Infinity| Billy Hargrove [2]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"It can't be good for her to be in there for this long." Mike complains, pacing around the room.

"Mike, you need to relax." Max tells him.

"What if she gets brain damage or something?" Mike ignores the ginger.

"Oh, shit. Is that, like, a real thing?" Lucas asks.

"No, it's not. He made it up." Max answers, "Mike doesn't know what the hell he's talking about."

"Oh, and you do?" Mike fires back.

I blur them out, throwing out the drained blood bag and resting my head on the table.

Nancy, Jonathan, and Will try to think up the Mind Flayers plans before Mike and Max storm up to the table, "Okay, can you guys settle an argument for us? Who do you think should decide El's limits? Mike or Eleven?"

"The way that you frame that is such bullshit." Mike curses.

I pick my head up, rubbing a hand over my face. Here we go.

"It's not bullshit, Mike. This is your problem." Max argues, "And it's also precisely the reason why she dumped your ass."

I snicker quietly as Nancy asks, "El dumped you?"

"Yeah, because she's conspiring against me!" Mike assumes, pointing to Max, "She's corrupting her."

"No, enlightening her." Max corrects, "The fact is, she's not yours. She's her own person, fully capable of making her own decisions."

"She's risking her life for no reason!" Mike shouts.

"For no reason?" Nancy cuts in.

"Mike, she's trying to find out where the Mind Flayers minions are so we can kill this son of a bitch and end this all!" I explain.

"The flayed are out there doing God knows what." Nancy shakes her head.

"Killing, flaying..." Lucas trails.

"Transforming into monsters." Will adds.

"And El's not stupid. She knows her abilities better than any of us." Nancy starts.

"Exactly, thank you." Max butts in.

"And she is her own person." Nancy continues.

"Exactly." Max interrupts.

"With her own free will." Nancy finishes.

"Exactly." Max repeats, "El has saved the world twice and Mike still doesn't trust her."

They continue to bicker about El when my ears perk up at something Mike says, "...because I love her and I can't lose her again."

Everyone's mouth seems to pop open at what Mike just blurted out, the room was dead silent. A door creaks open and we all turn to see El, her eyebrows furrowed, "What's going on?"