FEVER BLISTERS SUCK! But I guess you have them to thank for this early update... But seriously, I was supposed to be on a date tonight.. And tomorrow I was supposed to model for this lady, but since I doubt fever blisters are this years newest fashion, it looks like we'll have to reschedule. FML. I swear my three day weekends are always cursed... Okay Pity Party over.

Besides, it's not like I could leave you guys hanging after that last cliffhanger. So I hope you enjoy. It's a little on the short side. I'm a little disappointed with the lack of reviews but it's okay, yall can review on this one :)

Reviews equal love.

KarleeRay

I skip the rest of the day at school, picking the lock on one of the side doors and making a break for it. I fly home, feeling numb and empty, replaying that awful scene inside my head over and over again. What the hell? Just what the hell? That's all I can think. It's completely out of left field, so random and hurtful, so un-like Fang.

But is it really? The thought hits me like a train. Fang had no problem cozying up to Lissa back in Virginia. I was never supposed to have seen that… And I was never supposed to see this either. What if?... Oh God, what if that wasn't the first time? What if they had been together behind my back for a while now?

My stomach churns, and I swallow hard, willing myself not to throw up.

Tears begin to leak from my eyes, partly because of my super speed, and partly because of the moments I'm replaying in my mind. Every kiss Fang and I have shared, every glance with a thousand unsaid messages coveted inside, every intimate touch, every time I gave myself up to him in the most ultimate way of showing my love. Every time Fang looked me in the eye and said, "I love you, Max.", his words so pure, so honest, his heart beating in rhythm with mine, our minds traveling on the same wavelength just like they always had.

I come to a sloppy landing outside of our house, skidding and almost face planting into the concrete driveway. Pathetic, really.

I rake my hands through my hair, so confused, so lost. Fang, Fang, Fang. How could you do this to me?

I reach under the placemat, find the key to the front door, and am just about to let myself inside when it swings opens, and my mom comes rushing out, almost barreling into me.

She gasps. "Jesus, Max! You scared me half to death!"

I quickly wipe any stray tears off my face and stay silent, waiting for her to realize that it's a school day, that I'm supposed to be in class.

I brush past her, marching into the house, my mood quickly switching from hurt to angry. I sling my backpack, well more like slam my backpack onto the floor, and head for the kitchen, hearing my mom shut the door and trail behind.

"You wanna tell me what you're doing here?" Her voice is stern with a hard edge in it, no non-sense.

"I have a headache," I mutter, delving into the fridge in hopes of finding some kind of comfort food that I can gorge myself on and then hopefully pass out and forget this mess for a few hours.

But Mom just stands there, looking on skeptically.

"What?" I snap, pulling a bag of chips, some fruit rollups, and iced animal crackers out of the pantry. I snag a Coke from the fridge and head for the stairs.

"Now hold on just a minute," Mom starts, grabbing my arm as I attempt to whiz past her and almost making me drop my snacks.

I stand there, waiting for her to say something else. She gives me a once over. "You have a headache?" She asks, looking as if she doesn't believe my excuse for even a minute.

I nod, mutely, wishing she would just let this go so I can go up to my room, sprawl out on my bed, and cry my eyes out.

She studies me. "Have you been taking your medicine?"

Another nod.

Finally, she sighs. "Are you okay?"

I look my mother in the eyes and lie as skillfully as I've always been able to. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to sleep it off."

She smiles slightly before raising her thumbs to my eyes and swiping them across my cheeks, wiping away the brimming tears that I didn't even know were there. "That's not what I meant," She murmurs, looking knowingly into my eyes.

I gaze away. "I'm fine. Really. See you when you get home." I head up the stairs.

"Feel better!" My mom calls after me, even though she knows I'm not actually sick. "I'm a phone call away if you need anything!"

In my room, I throw myself down on the bed, open up my snacks and dig in, feeling stupid and humiliated. I turn the TV on, but I'm not really paying any attention to it. My mind just keeps whirring, causing my throat to clog with tears and making me choke on my fruit roll up.

By the time I'm finished gorging myself on junk food, I feel numb. I lie down, pull the covers up around me, and let the soft sound of the TV in the background lull me to sleep.

It's as if I've only been asleep for a few minutes, when I feel someone shaking me softly awake. I open my eyes, find Fang standing before me, and jackknife out of bed and away from him so fast it makes my head spin. I glance at the clock. I really had only been asleep for a few minutes. School was still in session, Fang was just skipping too.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss. "I came here to be away from you."

Fang holds his hands up in surrender as if I'm a wild animal that could attack at any moment, and he was telling me he meant no harm.

"I know," He murmurs softly, looking at me from across the room, his usual stoic mask covering his handsome face.

"Then why are you here?" I snap, my voice rising in anger.

"I had to check on you, make sure you were okay," He says stiffly.

I stare at him as if I've never met him before in my life, as if I don't even know him. "Okay?" I ask, commending myself on my ability to keep my voice steady. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

His eyes meet mine, but he stays silent, knowing that I know exactly what he's talking about. It's the obvious elephant in the room.

"Ohhh you mean the part where I walk in on my boyfriend making out with another girl? A girl that I hate? A girl that I can't stand?" My voice begins to rise as my self control begins to slink out the window. "The very last thing I would call it is 'okay'! In fact, I would call it a lot of things! And I would call her a lot of things, but I would call you one thing. And that's a backstabber! But technically that's not even the right word because you didn't stab me in the back, you stabbed me right in the face because you did it right in front of me!"

Hot, angry tears spring to my eyes, and I turn my face away before he can see.

"Max…" He starts, and I can see him inching toward me in my peripheral vision. "I… Can we just talk about this? In a calm, reasonable way?" He asks softly.

"I am calm!" I snap, turning back to face him.

Fang rakes his hands through his hair, looking disheveled, as his mask starts to slide off just slightly, and I get a glimpse of the pain hidden beneath. He swallows hard, looking at me as if I hold the key to the universe, as if he wants me more than anything in the world. "I don't know how it happened..."

I scoff, barking out a laugh that sounds so incredibly hostile, so empty, that it can hardly even be called a laugh. "Really? That's what you're going for? The whole 'I didn't want it to happen, it just did.'? That was very well thought out, Fang. Very original. Brav-"

But Fang cuts me off, angered by my sarcasm. "No, I mean I literally don't know how it happened! One minute we were just standing there, and the next-"

"Oh spare me!" I snarl. "I should know, I saw it! All of it!"

He takes a deep breath, fists clenched, face pale with frustration and anger. He sits down on my bed, raking his hands through his hair again. "I don't know how to make you understand, when I don't even understand."

I stare at him blankly, saying nothing.

"You just… You have to know…" He looks up at me, his eyes full of anguish, throwing aside his mask and making himself vulnerable to me. He stands, coming toward me. "You have to know that I love you. Sweetie, you have to know."

I turn my face away. I did know. Or at least I thought I did. But when you love someone, you don't just go around making out with other girls and hurting the one that you love in the process.

"We can figure this out together," He murmurs, reaching for me.

I spring away from his touch. "There's nothing to figure out!" I yell, fired up all over again. "You kissed another girl, Fang! You kissed me last night, and you kissed her today! You cheated on me!" I screech, hardly able to believe my words but knowing that they're true. I pause. "How long has this been going on?"

Fang's head snaps up. "What? No. No, Max. This wasn't a… thing. This was just… I would never…" He struggles, looking for words, but then he gives up and sighs, defeated.

"So this was the first time?" I demand, skeptically.

He presses his lips together and nods. And I hate the way it makes my pain lessen just slightly to know that he hasn't been going behind my back for our entire relationship.

Silence falls over us, each of us lost in our own worlds of emotion.

Fang looks up at me, drinks me in, memorizes me, before saying, "I wasn't me, Max. Something… I wasn't… thinking… I don't.."

He stops, seeing the expression on my face, seeing that I'm not buying his words. He swallows, "Just know… when I see you hurt, it hurts me just as much, maybe even more."

"You have no idea what I feel," I say, my voice sounding lifeless and empty.

Fang nods, and then continues, "So I would never intentionally cause you pain. And know that, nothing about our relationship has been fake. I meant every word I've ever said, I still do. And this thing with… Alexandra," He cringes. "I don't know why it happened, I didn't want it to happen, I just know that it did, and it was only this once. Never, have I ever kissed another girl. You're the only one I've ever wanted, Max. The only one I'll ever want. You know that," He pleads, as tears spring into my eyes, and I swipe them away before he can see. "And you know that I love you, more than anything in this world. You have to know that."

Silence blankets the air around us. My stomach feels hollow and empty, and yet I still feel like running into the bathroom and throwing up all the junk food I just ate. I pinch the bridge of my nose and draw in a deep breath. Be a big girl, Max. You save your tears for your pillow. "You came to check on me. You checked. Now you can go back to school."

Fang drops his heads into his hands for a moment before standing. He gives me a long look before nodding and leaving out the door.

And I can't help but feel déjà vu. How many times has Fang left me before? How many times has he broken his promises? Promises to never split us up again?

And now, not only has he broken his promise, but he's broken my trust, and I'm just not sure that's something that can be put back together again.

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