Chapter Fifty One

Three Months Later

The suffocating heat of the summer had finally began to subside leaving a cooler breeze in its place making it clear that fall was on the way. In no time at all sweaters and jeans would be replacing cut offs and tank tops, and the heady high of summer would be nothing more than a memory.

Warm orange light filtered through the open window creating patterns on the carpetted floor and furniture of Jaime' bedroom. Her bedroom had looked the same since she had started High school and when her mom had married Neil it had quickly become the only room she felt remotely safe in. Living in fear was no way to live though, and she sure as hell didn't want to spend the rest of her days hiding away in her bedroom.

"You ready, Mayfield?"

There wasn't much time before their parents came home so time was of the essence, that didn't mean that Jaime was going to chance leaving something important behind though. Taking one last sweep of her room, making sure to check under the bed again, Jaime couldn't find any missed items so she headed to the living room yelling out for Max as she did. "Max! We're leaving!"

Stepping into the living room Jaime couldn't ignore the flutter she felt in her stomach when her eyes landed on the broad figure that was leaning on the frame of the front door.

"Move your ass, Mayfield. We've got a long drive ahead of us." Billy said, frustration evident in both his voice and posture. They didn't have long until their parents returned and he wanted Hawkins far behind them before his dad realised they were gone.

"Relax, Hargrove. I was like two seconds." Jaime completely understood Billy being so eager to get on the road, but there was no way she was leaving without saying goodbye to Max, so he would have to be patient. "Where the fuck is Max?"

Billy tilted his head in the direction of the drive in way of response. "Even your shit head sister is ready. So can you move your ass now, Mayfield?"

Jaime rolled her eyes, strutting past Billy and through the front door towards the Camaro which they had spent the last hour loading. As much as she wanted to leave Hawkins Jaime would have been lying if she said she wasn't dreading leaving Max. Since the day she was born Jaime hadn't loved anyone the way she loved her sister, and after everything they had been through since moving to Hawkins she was nervous to leave her alone.

"Hurry it up." Billy said as he lit himself a cigarette and march around to the drivers side of the Camaro. Summer might have been dying but it was still far too hot to wait inside the car, so instead he propped himself against the warm metal door.

With Billy being uncharacteristically quiet Jaime took the opportunity to get the last few things she had been wanting to say to Max off of her chest. "You can come with us." She offered in a quiet voice, her eyes watching Max with an intense stare. God, she wanted her to come with them. "There's room."

A smile spread across Max's face and Jaime knew her well enough to know she had no intention of leaving with them. In an unexpected move Max wrapped her arms tightly around Jaime's middle, her head resting on her chest, and despite not being a hugger herself Jaime found that she squeezed her sister back just as tightly.

"This is my home." Explained Max, her voice muffled by Jaime's chest. "I'm going to miss you."

There wasn't a chance that Max would ever fully grasp how much she was going to miss her, and Jaime's arms tightened around her of their own accord wanting to remember as much of her as possible. "I'll call you once we're there. You remember what I said, right?"

When she and Billy had begun planning Jaime had come up with a way that she could still speak to Max without her mom or Neil getting in the way, and as long as Max stuck to that plan they'd still be able to talk regularly.

Max nodded her head yes, pulling back from Jaime. "Eight o'clock, Fridays. I'll say it's El."

"What else?"

"Pocket cash."

Jaime couldn't help but smile - she had definitely rubbed off on Max. "Maybe I'll be able to visit at some point. Alone." Casting a glance over at Billy who was still leant against his car silently smoking, Jaime knew she would never let him come back to Hawkins, or to Neil.

"Tell Dad I said 'hi'." A look of guilt momenterily passed over Jaime's face taking Max by surprise. Unlike Jaime she hadn't been overly upset about leaving their dad, in many ways she was as angry at him as she was their mom, so she really had no jealousy that Jaime would be seeing him again.

"Mayfield!" Billy barked, unknowingly stopping any awkwardness from presenting itself. "Let's go."

Trotting over to the passenger side Jaime slipped into the seat, scowling at Billy as she did. "It's not my fault someone is actually going to miss me, Hargrove."

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

Billy grinned earning a wide smile back from Jaime before he closed the space between them with a searing kiss. "You're a pain in the ass, Mayfield." He said with amusement breaking the kiss before he got too carried away- they had already wasted enough time.

Reversing quickly, he spun the car around with a screech ready to leave Hawkins and Neil behind him. Pushing his foot down on the gas pedal the Camaro lurched forward quickly, tires spraying out clouds of smoke.

Leaning out of the window as far as she could without falling Jaime waved wildly at Max. "Try not to miss me too much!"

As the Camaro pushed further down the street Max's figure grew smaller and smaller until Jaime couldn't see her at all, and she had no choice but to pulled herself back inside the car.

"You good, Mayfield?" Asked Billy. She might have thought herself a good actress but he could see the pain hidden in her eyes. "She'll be fine."

Plastering a smile across her pink lips Jaime squashed the unpleasant feelings down, today was a good day, a happy day, and she wasn't about to let anything ruin it. She had been alone for long enough and for the first time in years Jaime felt genuine happiness. Both she and Billy deserved love, in truth she wasn't sure whether that was what they felt for each other, but what ever it was Jaime had never felt anything like it before and she wasn't letting it go.

"Worried I've changed my mind, Hargrove? Maybe I've got bored of you?" Jaime smirked as she plucked the cigarette from Billy's lips and dragged hard on it. It was a flat out lie, unbeknown to Billy she could never see herself growing tired of him, that didn't mean she still didn't enjoy playing with him though.

"If I remember rightly it was you who was jealous all summer." It was nothing short of hilarious to Billy that Jaime still thought that she could glaze over the pissing contest she had engaged in with Karen Wheeler all summer.

He had her there. No matter how much she hated it Jaime couldn't mask the unadulterated hatred she held for Karen and it all stemmed from the older womans infactuation with Billy. So no thanks to Karen Wheeler the scales had tipped in Billy's favour.

"It's okay, Princess, I won't tell anyone what a jealous bitch you are."

Jaime didn't need to look at Billy to know the exact shit-eating grin he would have slapped across his face, and before everything that had happened that summer she would have quickly wiped it right back off but now she was just thankful he was there. Flicking the end of the cigarette she stol out of her window Jaime's attention landed on the sign she had been eager to see since they had moved. Whizzing past in almost an unreadable blur the leaving Hawkins sign was officially behind them and they were officially free.

"Pull over, Hargrove." Jaime instructed, a smirk of her own tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Lets see how right Karen Wheeler was to be obsessed with you."

Billy didn't need asking twice, he read the message loud and clear. Abruptly swerving the car to the side of the road he made quick work of shutting the engine off and ridding himself of his seat belt, it seemed Jaime was just as eager as he was because not two seconds after the car stopped Jaime was already climbing onto his lap.

Grabbing her face Billy pulled Jaime towards him and kissed her feverishly. It felt like a life time since she had last felt his skin against hers and now she had it Jaime never wanted to go without again. She felt like a starving man getting his first meal as her hands quickly slid between them and pulled at the zip of Billy's jeans freeing his hard cock.

Both of them were desperate, their kisses rough and frantic. Billy smirked against Jaime's lips when she pulled her panties to one side and shoved herself down onto him, burying him to the hilt. When their relationship had first started he had been the one to make all the first moves, there was no way the Ice Queen was going to show that she liked him, yet now she was the one riding him at a wanton speed, kissing him and pulling desperately at his shirt. As much as he enjoyed the unfiltered desperation Jaime had for him Billy wasn't one for not being in control so he grasped her bruisingly by the hips and started slamming her down on his cock, enjoying the high pitched moans slipping from her pink lips.

"Billy!" Jaime gasped, her insides tightening around Billy's cock. He groaned in her ear, still working his furious pace and making Jaime whine lowly in the after glow of her earth shattering orgasm. "Harder!" She begged, her hunger for him not ebbing even after her climax.

Billy smirked and obliged her, unable to deny the begging tone she used. His thrusts became more urgent and everytime Jaime let out tiny gasps of pleasure as he went deeper, he could feel himself getting closer. It was all too much for Billy, with a low groan he came deep inside of Jaime.

For a moment neither of them moved, both trying to catch their breath in the afterglow of their orgasms.

"You couldn't live without me, Mayfield. Admit it." Billy finally panted, the same smug smirk curved across his face.

Max hadn't known who to call, who to speak to, all she knew was she needed someone to help her.

"This is how she's been since it happened." She explained to Steve once she had quietly pushed the door to Billy's bedroom open.

For months Jaime had done nothing but lay on Billy's bed, cacooned in his leather jacket, seemingly frozen in her own grief. After five long weeks the sobbing had stopped much to Max's relief. The house had been haunted by Jaime's cries and Max had started to question how it was even physically possible for someone to cry for so long, especially someone like her sister. Jaime never cried. Now though the tears didn't seem so bad, anything was better than the deathly silence that now suffocated the house.

"I don't know what to do." She had tried talking to her sister, she had tried just sitting with her, she had tried so many things and still Max had made no progress. After the battle at Starcourt it had been Steve who sat by Jaime's side, it had been Steve who had gone in the ambulance with her, so he was the only person that Max could think of asking for help. Billy might have hated Steve but Jaime obviously didn't.

Nodding his understanding Steve walked further into what had been Billy's bedroom, briefly taking in the differences to his own before he perched on the edge of the bed by Jaime's legs. What the hell was he going to say? He himself had never lost anyone he loved, and it seemed almost insulting to pretend that he knew how Jaime was currently feeling. That being said he couldn't just leave her how she was, Max was right that something needed to be done to help Jaime, Steve just hoped he was up to the task.

"Jaime, it's Steve." Even before the words had left his mouth Steve was more than aware how ridiculous he sounded, and it had him shaking his head. "I know...I know you're hurting, but this is getting kinda scary."

Below him Jaime didn't so much as acknowledge his existence, her gaze remained fixed on the opposite wall, eyes unblinking. Max had warned him that Jaime was offering no response to anyone, but Steve had expected her to at least blink.

"Everyone knows that Billy wasn't exactly my biggest fan, and well...I wasn't his either, but we both had something in common. You. I know that you and Billy had something completely different to what we have, I think though that he would be glad that I'm here for you. He wouldn't want you to be alone. Just like you didn't want him to be alone."

At the mention of Billy's name Jaime's eyes shut for a moment almost like she was in physical pain, it was a response though so Steve went on. "You fought so hard for him, Jaime. You nearly died for him."

She really had. Looking at Jaime's leg Steve could see the ugly red scar clearly on her milky skin, even with three months of healing time it was still obvious just how deep the cut had been. When he had finally managed to pry Jaime from Billy's body and get her to a paramedic they had been in complete disbelief that she was even alive, let alone conscious. Looking at the now healed injury Steve still felt sick to his stomach that it was his fault she had been so badly hurt; he hadn't known she was in the car with Billy, had he have he wasn't entirely sure he would have been able to save Nancy.

"He fought too. Max told me what El said, what made him fight back. It was you." Steve might not have heard it directly from El but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that what Max had said was true. From what Dustin had told him Billy had apparently been fighting to keep Jaime safe the entire time, so the fact she was the one that helped him come back to himself wasn't hard to believe.

Hidden behind the door Max listened intently to everything Steve was saying, and felt a stab of sadness at the mention of Billy's name. Just as Steve had said El had told her what made Billy fight back, and in many ways it only made it sadder.

"Seven...feet. You told her the wave was seven feet. You were happy, but she left you." El cried. "Jaime never left you. She helped you. She loved you when you needed love the most."

When El had confided in her what had happened Max had broken down into floods of tears. She and Billy never would have been like true brother and sister but maybe things could have gotten better, maybe if he had been happy things would have been completely different. Now though she would never have the chance to find out.

"Do you know what is the worst part in all of this?" Jaime's voice spoke from the other side of the door. She sounded so different, her voice hoarse and weak, nothing like how Max remembered her sister ever sounding.

Peaking through the slither of an opening Max could see that Jaime was now sat up right - something Max hadn't witnessed in months - and she was looking directly at Steve with broken eyes.

"I wish it had been her." Whispered Jaime, swallowing back a sob that was desperately clawwing up her throat. "I wish she had died instead of him. I wish a kid was dead, Steve. I let Billy die, and I wish a child had died."

Steve's face was consumed by what could only be pity and it made Jaime feel physically sick. She didn't want pity she wanted someone to know what an awful person she was. Who wished a child dead? To her very core she wished it had been El and she hated herself for it, but that didn't stop her wishing it any less.

"You're grieving."

"I feel like I've died but my body is still here." Jaime admitted in a small voice, no longer able to hold Steve's gaze. "There's a moment when I wake up that I forget, but then I remember and it's like it happens all over again. Do you have a cure for that, Steve Harrington?"

In his entire life Steve had never felt someone elses pain just from looking and listening to them, now he had. Broken was the only way to describe Jaime, it was a stark difference to what he knew her to be. "They say time heals all wounds?" It was a pitiful but it was the only thing he could think of.

"And I've got nothing but time." Jaime said sadly as she subconsciously pulled Billy's leather jacket tighter around her body. It was starting to lose his smell, with each day it grew weaker and weaker, and she was losing another part of him. Laying back down in her previous position Jaime snuggled her face into the sheets of the bed and almost sighed in relief when she picked up the comforting scent that had belonged exclusively to Billy.

"Robin's waiting in my car. I think she'd like to see you." When Jaime didn't offer a response Steve lay down beside her on the bed, his head turning to face her. "It'll get easier, I promise." He whispered.

"When?"

"I don't know." Steve said truthfuly as his fingers interlaced with Jaime's. "You've got to try though. It's what he would have wanted. Well, at least right after he killed me for being on his bed with you."

Despite herself Jaime couldn't help but laugh. Steve Harrington was the biggest loser she knew, and it was exactly what she had needed. "You best get out then." She smiled, giving a weak shove to Steve's shoulder.

"Not without you."

Rolling off of the bed and onto his feet Steve dramatically offered out a hand for Jaime. "We best not keep Robin waiting."

Much to her own surprise Jaime found that she accepted the outstretched hand and allowed Steve to pull her to her feet. "So where is it you're taking me, Harrington?"

A boyish grin spread across Steve's face. He had some how succeeded in making Jaime feel good enough to not just leave the bed but the house. God he was good, and who in their right mind wouldn't want to employ him? "Me and Robin both need new job-"

"Gag me with a spoon." Jaime interupted with a laugh. "You are truly tragic Steve Harrington." She had thought they were going to go get wasted at Lovers Lake, not drive around looking for some dead end job vacancy. At least Jaime's life wasn't the only one that sucked.

"What?"

"I hope you get another adorable uniform." Teased Jaime before she went off to her own bedroom for the first time in months to get her shoes. As she crossed the threshold it felt almost surreal, like she was in some kind of dream world. At any moment she expected to find Billy propped against the door frame, smoking a cigarette and being his usual asshole self. When she looked over her shoulder at the door though it was empty.

"You ready?" Steve called from somewhere down the hall.

There was a loaded question. Was she ready? Jaime didn't think she was ever going to be ready to do anything ever again, but Steve was right when he had said it wouldn't be what Billy would have wanted for her. He would have wanted her to live.

Slipping her feet into her signature white stilletos Jaime took a deep breath before marching from her room. "As I'll ever be."

A/N/ So we have finally reached the end! I am unbelievably sad and so didn't want this story to finish. If Billy does come back for season 4 (I'm still holding out lol) then of course I will continue with this!
I asked in my previous chapter if people would be interested in a kind of prequel involving Jaime and Billy and a lot of people said yes, so I will be starting that soon :D

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this story even though a lot of people hate me for killing Billy. Let me know your thoughts and keep safe and healthy, my dudes! :)

Jomobabe45: I'm sorry I made you cry! I didn't mean to (although I kinda did lol) I hope you enjoyed this final chapter :)

MulishaMaiden: I'm so sad to be at the end too! Also sorry to make you cry, if it helps I nearly did writing it lol. I hope you like how it ended and hopefuly see you when I start the prequel.

Guest: Don't cry! I'm sorry! lol Thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed this one :)

Savysnape7: Thank you for such a lovely compliment and I truly hope you enjoy reading this one too :)

Kairi: I'm so glad you understand why I killed him off, I didn;t want to I swear but it just didn't feel right not sticking with it. Hope you like this final chapter :)

Jo: I'm sorry for making you cry, don't hate me! :)

Guestttt: Thank you so much! I'm glad you think so, and I am touched. Hopefully see you at the prequel :)

Sohma: I'm so happy you loved the chapter! I hope Jaime's little day dream at the beginning of this chapter was enough of a kind of alternative ending for you :)

Guest: Sorry on the delay, quarantine life if crazy! Hope it was worth the wait though :)