Hard Knock Life

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Fuck, this is not good. You sat down next to Max on the couch. "I have to go find him." you said. She nodded, tears rolling down her cheek. "I told you.. I told you he would hate me." she said. You put your arm around her and held her close. "I haven't seen that side of him. I mean with Neil, sure. But not with me. I didn't expect it." you said truthfully. What if Steve was right? You loved Billy though. You were in too deep.

"Are you gonna be okay if I go?" you asked her. "Can.. can I ride?" she said looking up at you. "Of course. Let's go." you said. You quickly called Robin to see if she could keep Johnny a little longer. You heard him playing in the background with Steve. "Absolutely! Be safe." she said before handing up. You got in your car and Max climbed in the passenger seat. You weren't sure where he would have went but you drove around hoping to spot his car somewhere.

"Y/n!!" Max yelled startling you. She pointed to the side of the road where you saw Billy's car in a ditch. Your heart stopped. You quickly pulled over and ran to the drivers door. Billy looked up at you. He had a small cut on his forehead but looked fine otherwise. You let out a breath you didn't realize you'd been holding in. You saw the bottle of whiskey completely empty. Max was beside you. "Billy, are you okay?" you said opening the door. "Mm.. fine." he mumbled climbing out of the car.

He looked pale for a second before he leaned over and puked all over your feet. Jesus. "Oops." he said standing back up. You grabbed his face lightly looking for any other injuries. "You" he said booping your nose, "still love me." You could smell the whiskey on his breath. "Get in the car." you said shortly. "Mama's mad." he chuckled before reaching out for you. You got on one side of him and Max got on the other. He threw his arms on your shoulders and you walked him to your car.

"What.. what about my car?" he said slumping down in the front seat. "We'll figure that out later." you said as Max climbed in the backseat. "I'm sorry." he mumbled turning to look at you. His eyes were low. "I'm not the only one you need to apologize to." you said looking back at Max. "Y/n.. it's fine." she said looking out the window. "I'm sorry.. to both of you. And to my car.. my beautiful car. Baby, I need my car." he said groaning. "I'll come back for you baby. Daddy will be back." he said drunkenly.

He was completely wasted. You looked back at Max and saw a small smile on her face. You busted out laughing and she joined you. "You two are mean." he mumbled closing his eyes. You drove back to the house mostly in silence. Every once in a while Billy mumbled something about his car or about you. "Max?" he whispered loudly, turning to look at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you think y/n will marry me? I want her.. I want her to be my wife." he said lowering his voice even more. You rolled your eyes at him but you also felt butterflies in your stomach from his words. "Maybe she will.. if you stop being a dick." Max said crossing her arms. You smiled at her through the rear view mirror. He nodded slowly. "I'm on it." he said turning back around and closing his eyes again.

You pulled up at your house and got Billy inside. You laid him on the bed and covered him up with your blanket. His eyes peeked open to look at you. "I am sorry. Really." he said. "We'll talk later. Get some rest." you leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I love you, y/n." he whispered. "I love you too, Billy." you said as you flipped off the light and shut your door. You walked out tossing your shoes in the trash.

It reminded you of the night you first met, when you had drank too much and threw up all over his shoes. You were so embarrassed in that moment. You definitely didn't think he would want to speak to you again. Now he was living with you. You were in love. And you were confused. You plopped down on the couch with Max. "Wanna talk about it?" she said seeing your face. Fuck it.

"I'm just.. it's like he's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I swear. He's so sweet and good to me and Johnny and then there's this anger inside of him that pops up out of nowhere. It's like two completely different people. One day he's buying me flowers and necklaces and telling me how much he loves me and then he's yelling at you and telling us both to fuck off and I feel like I can't breathe." you paused taking a deep breath as Max stared at you.

"And I'm so in love with him that I don't think I could leave even if I wanted to and that scares the shit out of me." you whispered. Max reached out and took your hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload all of that on you." you added. She smiled at you. "It's okay. I understand. Billy is... confusing. He's difficult. And sometimes it's scary. But I've never seen him love anyone before. He does love you. I don't think he really knows how. It's never been shown to him." she said softly.

"And you're a badass. You could absolutely leave him, if you wanted too. I've never met a stronger person in my life." she said squeezing your hand. A tear fell down your face. "Thank you, Max." you said squeezing her hand back. "And how the hell did you get so wise?" you said wiping the tear away. She shrugged. "I'm like an old lady. But cooler. Wise beyond my years." she joked waving her hands around. She pulled you in and you hugged her tightly.

Billy slept until evening. He walked out and saw you and Max watching a movie. He came to stand in front of both of you. "I'm sorry for earlier, Max. That... that wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have flipped out on you." he said. "I don't know how he knows." she said fidgeting with her hands. "It's okay. I'll deal with it." he said. "Baby?" he said looking at you. You looked up to meet his eyes. "Can I talk to you alone?" he asked softly. You stood up and he followed you into the bedroom. 

You sat down on the bed and he came to sit beside you. "I.. um. I'm sorry. For talking to you like that. And for yelling at Max. I panicked and um.. fuck. I didn't mean it." he said. "Billy, I love you. But I won't put up with that." you said looking into his eyes. "I know you have some issues you're dealing with and I do too and we can work through those things.. together. But not if you take it out on the people who don't deserve it." you said.

"I know. I.. I'm trying." he said his eyes misty. You cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss. He leaned over you and you laid back on the bed. He kissed you gently, his hand resting on your waist. Your kiss deepened and you held him close. You wrapped your arms around his neck pulling him in. His hand wandered to your thigh as you wrapped your leg around his waist. There was a knock at the door. You groaned and Billy climbed off of you.

"Guys? He's here." you heard Max say from outside your door. "Shit." Billy said. "Stay here." you said and you walked to your moms room. You took a chair and put in in front of the closet. You climbed up and felt around on the top shelf. There it is. You pulled down the shotgun and went to the nightstand grabbing bullets. You quickly loaded the gun and walked down the hall. Max's eyes widened as you made your way to the front door.

You swung it open and saw Neil standing there. "Can I help you?" you said holding the gun in your hands. "I'm looking for Billy. And Maxine." he said, his eyes falling to the gun. "They aren't here. And if you show up again on my property I have no problem using this gun." you said as strongly as you could. He laughed. "I see Billy found himself a crazy one." he said. "You're right. I am crazy." you said stepping on the porch. "You're not gonna shoot that thing sweetheart. Now send him out." he said a smirk on his face.

You took the gun aimed at a sign across the street. "You see that stop sign?" you said. He turned to look. "I'm going for the O." you said pulling the trigger. You hit the spot perfectly and he turned to look at you. He gritted his teeth. "The next one will be through your chest. This is private property." you said staring at him. He squinted his eyes at you but backed up. "Tell him I will see him around." he spit before turning and walking away. You walked inside and slammed the door. Billy and Max stood there staring at you. "Remind me to never piss her off." Billy said chuckling. "Badass.. like I said." Max grinned at you.