Chapter Text
On a Sunday morning, Max woke up on the floor of the Byers’ house. For a few blissful seconds, nothing made sense. She was lying next to Lucas, the other kids sleeping soundly around them. Dustin slept on the couch, one arm falling onto the floor; Mike had his back pressed against the sofa, his head dropped back on the couch’s cushion, Eleven sleeping comfortably with her head in his lap. Will wasn’t around, so Max guessed he must’ve been resting in his own bed. Nothing made a lot of sense, and if it weren’t for the messy drawings scattered all over the floor and the walls, the memories of that past night wouldn’t have come back as clear as they did.
Last night blurred into flashes. The tunnels beneath Hawkins, Dustin and his tiny- not-so-tiny alien, Will screaming, Steve driving them back to the Byers’ house on Billy’s Camaro. The first thing Max had looked for after walking through the front door had been Billy. Jonathan carried a passed out Will inside the house, and Ms. Byers followed behind him, the rest of the crew hugged an exhausted El who sat at the living room’s couch. But Billy was nowhere to be found. The empty needle she’d stuck into his neck was on the floor next to Steve’s nail bat, as a reminder of what she’d done. Max could barely believe that it had actually happened. She’d stuck a needle into her step-brother’s neck, and then threatened to castrate him with a bat full of nails. And now, Billy was missing.They hadn’t been gone for long, and Billy was supposedly still unconscious. There was actually no way he’d be able to wake up and leave the house in little over an hour, especially not without his car. So where was he?
Max’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft scoff on the door. Hopper stood in the door frame, with an exhausted expression. He looked at the hugging kids with a small, tired smile. Max guessed he mustn’t be over 40, but his crinkled face and swollen eyes made him look much older.
The boys broke their hug, Mike still holding Eleven’s hand. Lucas's eyes met Max, who was uncomfortably standing next to them. He gave her a small smile and an encouraging nod.
“Long night, huh?” Hopper broke the silence. Eleven tightened her grip on Mike’s hand. Hopper looked directly at her. “Time to get some rest, kid. Let's get all of you home.”
“I don’t want to go”, El answered back. “I want to stay with Mike.”
Hopper hesitated for a few seconds, debating whether or not it was worth it to argue with a recently re-traumatized child. In the end, he decided not to.
“Fine. We are all staying here for the night.”
The boys cheered happily at the idea of an unexpected sleepover, slipping back into being kids with startling ease; as if they hadn’t been literally killing monsters and saving the world just a few long minutes ago. But Max couldn’t. She knew she was supposed to get home eventually, and face whatever was waiting for her back there. Surely, a month’s worth of grounding for sneaking out, if her mom didn’t immediately ship her off to some military school. Surely, a long, loud fight with Billy for almost killing him, twice. That was, if he’d managed to get back to the house. And if he had, knowing Billy’s dad, there was no way he’d be left out unharmed.
Max knew how the whole house changed when Neil arrived. She knew his stare, even if not aimed at her. His eyes would get big and black, and Billy would go still. She knew the long silence that came when she was sent to her room. And she knew the sounds that followed after. Rumble of raised voices, something hitting the wall, objects rattling to the floor, the crack of a slap. And if Billy had really messed up, the noise of leather against skin. She’d learned not to stay close enough to hear more. Billy had made that clear.
She was only getting used to it in California, but everything had become more unpredictable since they moved to Hawkins. Billy seemed angrier than ever, and Neil had less patience for him by the day.
Max still remembered the dread that had travelled up her spine when she heard Billy’s Camaro approaching the small cabin. She’d left without telling him, even though he’d been supposed to keep an eye on her. It wasn’t the first time she’d slipped away from him, but this time was different. When Billy got there, he was furious, and Max had given him plenty of reasons to be. He was still a violent asshole who was probably going to make her pay for what she’d done. But she knew that if Billy had told their parents about what happened, she was screwed.
“I… I think I should get home, actually.” Max broke the boys’ small celebration party. “My mom’s probably freaking out.”
Lucas'ss head sprung towards her.
“But- it’s really late, Max. We can’t bike back in the dark. We’ll just get back tomorrow morning, I’ll drop you off and make something up to your parents.”
Max hesitated, tapping her foot against the floor. Her mom and Neil would lose their minds if they found out she’d spent the whole night out. Especially with a bunch of boys.
“Lucas is right, kid,” Hopper said, giving her a long look. “I’ll get all of you back home tomorrow, explain to your parents. Now, you’re all staying here. So get some sleep. Hopefully have good dreams ’n all that, now that this shit’s over.” He stopped for a second, then gave Max another look. “Is that Hargrove boy your brother?”
“Step-brother,” the word left her mouth before she remembered who Hopper was talking about. The same Billy who gave Steve a fresh, new face painted with his own blood, and broke one of Ms. Byers plates on his head. Hopper took a long breath, then nodded slowly.
“He’s sleeping in my car for the night. I’ll get you both back home tomorrow, after I have a long talk with him. Hopefully he’ll come back to his senses by mornin’. He kept mumbling about you and his father… Some nasty things, he said.”
Max nodded, relief loosening the knot in her stomach, but only a little. At least Billy hadn’t gotten there first. Maybe she’d get the chance to explain before he did, before he could tell her mom how her precious little girl had been nothing but a real demon last night.
“Sounds like Billy,” she said in a whisper.
After that, everyone settled down in the living room. Mike and Eleven found their way on the couch, Mike keeping an arm around the girl’s shoulders, hugging her body against his. Eleven laid her head on his collarbone. Max could feel the girl’s tired stare on her when she was talking to Hopper, like she was supervising the conversation, but she chose to ignore it.
Dustin joined the couple shortly after, sitting next to them. Lucas tapped Max’s shoulder. She looked up to his eyes.
“You okay, Mad Max?”
Max returned him a faint smile. “Yeah.”
He tugged at her jacket. “Come on. Let’s get some rest.”
Lucas led her to the carpet and offered her a spot where she could lay her back against a small couch. He sat next to her on the floor.
“Man… That was crazy,” said Dustin, breaking the silence.
The only sound around were the steps of the adults somewhere nearby. Steve and Jonathan’s voices spoke quietly from Will’s room. Max allowed herself to lean her head back and close her eyes for a second. Images of tonight blurred together, like seeing through a kaleidoscope. And to think that, just a few hours ago, she was packing her bags to flee Hawkins when Lucas knocked on the door, asking her to join him on a supernatural tale she obviously hadn’t believed in until she saw the monsters with her own eyes.
“...Do you think Will’s gonna be okay?” Mike asked, his head leaning softly on Eleven’s.
Max heard Lucas sigh next to her.
“I don’t know, dude. I’m so tired I can’t even think straight.”
Somebody yawned from the sofa. People walked around the kitchen. Max’s brain was finally calming down, all thoughts leaving her body with every long exhale she took.
The kids stayed in silence, even after Steve and Nancy walked by, saying goodbye and leaving through the front door. Dustin waved a lazy hand after Steve, but nobody else acknowledged the teens. The exhaustion was atop.
At some point, Joyce emerged from the hallway, closing the door to Will’s room after her. She looked ten times younger and older at the same time, her eyes red and swollen. She was holding something in her hand when she approached the kids splayed on the living room. Max stared as she caressed Eleven’s short hair with motherly affection.
“You guys want some tea to help you sleep?” She asked, a gentle tone in her voice.
The boys nodded. Joyce walked to the kitchen.
Dustin leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “Poor Bob… Joyce is so strong.”
Mike stared at the place where Joyce had stood a few moments ago.
“He died a superhero,” he said sourly.
Max had only seen Bob once, when he was dropping Will at school. He seemed like a good man. And his life ending the way it did, when he was protecting the people he considered his family… ‘Superhero’ seemed fitting.
Dustin shook his head. “More like a paladin.”
“I don’t know…” Mike muttered, his eyes closed.
“He literally sacrificed himself for everybody.”
“Yeah, but that’s not what made him Bob.”
Dustin frowned. “Then what?”
Mike opened his eyes and stared ahead, finding the words. “He was always helping people. I think he was a cleric.”
“...What are you talking about?”
Four pair of eyes turned her way. Right. Of course she was the only one who had no idea what they were saying.
Mike sighed, but Dustin said: “It’s D&D.”
Max looked at him through her eyelashes. Dustin continued. “Dungeons and Dragons? It’s a game.”
“I’ve never played.” Now she wanted the earth to swallow her whole. She could feel Eleven’s stare fixed on her, like she was trying to scan her from the inside out. She looked at the door to the kitchen, wanting Joyce to walk in and take the attention away from her.
Lucas elbowed her arm. “Not everybody plays,” he said to Dustin. Then he turned back towards Max. “We’ll teach you.”
At the same time, Joyce walked back in carrying a tray full of teacups in one hand and a bunch of blankets in the other. She placed the tray on the small coffee table and the pile of blankets next to it.
“Here you go… I think I’ve brought enough blankets for everybody.”
Mike and Eleven moved to sit on the floor next to the table, Mike pouring water in the cup and passing it to the girl. Lucas approached them, grabbing his own. Dustin seized the moment to fully claim the couch, lying down in all of its length. In the meantime, Joyce passed everybody a blanket, and frowned when she realized she’d only brought four.
“Oh…” The woman locked eyes with Max. “Sorry, honey. I’ll get you a blanket from Will’s room.”
She walked down the hallway. Max could feel everybody’s eyes on her, once more. Across from her, Lucas handed her his blanket, a big, grey one, made of soft wool. Max shook her head.
“She said she’ll get me one–”
Lucas's eyes didn’t leave hers. “Take it. It’s the best one in the house.”
Max hesitated, but Lucas's hard stare wasn’t going away until she grabbed the blanket, so she did. Lucas then passed her a tea cup, and sat next to her with the blanket Joyce brought a few moments later.
Once everybody had drank their tea, the room fell into an exhausted silence. Dustin was the first one to fall asleep, spread all over the sofa. Eleven and Mike found their place next to each other, talking quietly, their voices becoming faint whispers across the room. Max laid on the ground, curled up in the blanket Lucas gave her. He laid next to her after turning off the lights, cuddling himself with his own comforter. One by one, the room went quiet. But Max couldn’t bring herself to close her eyes. Every time she tried, her mind reimagined monsters and tunnels and blood and screams. So she just laid on the ground, her eyes scanning the ceiling, almost memorizing every detail of it.
“Hey,” a voice came in a whisper.
Max turned her head, slowly, to meet with Lucas's brown eyes. In the dark, they seemed to glow lighter, reaching a caramel color.
“Hey,” she said back.
“Are you okay?”
“Just because you ask the same question over and over again, the answer won’t change.”
Lucas's eyes were bright and soothing. “What is it, then?”
Max sighed, her hands fidgeting with the knots on the blanket. “I can’t sleep.”
She could see Lucas nodding from the corner of her eyes. He didn’t say anything as he took her right hand on his left. None of them said anything when they both closed their eyes, the warmth of their hands meeting each other at their sides. And none of them said anything until they drifted off to sleep.
Max was the first to wake up the next morning. The first thing she noticed was the ache in her back. She sat up, uncomfortable from sleeping on the floor, then walked slowly to the kitchen.
Chief Hopper was serving himself a cup of coffee. He turned around and saw her standing by the table; then, he offered her his own cup, which she took. Max didn’t drink coffee on a daily basis, especially not dark. Her mother thought she was still too young to know the acrid taste of black coffee. But that morning, it felt like just the right moment to begin drinking it. She put the cup to her mouth and immediately grimaced at the taste. Hopper scoffed, letting out a sort of laugh, then turned around to get another cup. Max sat down at the table.
Hopper finally spoke up after a moment of silence. “Crazy shit to live during your first week at Hawkins. Must’ve given you a great first impression. I wish this town was half as interesting the other 365 days of the year.”
Max looked up from her coffee cup. “Yeah… Sure is different from California.”
“Right, California. Should’ve guessed it, from your brother’s plate. I had to pull him over a few times since you moved in. He’s like hell on wheels.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Was he always like that?”
“I think so. We… We didn't really hang out, back in Cali. Our parents only got married, like, two years ago.” She let the sentence die there. Sure, her and Billy didn’t hang out at all back in their homeland. He’d always driven fast. Hawkins was where it started looking reckless.
Hopper nodded once, then sat in front of her with his own coffee cup in hand. He looked exhausted, even more than the night before. It was clear the grown man hadn’t slept at all. He ran his hand over his face and gave the cup a long sip before becoming serious.
“Listen, I need you to understand that nothing from what happened last night can leave these four walls. You can’t say a word, not to your mom, not to your step-father; not even to Billy. They’d never believe you. And even if they did, the knowledge would only put them in danger.”
“Yeah, trust me, Lucas made sure I understood the risk of knowing their weird, sci-fi tales.” Max sighed, remembering their chat at the arcade. It seemed so far away now, as if they’d lived a hundred lives in between those two moments.
“And Lucas was dumb as fuck to tell you. He could’ve gotten all of you killed.” Hopper stopped. His face got serious. “From now on, none of this ever happened. We’re telling Billy and your parents you spent the afternoon with the boys, looking after a very sick Will. You lost track of time, and I made you stay the night. What you struck Billy with was some very hard medicine of Will’s. Are we clear?”
Max looked down at her still full coffee cup, the leftover taste of the liquid still burning down her throat. Billy wasn’t going to buy that story. Sure, she’d keep last night’s events a secret, it wasn’t like she detailedly ran down her full days to her mom. They barely even spoke these days. But Hopper’s explanation was a weak lie that wouldn’t make it past Susan and Neil’s approval, nonetheless Billy’s. Still, it wasn’t like she got a chance. So she’d stick to Hopper’s story, survive through whatever punishment her mom set for her, and live on.
“We’re clear.”
Any chance of Billy actually sticking through the promise he made last night was gone before they even reached home. After saying goodbye to the boys, Max was led by Hopper to get in Billy’s Camaro. Billy was half-seated in the backseat, looking worse than ever. He had a half moon under his left eye, a swollen cheekbone and a split lip, a trace of dry blood ran down his nose. So Steve did actually get a few punches in. He looked up when she got into the passenger seat and gave her a poisonous stare. She could see his fist clutching and unclutching by his side, and if there wasn’t a police officer around, Max was sure Billy would punch her straight in the face. None of them got the chance of saying a word before Hopper jumped in the driver’s seat and turned around to stare at Billy, an angry glare on his face.
“This is what’ll happen: I’m driving both of you back to your house; I’ll explain to your parents that last night, while Max was hanging out with her friends, you came by to pick her up and got into a fight with Steve, who was looking over them. You chose to spend the night in the car, since it was too dark to see the road back, and made sure to get Max back home as soon as the sun came up. After that, you’re driving me back to the Byers’ so I can get my car back, and you’re following me up to the police station to file a violence report. Is that understood?”
Billy stared back at Hopper, then looked down and snorted a “Yes, sir” that Hopper received with a nod.
He started driving down the streets towards Old Cherry Road. The roads around them reminded Max of the night before, how Steve had fought so bravely against the supernatural monsters that threatened to kill them, just to keep the kids safe. Yesterday morning, Steve Harrington had been nothing more than Hawkins High washed-up king with great hair and a superiority complex. Some hours later, she’d watch him charge a pack of monsters with nothing more than a bat. And then he stood between her and Billy, trying to protect a girl he barely knew, only because he felt the need to. Nobody had ever done that before.
She glanced at Billy out of the corner of her eyes. Billy stayed silent for most of the trip, only opening his mouth once to mumble under his breath a “this shithole will be the end of me”, that was meant to come out in a threatening sort of way. It only made Hopper sigh as he pulled over in the Hargrove residence’s driveway. He gestured them out of the car, and the kids followed behind as he approached the front door and knocked twice on the wood. After a few quick seconds, the door opened quickly and hit the opposite wall with a thud.
“Mr. Hargrove,” Hopper started and reached his hand out towards Neil. Neil stood at the doorframe, a confused look on his face. His mustache and hair seemed strangely disheveled; he was dressed in his work gear, same shirt and tie from the day before, and Max noticed his knuckles were red and swollen. He stared at Hopper first, then glanced towards Billy and Max behind him. His expression hardened. If Hopper noticed, he didn’t show it. “Jim Hopper, Chief of Police. How’ya doin’?”
“What’s going on?” Neil shook Hopper’s hand uncomfortably, but his eyes wouldn’t leave Billy’s. “I sent my son out to get Maxine last night and none of them returned. We’ve been worried sick. I was actually about to head out to the station to file a missing kid’s report.”
Billy tensed next to Max, his eyes going from his father’s to the floor and staying on a stray rock on the porch.
“I’m sorry. Should’ve called first, let you know. Max here,” Hopper gestured to Max beside him; only then Neil seemed to really notice her presence; “came by to hang out with her friends yesterday afternoon. At Joyce Byers’ place; a good friend of mine, Joyce. Her son is Max’s age, he’s been going through some health issues, you might’ve heard. Gossip goes hard in this town.” Neil began to get impatient, his eyes darting back and forth between Hopper and Billy and Max. “Anyway. It got dark fast and I didn’t want the kids biking back to their houses, so Joyce and I insisted on them staying the night over. When Billy came to pick her up, he noticed the same thing. And he doesn’t even know the road back well enough, it would’ve been a disaster if he tried to return so late at night. Roads can get dangerous after dark. So I told him he could stay to look after Max and bring her back in the morning.”
“And what happened to your face?” Neil pointed at Billy’s bloody and bruised appearance. Billy’s hand was shaking slightly, yet he hid his expressions with a bored, defiant grin.
“See, that’s the thing. When Billy went to the Byers’ house, he had an… altercade, with Steve Harrington. He was looking after the kids while Joyce and I were out.”
Billy’s hands curled into fists. Neil noticed, and his stare hardened. Hopper furrowed his brows and kept talking. “Now, if you don’t mind, Billy and I are taking a quick trip to the station. Even if Harrington decides not to press charges, I still need to file this… unfortunate event up.”
Neil spoke up after a few seconds. “Mind if I join you? I’d like to keep an eye on my son.”
“There’s no need. I could use a long, one on one talk with him myself, actually.” And his words were final.
Billy stared at his dad for a moment, then followed Hopper out of the porch and back to the Camaro. He never looked back. Neil grabbed Max’s arm, who still stood nervously at the door, and yanked her inside, closing the door behind her.
Max hadn’t gotten a one on one with Neil before. Sure, she’d mouthed off to him a couple of times back in California, but there had always been someone around. Now there was no one standing between them. Without Billy, Max suddenly felt small and unprotected. Neil was furious, and she had no idea what he was going to do with all that anger.
But surely he wouldn’t do anything to her, right? Not with her mom around. Except Susan was nowhere to be seen.
Neil let go of Max’s arm and left her standing in the living room. She began to take in the state of the room: books lay scattered across the floor, the wooden coffee table had been tipped on its side, its contents spilled; there was a broken family photo from Neil and Susan’s wedding, the frame cracked and glass shattered across the hardwood floor. A fist-sized dent in the wall showed where the picture had once hung.
Neil walked slowly to the kitchen, where he grabbed a half-finished beer. Max didn’t dare to move, much less make a run for her room and lock the door. Her body was frozen, pinned to the ground. She had no idea what was coming next. She just knew she was in deep shit.
“So.” Neil’s voice interrupted her thoughts. He moved very slowly from the kitchen back to the living room. His steps echoed around the empty house. “Nice tale, the chief’s, I’ll give him that. Now, how ‘bout you tell me what really happened.”
Max hesitated for a second. “That’s what happened. I went to see Will, we lost track of time. And I had no way of reaching Billy, so…”
Neil’s feet finally made their way to a stop a few feet across from her, his dark eyes trained only on her smaller frame. “No. That’s not what happened. That’s what the officer said.”
Max crossed her arms over her chest. “But it’s the truth.”
Neil took a sip of his beer and paused for a few seconds. “You disappear for an entire day. You leave without permission, out the window like some criminal. You don’t think to call. You both come back the next day with a police officer in tow, your brother looking like he got run over by a truck. And I’m supposed to believe all of that happened because ‘you lost track of time’?”
It felt as if the air had turned heavy to breathe around her. The room turned colder by the second, as Neil’s eyes scanned her face. Max looked away.
“I was with my friends.”
“So you say.”
“But it’s the truth!”
“Then look at me when you say it, Maxine.”
Max’s eyes snapped back to Neil’s. His face hadn’t changed, but his eyes hardened. Max’s breaths became sharper, angrier. She knew she had to keep her mouth shut. The last thing she needed was to make things worse by arguing with him. But her dad always said her mouth moved faster than her brain.
For a moment, none of them spoke. Then Neil took another sip of beer and exhaled loudly. “You know, I’m trying very hard with you, Maxine.”
Max frowned. Her eyes found her bedroom door, fighting the urge to run. But even if she tried to move, her legs seemed stuck to the floor. Neil was staring at her still, his voice becoming more intimidating by the second. She had to do the right thing, apologize and get it over with.
“I acted without thinking. I’m sorry.”
Her voice echoed around the walls as silence took over again. Neil scoffed and took a step forward.
“You know something I’ve noticed about you?” He stopped for a moment, savoring the leftover beer on his mustache. “You always have something to say. Every time someone tells you something you don’t want to hear, you’ve got an answer ready. You never listen. You don’t respect authority. You think rules don’t apply to you. But that’s all over now.”
Max’s breath became sharp as the threat lingered in the air. Where was her mom? What would Neil do? He wasn’t going to… No, he wouldn’t. Mom must be around somewhere…
Neil examined his beer as if it was the most interesting object on the planet. “I always thought your deadbeat father was filling your brain with ideas. I tried to warn Susan earlier. She kept making excuses. Said you needed… time. Time away from him, that is. You spend enough time around a man like that and eventually it starts rubbing off.”
“Shut up,” Max said under her breath. She could feel the anger firing through her veins, boiling and clouding her brain like fog. Neil looked up from his beer, his eyes staring into hers once more.
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t talk about him like you know him!”, she snapped and immediately regretted it. Stupid. So stupid.
Neil said nothing. His eyes froze on her as he nodded slowly, his right hand tightened around the empty beer can. Max thought to reach the door behind her; surely Hopper wasn’t far away. Maybe if she screamed, he’d hear.
“There she is,” he sighed, and his voice got serious. “I think Susan was wrong. You don’t need time. You need to learn some discipline.”
The side door opened from the kitchen, a woman’s voice sounding with it.
“Neil? I had no luck with the neighbors, no one has seen her but I just saw a police car–”
Susan’s voice cut when she saw her daughter standing frozen in the living room. Susan rushed to her, pulling her into a tight hug.
“Oh, Max! Where on Earth were you? Are you okay?” Susan stepped away and checked Max’s body, searching for any injuries. Max buried her face in her mom’s chest.
“I’m fine, mom–”
“What happened?”
“I’m sorry, mom… I’m sorry…”
“Do you have any idea how worried I was? I’ve been looking for you all night! What if– what if something happened to you? We don’t know anybody in town! Oh, God, I was desperate–”
“The chief brought her home,” Neil interrupted. Why won’t he just shut up?!
Susan’s hands stopped moving. She grabbed her daughter by her shoulders, her expression shifting from relief to anger in an instant.
“The police? Maxine, what were you thinking? Sneaking out like that… That was very irresponsible, young lady.”
“Mom, I–”
“I don’t want to hear it right now.” Susan stood straight and ran a hand over her face. “Do you know how exhausted I am? I was terrified. I’m very disappointed in you.” She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. “You’re grounded. Now go to your room.”
Too exhausted to fight the inevitable, Max marched straight for her bedroom door. As she turned to close it behind her, she caught a glimpse of Neil staring at her from the living room. His dark eyes held an expression she couldn’t quite place.
The door clicked shut. Max kicked her shoes to the ground and threw herself onto the bed, the familiar scent of her room calming her nerves. She covered her face with her hands, pressing against the skin. She was furious. At her mother, at Neil, at Billy. But for the first time since what felt like days, she was alone. And when all of her guards came down, she felt almost at peace. The worst was over: the gate was closed, her friends were safe. No monsters, no shadow-figure or demo-things. No end of the world.
She rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. The backpack was right where she’d left it the day before, right under the window. All she had to endure now were a couple of weeks of staying locked up in her room. She could handle that. She’d argued with adults before. None that frightened her, though. She just had to keep her head down, lay low for a while. No more arguing, no more sneaking out. If she behaved and stayed out of trouble for some time, things would surely get back to normal.
If she was to do dishes and take out the trash every single day for the rest of her life, so be it. Her short confrontation with Neil had been more than enough for all of the years to come. She wouldn’t give him any more reasons for him to look at her the way he had just a few moments ago.
Except she couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. His low voice kept replaying in her head. You need to learn some discipline. Max had always thought of Neil’s anger as something that belonged to Billy. Billy was the one who got yelled at, who slammed doors and came back home hours late. Whatever Neil did when he was angry was between the two of them.
But today, for the first time, Neil had looked at her like she might be a part of that equation too. And the thought frightened her.
Max pulled the blanket tighter around herself and pushed the thought away. No, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. If he even wanted to, Susan wouldn’t let it get that far.
Once the punishment was lifted, she could go back to her friends and the arcade and Lucas. Everything would be over and this morning would only become another bad memory. Max squeezed her eyes shut and surrendered to the dark.
For the first time since moving to Hawkins, she wasn’t sure she believed that.
Max woke up to the sound of purring. Disoriented, she blinked at the ceiling. When had they adopted a cat? It took her a couple of seconds to realize where she was. Her room. Her bed. No demogorgons, no tunnels. No end of the world. Outside the window, the setting sun cast long shadows across the carpet. She must’ve slept through most of the day.
Then, she realized: the noise that jolted her awake was not a cat; it was the unmistakable rumble of the Camaro’s engine. Billy was home.
For a moment, Max considered pulling the blanket over her head and going back to sleep, surrendering to the dark once more and pretending everything was okay. But Billy was home. The thought settled heavily on her stomach, anxiety growing in her chest.
Max sat up on her bed, listening. Booted steps walked up the small porch. The front door opened very slowly and carefully, almost shy. Then, it closed again. The house remained too quiet. The silence was followed by a low growl, a man’s voice. Neil. A second voice answered, both of them muffled through the bedroom wall. The voices became more fluent, the pace of the conversation picking up like a ping pong match, a back-and-forth she couldn’t understand. Max held her breath as footsteps approached her bedroom wall, Billy reaching for his room right next to hers. After that, silence again.
The voices returned, low at first. Then a voice rose, sharp enough to cut through the walls. Max flinched, even though she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Someone else answered immediately, too quickly.
Max slid quietly off the bed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she lost all attempts of putting up a fight. What good could it do? She thought about Billy’s face in the car that morning, his swollen face and defiant yet slightly scared expression. Billy had always been an asshole. But for the first time, Max wondered if that was all he was.
Max pressed her back against the wall without intending to. A voice came again – closer now, or maybe just louder. It bounced through the hallway, sharp and final. Another one answered and a sound came right after. Something shifting, dragged against the air. Then someone spoke again, closer this time, muffled. Then more noise, not clean or clear, just impact and movement and the house itself seeming to tighten around it.
Max let herself drop to the floor, trying to keep quiet. Her hands went up to her face as she stopped trying to make sense of the noises outside. She had always thought there was a line between Billy and her. Whatever Neil did stayed on Billy’s side. But suddenly, that line didn’t feel so solid anymore. Maybe Billy wasn’t the only one who should be afraid of Neil.
She pulled her knees closer to her chest, trying to even out her breath. She couldn’t think of a single thing to do. Standing up and opening the door felt impossible. But if she just sat there, listening and waiting… What good would that do?
She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there for. It could’ve been minutes or hours, her head empty of thoughts and feelings, stuck in an emotionless void. An irritating buzz rang in her ears, clogging her brain. She felt as if she’d been drained of any feeling that made her human. Her brain numbed and her body froze. She felt absent from her own body, as if she was floating. Still her mind seemed to be playing an infinite puzzle game. Everything felt wrong. She should’ve been angry, screaming, crying or… doing something, anything.
Moments later, she realized the sounds outside stopped. Max didn’t recall exactly the moment the house went quiet again. But she was suddenly aware of how loud the silence was. Her brain could finally work again, and she became aware of how stiff her body had grown against the wall.
Just as she was about to get up, she heard a muffled sound from the other side of the wall. A very quiet and shy whimper of pain. Billy’s.
She seemed to freeze on her feet again. He was still out there. Max imagined him getting himself off the floor, wiping the blood from his face and going back to his room like nothing had happened. Maybe that was what Neil expected him to do. Maybe that was what always happened. But maybe this time could be different.
Should she go out there and help him? Billy would probably snap at her, no matter how exhausted he was. She’d really screw things up this time. She thought if Billy told her to get lost and slammed the door on her face, she’d probably deserve it.
For a moment, Max stayed where she was. Although the only thing separating her from Billy was a thin wall of concrete, she felt miles away. So she turned around, her feet leading her to her bed, where she curled beneath the blankets with her back to the door. Tomorrow, she thought. Things will be easier tomorrow. Everything will be okay.
Sleep found her long before peace did.