Thalassophile (Billy Hargrove)

Are you scared of me?

Chapter 10
Unedited

Everything that night felt more like a blur- no a dream, everything felt like a long lucid dream which I had no control over.

Eleven was alive; the girl who I owed my life to just showed up to the Byers house not even 45 minutes ago. I volunteered to babysit the rest of the kids with Steve Harrington, who seemed to get wrapped up in this mess again.

My leg bounced up and down, and I had a i

terrible pounding headache from all of the events that taken place tonight.

I couldn't believe that a year later, I was still stuck in the same place in this horrible nightmare. The house was loud as the kids tried to make a point, and Steve was going against their decision.

By now, I would have interjected at some point, but my brain was too wrapped up in preoccupied thoughts.

"I can't leave you, Barb please?"
"Kai, just go! This isn't your fault."
"I forgive you, Kai, please forgive yourself."

My thoughts were cut short by the sound of a familiar engine roaring down the streets. I shot up from the couch, and my eyes locked with Max's, who wore a terrified expression.

"Shit!" I cursed as I spun on my heels and peeked out the window to see that indeed Billys Blue Camero was pulling into the dark driveway.

"He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us." Max said as she rushed over to the couch beside me.

"Not on my watch." I held Max's hand in mine and gave her a small smile.

"Stay in here. I will take care of it." Steve said, his eyes briefly meeting mine before he motioned the kids to duck down.

The words outside were muffled, and I paced the room anxiously awaiting for the bomb to drop any second.

"Shit! Did he see us?" my eyeballs doubled in size and almost popped out of my socket as I rushed over to push the kids further down, only for the door to be slammed open, which caused the kids to hurry away.

The pounding in my head matched the one in my heart as I felt like I would pass out any second now.

"Well, well, well. Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise." Billy made his way into the room, and I peeked outside to see a Steve bent over. Contemplating whether I should go out there and help him or stay here with the kids and try to protect them didn't help with the nerves.

Steve was the only one who could actually have a chance standing up against Billy. 

"I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max." Billy's voice broke me out again, and I decided I would stay inside.

" Billy, go away." Max's voice was stern despite her physic that was slightly shaking.

"You disobeyed me," Billy said in a taunting manner.

"And you know what happens when you disobey me."

" Billy..." I tried calling out, but the sound of my voice came barely above a whisper.

"I break things." a loud gasp left my lips as he grabbed Lucas by the collar, slamming him onto a self.

Looking around the room now desperately for something to defend these kids, I decide the best choice of weapon I had was, unfortunately, my fist.

"Hey!" I pushed billy off with all of my strength before connecting my fist with his jaw.

Surprised when he stumbled back, I felt a pull on my wrist before Steve threw in another punch.

If I had known what tonight would have in store for me, I wouldn't have skipped meals.

My head felt lighter now that I had used up my last bit of strength. I pulled Lucas away from the punching match and held his face in my hands, running in down his arms and shoulder to make sure he wasn't seriously hurt.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and he nodded quickly before starting at me with a confused look dancing on his face.

"Kai, you don't look so well." Lucas held on to me, and my vision started to blur, but the sound of glass breaking and Billys laugh rang in my ear as my body crash to the ground.

~~~~

I slowly opened my eyes and felt the light immediately burning through my eyeballs, making me squeeze them shut.

A small groan left the mouth of the person sitting beside me, causing me to look at them with a squint.

The bright red shirt that hugged the body of the muscular figure that sat on the ground next to me was no one other than Billy.

"What happened?" my throat was dry, and even though I felt a slight bit better, I still had a hard time getting things into focus.

Billy pointed to me, I think, or past me maybe, but it was now that I felt the tingling feeling on my forehead caused by a sticky note.

"Executing plan B took Steve with us." I read the sticky note and immediately could tell by the quick and sloppy writing it was Dustin's.

Knowing that Steve was with them made me feel a bit calmer, knowing he would never let anything wrong happen to the kids.

"How long was I out?" I rubbed my temples before dragging my hands down my face.

"I woke up a few minutes ago; I have no idea." I frowned at his words, "why were you out?"

He held up the syringe that I just noticed he had been playing with. "Max," he said as he threw the needle across the room before putting his face into his hands.

Apart from me wanted to move closer and ask why he came in here so furious and why he was so hell-bent on Max disobeying him, or why Max needed to obey him in the first place.

And another part of me why terrified of the Billy I saw tonight, the one I hadn't really seen for the past few weeks I had gotten to really know him.

That part of me scooted further away from him. As if he could hear my body move across the floor, his head shot up, and his eyes were blood red and damp with tears.

"Are you scared of me?" he asked as if he could hear my thoughts. I shook my head no, even though at this moment everything about him made me just that much terrified.

He stared into my eyes for what seemed like forever before he stood up; he stumbled back a bit as if he was drunk before straightening back up. "Good," he said.

Yes, Billy looked intimidating, and the blood on his face and the psychotic laugh that is still ringing in my ear before I passed out made me shake.

This was the same Billy I've gotten to know and understand, and something about what went down tonight seemed strange.

"Billy..." my voice had snapped him out of some sort of trance as he was staring out the window.

"Can you help me up, please?" Getting close to him had to be the only way to get over this fear I suddenly had.

He came over, and despite scrunching his face up in pain when he begins to pick me up, he had managed to do so.

Our faces were inches away, and my eyes almost instantly recognized his blue ones. And suddenly, my anxiety faded.

I slightly touched the bruise on the side of his face, and then it hit me.

I had hit him again.