Blink (Billy Hargrove x OC)

#26 The Negotiation/The Ultimatum

▶️ The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

"Have a beer Billy." Billy's dad sits down next to Susan and slides him a cold one, another in his hand for himself. Billy cracks it open and takes a sip.

I feel so uncomfortable.

I scoot my chair closer to Billy's and rest my hand on his arm, he looks at me, slightly concerned.

"So, are you going to explain what you've done to your sister?" Neil flicks his eyes up to Billy's and mine.

"We haven't done anything to her." Billy says in an equally serious tone. "She is safe, she is being cared for."

"And why should we believe that? You hate her." Says Neil.

Susan purses her lips together and looks off to the side, tapping her fingers on the table and then moving both hands into her lap.

"I don't hate her. If I hated her, I wouldn't have come back for her." Billy says, trying to look at Susan but she won't meet his eyes.

Susan looks bad, worse than the last time we saw her. She has bruises all over her face, most of them fading, and she looks pale, her face sunken. Her eyes are puffy and bloodshot as if she's had no sleep. She's been crying, a lot. She's fidgety and nervous and my heart goes out to her. She doesn't deserve all this.

"We'll come back. I'll bring her back, I'll come back home. Everything will go back to the way it was." Says Billy and I nod.

"Okay. We're good then, done deal." Neil slaps his hand on the table and I jump.

"No." Says Billy.

"What then?" Neil stares his son down, as if daring him to challenge him.

It's a trap, we've know this. But there is no other way.

"Spit it out Billy." Neil growls.

Billy shifts uncomfortably and I squeeze his arm.

Neil notices the movement and narrows his eyes towards my hand. I move my hand into my lap and try to sit still.

"You can't lay a hand on Maxine, or Susan, or me anymore." Billy says, his voice cracking in the middle.

Neil smiles. He looks at Billy, then looks at me, and Billy again. Susan hangs her head.

Neil laughs.

"You...you're trying to tell...me, how to run this family?" He stops laughing and angrily furrows his brow.

With lightning speed, he turns his head to me like a lion with a kill in its sight. "You."

I flinch under his angry gaze.

"Is this whore putting these ideas in your head?" Neil turns back to Billy and asks him.

"No...dad...listen." Billy starts to lose his cool.

No, no, no, don't fall apart.

"How do you know what's best for this family boy? You haven't been here in months! You were too busy running off with this tramp to come home so how could you possibly know what's best for this family?" Neil lays it on Billy hard.

"You shouldn't be hitting Max!" Billy's eyes light up with the fire of conflict. "Or Susan!"

"You think I do it for fun boy? If I touch them it's to teach them a lesson."

"Billy." Susan says softly with pleading eyes.

"No Susan, we've started this and now we're going to finish it." Billy grits his teeth.