Sorry for not updating in forever. Here's a super-long chapter to make up for it. Enjoy!:D

Fang

"Can you do nothing right?" Mom screams, socking me in the stomach.

I silently take it, knowing that if I make any noise she'll just hit harder. She doesn't want me to be weak but I already know I am. I cry, not from physical pain but from mental and emotional pain. Regardless of the reason, crying is a sign of weakness. That's what Mr. Sulivan said, that's what Dad said, that's what the other foster-families said and that's what Mom says now. The only ones who didn't say that were Ms. Monroe and Max.

Oh Max, I miss her so much. Living with my birth-mom was a terrible idea. She took away my cell phone so I can't call Max, and she made us move from the house where Ms. Monroe, Max and I went to meet my birth-mom. We moved a week ago and now I'm not allowed to go to school because my mom says that I'm a screw-up and I can't do anything anyway so going to school would be redundant. She's not entirely wrong but school was where I saw max. I haven't seen her in a week and I miss her so badly that it hurts worse than the fists against my stomach from my mother and the knives that pierced my skin from my father when I was twelve. I should run away but if I do that then I'll never see Max.

I need help but for now all I can do is pray for an escape. Art used to be my escape until my mom figured out that I didn't completely suck at it so now she orders me to paint and draw so she can sell whatever I make. Art is supposed to portray beauty, so my pieces are of the only beautiful thing I know of: Max. I finally figured out how to get her nose right.

Max

It's been three weeks since fang moved in with his mom, two weeks since she took away his cell phone and one week since the last time he was at school. I know something's up and I've gone to that house where we met Fang's mom but after the tenth time, the neighbors finally enlightened me on how they moved a week ago. Fang hasn't been to school in a week. Coincidence? I think not! I'm going to figure this out…eventually. It's not for a lack of effort; I just haven't found him yet. I hope he's okay.

A month later

Fang

I'm not okay. I hate admitting this but I'm not. My mother is horrible. She hasn't let me go to school since we moved away and she keeps threatening to call my father who has evidently escaped from jail. I'm scared; the last time I saw that horrible man I ended up in the hospital because I nearly bled to death. I need to figure out a way out of here but she has surveillance cameras everywhere. I tried to make a break for it twice but both times her guards brought me back with a lot more bruises and a lot less blood than I had when I jumped out the window both times. I call them Erasers because they're slowly erasing any hope I have of escaping. I need to try again but I'm still recovering from my last attempt so I'm not that desperate yet. I pray every night for help. I know that God will get me out of this, I'm just not sure how or when He's gonna do it. I hope it's soon though.

Max

I'm going insane without Fang. I know there's something wrong. If his mom really cared then she wouldn't allow him to miss this much school.

"Hello? Earth to Max?" Iggy asks, waving his hand in front of my face.

"Sorry." I mumble, realizing I'm ignoring whatever he's trying to say.

His gaze softens. "You're thinking about him, huh?" He guesses.

I nod. We barely mention Fang by his name because I can barely talk about him now without bawling. I miss him and I'm worried; something isn't right.

"I know that you think there's some big controversy going on so I had Nudge use her super-powers to find out the addresses of houses bought in our area over the past three months. I'll help you search." Iggy says, holding out a stack of papers.

I look up at him blankly for a second. Is he serious?

"Yes Maxie, I can be serious sometimes. He's my friend too." Iggy informs me.

I punch his shoulder.

"Ow!" He yelps.

"Don't call me Maxie." I tell him.

He gives me a dirty look and then I hug him. "Thank you Iggy." I whisper into his shoulder.

"You're welcome Max." He replies, hugging me back.

I pull away and whisper, "Do you wanna sneak out and start looking?"

He blinks and smirks. "You miss Fangles that much that you'll skip to look for him?" He asks.

I glare at him and nod.

The bell rings and Iggy whispers, "Let's go."

That dear readers is how and why I skipped the rest of the day and therefore lost my goody-goody two-shoes rep. It was a sacrifice that just had to be made.

Ten hours later

Max

I groan in frustration. "How many houses are we going to have to go through before we find his?" I question.

"We've gone through a lot today Max, can we try again tomorrow?" Iggy yawns.

"I won't be able to try again tomorrow because I'm sure by then I'll be grounded." I complain.

"Same here. We better just make it easier on ourselves and turn ourselves in now." Iggy suggests.

I'm about to come back with something snarky but then something catches my eye. I see Fang's mom talking to a large man holding a gun. I discreetly roll the window down and listen to what they're saying.

"So the kid's in here?" The man asks.

"Yeah, where's my money?" Fang's mom demands.

"You'll get my money when I get to talk to the kid." The man grunts.

"No, I want the money by tomorrow or we're disappearing and you'll have to hunt us down." She says, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I have a loaded gun; I can kill you right here." The man says.

"I have soldiers in the house; you take one step without me looking perfectly healthy and you're dead." She smirks.

The man glares at her. "Fine. I'll get you your money tomorrow." He huffs.

"I knew you would see things my way." She laughs.

I roll my window back up and look at Iggy who has gone pale and is gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turn white.

"She's going to sell her own son back to the man who beat the crap out of him when he was a kid. That man looked like Fang but bigger and I'll bet that guy's an asshole." I whisper, through gritted teeth. I'm so pissed I can't even see straight.

"You need to tell Ms. Monroe." Iggy says in a shaky voice.

"Oh my gosh, Fang!" I cry out, as images of him being tortured flash through my mind. I can only imagine what's happening to him right now. I've seen his scars, but I never wanted to put much thought into how he received them. I just wanted to put the past in the freaking past where it belongs! Now he's going to be hurt-or killed. Crap!

I put my face in my hands and sob the whole way home. Then it hits me. Jeb's a cop!

"Iggy!" I yell.

He jumps and swerves into the other lane. The driver of the car he nearly hit rolls his window down to flip Iggy off and starts yelling profanities at Iggy.

"Well same to you buddy!" Iggy yells out the window before rolling it back up. Then he looks at me, "Gee Max, give me a heart attack why don't you?"

"Sorry but listen, Jeb-my mom's boyfriend, he's a cop. He can save Fang!" I tell him.

Iggy smiles and relaxes a little.

At home

Max

Iggy drops me off and I see two angry adults waiting for me at the door.

"Maximum Ride! We got a call from the school! You skipped nearly the whole day! What do you have to say for yourself?" My mom demands.

"Iggy and I went searching for Fang because I knew that there was something wrong because he hasn't been to school in one month and one week. We found his mom talking to some man that I think is Fang's dad and he was holding a gun and his mom is going to let his dad hurt Fang again for money and they're going to leave tomorrow if she doesn't get the money. Don't you see? Fang's not being taken care of by his mom; he's being held captive! We need to save him!" I explain in a rush.

My mom looks from me to Jeb to me again, clearly not sure what to think but she knows how I look when I lie and when I tell the truth. I can tell by the look she's giving me that she knows I'm telling the truth.

"Jeb, please send someone to help Fang. I even have an idea as to how to do it." I say.

Jeb hesitates, looking at my mom who nods before he looks back at me. "What's your plan Max?" He asks.

Two Hours later

Max

I'm surprised Jeb and Mom allowed me to carry out the plan but here I am at the house where Fang is being held captive by his own mother. I take a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest and knock on the door.

Fang's mom answers the door, yanking it open looking really annoyed. "What do you want?" She demands.

"Hi, I'm Max. I'm a friend of F-Nick from school." I say, trying to smile politely even though in my head I've already decked her twice.

"So that loser has friends; huh? And his name's Nicolas. I won't have that Fang or Nick crap I mean seriously, his sister must have been a complete idiot if that's what she decided to call him." She says.

I frown, clenching my fists behind my back so she can't tell how much I want to strangle her. "Fang's sister is dead." I remind her.

She just rolls her eyes at me like I'm stupid. "Obviously, or else I'd have the set." She says.

"How is he?" I ask. "Can I see him?"

"He's a wreck, always sobbing in his room. He's so pathetic but he does good work. His pictures are making me filthy rich." She says.

Well you've already got the filthy part covered. I think, looking into the house to see trash everywhere and black marks on the wall that look like someone's put cigarettes out in those areas.

"Ma'am, Fang needs to go to school; at this rate he's going to fail." I inform her, hoping to get to whatever maternal instincts she might have.

"I really don't care." She says flatly.

"Can I see him?" I ask again. "Please?"

"Sure, give me five bucks." She replies, holding her hand out.

I give her a look. "Really?" I ask.

"Yes; cough it up." She says, wiggling her fingers.

I flare at her and give her the money. She gestures for me to follow her into the house. She closes the door behind us and walks over to the staircase.

"Nicolas! You have a visitor! Take her to your room but don't do anything stupid or you're in big trouble!" She shouts up the stairs.

Fang appears at the top of the staircase, holding one of his hands in the other. I think I can see little drops of red leaking through the spaces between his fingers and my blood goes cold as I realize it's blood.

"What did you do now?" She yells. Fang shrinks at her voice and I have to restrain myself from lashing out at his mother.

"You wanted me to try sculpting. M-my hand slipped." Fang says quietly.

"Why do you have to be such a failure? You're a good-for-nothing low-life! You are pathetic! You are worthless! I don't know why I keep you around. Nobody wants you! Why should I? You're a pathetic excuse for a son!" She yells.

Fang looks ready to cry and him mother shoves a white box into my hands. "Go take care of his hand for me; will ya?" She says.

I have to refrain from running up the stairs to Fang. "Where's your room?" I ask when I reach him.

He leads me to his room and I close the door behind us. I look around his room and see paintings of well, me and a few sculptures too. The walls are a dingy white and he has a few blankets piled in a corner; I guess that's his bed.

"Art used to be my escape. Now she's taken it away." Fang whispers, staring at his hand.

"Oh Fang." I whisper, tossing the box to the floor so I can hug him.

Fang hugs me back tightly and can feel my shoulder become wet as he begins to cry. "She hates me Max. She's just having me here so she can hurt me and so I can make her rich." He whispers in a choked voice.

"What did she do to hurt you?" I ask, furious that anyone could make Fang cry. He deserves to be happy.

He pulls away and lifts his black tee-shirt, revealing nasty bruises and cuts. I look at his face; nothing but his tears reveals his abuse. I gently put my hands on his face and wipe away his tears even though they continue to flow strongly.

"Shh, shh, it isn't gonna be like this forever. I promise." I tell him.

"I'm just going to be sent back to the orphanage if I ever leave. Nobody wants me Max. No one at the orphanage, my own mom doesn't love me, I was just a toy to Lissa, Ms. Monroe only let me stay with her because she felt sorry for me, Mr. Sulivan wanted me dead, my father hates me, nobody wants me. They're all right. I'm worthless and nobody wants me; nobody could ever want me." He says between silent sobs.

"Don't say that Fang; it isn't true." I tell him quietly, as my eyes well up with tears.

"What are you talking about? It is true." He says, looking and sounding like he believes it himself, like he really doesn't believe that anyone could ever love him.

"No it's not Fang. Look at me." I say, he cautiously meets my eyes waiting for me to turn into a monster too. "I want you Fang." I tell him.

"Why would you want me?" He asks, his tears still falling.

"Because I love you Fang." I whisper and then I kiss him on the lips. It's sad because by now we're both crying but it's still undeniably beautiful and full of love.

Fang looks surprised when we pull away for air. "Did you really just?" He starts.

"Yes; of course I did." I tell him.

Fang grins that crooked grin of his and kisses me on the lips. This time when we pull away for air he says, "I love you Max."

"I love you too Fang." I reply and then lower my voice. "I'm gonna get you out of here. I promise."

"Please don't leave yet." He says, putting his hands over mine which are still pressed against his wet cheeks.

"I won't, I'm just telling you that I will get you outta here. You aren't alone. I'll be your escape." I whisper.

Fang smiles a real smile with teeth and everything. "That sounds good." He whispers.

"Nicolas!" Fang's mom yells, stomping up the stairs.

Fang shrinks at her voice, his eyes full of fear.

I put my forehead against his. "Shh, shh, it's okay." I whisper in a gentle repetition.

"What is this? While you're at it, will you explain why there are so many cars outside?" His mother demands.

"What do the cars look like?" I ask.

"They're white but they look like." Her voice trails off and I can feel her glaring at me.

"They look like what?" I ask innocently, looking up at her from where Fang and I sit on the floor.

"You little-" She's cut off by the sound of people breaking down the door and running upstairs. Police officers enter the room and point guns at her.

"Okay so you got passed the five guards; good for you." She tells them in a condescending tone.

"Actually, there were ten and you are under arrest." Jeb says, putting handcuffs on her.

She frowns and glares at us. "I'm gonna get you Nicolas! And your little girlfriend too!" She yells as she's dragged away by the rest of the cops.

"How did you?" Fang asks.

I pull my hoody up enough to reveal the wire Jeb gave me. "Jeb's a cop." I remind him.

Fang smiles. "Thank you Max."

I just smile back and he kisses me. Of course Jeb just had to come in right then.

He clears his throat and Fang and I jerk away from each other, our faces flushing.

"Are you kids all right?" Jeb asks, smiling at the embarrassment he's caused us.

"We're good." We say in unison.

"Thanks Jeb." I add, smiling up at him.

My phone rings playing "Be My Escape" by Relient K.

"I still love your ringtone." Fang smiles at me.

I smile back at him and answer the phone. It's Ms. Monroe.

"It's for you." I tell him, handing him the phone.

Fang looks confused but his face lights up when he answers the phone.

Fang

"It's for you." Max smiles at me, handing me her phone.

"Hello?" I ask, feeling very confused.

"Fang?" Ms. Monroe asks frantically.

"Yes?" I ask, not sure what else to say.

"Thank goodness. Oh sweet boy I was so worried. I am so sorry I let that wretched woman take you away. She seemed so nice and I thought that since she was your mother she'd take good care of you. I am so sorry honey. Do you want to come home? You can if you want." She says.

"Home?" I ask. I don't really have a home exactly.

"Yes, you always have a place at my house. Also, if you want to come back, I'm going to need to talk to you about something; okay?" She says.

"Uh, okay. Um, I'd like to stay, but only if it's okay with you. I don't want to be a burden." I tell her, feeling really awkward but sad because I want to stay with her so badly but I really will just be in the way. She doesn't need me so having me there will be superfluous.

"Of course it's okay with me Fang! I want you here. Sweetie, I want to adopt you. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She replies.

I must have heard that wrong. "What?" I ask.

"I want to adopt you." She says.

"You want to adopt me?" I repeat.

"Yes, of course I do. You're a wonderful boy and I'd be happy to call you my son." She tells me.

My throat clogs with new tears. "You want me to be your kid?" I ask.

"Yes Fang. What do you say?" She replies.

"That sounds good." I say quietly into the phone, as sobs begin growing in my throat.

"I'll see you soon Fang." Ms. Monroe says. "I love you honey."

"See you." I say, hanging up the phone, handing it back to Max with a shaky hand.

Max put the phone back in her pocket and looks at me carefully, concern etched in her features as she notices the new tears. "What did she say?" She asks.

"She wants to adopt me." I whisper, as the tears spill from my eyes, flowing down my cheeks before dripping off my chin.

"Of course she does. You are very loveable Fang." Max smiles. "This is really great! I'm so happy for you!"

I hug Max, crying with relief that everything's gonna be okay.