A/N: Thank you to all who commented on the story thus far! I really appreciate the it. They seriously brighten my day :D

Repercussions Part II

When Neil and her mom returned, Max let out an audible sigh of relief. Finally, she could have a break from Billy's petty antics.

If I have to cook his breakfast again, I'll spit in his eggs, she thought, and just as quickly cleared it from her mind. Stooping to his level was beneath her, right?

She thought about the pranks she pulled after he insulted her.

No, definitely not.

By now, Max made sure to hide her scrapbook and clear the table of her photos. She decided to stay in the dining room close to her mother so Billy couldn't mess with her. Unfortunately, where she was, Neil also was. The lesser of two evils she supposed.

She glanced up at Neill quickly and then frowned. Nevermind.

It was increasingly difficult to predict when Neil would be in the house and away from work. He typically had Fridays and Saturdays off, but lately, he'd been getting called in or opting to pick up extra shifts, especially since the move. Max preferred the part where he wasn't home as much, even though it put a frown on her mother's face. Sometimes.

Max startled slightly when Neil spoke.

"They're thinking about changing my hours," he said to Susan as he laced his boots. "They want me to start working from six a.m. to six p.m. four days a week if they can't find another hire. If you don't have a ride in case I can't make it, Billy can do it."

"No, no. Don't trouble Billy. I'm sure Annie can take me. Or I could ride the bus. Didn't even know they had one of those here. But, honey, 12 hours?"

Neil shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle. I already do double shifts as it is. And with the truck in the shop, I have to pay for that too. Just minor fine-tuning and whatnot, but still a pretty penny. Lugging that thing across the country must have taken a toll on it. But that rental they gave us looks like it's in worse shape." Neil grimaced at the thought.

"It's not so bad," Susan said with a small sniff as she plucked at an invisible fuzz on her top.

He looked at her sideways before shaking his head. "They gave me a Chevette. They might as well have given me a purse." His lip curled slightly as if disgusted by the thought, and Max wondered if her eyes would roll into the back of her head any further.

Susan sighed, deciding to change the subject. "Need me to pack your lunch?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Max kept her eyes on her homework even when she couldn't quite focus on the numbers she loved so much. She didn't understand Neil's desire to be a family. His words from before floated in her mind, "We moved down here for a change, so we'll change."

Everyone never seemed to want to stay in the house anyway, like they couldn't escape fast enough. Neil was always at work, Billy in between some girl's legs or at a party, and Max out with friends or at the arcade. Her mom seemed to be the only one who actually lived in the house, at least when she wasn't working.

Max shuddered at the idea of family dinners again like they did in California. Making small talk at the table while ignoring the tension between them all. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Billy would feel the same and would likely find a way to take it out on her. Like he did everything else.

"Where's Billy?" Neil said.

The room was quiet. It took Max a moment to realize Neil was talking to her.

"How am I supposed to know?" she grumbled.

The room fell silent again. She didn't dare look up.

Neil cleared his throat. "So, Maxine, how are you feeling?" he asked, his voice less cordial. The words came out a little awkward and forced, trying to hide the sternness behind them.

How am I feeling? Max thought. Why was he talking to her again?

That's when she remembered Billy's ridiculous excuse that she wasn't feeling well.

Max shook her head. She hated being called Maxine as much as she hated Neil forcing conversation, but no matter how many times she told them, they still continued.

"Fine," she snapped. She didn't look up to meet his eyes, knowing that all her frustration from the day was seeping into her words.

Neil looked at her with a raised brow.

"Maxine," Susan said softly. "Is everything OK?"

Max finally looked up, finally noticing Neil's seething expression. He rolled his tongue in his mouth, something Billy did when he was mad. He hadn't liked her attitude.

She turned to Neil and with a deep breath said, "I'm fine," she tried again, less grit in her voice. "I drank some medicine."

Max forced herself to look away and evaded his eyes. She didn't want to keep eye contact for more than a second, so she sought out the comfort of the homework in front of her. When Neil didn't push for more, she let out a small sigh of relief, and even though she could feel her mother's eyes on her, she didn't look back up.

When Neil got up to leave for work, she noticed her shoulders deflated, no longer on the defense, waiting for an attack. Somehow, Max always felt trapped by them, and not once did she ever feel comfortable around Neil or Billy.

Like father, like son, she thought.

The night went on. Later when Max heard her mom finish her shower, she quickly gathered her things to go and take one herself. She slipped out of her room and made her way to the bathroom, but just as she was about to step inside, a large body pushed past her, slamming the door shut. There could only be one person just waiting for a moment to torment her.

"No!" she said, knowing this wasn't going to end the way she wanted it to. She banged on the door. "You already took a shower today. Two showers!"

Billy swung the door open. "Are you the shower police?" he snapped, turning to fix a glare directly at her. "You get to decide who's dirty or not?"

"Billy, move." Her voice came out tired and annoyed. She tried to pry the door open, but his grip was strong.

"I let Susan go first, so now it's my turn," he said and slammed the door shut without another glance at her.

Max let out a defeated groan and went back to her room to wait. She flopped on the bed, thinking he'd take maybe ten or fifteen minutes. But, nope.

45 minutes later, she heard the bathroom door open. Max popped her head out of her room to look. Billy came out wearing the same clothes as before, his hair dryer than the freaking Sahara. What a jerk. She tried not to let her frustration boil over, but when she found that he used all the hot water, it took every bit of her remaining patience not to scream.

She rushed through her ice-cold shower and hurried back to her room to seek out the warmth of her bed. As soon as she hopped on, she hopped right back off with a yelp.

Max held up her hands questioningly, feeling a sudden wetness on the seat of her pajama pants. Only then did she realize the puddle of water on her bed, her sheets drenched.

You have got to be kidding me!

It was wet, down to the mattress. She quickly switched out of her pants before furiously pulling the sheets from her bed and tossing them into her hamper. There was no sleeping on the mattress again until it dried, which meant the couch was her new bed for the night.

Max grabbed new sheets from the closet and saw Billy leaning against his doorway, arms crossed, and a smug smile aimed right at her. She walked past with a grumble, feeling a headache coming on.

"Sleep tight," he called to her.

Max stopped mid-step. She ground her teeth and kept walking, knowing that reacting was what he wanted. The slight throb starting in her head was the only sign she needed to know it wasn't worth it with him tonight.

Although, slapping him with those wet sheets would definitely wipe that smug look off his face.

The thought made her lips quirk up, but once she made it to the couch, it was gone again. She bundled under the sheets and tried to get comfortable.

If this keeps up, I'm going to lose it.

. . .

Max was startled out of her sleep by yelling coming from the kitchen. Her face was pushed into the couch, and her hair slipped from her hair tie and tumbled into her eyes. In the night, the sheets had gotten tangled around her legs. Now she fought to kick them off.

"I miss my bed already," she grumbled to herself.

"Since when have we done it together?!" Billy yelled. "Why can't you just go alone with her like you always do?!"

Max frowned and rubbed her face in an attempt to wipe away the sleepiness. She tried to think of why Billy could be upset now. She didn't know what time it was, but something said it was earlier in the morning than she wanted to be awake. She decided to wait it out, because going into the kitchen right then and letting Billy see her would only have him on an even bigger warpath than usual. It was Saturday. Max wanted to focus on her mom today and enjoy the celebration without having to suffer any more of Billy's ridiculous punishments.

Max worked on folding the sheets she used when Neil's voice was raised again, louder than the low mumbling they were just doing.

"I'm telling you this is how things are going to go, Billy, and I don't want to hear any more complaints, you got it?"

"But you said I could go to get the tickets already, dad," Billy said, careful with his tone and wording.

"And you said they sell on Sunday," Neil said.

"Yeah, but those are going to be sold out in no time. So I have to wait overnight," Billy paused briefly before continuing. "You have to camp out for these kinds of things."

Max couldn't help but wander closer to the kitchen, the sheets tucked tightly in her arms. Curiosity ate away at her, and even knowing the risk of Billy seeing her, she wanted to know the outcome. More than anything, she hoped Neil would actually say yes, just so Billy would be gone for two whole days.

Can't believe I actually want him to get his way, she thought. But no Billy meant no problems.

"Dad, I have been stuck in the house all week having to watch Max. Again! I'm just asking for one day. One night." Billy's voice was pleading, desperate. Max felt her stomach churn, knowing that if Billy didn't get to go, then she'd be the one to suffer for it. Not her mom, and most definitely not Neil.

Just say yes . . .

"You can go after." The fridge slammed shut. There was a rustling of items being moved around. Neil's voice sounded aggravated, and it was easy for Max to assume he was getting tired of Billy's begging.

"But that line will be a mile long by then," Billy snapped with a defeated huff.

A glass slammed down onto the table. Max jumped slightly at the sound from where she stood in the living room.

"Enough, Billy!" Neil commanded.

Max sighed. Well, it looks like Hell for me today.

Max froze at the sound of footsteps coming closer to her. She quickly scrambled to leave the room, but stopped when she heard Neil bark, "Hey!"

"Sir?" Billy asked, his voice low.

"You want to get out of the house so bad, go salt the steps. Go on."

Max raised her brows and turned to the window before walking over to peek outside. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips as she watched. For the first time ever, she saw the soft-looking flakes of snow float through the air. It reminded her of the dust particles she saw when she was in that underground tunnel. She wondered if they were as fluffy as they looked and wished they would stick to the ground. She always wanted to make a snow angel.

Max jumped in surprise when a silhouette appeared in her peripheral vision. She whipped her head around and looked over to meet Billy's enraged face. He gripped onto a bag of rock salt so tightly his knuckles turned white, and she couldn't make herself look up at the venom that was most definitely there for her.

In a desperate attempt to lighten the mood, she turned back to the window and mumbled, "It's snowing."

She glanced at Billy to see him still staring at her. He shrugged and curled his lip in disgust. "The cold sucks."

When she heard Neil's voice get closer, she turned and fled to the hallway, aiming for her room.

"And Billy, you better remember to pick up that cake before 6," Neil said. "Do not be late."

Max quickly shut her door, thankful Neil didn't see her, and that Billy didn't give her away to him. She stared at her mattress with longing and hoped that it was dry so she didn't have to sleep on the couch again.

Just one more day of being grounded, she thought to herself.

. . .

Max left the bathroom and decided to finally make her way to the kitchen for lunch. Her stomach had protested for the last hour as she finished up her homework and then worked a bit to finish up her mom's scrapbook. She hated the idea of going into the kitchen where not only Billy was, but also Neil. Being forced to have a conversation with them when she was sure Billy wanted to pluck her eyes out would be the worst thing she could think of. Perhaps even more than the Demogorgon eating her face off.

Or maybe that thought was a bit extreme.

She huffed in frustration and decided that being starved wasn't on the agenda for the day. Her mom would be back from her pampering day at the spa soon, and she wanted to be in high spirits for her.

Max almost made it to the entrance of the kitchen when Neil announced he was going to the store to pick up some things for Susan and mumbled something that sounded like, "Look after your sister."

One of the chairs scraped across the floor, but it wasn't enough to keep Max from hearing Billy's response.

"She's not my sister," he mumbled.

"What was that?" Neil said, and Max could almost imagine the surprise on his face at Billy's immediate attitude. She almost winced. Almost.

"Nothing."

"I mean it, look after Maxine," Neil said, his voice a warning.

"Yeah, I got it," Billy said, annoyed.

Max tried not to make a noise as she walked into the kitchen. She couldn't keep from glancing at Billy, who was sulking at the table with his head slightly bowed. His head snapped to hers as she entered, and he clenched his jaw so tight there was an audible clack as his teeth clashed. His face was murderous. Max felt the dread sink into her stomach. She ignored his scowl by giving him one of her own and gathered the stuff to make a sandwich. Even then, the two continued to exchange hateful glances towards each other.

Neil finished lacing his boots and rose from the chair, sparing Max a glance. He sighed, finishing off the coffee in his cup.

"I'll be back soon. Stay in the house," he said.

"Whatever."

"Hey!" Neil banged on the table and reached across to grab Billy by the upper arm. Max jumped, and Billy sucked in a breath of surprise. Neil pointed angrily in Billy's face. "Fix your attitude before I fix it for you."

Billy gulped. "Yes, sir."

Neil gave Billy one last scathing look, then glanced at Max one more time before grunting and turning to leave. Max felt her heart thrum in her chest as it begged her to run before Billy could lash out. But her stomach protested that she stay and at least finish the sandwich first.

Max heard the chair behind her scrape across the floor as Billy stood. She stared down at her sandwich as she placed the other slice of bread on top. Before she could pick it up to take a bite, a single finger appeared in front of her face to plant itself in the middle, marring her slice with a dirty-looking dent.

"What–" She spun to glare at Billy. "That was mine!"

He shrugged, and a smirk appeared on his face. "It still is. Make me one before you eat."

Her jaw dropped as she stared at him in disbelief. He lost his damn mind if he thought she'd eat something his finger's been in, bad day or not.

"No," Max said. "This one's yours now. You stuck your finger in it! Who knows where those disgusting things have been!" she yelled, feeling her face heat with the anger she'd left simmering since last night when he ruined her mattress.

"Oh?" he said, giving an unnerving smile. "Then maybe you should eat first. Go on. Take a bite."

She scoffed. "Like that'll happen."

"Take a bite, Max," he demanded, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter, blocking her from darting around him.

"You can't make me!" she yelled, shoving the plate across the counter to him.

"Either you can take a bite, or I'll shove it in your face," he said, his face filled with the satisfaction of torturing her. "Then, I'll tell Susan how you wasted perfectly good food."

Low blow. Telling her mom like some spoiled brat. He knew it was her birthday too, and bothering her with stupid crap would just make his day.

She stared down at the sandwich for a moment, and her stomach rumbled in protest again, demanding food. He took a step toward her, and she threw her arms out to stop him. "Alright!"

Without thinking about it much more, she picked it up and took a bite, ignoring the urge to not only spit it out, but at him.

Bet he wouldn't appreciate mustard in his eyes.

She chewed and then swallowed while glaring at him the entire time. But Billy wasn't satisfied with just one bite, no. He indicated with a nod of his head and a sickening gleam in his eye for her to continue. With a frustrated huff, she proceeded to eat the whole thing.

Maybe his hands were clean. Maybe he washed them before sitting at the table.

Don't throw up, Max.

When she finished, she sat the plate down, and somehow, he still seemed too smug. She felt like shoving him or hitting him with the plate. She started to say something when he held up a hand and pointed at the ingredients that she hadn't put away yet.

"Now you can make me one," he said, raising a brow like he dared her to object.

"No way, Billy. Make your own damn sandwich," she grumbled, moving to shove past him. He pushed her back and glared down at her.

"I'm stuck staying here because of your mom's dumb birthday. Because she's your mom, that makes it your fault."

"How does that even make sense?!" she yelled.

"Unless you want me to ruin your mattress more by cutting it open and putting thousands of ants inside of it or worse, you will make me a sandwich."

Max rolled her jaw, feeling the crinckles deepen on her face. She didn't respond. Instead, she did her best to let her expression show just how much she hated the very sight of him. She turned to the bread and turkey meat on the counter and wished he wasn't in the room so she could spit on the sandwich. At least then she'd have some kind of satisfaction when he shoved it into his dumb face. She threw it together and less than gently threw the plate onto the table. With the sheer determination to not let him have the upper hand anymore, she put away the ingredients and went to leave the kitchen when he barked, "Hey!"

She growled under her breath and turned to stare at him, shocked to see the sandwich gone.

How the heck did he eat so fast?!

Billy made a show of licking the crumbs from the plate, causing her to twist her face in disgust. He held it out. "Wash it."

Max thought about refuting but didn't want to make the effort. She stomped toward him and went to yank it from his hand, but he let go a moment too soon. It seemed to happen in slow motion, the plate falling to the ground. Yet too fast for either of them to react. Max felt her heart climb into her throat as the plate shattered into a million pieces. She hadn't realized her mouth had been hanging open in surprise, but she slammed it shut when she saw Billy's unchanged smirk.

"Oops," he said, never taking his eyes off her. "Look what you did." He pointed to the ground. "Wasn't that one of Susan's favorite plates? I wonder how she'll feel when she finds out you broke it."

"Me? You're the one who decided to drop it! If you stopped treating me like a maid and just dealt with the plate yourself, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"We?" Billy laughed. "I'm not the one who made myself a sandwich."

He slowly rose from his chair, giving the floor one last look. "Clean it up. And do it before my dad gets back."

Max shook with rage. She snapped her head up to either curse him out or scream how much she hated his guts, but he was already giving her his back, leaving her to hide the evidence. She knew without a doubt that Billy's little outburst was revenge for him not getting to camp out for his stupid Metallica tickets. What she didn't know was how much more of the torture she could take. Half the day wasn't even over yet.

Please let me have the strength.

It took Max half an hour to clean up the broken bits of the plate. Then to be safe, she took out the trash just so Neil wouldn't see it later. The best case scenario was that she admitted the plate was her fault and was an accident, but she'd have to deal with disappointing her mom. Worst case, she told him it was Billy, which would add to her torment. Hiding the entire thing didn't really sit well with her, but she decided that she didn't much like either scenario at all.

Guess I'm a liar today too, she thought. Billy was making her reach new lows every day.

Billy, the little snake, had slithered off to his room the moment he'd left the kitchen earlier and had since blared his music so loudly that Max wondered if her eardrums were bleeding. She'd left her door open a crack so that she could hear when Neil came back. Yet when she heard the back door open and then slam, she felt panic in her veins.

Please don't find out about the plate.

Neil called out Billy's name, but it was no surprise to her that he didn't answer. It was basically a rock concert inside his room. He called Billy again only to have the same results. Max tensed when the stomping of Neil's boots echoed down the hall, the door to Billy's room thrown open.

"Turn it off!"

Billy looked up in surprise, trying to understand what was happening. "Dad, wha–?"

Neil interrupted him with a point of his finger, his voice irritated. "If I call for you and you can't hear me, it means the music is too loud. So turn it off."

"But I could just turn it down–"

"What did I say?!"

Billy was silent for a brief moment. "Yes, Sir," he mumbled.

Max heard shuffling around and tried to peek out of the crack of her door. She saw the outline of Neil standing at Billy's doorway.

"Come with me, I need help carrying stuff in. And turn that crap off before you do!"

Neil disappeared down the hallway, and she heard the back door slam again. The music shut off, and Billy mumbled to himself. Max rolled her eyes when she heard something about "stupid dinner" and "concert tickets".

Wait, she thought suddenly. This is payback waiting to happen. It was basically a golden opportunity sent on a platter. Max fussed with herself, wondering if she should do it. Wondering if it would be worth Billy's promised wrath.

"Keep doing your little stunts. See what happens."

When she heard Billy's bedroom door open and close again, she decided to do just that.

He thinks I'll just lie down and take his crap? Well, think again, Billy.

As soon as Billy left, she darted out of her room, egged on by pure adrenaline, and threw open Billy's door. With a self-satisfied smirk, she jumped over the dirty piles of clothes and flipped on the radio again, turning it up for good measure.

Let's see how he handles this.

She heard the back door open and ran as fast as possible, stumbling over the clothes and tumbling into her room just in time to hear Neil's outrage.

"I thought I told you to turn that off, and you turn it up instead, Billy?!"

"What–no! I didn't. I turned it off just like you said!" Billy stuttered.

Max felt her heart freeze as Neil stomped down the hallway as Billy cried out in protest.

"Dad, wait!"

The music cut. Max cracked the door to peer out. Neil headed toward the front door with the radio tucked under his arm. Billy's face was contorted in anguish, and Max felt herself hesitate with her satisfaction. She thought he'd get another harmless scolding. She hadn't realized Neil would take the radio.

"This isn't fair and you know it!" Billy yelled. Neil froze and turned toward Billy, taking a menacing step towards him with a finger raised. Billy's eyes widened as he backed up.

"Raise your voice at me again, and see what happens, son." Neil drilled his dangerous glare into Billy's retinas, cementing the threat. He paused to let it sink in. "This will be in my trunk until you clear that attitude up."

Neil turned to leave, slamming the door behind him. It didn't take a genius to see that man was a scoff away from losing his shit.

Max cursed to herself as she heard Billy's pained exhale. He just stood there, heat radiating off him as he clenched his fists, unsure of what to do. Max jumped when the clash of his knuckles against the wall reverberated down the hall. Billy clomped passed her door, doing a double take when he spotted her.

She gasped. Shit.

Billy's scathing glare lingered for longer than Max could handle. He said nothing, but his silence was enough to convey so much. Without a word, he turned and left.

Max shut her door and leaned against it for support. Now, she'd need to look over both shoulders because she knew without a doubt that she just stirred up a hurricane.

Well, crap.

. . .

It was calm before the storm.

Max heard the front door open and shut, which meant Neil was heading out to pick her mom up from her spa day. She felt her stomach sink all over again and washed her hands quicker. She had done everything possible to avoid Billy for as long as she could. The few times he'd seen her, the scathing looks almost scalded her skin like boiling water. She'd started a war by pranking him, then continued it by getting his radio taken. Now, this was one war that she wasn't sure she'd win.

She took a deep breath of courage and quickly left the bathroom and went back to her room to look for a sweater when she was startled at the sight of Billy standing there waiting for her. His arms were crossed as he leaned against her dresser. When their eyes met, his jaw clenched. His fist tightened. She started to ask him why he was there, but then he spoke, his voice slow, almost like a hiss. Sinister.

"Max . . . You like math, don't you?"

Didn't know he actually noticed something like that…

She nodded, giving him a frown in confusion.

"Then tell me, if Billy gave Max two strikes, two merciful chances not to screw with him, but little Maxie didn't listen, how many strikes would she have?"

Silence.

Max tightened in anticipation, loathing the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Answer me."

"I'm not playing this game, Bill–"

"Answer!"

Max gasped at the sudden raise of his voice. She swallowed and mumbled, "Three."

Billy stood up from her dresser. "And what happens when little Maxine reaches that? How many things does she lose?" Billy asked, slowly making his way across her room to where her skateboard leaned against the closet door.

Max's eyes widened. "Billy . . . don't."

She lurched forward as if to stop him, but his booted foot came out as he kicked it right in the middle. A sickening crack as it split down the middle in two. Unrideable.

"Billy, stop!" Tears threatened to sting her eyes and she moved to block him from smashing it further, as though it wasn't already ruined. Instead, he gave her a sickening frown and turned to her bed, grabbing her textbook and the paper sitting on top–her study guide for finals that she had been pouring over the past two days. With a slow rip, he tore it in half. Then proceeded to shred the book.

"Do you like that, Max?!" Billy yelled. "Do you like things being taken from you?! Maybe I should take another one, huh?!"

She gasped as she watched him turn and head toward her comic collection, but she slid in to block him with a frantic shake of her head. So he grunted and turned to the next thing. He grabbed it before she could realize what he had set his sights on. When she saw the neatly wrapped scrapbook she'd carefully put together for her mom, her heart sank and she reached to grab it, but he was taller than her.

"Billy, please don't do this!" she cried.

He tore the wrapping paper off in one swoop and threw off the lid to the white box, taking the scrapbook from it.

"No! Billy, stop!"

But it was no use. The words fell on deaf ears, and with an evil sneer that showed his teeth, he tore it to pieces. Letting every last piece fall to the floor in front of her. The floodgates opened and a sob spilled out of her throat. A particular kind of rage settled into her bones. Blinking through her tears, she looked up at Billy. Her chest heaved with the barely contained lashing she wanted to let loose.

"What's that look for, Max?" he said, unmoved. "You're the one who started all this." He stepped closer, stepping on the shredded pieces of her memories.

"Next time," he said slowly, and with the calmness of a predator watching its prey, "Think before you do something against me, Max. This isn't even the worst thing I can do. You haven't seen anything yet."

She grit her teeth and snarled. "Fuck you, Billy."

If he was surprised at her language, he didn't show it. Instead, he lifted a brow in challenge and turned to leave the room. She sank to the floor and stared at the bits of the scrapbook while the tears flowed in a steady stream down her cheeks.

He said this was all her fault? That she started this?

Fine, she thought, picking up a shred of a black and white photo.

She started it, and she was sure as hell going to finish it.

To be continued . . .