Unexpected Ways | Madwheeler

Chapter 9.

Max had been on 'bed rest' and wasn't allowed any visitors, causing the three boys to climb her house's pipe to the bedroom window. "Your butt's in my face!" Dustin yelled at Lucas. "Well your face is up my butt!" He shouted back. "I'm gonna fall!" Will moaned. Luckily the bickering had attracted Max's attention who opened the window widely, making their entrance easier. The three boys stumbled in, piling on top of each other. "Will you broke my arm!" Lucas groaned. "I'm light" the small boy responded back. Max laughed at the comedic sight. Her first real laugh in 2 weeks. She smiled sweetly at them, tears stinging her eyes. They'd come to check up on her. Lucas stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. "How you feeling Madmax?" He asked quietly. "Tubular now that you're here" she chuckled. "N'awwww" Dustin gushed, causing Lucas to smack his arm. "I mean now that all of you are here" Max covered, her gaze inspecting the room. Mike wasn't there. The boys seemed to notice. "He's been acting all pissy lately, so I wouldn't expect him to come anytime soon." Dustin said "he also mentioned an after school Maths test too?" Will added. Max felt herself deflate as she remembered the brief time she'd spent tutoring him, despite the current complicated situation she still hoped he'd pass. "Maaaxine" a slow voice suddenly called out, all four kids froze. Billy's footsteps were heard approaching, causing the boys to scramble over each other to hide.

"I heard voices up here... you know how disappointed dad'll be once he finds out you had... boys up here." Billy mused. "There's no one up here Billy." Max said as confidently as possible, her insides churning. Billy paced around the room, "why is the window open?" he demanded. "It got stuffy in here, especially since I've been underneath the covers all day" Billy nodded distracted, looking outside the window. "What's Karen's son doing here?" he snarled. Mike! Max felt a coldness spread over her. "Billy don't..." she started. "Of course not sis" he said quickly, flashing her a toothy grin. "We wouldn't want things to get messy between me and my little birdy now would we?" Max felt nauseous at the mention of Mrs Wheeler's nickname as she watched Billy slid out of the room. Max heard the front door open.

"Billy and Mike's mom?" Dustin gasped. "That's gross!" Will concluded. "But what about Mike's dad?" Dustin asked. "Does Mike know?" Lucas questioned. Max flopped back into her pillows, ignoring their pestering questions. She'd known before anyone else, when one day she heard Billy and Mrs Wheeler go up to his bedroom, she remembered skating around the whole night not daring to come back into the house. It was a good thing Mrs Wheeler wasn't there when she spent the night at Mike's. Mike... the boy was still downstairs. Max frowned, why was he taking so long to come up? Her thoughts however were scattered by Dustin, who shoved a candy bar in her face. "I'm good, D" the girl replied, Dustin shrugged and opened his mouth, devouring the bar in one go. Lucas looked at him in disgust. "What? I was hungry from all that climbing!" Dustin cried out. Max smiled, she'd missed them, all of them. "Where's El?" she asked. "Last I knew she was with Mike." Will answered. Max bit her lip, he still hasn't come up. Max glanced towards her door. "You seem distracted Max." Lucas noted. Max whipped her head towards him "yeah, sorry" she mumbled feeling guilty. "So..." Dustin drawled on. "Do you want to tell us what happened?" he asked cautiously. "You don't have to, if you don't want to." Will added in quickly. Max sighed, "a result of my stepfather's drinking habits" she said pointing to her face. The boys nodded, knowing that's the most they'd get out of her.

There was another knock on her door. "Billy..." Dustin whispered under his breath. The boys dived around, resuming their earlier hiding spots. "Can I come in?" a timid voice asked from the other side. "Yeah" Max squeaked. Fuck... this was going to be awkward. Mike slowly came in, approaching Max's bed apprehensively. In his right hand he clutched a piece of paper, Max frowned. "Whatcha' got there Wheeler?" the boy glanced down at his hands "um, well... I did my test today and..." he trailed off looking round the room anxiously. Max sat up in her bed following his gaze "For flip's sake I can give you a house tour later! Just tell me what you got!" she squealed excitedly. Mike smiled nervously "uh 82 percent" he replied humbly. Max's eyes widened "holy shit Wheeler! I knew you had it in you!" The girl impulsively bounced out of her bed, and wrapped the taller boy in her arms. Mike's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "I was such a dick to you the last time... and you're... happy for me?" Max searched his face intently, he looked ashamed. "You reacted like that because you cared. You may act like you don't but deep down I know you do. Because you're a good person." Mike swallowed, and wiped his palms on his sweater. "Thanks" he mumbled, embarrassed. "Well good things happen to good people" Max continued casually, "so no wonder you passed the exam." Mike looked down at her sadly. "So then why don't good things happen to you?" he said as his voice went dangerously soft. Max shrunk away from him, looking down at the floor. Mike grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "You don't deserve this Max, none of it. Please help yourself, if not for your sake then at least for min—" Mike stopped himself short, releasing Max's chin. He cleared his throat, looking nervously around the room again. He scratched his neck "well I um... promised Nancy I'd watch Holly for today so... thanks for all the help with tutoring and stuff." Max smiled "no problem." She watched as the boy made his way towards the door, before stopping. He turned around placing a set of plasters in her hand. "For your injuries" he chuckled, and with that he left. Max looked down at her palm. Dinosaur plasters. She grinned to herself, feeling content...

"What was that all about?" Will asked, when the boys finally reemerged. "Didn't know Mike actually had it in him to be nice to you Max." Dustin mused. "Yeah..." Lucas said. He was oddly quiet, Max mentally noted. "Anyways I've got to run too, so... see you later Madmax" Lucas said giving Max a quick hug, moving away before Max could even properly hug him back. "See you Stalker" Max said, waving goodbye to him and the other boys. Max shut her bay window, and climbed back into bed. Her chin was tingling, despite there being no injuries to it. She shook it off, and fell back into her bed, sighing heavily. The last thing she remembered was the sight of the dinosaur plasters on her night stand, and a feeling of warmth spreading over her as she fell asleep.