Wheel of Fate

44.

The thought of Mary coming back and taking Max did not leave Olivia's mind. She was moving around in bed late at night, unable to sleep; her blanket was on the edge of her bed, half of it on the floor as she continued to move and turn.

With many thoughts in her mind, Olvia let out a frustrated sigh and got out of her bed, her blanket sliding to the floor. She didn't care to pick it up and place it on her bed; she walked to the door and quietly made her way outside of her room.

She slowly walked down the dark hall, careful to where she was stepping, not wanting the creaks of the floor to wake up Max. Stopping in front of Billy's room, Olivia moved her arms, stretching it, her hand touching the doorknob.

She felt relieved when she moved the knob, and the door opened; he had not locked his door. "Billy," Olvia whispered as she entered her brother's room.

It was messier than she had remembered; he had his clothes on the floor; she wasn't sure if they were clean or dirty; it was mostly that they were all dirty. She made a mental note to make him wash his clothes. She knew he would be mad if she was the one touching his clothes.

Next to a small pile of dirty clothes, there was also trash, and on his nightstand, there was a plate with what was left of the food; Olivia assumed it was from a few days ago she wouldn't even be surprised if she saw something moving how could he sleep in this mess she couldn't understand. "Are you done judging my room," Billy mumbled, half asleep from his bed. He was sitting down on his bed, his back resting on the wall, his blanket covering from his waist down.

Olivia flinched a little when she heard his voice; she was distracted looking around; she didn't realize she had woken him up already. "William, this room is a mess; how can you live like this," Olivia lectured with her arms crossed, sounding like a parent trying to discipline Billy.

He rolled his eyes at her Billy had noticed that his sister was acting differently lately. With everything going on, he wasn't much surprised the Olivia he once knew had changed again and again. They weren't the little kids that lived back in California anymore, and they weren't the teens that had arrived in Indiana. "What do you want Olivia," Billy said tiredly, stretching his arm up and letting out a yawn. Olivia walked closer to his bed and sat on the edge "sure take a seat," Billy said under his breath, looking at Olivia. She seemed distracted, like something was bothering her, "spill it or leave," Billy said firmly. Olivia looked back at him. He was tired and wanted to go back to sleep; Olivia was wasting his precious time.

Olivia opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say; she knew at any minute Billy would kick her out of his room if she didn't say anything.

"We can't let that woman take Max," Olivia finally said rapidly before she could process the words she was saying, but it was true she was not going to let Mary take Max from her. They were family; they were all they got.

Olivia couldn't help but think, what if Max wanted to leave; what if she wanted to go back to California. That would destroy her, but if that's what Max wanted, what could she do. Maybe she should wait and see what Max thinks about the whole situation before jumping to a conclusion, but it was a bit late for that.

"What do you suggest we do then," Billy said with a bored expression.

Olivia looked at Billy she was sure he was going to kick her out; she was a bit shocked to see that he showed just a little interest in the well-being of their sister Max. It was new to see that Billy cared, at least in his own way, "honestly, I don't have a clue," Olivia said, shaking her head looking at her hands that were resting on her lap. Olivia continued by saying, "Mary can't take Max right" she looked at Billy, "I mean there has to be some laws or something that are in our favor, right we are both adults," she said, moving her hand gesturing to both of them. "We can take care of her, we can be like her parents," she ended up saying, patiently waiting for what Billy had to say.

Billy moved his hand to his face and scratched his cheek "you can barely take care of yourself, and so far taking care of Max has been more difficult than you imagine, right," he said, lifting an eyebrow with a smirk on his lips knowing he was right.

She rolled her eyes it was true taking care of a teenager while still trying to figure out what to do with your life was hard, and she hated him for being right. "Maybe if she knows that there's a possibility that someone is going to take her, she will behave," Olivia said, hopeful. "Or she's going to rebel more," Billy said simply "ugh, then what do we do tell me, Billy," Olivia said, feeling defeated, looking at Billy with a sad expression holding back her tears.

He wasn't sure what he was going to say; he didn't want his sisters crying in his room; he wasn't sure what to do in that situation. Billy opened his mouth to respond, but he heard a sound-making both of them turn their heads to the door.

The door was opened just a little, and in that small space, Max was standing looking through at them; Max let out a little gasp, her eyes widened, and she took a step back when she realized they saw her eavesdropping.

"Max," Olivia said, getting up from the bed. She wasn't sure how much Max had heard, but this wasn't the way Olivia wanted her to find out. Before Olivia could fully open the door from Billy's room Max was already gone, and the door from her room was shut.

"Shit."

After Max heard the conversation between her and Billy.

They explained the situation to Max. As it was expected, she didn't take it well.

By the end of that month, Sam, who is Max's father, traveled to Hawkins.

Olivia was able to talk to him and let him know that she wanted Max to stay in Hawkins with her and, if possible, she wanted to be her legal guardian.

She knew it was not going to be easy.

Taking care of Max, working, and finishing the last year of high school but it was something that Olivia wanted to do.

Max had also shared her opinion about staying in Hawkins.

She had the opportunity of going back to California, but she wanted to stay with her friends and her siblings.

Olivia was surprised that Max wanted to stay with her.

Since they got here, Max had been mentioning how much she missed California.

After talking with Mary, Sam, and going to court, Olivia became Max's legal guardian.

It took a lot of paperwork, time, and money for that to happen.

They had to sell the house and move to a trailer park which Olivia wasn't too thrilled about, but if that meant that Max was able to stay with them, she was going to have to get used to that.