Tʜᴇ Fʟᴀʀᴇ ꕥ Lɪᴢᴢɪᴇ Jᴏʜɴsᴏɴ

sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴛᴡᴏ ꕥ 13

Steve sighed. "I'll go out to meet him. Tell him you're not there. He-"

"What? No, Steve, you can't," Max spoke with sincerity. "I've seen what he can do - you can't!"

"I have to!" Steve said. "Stay here and stay quiet! Don't be seen in the windows, okay?"

"Okay," the five terrified kids replied, ducking behind the sofa and just peeking through the window. Steve slowly went out the door.

"Am I dreaming or is that you, Harrington?" Billy, Max's brother (step-brother technically) said menacingly. He obviously knew Steve from school.

"Yeah, it's me, don't cream your pants," Steve answered bravely.

Billy smirked. "What are you doing here, amigo?"

Lizzie inched up a little further to see the two boys advance an inch further towards each other-

"I could ask you the same thing," Steve replied. "Amigo."

"Looking for my step-sister," Billy replied tauntingly, lighting a cigarette. "Little birdy told me she was here."

"Huh, that's weird, I don't know her," Steve lied in a monotone.

"Small, red hair, bit of a bitch?"

Max rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't ring a bell, sorry, buddy," Steve lied again.

Billy tutted and removed the cigarette from his mouth. "You know- there's- there's something about this- this whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Yeah, well, why's that?" Steve asked with raised brows.

Billy answered smoothly. "My thirteen year old sister goes missing for the whole day, and then I find her with you... in a stranger's house. And you lie to me about it."

Steve chuckled but Lizzie could tell he was bailing. "Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?"

Billy shook his head and puffed smoke into Steve's face.

But the babysitter stayed loyal to his kids.

"Look, I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here."

"Then who is that?"

Shit! Lizzie and Max had both been spotted, full face, in the window, and even as they dropped down low on the sofa, they knew it was over.

Billy had seen them.

"Fuck," Lizzie hissed.

"Oh shit!" Steve shouted as Billy shoved him onto his back, leering over him.

"Let. Me in."

"Argh!" Steve cried as Billy kicked him in the gut, and advanced towards the door.

The five kids had come off the sofa by now, and were waiting in the middle of the room when Billy burst in.

"Well, well, well," Billy said, as if this was exactly what he was expecting. "Lucas Sinclair, isn't this a surprise?"

He took a step towards Lucas but turned to Max. "I thought I told you to stay away from him."

"Billy go away," Max said, but her voice was shaky.

"You disobeyed me," Billy leered down at her. "And no one... disobeys me. Or else I break things."

And with that he took Lucas by the throat and backed him into the nearest wall.