Somethings Different

Finding Max (Finale)

Act 1, Chapter 21

Why would he mouth the word please?

The moment the Hargroves left I jumped into Billy's Camaro and headed back towards the fields.

I was able to remember the route pretty easily and thanks to that mailbox I took out earlier I was able to use that as a landmark of where to turn again.

All I needed to do was find Max and take her home but something I never considered was am I even going to be able to do that? After everything I saw and even the small section of their plan I was told it didn't sound like it was going to be easy.

But before I even made it to the field I spotted Steve and the kids walking.

They all looked exhausted.

"Get in," I said, pulling up and getting out of the car to move the seat forward.

Each kid filled in one by one on each side of the car. Steve sat up front with me.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"It was AH-MAZING," Dustin started.

"Everything worked perfectly!" Matthew chimed in.

Within seconds everyone was talking over each other. I was able to hear that Dustin's pet Dart didn't attack them which I never considered being a concern but I'm glad it wasn't.

"Max, your mom and Neil are looking for you. They actually sent me back out here to get you. We need to do that as soon as we drop them off, okay?"

"Wait, where is Billy?" She asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain but Neil and your mom took him home."

"Am I in trouble?"

"For which part? The stabbing? No. No, they think he's drunk. As for the rest of his face I told them he got into a fight at the arcade."

"Nicely done Ally," Steve commented. "You're already getting the hang of the lying portion."

"Yeah, I'm not psyched about it," I mumbled, "Where should I be headed anyway?"

"When you get to the next stop sign go straight then I'll tell you where to turn,  Hopper has a place out here."

"Hopper knows too?" I whispered to myself.

"Oh Ally, this is only the beginning." He leaned back in his seat.

"Matthew, I'm going to let you stay okay? But I want you to call mom as soon as you can tomorrow morning, got it?"

"Yeah Matthew," Mike joked.

"Shut up," he said. "Can do Ally."

After a couple of minutes I had passed through the stop sign and after a couple of turns we pulled up to the end of the road.

Steve told me we should come along to check on Will and the others but it I told him it'd be best if we headed to Max's as soon as possible.

He learned over the seat to hug me before ushering the rest of the kids out. I grabbed Matthews arm lightly.

"I'm so happy you're okay," I smiled. "This doesn't mean we don't have a lot to discuss though when you get back."

"I know, I know.... I'm sorry I had to lie to you." His head dropped a little.

"It's okay, I still love you. For now." I emphasized. "Go take care of your friend."

He nodded and waved to Max before shutting the door. Max climbed through the middle console to sit in the front.