Page 33 of The Me I Left Behind

Maggie whirled back.

Carol, too. “Dad!”

Dammit!Maggie’s brain raced. How…? What to do now? She had to get the kids out of the house. Had to do… Something. “Max, what the hell are you doing here?”

He took a step toward her. “You can’t tell me you didn’t expect me, Mags.”

She wanted to smack that cocky bastard grin off his face.

She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders. “I actually expected you a bit earlier. Nice to see you, Max. We have things to talk about.”

“Yes, darling, we do.”

He turned away and raked his gaze over his daughter. “Get. Dressed.” Then, rotating to his left, he fixed a bead on Tyler. “Andyouget the fuck out of my daughter’s bedroom, you little cocksucker.” He took two steps toward him.

Maggie grabbed Max’s arm, trying to stop him. “Go, Tyler.”

Max flung his arm up and away from Maggie, releasing her grip on him. “Get off.”

Tyler shuffled quickly to the other side of the room, where Carol was pulling on her sweater and jeans. She tossed Tyler his T-shirt. He shrugged into it.

“Go on, kids,” she urged. “I’ll talk to you later, Carol.”

Max sneered. “Where are the other kids? They’re not in their rooms.”

“With a friend.”

“And you let Carol stay here with this cunt-craving teenage ball of testosterone?”

Carol took a step. “She didn’t know I was here, Dad. It’s my fault.”

He slowly swiveled and scowled. “I will talk to you later.”

Maggie waved her arms, hoping Carol and Tyler would just go. Leave.

Max caught her arm by the wrist, twisted it, and held tight.

“You’re a crap mother. You know that? How could you let her be alone with a boy in our house? You’ve got the hormones of a fucking rabbit, and you’ve passed them along to our daughter. Well, I’m going to fix that.”

“Right. How?”

“I’m taking her to Australia.”

Carol shouted. “No!” She pushed away from Tyler and closer to her dad. “You can’t make me. I won’t. I’ll run away first.”

“And I’ll beat your ass from here to Brisbane.” Max released Maggie and snatched Carol’s arm, jerking her closer. Carol stumbled and cried out. “Ow!”

“Hey!” Tyler lurched forward.

Maggie grabbed him. “No. Don’t.”

“Dad, let go! You’re hurting me!”

Something came over Maggie then, something she’d tamped down in the past, but couldn’t hold back now. Seeing Max roughly handle Carol, like he had her all those years, broke the dam inside her.

She rushed forward, fists pummeling his body. She went straight for his face, head, and neck. Hitting, scratching, clawing. “Let her go! Let her go, Max, or I swear I will fucking kill you!”

He shoved Carol away.

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