Chapter Forty Nine


Heat. Red hot heat radiated through the thick fog of Jaime's unconscious making her heavy eyes crack open. Blurred vision prohibited her from seeing much of anything except a strong orange glow that seemed to be the source of the heat. Some how something in the back of her mind kicked to life screaming at her that the hot orange light was fire and she needed to move away as fast as possible. What the voice didn't realise was just how hard that simple task was going to be.

Forcing herself upright with a cry of pain that had her head feeling like it was about to implode, Jaime blinked furiously attempting to clear the blurring from her vision and the sludge from her mind. On second glance she was still inside the car, and her assumption on fire had been correct. Everywhere she looked there seem to be thick flames growing ever larger and hotter. Sweat was trickling down her back, soaking through her top as not only the temperature climbed but also her panic.

Like a cornered animal Jaime clawed at the door desperate to get away from the fire and out of the car which she was certain was going to blow at any moment -she had seen enough action movies to know that flames and cars didn't mix well.

"No! No! No!" No matter how hard she shoved the door wasn't budging. What ever had hit them had done an outstanding job at fucking up her side of the vehicle and signing her death warrant. This was not how it was supposed to happen, this was not how she was supposed to die.

To her left the sound of a door opening instantly grabbed Jaime's attention and had her turning so fast a fresh stab of pain shot through her skull. She wasn't sure who she had expected to see but it certainly hadn't been Billy. There was no time to dwell of the hows and whys of the situation, her body was unceremoniously yanked from the cars burning carcus within mere seconds of the door opening and dropped onto the cold concrete of the parking lot like a piece of trash.

The ground offered a nice contrast to the seering flames, soothing at some of the sore patches of Jaime's skin and her tender temple. A few weeks ago she would have laughed in the face of any one who suggested she would end up laying on the tarmac of Starcourt Mall looking a hot mess, now she was just grateful not to have been burnt alive, and all that was thanks to the most unlikely person.

Ever since Billy had been flayed he had always been protecting her. Yes, he might have hurt her along the way but under everything he had been trying his hardest to keep her safe. Billy was still in there. Billy was not beyond saving.

Peeling herself off of the cold ground Jaime scootched herself to an upright position and flicked her hair off her battered face to get a proper look at the mess she was in. In front of her Billy was tending to his own wounds, the crash hadn't been kind to him either, and just behind his once beloved Camaro burned steadily sending embers up into the warm night sky. For just a second Jaime followed one of the embers on its journey across the inky black and allowed herself to remember the smell of a beach bonfire, the salt of the ocean, and the cheap liquor on Billy's breath. All of them had seemed so small -so insignificant- but as she cast her gaze over to Billy with his vein riddled skin, and empty eyes, all Jaime wanted was those insignificant things.

"Jaime?"

Both Jaime and Billy shot to look at Max, her voice instantly recognisable.

As far as she could tell from her position Max looked relatively unhurt -she was supporting El which in itself would taken stength a truly injured person wouldn't have been capable of- and she had smiled. When Max had locked eyes with Jaime her face and beamed into a smile of relief, making Jaime smile in return. She had been so scared that the monster had gotten Max, so certain that she had been killed, that seeing her sister made her physically ache.

"Shit! Go, go, go!"

The moment was shattered by Mike's outburst. All the relief and happiness replaced with the fear that Jaime had grown so accustomed to feeling as Max and Mike ran as fast as they could away whilst supporting El back into the mall. Back into danger.

Rolling to her knees in preparation to get to her feet Jaime's eyes fell on a pair of large heavy boots marching past her. They weren't running back to danger, they were running from it. Using every ounce of strength she had Jaime stood on her shaking legs, struggling to find her balance as she took her first step.

"Leave them alone!" She screamed at Billy's retreating body as her own wobbled unsteadily to catch up to him. "If you hurt her, Hargrove!" She'd what? Jaime was unable to finish her own threat because in all honesty she had no idea what she would do. Would she kill him? More accurately, could she? When it came down to it though Max was her sister and she would choose her every single time.

Much to Jaime's relief the gate that Max had turned on was only inches away from being shut, and would allow the kids time to put some much needed distance between themselves and Billy. When she had watched her sister run back she had wanted to slap her for being so reckless, now though it looked as though her hero complex was going to pay off.

"No fucking way"

Jaime could only stare with wide eyes as Billy pryed the heavy gate open with nothing but brute strength. Was she ever going to catch a break? Was it too much to ask to not have to worry about Max and Billy?

"Don't you dare, Hargrove! Don't you fucking-" There was no time for Jaime to finish because Billy had already slammed the gate shut just as forcefully as he had opened it, successfuly bringing her to an abrupt halt. "Open the damn gate." She snarled as she pointed to the control panel.

Billy's face remained hard and empty, his fingers curled around the metal so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I can't do that."

Jaime didn't like to be told no at the best of times and the flat tone that Billy was speaking in didn't make it any better, in fact it made it even more frustrating. Here she was trying her best to help him and he was slamming literally doors in her face! "Swear to god, Har-" Jaime had been more than ready to launch a verbal assault on Billy but a soft touch to her left hand stopped her short.

"I told it not you, and I meant it."

Before Jaime could argue it Billy was back to the hunt and had disappeared through the same door Max had gone through. "Billy!" She screamed just before it slammed behind him. "You don't have to do this! Billy!"

Either he hadn't heard or didn't care because Jaime was left alone the opposite side of the gate to what she had wanted to be. Now what was she going to do? Climbing the gate wasn't an option as there was no where for her to put her feet, and there was no way she could just rip it open with her bare hands like Billy had done.

"FUCK!" Jaime's voice cracked she screamed so loud, her already sore throat throbbing. She had been so close, or at least that's what she had thought when El had found Billy all those hours ago, and now she had been stopped at the last hurdle by a damn gate! Shaking it violenty she screamed again."I hate this town!" Never before had the words held more truth. Hawkins had taken everything she cared about and turned it on its head. By the time morning came there was a very large chance that she would not only have lost Billy but Max too, then what would she have? She would be alone with Neil and her mom, she would end up like Karen Wheeler.

With a new found determination -there was not a chance in hell she was going to be anything like Karen Wheeler- Jaime stepped back from the gate, allowing enough space for a decent run at it. There was only one logical way she could think of getting past the gate and that was over it. She had been a cheerleader for years, Captain of the squad, so injured or not she was going to get over the gate.

Ignoring the white hot pain that shot up her shins as she ran as fast as she could Jaime leapt just before she hit the metal bars, managing in her first attempt to wrap her fingers over the top. That was only half the battle, she still needed to find the strength to pull herself up and over. Wedging the toes of her sneakers against one of the bars Jaime was able to get enough grip to pull herself high enough that her stomach lay across the top. Swinging her legs with all her might Jaime nearly yelled in triumph as her feet dangled the side of the gate she so desperately wanted to be.

"Fuck you, Hawkins." She said as she landed heavily the correct side of the gate. Not even allowing herself to catch her breath, Jaime took off through the door she had watched both Max and Billy go through more than ready to put an end to the shit show that had taken over her life.


A/N/ I hope everyone is doing well and is staying healthy and safe while the world is on lockdown. I'm sorry for the wait on an update but obviously the world has been manic and on top of that I moved just before the UK was quarantined. I am back on schedule now though and will have more updates than usual as I have more time.

This chapter was going to be longer but as we are so damn close to the end I decided to break it into more chapters, I hope that sits well with every one :) I want to thank everyone who has stuck with me this whole story and it means so much to me that you're taking time out of your day to read something that I've written. Keep your comments coming because I will answer them all and I love hearing from you guys :)

NotRob: I'm so happy you love Billy and Jaime, because honestly I love them together so much! IMO in the show there was a lack of showing that anyone cared what Billy was going through so I'm glad I'm getting that across. Hope you like this update :)

BirkenstockBilly: Thank you for understanding the long gaps in updates, I never like to keep you guys waiting but sometimes I end up re-writting a chapter a good four times. I hope this was worth the wait, and I promise the next one will be up with week :D

Guest: Thank you so much for a lovely comment, I hope this is as good as you'd hoped for. Lavender should be updated end of the week or next week so keep a look out :)

MulishaMaiden: Poor Jaime has had a lot of head trauma lol, she is going to have one hell of a headache haha. I'm glad you like seeing her vulnerabilities, because even though she's cold and bitchy she still loves her sister. We are too close to the end for my liking and I'll be sad when I'm done with this story. Hope you like the chapter :)

Guest: Sorry for the delay! Hope it was worth it :)

Savysnape7: I'm sorry I make you sad, if it helps it makes me sad too :( but I am so happy you enjoy reading it, that means alot to me :)

Guest: Hope you enjoyed the update :)