling all over. From across the street an old man was staring at me like I was a lunatic.

Just what I needed.

I gave him a steely glare, with enough menace to make him shrink backwards before hobbling away. I could only keep the anger up for a few seconds though, before my indifferent mask crumbled into oblivion.

My mind kept replaying the image of him and her over and over again; constantly looping again and again. Their hands intertwined. His arm around her. The look on his face. Their lips meeting. My heartbreak.

I was shaking all over by that point, in a daze. Black spots danced across my vision, and I swayed on my feet, barely able to walk in a straight line. Was this what it felt like to be drunk? Because to any normal passerby, that's probably what I looked like. The sick feeling of dread in my stomach was consuming every particle of my being though, and it was all I could do to manage to navigate my way back to Aunt Valencia's car safely.

My hands quaked as I placed them on the steering wheel. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment to gather my bearings. When I opened them again, my head was clear enough that I could see properly. Slowly my foot bore down on the gas pedal, and I began the drive back home. I didn't know what I would say when I got back, to explain my current appearance. I just needed to get away from that demonic space.

As I drove, bitter thoughts washed through my mind. Memories of Fang. The first time we met, when he had saved me at gunpoint. His face when he had walked in on one of my mom's episodes, and the ensuing kiss that had followed. Our huge showdown as Maximum and The Shadow. The support he had given me at National's. All the times I had seen him angry, and happy, and emotionless, and thoughtful, and sad, and . . . loving.

And it had all been a lie. All of it.

How had I been so stupid? He had never cared about me. I was probably just a dumb pet project to him; something to keep him entertained. Why would someone like him ever love someone like me? His ideals couldn't be that different from his parents. I was probably the lowest of the low to him. Scum. Nothing. He had just proven that, after all.

I sniffed, swallowing thickly. The moisture that had been building up in my eyes rained down now, spilling over onto my cheeks. Each individual drop burned more than the last as they combined into one torrential river down my face, spilling into my lap. My shoulders heaved, and my vision blurred so much that I could only see fuzzy fractures of the road before me.

Knowing it really wasn't safe for someone in my condition to be driving, I dried my eyes long enough to pull to the curb. Once I killed the engine, the tears resumed as before, bursting forth with even more fervor. I cried and I cried and I cried.

With each second that ticked by I felt even more idiotic and stupid. I never would have taken myself to be so naive and clueless. Because of course, everything made so much more sense now; like how he was gone all the time, and how whenever he actually was with me, he always had to disappear somewhere else in a hurry.

Now I know it was to be with her.

It seemed like hours before my eyes ceased to produce liquid, and even then I was hiccuping so badly I could barely catch my breath. I knew I needed to stop though. That cheating bastard didn't deserve my tears. Not even one drop of them. I shouldn't even warrant him an ounce of my anguish, either. It seemed that despite that, I couldn't control the ache in my chest though.

I had trusted him with everything I had, and in the end I was the one left to look like a fool because of it. It was my fault, though . . .

I should have known better than to trust a boy who had no shame in beating a girl in a fight.

With that final thought, the hatred set in. Who did he think he was? Where did he get the audacity to do such a thing to me? In that moment, with such furious animosity, I could have taken on ten of him at one time, and beaten them all to a bloody pulp. In fact, I would have loved nothing more than to be given the opportunity to do so.

But seeing as that wasn't going to happen, I had to be satisfied with gripping the steering wheel so hard it almost cracked beneath my hands, and speeding dangerously through the streets towards home. Admittedly, that wasn't my finest idea, but the adrenaline now pumping through my veins ebbed at the thrill of going so fast. During those moments, I lived for the squeal of tires on asphalt, and the smoking, black skid marks they left in their wake.

Screw Nicholas King, and his entire family for that matter. I hated them all. Let them peacefully live out the rest of their sheltered lives, with all their riches and fake friends. I could care less. I was just a stupid girl that fell under Fang's charm. I wouldn't make that mistake again, you can count on that.

Forcing myself to calm down, I slowed to a healthier speed limit. I only had a few minutes left before I arrived home, and I needed to look less like a crazed lunatic by that time. Taking deep, even breaths I maneuvered the streets, feeling my heart rate dull each second that passed.

By the time I parked in front of my now familiar house, I -hopefully- appeared just as normal. Even so, I took one last breath to recollect myself before I hopped onto the sidewalk, languidly strutting towards the door. There was no reason to worry everybody else. They didn't need to know what a huge jerk Fang was just yet.

I was just opening the screen door when a sudden wave of anxiety hit me, taking away some of the chagrin, just to replace it with an overwhelming sorrow. I could already feel my fingers beginning to tremble again, with the combination of spite and despondency.

I had a feeling this was only the beginning of my whirlwind emotions towards him.

But then of course, as if my day couldn't get any more exciting, the doorknob flew from beneath my hand, as the door was thrown open from the other side. Aunt Valencia was now standing on the stoop in front of me, looking overall harried and anxious.

"Oh thank goodness you're back," she breathed, wiping a hand down the side of her face as she heaved a sigh of relief. There was a look in her chocolate brown eyes that made me instantly wary.

"What happened?" I demanded, shoving past her into the house. "Is someone hurt?"

"No, everybody's fine," she insisted, following after me as I streaked through the living room before halting to count heads. Angel and Gazzy were sitting on the couch, faces bent together. Ella was just coming down the stairs, and Mom was kneeling on the floor shoving what looked like clothes into a suitcase.

"Then what's going on?" I yelled, rounding on Aunt Val. She met my gaze somewhat steadily, running a hand through her already haywire hair.

"Something came up. They need me back in Arizona sooner than expected. We have to leave. Today. As soon as possible," she explained, already walking away to do something else. I followed her progress with my eyes, taking in the pile of bags already in the corner.

"Wait, what?"

Everything was collectively happening way too fast for me. I had already peaked my emotional threshold for that day. This couldn't be happening. I couldn't handle this right now. Anytime but now.

"Nudge's mom is here with the van," Ella proclaimed from where she was peering out the window. The curtain swung back into place as she let it fall from her hands, turning to stare back at the rest of us.

"Okay, good. Good. Start taking the bags out. Try to fit as much as you can in the trunk. Then start filling up the back seat. The airport isn't too far away, so we won't have to be in the car that long," Aunt Valencia ordered, looking -if it was even possible- more frazzled than she had a second ago.

"Angel and Gazzy's things are all ready," Mom announced, hefting the suitcase she had been packing up. Without another word she followed Ella outside, limply tugging along the case with her.

I simply stood in the middle of the room, at a total loss for words.

"Max," Angel said in a small voice, approaching me slowly. She stuck her tiny hand in mine, holding it tightly. Gazzy did the same on my other side, blue eyes wide and slightly frightened as he stared up at me.

"You guys are leaving already?" I croaked, unable to think of anything but the obvious to say.

"We're not going to see you for a really, really, really long time, are we?" Gazzy asked solemnly, looking somber and so much older than twelve. It almost made me cry for the second time that day. Almost.

In a flurry, thoughts crashed down on me like a tidal wave. "As much as I hate to even think about this sweetie, you're eighteen now. If you want to stay in New York . . . you can" . . . But could I really leave Angel and Gazzy? . . . But could I really leave Fang? . . . "You're not moving all the way to damn Arizona. You can't" . . . My future was here though, in New York. Going to Arizona would only keep me drowning in the past. "I don't want to leave."

The funny thing about life is things change.

"Aunt Val," I said softly, then with greater force. I called her name as I walked to the door, from where I could see her hefting bags into Nudge's mom's car. After a moment or two she turned to me, a questioning look on her face.

"I'm coming with you."

She held up a finger, motioning for me to wait. I sighed, leaning against the door frame. After exchanging a few words with Ella she jogged up the sidewalk, stopping just at the first step. I stared down at her as blankly and unemotionally as I could

"What did you say, Max? I couldn't hear you from over there."

"I said," I repeated, "I'm coming with you."

"To the airport? Well, I would imagine so. I figured you'd want as much time with Angel and Gazzy as you could get," she replied, looking bewildered. I shook my head impatiently, running a hand through my dark blond hair.

"That's not what I meant," I insisted, turning my face away for a moment. I stared up into the sky, where the sun was shining brightly, like it didn't have a care in the world. The entire atmosphere was picture perfect blue and I swear there were birds chirping in the distance. From some ways down the horizon though, I could see shades of gray beginning to develop. A storm was likely on its way. How fitting.

"I'm coming with you. To Arizona."

Authors Note: I seriously wonder how I managed to make this chapter as long as it was. Meh. Guess I'm good at rambling! I thought it was a good place to abandon you in suspense, though.

YOU'RE WELCOME AGAIN! ;)

Maybe . . . just maybe . . . if I get more reviews than I did for the last chapter, however many that is, I'll update super-ish soon-ish again! Do we have a deal?

P.S. Any of you guys ever talked to anybody famous (I use the term famous lightly. Generally just anyone you admire or whatever that has somewhat of a following.)? 'Cause I can give you a list of people that I have :D