caring

“Yeah, I feel bad for all those people.” Not to mention herself, but Penny had a feeling there would be no going back to her tent, though soon enough that wouldn’t be a problem. Dylan had unwittingly stepped in with the save. “Well, from what I heard that rich girl’s family paid or like big graters or whatever, so hopefully it won’t so bad. I mean, it’s already melting so maybe it’ll just stay a nice heavy trickle and not be too bad. Heard the mayor’s down there, too, helping to dig out. This is a really nice town for him to do that.” Keeping mum on the fact that she knew the man, the mayor, from before her time in Carroll, she figured it was better for them both that way. “I might head there after I’m done helping you.”

Billie nods, “Yeah I heard they were doing that too. It’s nice of them, I guess.” Though wasn’t the local government supposed to have shit like that covered? Billie was no political genius so she kept that thought to herself for fear it’d just be wrong. Even with having been in this town her whole life she’d never seen a disaster of this scale, so perhaps they just weren’t ready for it. Nothing to do but keep shoveling, in any case. “Well he couldn’t exactly do nothing after all, else we’d have all had his fucking life. Gotta be a man of the people if you wanna stay popular.” Now that much she knew for sure. “I’ve got a few people ‘round town that have asked me to help them so I’m gonna try and work out a route that takes me in that direction, too.”

A little taken aback at the attitude shot her way, Autumn narrowed her eyes at Billie and shook her head. “I mean, I would normally totally do that, but I usually don’t share with people who talk to me like that. I mean… I am only funding the entire clean up of the graters doing the main roads, but fuck me, right.” Rolling her eyes the blond set her cup down on a railing next to Billie. “On second thought you need it more than I do.”

Billie rolled her eyes, “Right. So what, you just throw money at the problems and figure you’ve done your bit? Fantastic, but not all of us can afford to do that. I have to dig my driveway out and get my dad home before he has a meltdown because the place looks too different covered in snow.” She sighs, shifting a pile of snow to the side before taking a brief pause to take a sip of the coffee, “so if you’re not gonna help me, I really don’t need you here.”

As soon as the other girl started to shovel once more, Ember followed suit, smile blossoming on her face as she worked. “Well that is right kind’a you. I was plannin’ on doin’ the same as well. From what I hear lots’a places are handin’ out free coffee, too. That’s one thing that is the same in every small town. They’re real good at pullin’ t’gether. I’d be more’n happy’ta help ya hand’em out, too. I’m Ember, I ain’t sure we were formally introduced. Most people just know me as ‘the woman with the piglet’.

“Caffeine and heat, just to keep everyone going.” Honestly on her dad’s worst days Billie sometimes didn’t eat a solid meal until after he’d gone to bed, just fueled by coffee to get through it. She nods, “yeah, Carroll has always been good in a disaster.” Well, good enough anyway. Not that Billie has anywhere to compare it too. “Billie Maxwell.” She paused her shoveling to shake the others’ hand. “Most people know me as... Well, I guess I don’t know.” She shrugs, “The one with the sick dad, maybe? Or I won a lot of awards and shit when I was on the track team back in high school, so it could be that.”

Lucy had known, in the back of her mind, that this was coming. Billie was not the right person to press, especially not on this matter, but the blonde was at her wits end. Her hazel eyes steeled against her friends before she deflated entirely with a shrug of her slender shoulders. “Ugh, fine.” Lucy groaned, rubbing her fingers over her eyes. A pang of grief arising from seemingly out of nowhere as she wished she still had the sick parent card to play but she swallowed it down before it could make things worse. “Do you want a hand, then? I bet we can get it done in one.” 

Billie wanted to help. She wanted to help Lucy and her elderly neighbor and she wanted to help the people who lived down in the trailer park and she wanted to help dig out the Silver Bullet. Dad just always came first, he had too. If he wasn’t taken care of she wouldn’t be able to deal with any of the rest of it. “You don’t have too.” Billie shook her head, “go help the old lady. I’m sure she’s got better cakes and shit in her apartment when you guys get done.”

“Well, at least that sounds like he’d be enjoying himself.” Grinning, Penny had started in with her shovel before Billie had even accepted her offer, making quick work of the the parts she was doing. Snow held very little intimidation for the Canadian girl, and even she was surprised at how quickly the rust fell off her even after a few years of not seeing snow at all. “Don’t worry, we’ll have him all dug out in no time.”

“Ignorance is bliss.” Billie agreed with a shrug- truth be told she was hoping he’d stay a bit unawares and just sit there ‘till she could get him inside, that was way better than dealing with a breakdown because he looked around too much and didn’t recognize the town in all this snow. “Least I don’t have to worry too much about flooding in this part of town.” That really would’ve been hell, “feel sorry for the suckers in the trailer park though, hopefully they’re getting help like the elderly or incapable, what with being a flood risk and all.”

“You should see August out there shovelling that snow like a machine. I gotta say there’s some serious perks to have an Alabama mountain man, I love watching him be all… like… rugged and stuff.” Grinning as she sipped at her coffee, she shook her head with a little shrug. “I tried to help but got told I’d be better spectating so like, you won’t hear me complaining. Blisters would not be cute on these hands.”

Billie stopped working for a moment, propping her shovel up in the still packed snow to lean against it. Typical princess Autumn, refusing to lift a finger even in what was essentially a disaster zone. “Yeah, fuck helping your community in the wake of a tragedy, right?” She huffed, “If you’re not gonna help at least gimmie a sip of your coffee, I’m freezing my tits off here.”

“Well, shit. This is way too much snow for any one person.” Shaking her head she understood now why they’d requested so many people on the team that was going around to do the walks for the elderly and disabled who had no one to help. Not only was it deep but it was heavy and packed down with it’s own weight and Penny was staring at the walk to her apartment building with disdain. She’d been the first back, with a shovel no less, but doing it herself would be impossible. “Why don’t we kill two birds and I’ll help you and then you can help me?”

Billie huffed in acknowledgment and kept shoveling snow- it was too much. Had to keep muddling through, though. This snow was the last fucking thing she needed. “Well they opened the coffee shop for people who needed somewhere to wait the snow shoveling so with any luck dad will just sit in there and chat some poor sods ear off until I can get it done.” She nods, looking up to Penny with a smile, “that’d be great, actually. Thanks.”

“No, no, no you got me all wrong. I was tryin’a offer’ta help you.” Holding up the shovel that she’d gotten from Harry’s father’s truck, glancing over at her fiance as he offered to help someone else. “I ain’t got the same height'n strength as my fiance over there, but what I do got, is a right good ‘mount’a experience with this while coldness right here.”

Billie blinked, surprised. “Oh.” She nodded and jerked back into motion, back to shoveling snow. “Right. Well, thanks. I really appreciate the help. Promise soon as I manage to get into the house I’ll stick the kettle on and get a couple of coffees sorted for you and your man. Y’know come to think of it I’ll probably just fill every mug in the house and hand ‘em out as I go around.”

”Well, like…” Lucy held her arms out either side of her in exasperation. Clad in a thick parka she’d borrowed from one of her brothers and layered beneath with as many sweaters as she could find, it wasn’t that far from where her arms had been stuck out anyway. “Shit, Billie. It’s only me and little old Mrs Miller in my block and I sure as hell can’t dig us in there myself. I’d ask my brothers but they’re already out there being good samaritans and shit.”

Billie sighed and ran a hand through her hair, leveling Lucy with an empathetic look, “my dad just spent way too much time in an unfamiliar environment. He woke up every fucking morning with no idea where he was and it is by the grace of god or something that I have managed to make sure he didn’t have a total melt down, but now I’ve got like- two hours, tops, while he sits in the coffee shop and chats the ear off the only waitress he remembers.” She says all this while huffing and shoveling snow off to the side, “he needs to be home, where it’s warm and he’s safe before one of us has to face plant into a snow drift and scream.”

Star of track and field, essential member of the girls’ football team, reputable fighter both in and out of the boxing ring at Carroll High. Not exactly an honour roll student, though. She’d cut classes, was regularly late in the mornings, barely ever turned in her homework, and was often reprimanded for getting into scuffles with guys who thought they were too tough to be beaten by a girl. Teachers would sigh and shake their head and tell her she would have a promising future if she just applied herself. Billie would tell them there was no point, but she would never tell them why.

Most of her peers figured she’d jet off to some fancy college after school thanks to the abundance of sports scholarships she was offered, but Billie stayed put and got a job at the silver bullet instead. At first no one could figure out why, but you can’t keep your secrets forever in a town so small. Her father had been struggling with Huntingtons disease for years, but Billie’s mother had always been able to cope when she was a kid... Though apparently she figured fifteen was old enough for Billie to look after the man herself. She left. 

Billie has resented her ever since. If she’d just been able to stay by his side a few more years she would’ve stood half a chance of making something of herself. Now she’s just a girl who can run fast and hit hard and works in a shitty local bar when she isn’t looking after her father.

have you seen ( Billie Maxwell, Female, she/her )? They look a lot like ( Ashley Moore ). The ( 23 ) year old ( bartender ) is so ( caring, organized, proactive ) but I heard they can also be really ( obsessive, confrontational, insecure ). Can you believe they’ve been in town for ( her entire life )?!  Character Aesthetics: to do lists, hair scrunchies, pristinely white trainers, mom jeans, hands on hips, google search histories on carers benefits, bitten fingernails, tired eyes, never getting out the house on time for work, bloody knuckles, bruised knees, not having an inside voice, colour coded kitchen cupboards, running until your lungs burn.