Stir-crazy
Max's walls rattled from whatever god-awful screaming music Billy was listening to. Clanking from his weights along with his obnoxious counting mixed in with the beat. Ever since her apology two days ago, Billy acted as though it never happened. He went right back to his snide remarks, crude insults, and any petty thing he could come up with to inconvenience her. In fact, he was adamant about it.
"Max, hurry up and get the mail!"
"Max, I better not catch you hanging around any of those shitheads this week!"
"Max, this is why nobody likes you! You're gonna be forever alone and sorry for drinking my last damn coke!"
"Max, how many times do I have to tell you to stop being late?! Do it again, and you'll see how it feels to be an organ donor!"
What did that even mean?!
It was all the same. Max do this. Max, I better not catch you doing that. Max, Max, Max, Max, Max–Ugh! It was even more annoying when he figured out she was grounded. He noticed she stopped asking–more like demanding–for rides to the arcade and started heckling her about it. Billy could be cynical at times, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't slow to remind her that everything was her fault either.
Still, Max couldn't help but feel a little pleased. In a way, her being grounded grounded him as well since he had to "watch" her. He couldn't go anywhere or incur his father's wrath. But that pleased feeling only lasted so long. For once, she agreed with Billy. She was 13. She didn't need a babysitter. Now, she was stuck in the house with the brute.
Max sighed, turning a page in her math book. Finals for the end of the semester were coming up soon. Ever since her grounding, she'd been doing nothing but studying and reading comics most of the time on her twin bed. Well, that or thinking about that awful week, and it wasn't even over yet. She regretted lying for Billy, no doubt about it, but no matter how much he annoyed her, if given the chance, she felt she would do it again. And she hated not knowing why. Maybe she was scared. Maybe she was a coward. Or maybe, she just didn't want to hear his screams again.
"You think you're superior to me. Don't you? Just because my old man hasn't punched you in the face yet."
The words sprung to her brain like a tic to a dog. Why would he say that? No way Neil would lay a hand on her, right? Her mom wouldn't allow it. And Neil had never even come close to doing something like that to her for as long as she's known the guy.
But that one word Billy said unnerved her to her core. "Yet."
Max sighed. Something must have happened before Neil married mom. I wonder what. Knowing Neil, she had a few guesses.
The door creaked. Max's thoughts were interrupted. She quickly turned just in time to see Billy through the crack of her door. He whipped is head in the opposite direction and walked off. Max shook her head. He'd been doing that for quite some time now. When he figured she wasn't looking, Billy would walk past her room, peeking to check if she was still there, though he pretended not to most of the time. Max didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused by that.
Billy went into his room and shut the door. It took Max a moment to realize his music wasn't blaring anymore. His workout session must be over. Good. Now she could go out to the living room and take a break without him around.
Max slipped from her bed and stretched her arms. Man. Days like this, she wished she could fit a desk in her room. She would have used the dining room table, but she didn't want any encounters with Mr. Grumpy-all-the-time while trying to do homework. Besides, she was more focused and productive in her room anyway.
Max opened her door, went to the kitchen, and opened the fridge. A can of coke sat in the center of the first shelf, a big fat "B" written with black marker on the aluminum staring back at her. Max chuckled to herself. Billy really did take his beverages seriously.
She reached in the back for the orange juice and poured herself a glass. It was strange how empty the house felt. It always warmed her heart to see her mother return with that smile on her face and mail in her hands.
Now that I'm thinking about it . . .
Max put down her glass and walked to the foyer. She went outside, closed the door behind her, and walked down the cement steps to the mailbox. She might as well get it before Billy yelled at her again.
There wasn't much today. Just a bill and some Virginia Slims Cigarette ad. Max grabbed the mail and closed the box, reading the cigarette ad as she walked up the steps. A woman with thick brown hair in a yellow jumpsuit was angled in an uncomfortable pose with a cigarette in her hand, a quote below her reading, "Virginia Slims Cigarettes for the dainty and beautiful women, slimmer than the fat cigarettes men smoke. You've come a long way, baby." There was a box at the bottom right corner that read, "Warning: the surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health."
Max chuckled to herself. They won't be dainty and beautiful once they stick that cancer stick in their mouth. God, how can Billy stand those things?
Max reached for the doorknob. The door swung open, and Billy burst through like the house was on fire, his brows clustered in a mix of fury and hysteria. Max jumped, startled by his sudden appearance, and he did the same. For a moment, they stared at each other, stupefied.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" Billy said, catching his breath.
Max knitted her brows. "Getting the mail."
Billy paused. His shoulders fell as he sighed with relief. But his brows quickly furrowed. "Stay in the house," he said firmly.
"OK. Jesus. I was only getting the mail."
Max quickly shuffled past Billy, speeding to the dining room to leave the mail before heading to her room, ready to shut the door.
"And keep your door open!" Billy called after her.
She stopped. Max scrunched her lips and cursed under her breath. Ugh, he was being difficult again. Max closed her door but left it open a few inches.
What is his problem? She thought as she climbed atop her bed. First, he was mad that I didn't get the mail, and now he's mad that I did? Is that dickhead ever satisfied?! And why was he so upset about me going outside–Wait a minute . . . Max thought for a moment, remembering Billy's flustered expression. The way he burst through that door . . . Was he about to rush after her?
Can't be . . .
Thoughts rushed through Max's brain, eager for her to grasp. But that one, in particular, held her curiosity, and she decided to test it out.
She waited patiently for a couple of hours, waiting for Billy to finish his shower and grab something to eat. She noticed he always glanced into her room whenever he walked by, so she timed the moment perfectly. When she heard him scuffle to the kitchen, she quickly slipped under her bed. And she waited.
A few minutes passed. Footsteps patted down the hall and stopped at her door, stopped longer than normal. Her door creaked just a tad, then silence. Then her door creaked some more.
"Max?"
Billy stepped into her room and quickly looked around. "Max?" he called again, this time a little louder.
After a moment, Billy left her room. Max held in a laugh as she heard him calling her name around the house as he made his rounds. Each call of her name grew a little more desperate. His footsteps quickened. Max quickly shuffled from under her bed.
"Max!"
Billy rushed passed her door but pulled himself back, doing a double take when he saw her sitting on her bed with her textbook open.
Max stared back at him, giving the best unknowing expression she could muster. "What?" she said.
Billy stood there in a stupor. "You didn't hear me calling you?"
"I was in the bathroom," she lied. "What do you want?"
Billy stared, the gears shifting in his brain. Max strained to keep from smiling as she watched him try to wrap his head around what just happened. Still looking puzzled, he turned without a word and went into his room and closed his door, leaving it a tad open.
Max covered her mouth to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter. Wow, she thought. So that explains it. He was really afraid I'd left the house. Billy must have been a lot more shaken up than she thought.
Her muffled laughter stopped. A sly smile graced Max's lips as a lightbulb went off in her head. She only had four days left confined in the house. Might as well take advantage and entertain herself since they were both stuck there for the remainder of the week.
. . .
And she did. Unapologetically.
As soon as Max caught on to Billy, she started moving to inconspicuous places to witness his small fits of panic as she read her comics. One moment, she was in her bedroom, then in the living room the next. Sitting at the dining room table one second, suddenly outside in the sunroom just beyond the foyer. She enjoyed nearly giving him mini panic attacks, mini heart attacks, and whatever other attacks there were. It was her own little revenge for the crap he's said to her after she apologized.
She was sure Billy had caught on by now. She'd be surprised if he didn't, but if he did, he didn't say much about it. Instead, he gave her deadly glares. When he did question her about her "sudden need to be mobile," she chalked it up to being stir-crazy and bored. Moving to different places helped, which wasn't a total lie. But it seemed enough to get Billy off her back for the time being.
Actually, Max was getting tired of the game herself. But after a particularly nasty comment from Billy about "eating with dogs since she was a bitch herself", she decided to take it up a notch when she found out Billy was going on a date that Thursday with another poor girl who had no idea what monster she was going to open her legs up to.
That Thursday night, music blared from Billy's room. God. Max swore it was a ritual of his for any date. He always wore a nicely ironed short-sleeved dress shirt open for the girl to fawn over his chest. I bet he's wearing the red one, she thought. He's lucky the bruises on his face healed up.
The screech of tires sounded down the street. Their house was at the very end of the neighborhood, so any car that came this far was either their nosy neighbor's, Mrs. Parker, or Neil's. And Mrs. Parker's car was already in her driveway.
Max smiled to herself.
Showtime.
. . .
Billy took a long drag of his cigarette before resting it in his ashtray. He tucked his red dress shirt into his pants as he bobbed his head to "Hot For Teacher" by Van Halen. Metal had a way of calming his nerves while revving him up at the same time, it seemed to mask his troubles just long enough to forget this so-called family. He moved around as he vibed with the music.
For one night, he'd have a breather from that conniving little skid. Just the thought of getting to go out again instead of being confined in that small house with little Miss Priss was a relief. She found pleasure in messing with him because she thought he couldn't do anything about it. Ever since that night she shoved a needle in his neck, she'd been bolder, more assertive. He hated it as much as he hated Hawkins. Max forgot who she was dealing with, forgot he was the one in charge and deserved her respect. He'd fix that. Later. For now, he wouldn't have to think about her. Instead, he could bury his thoughts in the pretty little blond from his history class.
If only his dad would hurry up and get home. For a man who demanded respect, he was sure late all the time. Hypocrite.
What did we talk about?
Billy shook his head. How was it his responsibility to watch Susan's child? If he had to stay another day in that house watching that brat, he might shoot himself in the face. Every second around her somehow increased his chances of getting in his dad's bad graces. Like he already wasn't.
His dad was so stern. Just breathing seemed to be stepping over the line. Even his poor old wife, Susan couldn't do anything about him. Maybe she just pretended to care, just like his dad.
Billy shook his head again, turning his music up louder. Who cares about that? Let them pretend. Tonight, he could pretend to be free.
The kitchen phone rang. But he didn't hear it the first time. Then it rang again, this time it sounded even louder. It was getting on his nerves. Who the hell was calling this late?
Billy looked at the phone before taking another drag of his cigarette and putting it out in the ashtray.
"Max, are you gonna get that?!" he yelled.
Billy finished smearing cologne on his wrists and neck. The phone continued to ring, his annoyance increasing. Was this girl deaf now?
"Max! Go answer the damn phone!"
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Billy scrunched his face, swung open his bedroom door, and shouted across the hall. "Max! I know you hear me!"
He looked at her door. She hadn't left it open like he asked. With a click of his tongue, Billy decided to go to the phone instead of her room to chew her out. If it was an important call for his dad and he missed it, he'd never hear the end of it. Even worse, if it was his dad himself, there would be hell to pay.
Billy rushed to the kitchen, his dress shoes clacking along the floor. He quickly picked up the phone.
"Hello? Hargroves."
Nothing.
"Hello?"
Nothing. Did he miss the call?
"Shit"
Billy hung up the phone. He waited a moment to see if they'd call back. But no one did.
Not having time for this, he stormed into Max's room. She was to blame for this, not him.
"Max! Why the hell didn't you–"
He froze. Her bed was empty.
"Max?"He looked behind her door, then around her room, walking further inside. For fucks sake. Was she pulling one of her stunts again? And why was it so cold?
That's when he saw the open window.
He stared at it for the longest second, a sudden dread welling inside him. Numerous thoughts and possibilities spiraled and engulfed his head.
No . . . No, no, no. "Shit."
He rushed over and looked out the window.
"Max," he called. He looked for any bike tracks on the ground but luckily there were none.
He pulled back, giving the room another once-over. Where was her skateboard?
Billy put a hand to his head, trying to calm himself. Maybe she was still in the house. She had to be. She just had to be.
Billy rushed over and looked in the dining room. Not there. Livingroom. Nope. Back yard. Zilch. He called her name, checked the closet, checked the bathroom, checked his own damn room. Not there. She had seemingly vanished out of sight.
Shit, shit, shit.
Neil was going to kill him, beat him worst than the first time Max snuck out the house.
No, that was an understatement. For his dad to have introduced the belt again. And for this being the second time he lost Max, he was certain that it would be much much worse. Maybe even worse than the time Neil sent him to the ER with a broken nose.
"Max!"
His dread shifted to panic as he roamed and ran around the house.
"God dammit, Max. This isn't funny! Ma–"
The doorknob rattled, the key twisting it unlocked. Billy froze in his step, having failed to notice that their parents had arrived. Fuck.
Neil walked in first, followed by Susan. He must have picked her up from work today. "We're home!"
Billy looked at them, trying to calm himself, trying not to make it obvious. If they walked into Max's room, they'd see the open window. Fuck!
Billy quickly stepped into the foyer, a deer caught in the headlights. Susan laid her coat on the chair.
"Are you alright, Billy?" she worriedly asked with a curious face.
"You seem agitated," Neil said, pocketing his keys.
"I'm, I'm fine," Billy said, trying to make his voice sound normal.
Susan wrinkled her brow. She stepped closer to the hall to call for her daughter. "Max!"
No answer was uttered or heard.
"Max, we're back!" she tried again.
Nothing.
"Maxine?" It was Neil this time who called with his stern voice. But it was the same attempt as the last, she didn't answer. They looked over to Billy, who was standing there still, unable to calm his rapid heartbeat. His dad already looked like a mine ready to be stepped on.
"Where's Max?" Neil asked.
Billy tried to play it off. "How am I supposed to know?"
Neil gave a dangerous look. A warning. Shit. That was a stupid thing to say.
Billy stepped back.
"Max isn't feeling too well," Billy lied, looking over to Max's room and back. Another stupid, lame thing to say.
"Oh, well then let me go check on her," Susan said as she started for the hall. Quicker than a lightning bolt, Billy stopped her midway.
"I'd just leave her alone. She said she didn't want to be bothered."
"By you, I'm sure," Neil scoffed.
"A little stomach ache never hurt anybody," Billy said. "She's fine."
Neil stared at him with narrowed eyes. Billy maintained his gaze, feeling the slightest movement could give him away.
"Then you don't mind us checking," Neil commented as he moved Billy aside and followed Susan.
Sweat dripped down his palms. Heart racing. If they walked into that room and saw Max wasn't there, not only would there be repercussions for her disappearance, but for him lying too. Now he basically killed a bird with two stones. The only problem was that he was that bird. Shit, shit, shit! He was really gonna get it.
Billy followed them.
They opened Max's door and walked in. Billy held his breath, expecting instant yelling of battered questions from his father followed by a slap. But Billy's mouth hung low when he saw Max in her room, on her bed, sitting down like nothing happened.
"Oh hi, mom," she greeted the moment she noticed them.
Billy didn't know whether to be relieved or enraged.
"Max, are you feeling ok?" Susan said going over to her, touching her cheek to see if she was alright. She looked across the room. "Your window's open. No wonder you're not feeling well."
Max looked at Billy with disbelief and rolled her eyes at him. Really? Out of all the things, that's the lame excuse you came up with?
"I'm fine, mom," she forced a smile.
"You didn't hear us calling you?" Neil asked, his arms crossed.
"I was in the bathroom," she lied. Billy clicked his tongue. She knew damn well she wasn't. He balled his fist, infuriated.
"Why is your window open?" Susan asked.
"It was a little stuffy. But it's getting cold now, so I'll go close it," Max lied once more and rushed over and closed her window.
"Ok. Have you had dinner yet? I could bring you some soup."
"I'll eat later," she smiled.
Susan did the same. "Alright. But make sure you rest up, OK?"
"OK."
Susan warmly looked at Max before turning to Billy. "Thanks for looking after her today, Billy." She smiled. Probably out of goodwill.
"Yeah, no problem," he said, never taking his angry eyes off Max, and still having a frown on his face.
Susan got up and exited her room along with his dad. Billy shot Max daggers before following them.
"You going out Billy?" Susan said.
"Yeah," he forced an answer, still in disbelief at what had felt like a betrayal, a feeling he couldn't explain.
"Oh, well then. Enjoy your date," Susan complimented with a smile before heading to their bedroom with Neil close behind.
Billy looked over to Max's room, His rollercoaster of emotions flaring.
His date could wait.
. . .
Max laughed to herself. Whoa, that was tense, she thought, but she had it under control.
As soon as she heard their parent's car, she hurried and hid her shoes, opened her window, and sneaked out of her room, slowly closing her door. Trying to make as little sound as possible, she quickly hurried down to the kitchen and picked up the phone.
The landline rung.
"Come on. Come on . . ."
"Hello!" It was a woman.
"Hi, is Lucas there?" Max cleared her throat and said in a deep voice. Can't have her mother know she called her friends.
"Yes, may I ask who's calling?"
"It's . . . Mitchell. His friend," she lamely improvised on the spot.
"OK. Just one moment."
Max looked out from the kitchen. No one was coming. Good.
"Hello? Max?" Without even having to ask the mysterious caller, Lucas already knew who it would be.
"Lucas!" she said. Even though this was the second time hearing his voice over the phone today, she was excited. Happy to hear his voice outside of school. She had not heard from him for a while, and she missed hanging out with him and the rest of the nerds. She couldn't help but smile.
Earlier during Billy's shower, Max complained and explained the details of the plan to Lucas. Lucas excitedly agreed to participate. He was tasked to call their phone line within a couple of minutes.
"Operation Revenge on Billy is a go," she said.
"Roger that."
With a brisk nod, Max hung up the phone. She scuffled into the living room and tucked herself in the tight space behind the couch. And she waited.
The phone rang. It was only a matter of time before Billy started yelling at her.
And he did.
"Max, you gonna get that?!" he yelled.
Max laughed again at her genius.
She watched as Billy yapped to himself in defeat, and rushed over to the phone to answer it but to no avail. She heard him slam the phone and waited for another call but with the same disappointed response. Cussing and rushing over to her room, she watched as his anger turned to panic. Covering her mouth with her hand, trying her best not to break into loud laughter.
Billy left her room and started looking around the house. He even tried going out the back door. And in this given opportunity, Max escaped back to her room. She jumped on her bed cheering herself for fooling him. Again.
And just as she was enjoying herself, she hears the front door open. Everything was just set perfectly. She was planning on hiding from Billy up until their parents got home to further mess with him but this was just perfect.
Then, she waited and listened as Billy struggled to find an excuse for her "disappearance".
…
Max grinned to herself after her parents left her room. But a few minutes later, her door swung open again, no knock. Billy stomped in, his red shirt and leather bomber jacket flailing behind as he closed her door. He faced her with deadly daggers in his eyes as he looked to curse her very being.
"You little shit!" he hissed, pointing a finger at her. "Stop fucking with me!" He stepped closer to her bed.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Max simply shrugged and leaned her hands on her bed, playing dumb with Billy even though she was trying her hardest not to laugh at his face right at that very moment.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, shit bird," he snapped, still pointing his finger at her. He circled her bed. Max sat up, uneasy.
"You might have a screw loose, Billy. You should probably get that checked out," she joked sarcastically.
Billy's hand was on her bed now, his face only a few inches from hers.
"You think this is funny?" he said. Max shuddered. His voice was low, trying not to alert their parents. But still threatening. Menacing. "You think you can get away with pulling my leg? Think again, you piece of shit. I will make your fucking life miserable."
"You already do," she scoffed and rolled her eyes.
And then, he did something that shook her to her core.
He smiled. And slowly, he nodded his head. But that smile gradually vanished, morphing into a detrimental down curve of terror as he scowled, never taking his eyes off her.
Billy slowly pulled himself from her bed, still pointing at her.
"Keep doing your little stunts. See what happens," he said. Billy turned to leave. "And keep your damn door open!"
Max was glued to her sheets, slightly terrified. The seriousness of his tone still shook in her ears.
Billy shut his door closed, making sure to leave hers wide open. Max wasn't sure whether to laugh or stay silent. She chose an in-between, giving short, quiet chortles. Relishing the joy of victory over his defeat. She painted his panicked and stunned expressions in her head, displaying them in her hall of humor. It was so easy to tweak Billy's short temper.
And so easy to fall to his wrath.
Max stopped smiling, unable to shake that crazed look in his eyes as he gave her that twisted smile. She thought about bragging about her victory tomorrow with her friends, but now she wasn't too sure if she could.
Max turned to her doorway, Billy's door in full display. She'd leave her's open. At least until he left.
To be continued . . .
