The Runaways – Chapter 12
By MyNameIsCAL
-Angel's POV-
Iggy wasn't really here, at least not mentally. Max stopped by almost every day with food for us. It had been a while since we had seen Fang though. I wondered where he'd been. According to Iggy, Fang had been staying at Max's house after his dad beat him up. It made me start to think that Fang might not be such a creep after all, especially since he was helping us.
And then, one day, Fang burst into the apartment, looking like all the energy had been drained from him. He shook as he stood there, leaning on his crutches.
"I got everything together," Fang announced, his voice hoarse. "We're leaving tomorrow."
That seemed to snap Iggy out of his trance of staring at the wall, even though he couldn't really see. "Great."
Fang leaned against the wall, Max giving him a look of worry. Now that I thought I could see Max, it looked like they were both tired. Her eyes were red, like she had been crying.
"Is Max coming with us?" I asked.
As she said yes, he said no.
"Tomorrow morning," Fang said before Max could protest. "Be ready because I'll be here early."
And then they were gone.
-Max's POV-
I sat on Fang's bed, watching him go through his things, almost angrily. The two of us, before heading to see Iggy, had fought about me going with him. He didn't want me to go. Yet over the past few days, being around Fang, I felt like I had known him for almost forever. But it was simple. He wanted to protect me.
"Your CDs and your guitar," I said quietly. "You can leave them here. I'll keep them for you if you ever come back."
He sucked in a breath and then took a seat next to me on the bed.
"I don't want to fight you," he told me. "I don't…I don't want to leave you here. And I've never felt this way about anyone before, Max. It's just, I don't want you to get hurt. You have a family that loves you, but I've got nothing to lose…"
"You've got me to lose," I blurted out, and suddenly everything I felt for him came pouring out. "You're the only one that listens to me, you're the only one who's ever made me feel, I don't know, special. I'll regret letting you just leave without me, knowing I had the chance to go with you."
I felt like I was going to cry again. Fang looked like he was going to turn away, but then he looked me straight in the eye. "Then it's your decision to come or not."
"Then I'm coming," I told him firmly.
-Angels' POV-
Late that night, Iggy's ringing phone woke us up.
"Hello?" he grumbled.
There was silence as he listened. And then he suddenly closed it and threw it against the wall, breaking it into pieces.
"What the heck are you doing?" Gazzy exclaimed.
"That was your mom," Iggy's voice shook. "They told me that they're going to find us and kill us."
-Max's POV-
Sleeping was cut short as Fang staggered into my room and woke me.
"We have to go now. Do you have everything ready?" he whispered. "Iggy called me. They're in danger."
I nodded and scribbled a note for Mom and Ella:
Dear Mom and Ella,
By the time you read this, I'll be gone. If you watch the news, you'll learn about Mr. and Mrs. Griffith. You'll learn about their neighbors that killed them and their missing children. Well, those children, they're not really missing. Fang knows them and he has to help them, but I feel that if I don't help them that I'd regret it for some reason.
What I'm really trying to say is that I'm running away. And you need to know that this was my own decision and I hope that you'll understand. I'll try to send you a letter every month. But someday, we'll all come back, I promise.
Love,
Max
"Are you ready to go?" Fang asked, bag slung over his shoulder as he fumbled with his crutches.
I left the note on the kitchen table and picked up my own bag, leading the way out the door.
-Angel's POV-
It wasn't a surprise that Max came with Fang. In fact, she was the one driving. We piled into the minivan and pulled the doors closed.
"Where'd you get this?" Iggy asked.
Fang replied. "I bought it."
"With what?"
There was hesitation. "Money I got from Josh."
I wondered who Josh was, but that probably wasn't for me to know. The car moved forward and we were speeding off into the night. I leaned against Gazzy and tried to get some sleep.