Daisies || Max Mayfield

63: Billy Pt. 2

"Alright, it's been long enough." Steve shut his door, walking to Max.

"Steve, just give her some time," Lucas said.

"I have, alright? I'm calling it. She wants to get a lawyer, she can." He rolled his eyes, turning around to run up the hill.

I looked at Dustin and Lucas, who didn't move. And then I ran after Steve, stumbling in my boots. I picked myself up, continuing to climb the hill after him.

"Max, come on!" Steve announced. "Time to giddy up, yeah?" He stopped in front of her. "Max?"

I found myself next to him, staring at her. She was sitting on the ground, in the same cross-legged position as before. A letter was on the ground, Billy's gravestone sitting in front of her.

"Max?" I crouched next to her, grabbing her shoulder. Her eyes were white, eyelids flickering.

"Max!" Steve shouted, shaking her.

"Max wake up." I patted the side of her face like what Steve had done before. "Max come on."

"Max!" Steve repeated. "Wake up!"

"Come on!" I shook her even harder, her head rolling around.

"Max!" Steve stood up, waving his arms at the car. "Guys!"

"Max wake up!" I shouted, crying a little.

"Max!" 

"Come on get outta there!" Steve continued, smacking her.

"Holy shit-" Dustin slid on the ground next to me. "Max!"

"Can you hear me, Max?" Lucas panted, tugging her sleeve. "Come on Max you gotta get outta there!"

"Max wake up!" I exclaimed.

Steve grabbed Dustin's shirt, screaming at him. "Call Nancy and Robin! Go get them! Call Nancy and Robin! Go!" He stumbled backward, rolling off the grassy shelf and running to the car.

"Please Max!" Lucas cried.

"Max wake up!"

"Come on!"

"Max come on!"

Dustin came back after what seemed like centuries, his arms full of tapes. He skidded to a stop next to me, dumping them on the ground.

"What is this?" Lucas asked.

"What's her favorite song?" He panted.

"Why?"

"Robin said if she listens-If she lis- It's too much to explain right now! What's. Her favorite. Song?!"

"Which one is it?" Steve asked.

I hit the tapes out of the pile, searching for the familiar Kate bush one. Lucas helped, tossing all the ones it wasn't out of the way.

"Okay, okay what is it?" Steve shouted. "Which one is it Daisy?" 

I shoved them out of the way, tears in my eyes blurring my vision. I wiped them away, hitting myself at the same time. Lucas found it, shouting.

"It's right here! It's right here, I got it!" He opened the case, fumbling with the tape. I grabbed it, throwing it in her walkman Steve held open. He slammed it shut, and Dustin put her headphones on.

"Now!" I exclaimed, slipping it in her pocket. I pressed play, falling on my knees, the music echoing through the cemetery.

"Did it work?" Steve panted, the only sound being the music. "Did it work?"

"I-"

I froze as Max began lifting off the ground. Her shoulders went up, and her legs unfolded as her body made an arrow sort of shape in the air. Her feet were completely off the ground, and Steve grabbed my collar, yanking me back. 

"MAX!" Dustin screamed, standing up. 

Steve followed, and I pulled myself up on his shoulder. 

"MAX!" We all joined in, her continuing to rise higher and higher.

"FUCK!" I shouted, grabbing my hair. 

She's gone. She's gone she's gone she's gone. She's dead and she's going to fucking die because we don't know how to fucking save her. She has a life and it's all fucking over because she floating above us like some fucking levitation at some fucking magic show and she's all going to die because we don't know what the fuck to do!

"COME ON!" Steve added, screaming at her.

This is taking too long. There's no way this is going to work. She's going to fucking die up there.

"MAX!" Lucas cried.

I could see her wrists shaking, her fingers curled into tight fists. She was shaking, arms and legs about to snap.

"WAKE UP!" Dustin screeched.

There's nothing we can do now. She's fucking twenty feet in the air and we won't be able to reach her if she fucking dies. And she can't fucking die.

"MAX!"

This is not fair. Her fucking brother died and now she's dying because of it. Vecna could've picked anyone else to possess. We all lost somebody. Hell, it should've picked me instead, with the dead parents and shit. But now Max is fucked, and we can't do anything about it.

"MAX PLEASE WAKE UP!"

Her left hand snapped open, all of her fingers breaking. They snapped, the sound audible from down on the ground. Her other hand was trembling, and she could barely keep it still.

"MAX COME ON!"

She gasped in the air, looking straight up as she fell. Steve grabbed me, throwing us out of the way as she collapsed to the ground. 

I ran to her, grabbing her shoulders. She was hyperventilating, reaching for anything to grab onto.

Lucas appeared next to us, holding her from the other side as Steve and Dustin held out their hands to steady her.

She was gasping, gripping my right arm tight. Her injured hand was on me too, despite her broken fingers.

"It's okay!" I exclaimed. "It's okay."

She shook in my arms, scrambling back, away from Billy's grave. 

"I thought we lost you," Lucas whispered, holding her arm. 

She nodded frantically, holding my arm still. "I'm here. I'm still here."

"Shit." I panted, pulling her closer. 

"Holy shit." She repeated, panting.

Steve drove us home while Dustin repeated everything that happened to Nancy and Robin over the Walkies. Max was sitting nearly on top of me, crying and still gasping for breath every few minutes. She had her headphones on, Kate Bush blasting through the car. 

Eventually, Steve had me give him the tape, and we played it over the car stereo so we could talk.

"Max, can you tell us what happened?" Steve asked.

She sniffled. "N-not now. W-we should w-wait f-for everyone." She coughed, sobbing into her knees. She'd pulled them to her chest, folding them as she clung to my arm.

Steve nodded, turning down Mike's road. Nancy's car screeched to a stop in her driveway, Robin and her climbing out. Nancy stared at our car, waiting for us to stop.

Dustin gave me back the tape, and I put it back in Max's walkman. She squeezed her eyes shut as it started playing, climbing out after Lucas.