The next weeks had been hard. Neil and Susan kept fighting each other, verbally and physically, and, obviously, Max was their favorite outlet. She got hit almost every day by them, and she didn't even know why. Just breathing was dangerous for her.
She was arriving at her apartment, but the air was already unbreathable just in the corridor. She tried to calm herself but her entire body was shaking, and she already had tears in her eyes. She could hear them yelling inside. The second after, they would yell at her. She took a deep breathing and opened the door. The two adults stopped their fight and turned to her. Max wished she could be somewhere else right now, just their eyes were enough to scare her.
- "Here you are, you little bitch!" Neil began. "You were supposed to be home thirty minutes ago! Where the fuck were you!?"
- "Probably sucking a dick," her mother said with a mocking tone. "Go on! Answer us!"
But Max was done with them. She was hearing that every fucking day, and she was tired. She was just tired to hear them treating her like that, like if she had no feelings, like if she was their prisoner. Her entire body was hurting because of their hits, and her mind was tensed because of their words. She lost the few confidence she had because of them. Her marks decreased because of the pressure they were putting on her. Her mood was awful because she was frustrated to be treated like a piece of shit. But she was done.
- "No," she answered.
- "No!? You really think you have your word to say here!?" Susan told.
- "Go fuck yourself. Both of you."
Neil and Susan looked at each other before having an evil laugh. Neil began to unbuckle his belt, tensing the redhead's body. He slowly approached her with his satisfied smug and raised the belt in the air, ready to hit her. But Max didn't want to let him do that again. She kicked his balls, forcing him to bend, and punched his face, making him fall on the ground. Susan screamed of terror and ran to her husband to see if he was okay. Max had never seen her running to her when Neil was beating her.
- "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" the mother cried.
- "I...I..."
- "Leave."
- "What?"
- "Pack your stuff and leave! I don't wanna see you here anymore!"
- "...I...I have nowhere to go..."
- "You should have thought about it before hurting him!"
- "But he would have hurt me if—"
- "LEAVE MY HOME RIGHT NOW!"
Max started before going to her bedroom. It wasn't real, right? Her mother didn't choose the side of the psychopath instead of her own daughter, right? But she did. Max's mind was completely empty. The redhead didn't know what to do. She first thought to go to Jane's, but the Jane's apartment was already small, she couldn't force them to accept one person in more. And she was feeling too ashamed to tell her or anyone else.
She took a piece of luggage from under her bed and began to pack her stuff. She was still not understanding how things escalated so quickly just because she didn't want to be beaten one more time. She gathered the important stuff: her school stuff, her clothes, her Super-bunny, her laptop, her phone, and more things like that. A few minutes later, everything was packed. Max put her backpack and took her piece of luggage in her hand before going to the living-room. Neil was holding his head while Susan was angrily looking at her daughter and pointing at the door like if she wanted to be sure Max would leave.
Max was now in the street with nowhere to go. She wandered a moment with no goals in mind before stopping to sit on a bench. Maybe she could find a hostel for tonight and she would see for the next night. But she couldn't do that every day, it would be too stressful, but now she didn't have the choice.
- "Max?"
Max started and noticed her friend, Will, standing in front of her with a frown.
- "Is everything okay?"
- "I...I got kicked out..."
- "What? Why?"
- "I didn't let Neil hit me."
Will frowned, wondering how refusing to be hit could make her mother kick her out. She should have been on her side! The boy approached her and held out his hand to her.
- "We have a guest room for you."
Max nodded and took his hand. Will grabbed her piece of luggage before beginning to walk with her. After a few minutes in the streets of Brooklyn, the two friends finally reached Will's apartment. Joyce wasn't there so Will went directly to the guest room with Max to help her to install herself.
- "I don't want to be a burden, I'll find a place tomorrow," Max said.
- "You're not a burden, and you have a place now," Will answered.
- "I...I don't want to ruin your family; your mother has better things to do than taking care of me..."
- "She will be happy to do it! Don't worry about us, we'll be fine, and you'll be too. Take some rest. And don't hesitate to ask if you need something, okay?"
- "Yeah, okay...Thank you..."
Will warmly smiled to her before leaving the room to give her some privacy. Sometimes Will was forgetting that some parents were not good parents, as he had a mother ready to do everything for her children, and even the children of others, he forgot that it wasn't the case of all his friends.
Max, still in the guest room, didn't dare to move. She wasn't sure Joyce would let her stay here, maybe she would kick her out like her own mother did, but she hoped not, she didn't want to sleep outside, it was freezing.
Joyce went back home a few minutes later. When she arrived, she saw her son arriving in the living-room, with a weird expression on his face.
- "Is everything okay? You seem preoccupied?" Joyce asked with a concerned tone.
- "I'm fine but...Max is here."
- "Oh, that's great, you know you can invite your friends when you want, you don't need to worry about that."
- "Her mother kicked her out."
- "What!?"
- "I told her she could stay here."
- "And you did right. Go with her, I'll call her mother."
Will nodded and obeyed. Joyce immediately took her phone without even taking off her coat and dialed Susan's number. Joyce was wound up; she couldn't believe it.
- "Hello?" Susan answered.
- "Um, hi Susan, this is Joyce."
- "Joyce?"
- "Joyce Byers."
- "Oh, yeah, Joyce. How are you?"
- "Great, great. You daughter is at home and she told us that you kicked her out. I wanted to have your version of the story."
- "She had been disrespectful for weeks now. If she can't act like a woman, I can't do anything for her."
- "Your husband was going to beat her, and it was definitely not the first time."
- "She needs lessons."
- "Well, I hope his dick is worth it to abandon your own child like that! Don't even try to come here to see her!" Joyce replied with anger.
The mother hung up the phone before Susan could answer her. She never believed one second that Max was lying, but she wanted to see if Susan would have the nerves to assume her decision. Joyce took a deep breathing before joining the two teens who were sitting on the bed.
- "This is your room now, and, I would even say, this is your home now," the woman said.
- "This is too much," Max answered, tears in her eyes.
- "It's the least I can do. Will, you don't mind letting us alone?"
- "No, no problem, I'll prepare dinner," the boy said.
Will placed a reassuring hand on Max's shoulder before standing and leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Joyce warmly smiled to the redhead and sat next to her.
- "Did he hurt you somewhere?" the mother gently asked.
- "Today, no. I have some old bruises."
- "Do you need painkillers?"
- "I don't think so."
- "Do you want me to check you?"
- "I, I don't know..."
- "Hey, you don't have to say yes. I know you're going through a lot; I just want to be sure you're okay."
- "I know, I know. I guess I need some time."
- "I understand."
Joyce took Max's hands and saw the bruises on her knuckles. She didn't say anything, not wanting to stress more the girl.
- "I'll prepare your room. You can use the bathroom or go to the living-room. Or you can stay here to watch me if you want."
- "I can help Will."
- "Sure," Joyce smiled.
The redhead stood before going to the kitchen where Will was.
- "Let me help you," Max said.
- "You don't have to; you don't owe us anything."
- "I owe you everything. I...I don't know where I would have slept if you hadn't found me."
Will pinched his lips together and nodded.
- "You can take care of the vegetables if you want."
Max nodded and began to peel the carrots. Will was trying to think of something comforting, but there was nothing to say, Max just got abandoned by her family, and the young boy was thinking it was a blessing in disguise.
- "Don't tell the others about this, especially Jane," Max said.
- "You don't think she should know?"
- "Of course, she should, but I don't want her to know. She has enough problems like that."
- "Okay, as you want. Your secret is safe with me."
Will smiled to her, reassuring the redhead. It wasn't fair toward Jane to keep her out of this, but Max wasn't ready. It was too soon, she needed to accept it herself before telling her. Joyce finished with Max's room. She placed some painkillers with instructions and installed her clothes in the wardrobe to make her understand that she was welcomed here.
The meal was awkward at first, but Joyce managed to relax the two teens she had in front of her, warming the atmosphere. Max was feeling great here, it was the first time she had had dinner like a real family. The only moment she wasn't alone in her room to eat was when she was inviting Jane for the night. It was so different but so great. Joyce and Will were two nice persons who didn't hesitate one second to help her when she needed. She didn't know if it would last, but she would enjoy it as much as possible.