Dejia- OMG! I kiddnapped my BFFL SAVANNAH!
Savannah- So I heard....
Fang- Hey savannah
Iggy- You kidnapped her again?
Dejia- Last time it was andrew
Savannah- Andrew's your face
Dejia- Do I need to lock Fang in my basement?
Savannah- Im'a punch you in the face
Fang- Why can't Gazzy have all my fan girls?
Savannah- Cuz he's young and he has gass..... DUH!
Muffins- HI! Otay get on with it
Dejia- Okey Dokey! Review for Armygirl!
Andrew- BECAUSE YOU LOVE HER!
Iggy- But not in the creepy way cuz that'd be creepy
Armygirl0604- That doesn't make any sense!

Thank you guys for, once again, shelling out a fabulous intro. You are, as usual, amazing. You rock. Like, if I could have them in a real book, when I finish my novel, I'd ask you to do my author's note with me.

My book's gonna be awesome-icl…

Anyways, so this is going too slow for me. Time to pick up the pace and have something frickin happen already!

Enjoy!

VALENCIA

I was in the middle of doing some paperwork for the foster care system when I heard a knock on the door. "MAX! Sweetie, can you get that?" I called.

She didn't answer, so I figured she must not be able to hear us. She and that blasted iPod had too close a relationship…

I sighed and stood to get the door. Standing on our porch was a hulking man with brown hair and tattoos. I went into defense mode. This did not look like a safe man to be near my babies. "Can I help you?"

He smiled. "I'm here to see Nicholas."

"May I ask who you are and what you want with Nick?"

The smile widened until it almost resembled a smirk. "I'm his father."

MAX

"Fang! Can you come down here please? There's someone here to see you!" Mom called.

Fang looked at me in surprise. He'd been playing guitar while I read at the foot of his bed. "Want to come?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? This book is getting boring anyways. The science is all wrong…" I tossed World War Z on the floor and we headed downstairs.

Fang froze, making me stop short. "Hello Nicky," a man smiled. I didn't like the look of him. He had tattoos everywhere, and some of them were explicit words or images.

Fang was breathing raggedly, staring ahead like a deer caught in headlights. He seemed to have lost his voice.

"Are you still not talking?" he sighed and shook his head. "I tried to get him to talk when he was younger, but it just never happened. It's almost like he's afraid someone will find out something secret if he opens his mouth." I did not like that look he just gave Fang.

"Oh, you had him recently? Are you a foster parent?" Mom asked crisply.

"No, I'm his biological father. I try to visit every once in a while. When I found out he'd moved again, I was surprised he didn't tell me. But I found you again, didn't I Nicky?" the accomplished, feral grin he gave Fang unnerved me and put me on edge. I squeezed Fang's shoulder. The man turned to me. "Hello there. I'm Mick." He offered his hand.

I shook the greasy hand politely. "Max."

"Nicky's girl?"

"Sister, actually," I snapped.

"Max, be polite," Mom whispered.

I stared at Mick. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to check in on Nicky."

"He goes by Fang now."

"Does he now?" he smiled at Fang. "Well, you'll always be Mommy's and my Nicky. Right bud?"

Fang nodded shakily.

"Mommy says hi, by the way. She wanted me to give you this, and she's sorry she couldn't make it. But she's been…under the weather, again. You know all about that though." He handed Fang an envelope. Fang stared at it like he'd been given a handful of deadly toxic waste or a zombie head.

"Well, I should go. I have to go back to Mommy, being that she doesn't feel well." He tapped Fang on the head and shook Mom's hand. "I'm sorry that this came up so suddenly, Mrs…"

"Martinez."

"Mrs. Martinez, but my wife wanted me to deliver the letter to her son and I wanted to see Nicky when I gave it to him. I'll call before I come again, I promise."

"I-of course," Mom relented. "May I ask what is wrong with his mother?"

"Sheena has cancer," he sniffed, his face tight. "She was diagnosed wehen Nicky was very young. We'd have kept him if we could, but…well…with the treatments, we just didn't have enough. We barely have enough to put food on our table as it is, but we get by with just enough," he smiled a bit. "However, Sheena had a relapse recently. She was devastated that she couldn't come see Nicky. As soon as she's well enough, we'll come visit."

"If you give us her room number and hospital we could go visit her th-"

"No," he snapped. "I mean, I don't think she'd want Nicky to see her like that. She's in a bad state."

"Ah," Mom nodded. "Bring her by soon."

"Will do M'am." He nodded, flashed Fang a grin that was almost a smirk, and was gone.

As soon as the door shut, Fang ran to his room. He slammed the door before I could get there. I heard sobs from behind the door and had to get Iggy to pick the lock. When I returned with him, Fang was screaming.

FANG

I opened Mick's letter from "mom" shakily. His all too familiar scrawl met my eyes and they watered. Don't tell anyone and she lives a little longer. I'm everywhere you are. You tell, I'll know.I will always find you Nicky. I know everything about you. You can't hide. -Mick-

The pictures inside were gruesome. Snapshots of bruises, cuts, inuuries of all sorts. And of course, explicit things I didn't want to see. I started bawling halfway through the stack. I couldn't look but had to know. I saw pictures of her, of them, pleading at the camera. Missing person reports. And, then, the worst of it.

A note from her. Nicky, baby, please don't worry. Shai and I will be all right, you just get away from Mick. I love you so much and I'm proud of you. Don't let him- it ended in blood streaks and Mick's note. I thought you'd like to see this. She loves you, how sweet. Do you really want to risk her life?

I looked back in and saw that it wasn't the worst. I started screaming.

In the very bottom of the envelope, was a fingernail, coated in fresh blood. And it had her signature blue nail polish on it.

Mom…

AND THE PLOT THICKENS!

R&R?