Chrissy and Max left the house earlier than her parents were up. They had taken turns sleeping for an hour or two while the other watched over them and it left them both exhausted but they were safe—for now. They carefully shut the front door and tied their shoes while sitting on the stairs.
"You know, whatever your Mom is holding over you...you don't have to listen to her," Max commented, standing up and putting her backpack on properly.
Chrissy finished tying her sneakers. "She's my mom, I kind of have to."
"Not really. I never listened to my stepdad and he was an abusive asshole."
Chrissy dusted off her hands and started walking toward the street. "Where is he now?"
"Gone. He left after Billy...died," Max finished solemnly. "I'm glad he's gone."
"The only way I'll be able to get away from my mom is if I leave this town."
"That's smart. This town sucks. Except for a few people in it," she added.
"Yeah...I'm starting to get that."
The girls made it to the road and started walking in the direction of Maple Street. According to the plans they all made last night, they were meeting up at Nancy's house. Chrissy couldn't take the car today, so they were walking. Luckily Nancy lived relatively close to Chrissy's place.
"If you leave, where are you going to go?" Max asked.
"Far away. Maybe I'll follow your friends and go to California."
"I'm from there. It's got a lot less monsters than here."
Chrissy swallowed hard at the thought of monsters. "Do you want to move back?"
"I miss my dad. He lives there...but he's got a whole new family now so I'd go from one outcast label to another." Max shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure she would be making it through this whole Vecna thing intact. Thinking about the future was always difficult for girls like her. It wasn't like she had the world lining up to hand her favors.
"I'm sorry."
"You didn't do anything."
"No but my problems feel way superficial compared to yours."
"Superficial? You're getting mind-stalked by some creep with tentacles. Your problems are legit."
"I guess."
"And I mean, you have a lot to live for. You're...Chrissy Cunningham." Max said the name like everyone did, as if it was a thing to achieve rather than it belonging to an actual person.
"I wish people would stop saying that." Chrissy had let her hair down today and didn't even bother curling it, she ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't even know what that means."
"You're rich, you're nice, you're a cheerleader, you have a boyfriend, probably prospective husbands from a yacht club or something," Max ticked off, rolling her eyes.
"My parents are rich. My boyfriend is...Cheerleading is really the only thing in my life I like."
"Interesting...so you haven't told Jason about all of your," Max's eyes fell to the headphones around Chrissy's neck. They were wearing them there so frequently it was going to start becoming a fashion statement.
"No, absolutely not."
"He doesn't know about your mom either?"
Chrissy shook her head.
"Okay, so you're not perfect. That's great. Being perfect is overrated."
"Is that a compliment?"
Max tilted her head. "I think so."
