yeah sorry 4 the really long update...ive been sooooo busy lately..i appreciate the reviews :D

Chapter 5

"So, you finally met your dad, huh?" Martha was now walking home from school with her close friend, Rose. A cool breeze blew by. Martha shivered and zipped up her fleece all the way.

"Yeah...he's quite a character."

"What do you mean?" Martha shrugged.

"I dunno. I feel like, so close to him. He seems more like a friend than a father, really. He doesn't even let me call him dad."

"Well what do you call him?"

"By his first name, Max."

"That's odd...is he old?"

"Nah, he's in his 30's. He just got back from Vietnam a few years ago."

"Really? Wow...your dad's a Veteran...that's awesome...in a sad way." Martha shrugged.

"That war really affected him. Like, sometimes he would just randomly stare into space...like he's daydreaming. The war really hurt him."

"I'm sure it did." Rose agreed. All of a sudden there was the beep of a car horn. Martha turned around to find Max in a taxi. He pulled over to talk to her.

"Hey Martha, do you want a ride?"

"Uhmm, sure. But only if we could drop off my friend." she pointed over at Rose.

"That's not a problem. Hop on in." Martha scurried into the backseat of the taxi with Rose following.

"Is that your dad?" Rose whispered.

"Yeah."

"He's really hot!"

"Rose! He's in his 30's! That's disgusting!"

"So? He can still be hot."

"You two do realize that I can hear everything your saying, right?" Max stated. Rose and Martha exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

Valerie felt like a little girl when she finally got to her parents' house that evening. She sighed. She wished that she brought Eric with her instead of dropping him off at his place. She didn't want to face her parents alone..she didn't come to see them with Martha for at least six months. Too many things came up. With a sigh, she reluctantly knocked on the door and her mother answered.

"Valerie! Oh my god, how have you been? I missed you so much!" she hugged her daughter.

"I honestly haven't been so good mom." Valerie replied honestly.

"Oh, well you can tell me all about it. Come inside, please." Valerie followed her mom into the very familiar kitchen and they sat down at the kitchen table.

"Your father's away on a business trip for a week, so I'll telll him you stopped by. Where's Martha?"

"She's with her father." Mrs. Harrison looked stunned.

"She's with Max? That bastard that broke your heart?"

"Well, yeah." Mrs. Harrison shook her head.

"You shouldn't let your daughter be around a man like him. She'll just end up getting hurt."

"I hope that's not the case, but she's better off with him than with me."

"What do you mean? You've been raising her with George for years."

"Mom, George's an asshole. He's worse than Max."

"What happened to you two?"

"He abused me, mom." Valerie lifted up her sleeve to reveal the huge black and blue bruise on her shoulder. Her mom gasped in shock.

"Oh, Valerie...didn't you call the police?"

"I did...he was in jail for awhile, but he broke out."

"Are you serious? Oh my god, my poor baby..."

"Don't worry, Max will help me out."

"Him? Oh god, Valerie, just stay here...please? Everything will be fine here, you and Martha will be safe and-"

"Mom, he knows where you live...he doesn't have a clue about Max...and I'm sure Max will be happy to help us out...I mean, he's finally met his daughter." That was a fat lie. She knew that Max would back down. He wouldn't be happy, and she would have to be very persuasive. She knew that two things would convince Max to do something, and that was drugs and sex. Of course, she would be reluctant to do anything like that, but she would do what she would have to do what she would have to do. Max was the only guy that could help her out. Eric couldn't, George would be able to track him down. George wouldn't find her if she was living with Max...hopefully.

Max slumped on the couch. He was bored out of his mind, and he was exhausted.

"What's up with you?" Martha asked.

"Nothing at all. Now, leave me alone kid."

"You seemed to be in a good mood before."

"Well, that was before. And this is after. Now go do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?"

"Yup, anything. I don't give a shit what you do, just as long as it isn't involving me and you're back here at ten."

"Ok, fine. I'll just walk around the streets of New York and end up getting shot or raped." Max gave her a stern look.

"Be careful."

"Fine," Martha threw on her jean jacket. "I'm going to Rose's and maybe Teddy's."

"Who's Teddy?" Max's eyebrows raised.

"My boyfriend."

"Ok, whatever." And with that, Martha briskly left her dad's apartment.

ohh..awkward tension..review pleaseee :D