Deb struggled to free herself, and Max let her go. She, deliberately, bumped into Max, on her way upstairs. She walked to the living room, where she sank down on the couch. She heard Max putting the stove on, but didn’t bother getting up to check what she was doing.
Ten minutes later, Max joined her with two cups of hot coco. “Here” she offered, but when Deb wouldn’t accept it, she put it on the table. “”It’s instant. Best I could do. I promise I didn’t poison it” She sat down next to Deb, and took a sip from her cup. “Damn, that’s hot” she muttered. “I think I burned my tongue”
She put her cup down, and turned to Deb. “You know I didn’t mean it, right? Those things I said about you and Dale?” she noticed Deb cringing by hearing that name. “I know you didn’t want that”
Mainly because she didn’t want to answer, Deb took her cup and took a sip, and then put it down again.
“You should do something about those scars” Max tried to break the tensing silence. “How come the doctor didn’t mention them? What happened, exactly?”
Deb’s hands slid in her neck, where her nails pierced her skin. She pulled up her knees, and started rocking, back and forth. “Punishment” she muttered.
“Punishment for what? For leaving?” Max frowned, confused, and shocked.
All of a sudden, Deb jumped up, and Max shrieked. Deb turned to her, with eyes cold as ice. She pointed a finger at Max. “You’ve been a bad girl, Debra Parker” she said loud. “A really bad girl. Bad girls have to be punished”
Max, stunned, wasn’t prepared for Deb, when the latter grabbed the former’s hair. “Aahh! Deb, let go of me!” she screamed.
“You will learn to listen to me, young lady” Deb continued, and Max figured she was quoting her mom. Although this wasn’t quoting. This was downright re-enacting.
“Deb, you don’t know what you’re doing” Max raised her voice, as Deb dragged her along. “You’re having an episode. Snap out of it”
“When Dale wants to watch you bath, you let him do that” Deb continued, obviously not listening to a word Max was saying. And now Max was too disgusted to say anything else. “And if he wants to touch you, you let him do that, even if it’s underneath your clothes”
She finally let go of Max, and walked to the kitchen counter.
Max quickly pulled out her phone, and pressed number two on her speed dial. She left a rushed message in Mike’s voicemail, and was just ready, when Deb returned to her with a knife.
“Deb, put that knife down. You’re going to hurt yourself” Max ordered, getting scared, but also a little mad.
“You have to learn to be obedient, Debra” Deb said, calmly now. She reached out the knife, and Max, confused, accepted it. “You know what to do. Ten on each arm” That being said, Deb turned around.
Max threw the knife on the floor. “I’m not going to cut myself!”
“Oh, yes, you are” Deb muttered, viciously. “Because bad girls, like you, deserve to be in pain” She turned around, and picked up the knife. She came at Max, who quickly grabbed her gun, and fired…