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Billy had called Beth twice since their last phone call to check up on her, but she didn't answer. He figured she was just holed up in her room and in some serious need of one of his shirts and some of his infamous "Billy hugs."
So, he turned on some Metallica, blasting it since Susan and Neil weren't home and getting himself ready.
He slipped on a red button up, leaving most of it unbuttoned and pulling some tight-fitting jeans on.
As he inhaled the smoke of a freshly lit cigarette, he admired himself in the mirror, smiling as he checked himself out.
Beth always loved watching him play around in the mirror, knowing he needed the confidence and tough exterior with a father like Neil.
That's what Billy loved so much about Beth. She understood him in a certain way no other person ever could. She held him when Neil hit him, let him stain her shirt with his tears as he sobbed, wanting nothing more than to take off with Beth to California to attempt at finding his mother.
She kissed him when he needed to forget or when they were just so entangled in one another that the world around them disappeared into thin air, leaving only them and their endless love for each other.
Billy admired how tough Beth could come off, but under all of her armor was just another broken, damaged teenager who needed some light. Just like him.
She held him together like glue. If not for her, he'd be wilting in a pit of anger and sadness, the tsunami of uncontrollable and overwhelming emotions swallowing him once and for all. But she held him up. She kept him from drowning. That's why he needed to save her from falling into her pit of emotion.
He needed to be the rope that she held onto to prevent her from falling. If she fell, she wouldn't be able to hold him above water, and they'd both go under.
They'd break away, turn into nothing but faulty dust and abandoned feelings.
So, he was planning on helping her through her, what some could say small, tragedy.
As he exhaled another drag of his cigarette, loud knocking came from his door. "Billy?"
"Yeah. I'm a little bit busy in here, Susan." he replied, using a kind tone in order to avoid setting his father off. Yet he still did.
"Open the door! Right now!" his father demanded from the other side of the door. Billy took one last drag of his cigarette, putting it out in the ashtray Beth got him.
He walked over to the door, opening it to reveal a worried Susan and a pissed Neil. "What's wrong?" Billy asked, shrugging slightly.
"Why don't you tell us?" Neil asked.
"Because I don't know." Billy shot back, watching his father eye him with a look he could only describe as hatred.
"We can't fine Maxine." Susan told him, her eyes sad and worried.
"And her window's open." Neil informed, Billy's head turning with shock that he didn't dare reveal to his father who stood looking at him carefully.
"Where is she?" Neil spat.
"I don't know." Billy was hesitant, his shoulders tensing as he mentally prepared himself for a lecture or possible a beating.
"You don't know?" his father scoffed.
"Look, I'm sure she just, I don't know, went to the arcade or something. I'm sure she's fine." Billy told them, walking to his closet to slip into his leather jacket while Neil and Susan followed behind him.
"You were supposed to watch her." Neil's nerves were rising, as well as his anger, Billy could easily tell.
"Yeah, I know, dad. I was. It's just you guys were three hours late, and well, I have a date." Billy sighed. "I'm sorry, okay?"
Neil nodded, looking at Billy's mirror. "So that's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot instead of watching your sister?"
"I have been looking after her all week, dad. Okay?" Billy argued. "She wants to run off then that's her problem, all right? She's thirteen years old, she shouldn't need a full-time babysitter." He told an increasingly angry Neil, going to turn off his music. "And she's not my sister."
That set Neil off completely, his hands curling into Billy's collar and slamming his back painfully into the dresser behind him. Billy grunted in pain, fear rocking throughout his body. But he would never show Neil that. Billy panted, trying to hold a strong face. His head began to throb with the pain of holding in his tears that were begging to show themselves from behind his tough eyes.
"What did we talk about?" Neil asked, slapping Billy harder than he ever has when he hesitated to answer.
He groaned in pain, looking at Neil becoming a difficult task.
"What did we talk about?" Neil asked, talking slower than before as he stared into his son's eyes with a harsh glare.
"Respect and responsibility." Billy answered, his tone firm.
"That is right." Neil told him. "Now, apologize to Susan."
Billy hesitated, looking between his eyes and the pain in his head became stronger, the tears fighting against his wishes hard. "I'm sorry, Susan."
"It's okay, Neil, really-" she tried to say, but Neil interrupted her.
"No, it's not okay. Nothing about his behavior is okay." Neil was harsh, but this, this was the worst Billy had seen in weeks. "But he's gonna make up for it." He told Susan, letting go of Billy and stepping back a but, letting Billy get off his tip toes and release the slightest bit of tension.
"He's gonna call whatever whore he's seeing tonight and cancel their date. And then he's gonna go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is. Isn't that right, Billy?"
Billy just stared at his excuse of a father, the tears finally pooling in his eyes.
Neil quickly stepped forwards, right in Billy's face. "Isn't that right?" he yelled, Billy's eyebrows scrunching.
"Yes sir." he whimpered, his tone finally breaking down.
Neil sighed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."
Billy's tears were getting close to falling, but he swallowed the painfully suffocating lump in his throat and somehow found a strong, stable tone. "Yes, sir."
"Find Max." Neil said, walking out of the room with Susan and closing the door.
Billy then broke down, all alone.
His tears finally fell, an expression he wore all too often taking over his face. In anger, he threw the cologne bottle he held, the glass shattering.
Oh, how he wished he had Beth there with him.
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another chapter! i feel like i'm updating too much too fast. am i? or do you guys like the frequent updates? please let me know. also, this is a filler, but also very important for the plot so next chapter will be out soon. maybe even within the next few hours, so just keep a lookout. (and ps, you already know, this is uNeDitEd)
