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Forty Seven

The next morning, Allison opened her eyes to find that Billy was already awake, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. He appeared to be deep in thought, becoming startled as she reached out to touch his arm. He responded with a tight lipped smile, but the exshaustion and pain behind his eyes were impossible to ignore.

"How was your sleep?", Allison whispered, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Shitty.", Billy admitted with a sigh, continuing to stare straight out ahead of him. "But I know something that might take my mind off of it.", he added playfully, shifting his gaze until he made eye contact with Allison.

"Billy, we can't.", she exhaled, as he caressed the side of her face. "If we do, then we'll never get out of bed."

"And that would be a problem because..."

"Because as much as I'd love to stay here and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist, we can't spend the rest of our lives in this room.", she stated matter of factly, watching a look of chagrin come over Billy's face.

With a huff, he threw off the covers and sat up, allowing his legs to hang over the edge of the bed. The muscles in his shoulders tensed up as he faced the opposite direction, breathing heavily. Allison got up and slowly moved towards Billy, causing him to flinch as she placed her hands against his back.

"Don't be mad.", she pleaded, wrapping her arms around him. The sound of Allison's voice and gentle touch was enough to soothe him, and she felt his body relax against hers.

"I'm not mad.", Billy whispered, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm just not sure how you expect me to go out there, and act like I didn't try to kill all of you."

"Billy, they know it wasn't you! And I think you'd be surprised at how understanding my friends can be, if you would just give them a chance.", she insisted, climbing off the bed to stand in front of him. "Please?", she coaxed, lifting his chin until their eyes met.

"Damn it. You know I can't say no to you.",he sighed, climbing to his feet. "If going out there and playing nice will make you happy, then I'll do it, alright?"

"Thank you.",Allison smiled, standing on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck, kissing him softly on the lips. "But maybe we should get dressed first.", she suggested, allowing her eyes to wander down his naked body.

Billy went over, picked up his duffle bag and placed it on the bed, rifling through it until he found a fresh pair of clothes. Meanwhile, Allison grabbed a dress off the nearby clothing pile and pulled it on over her head. Once they were both dressed, Allison took Billy's hand and led him out of the bedroom.

As they stepped into the main part of the house, coming to stand inbetween the kitchen and livingroom, everything around them went quiet. Billy tightened his grip on Allison's hand and she shot him a look of reassurance, before turning to address the others.

"So! What's everyone doing today?", Allison asked, clearing her throat loudly.

"Me and Dingus are gonna hand out resumes around town!", Robin chimed in, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Already? But it's only been a week."

"That's what I tried to tell her! But she insisted that we get back out there.", Steve muttered, rolling his eyes at Robin.

"What can I say? Robin likes her money.", she shrugged unapologetically, referring to herself in the third person. Allison chuckled, before moving her attention down to the livingroom floor, where all the kids sat huddled around a board game.

"And what are you guys doing?", she inquired, despite knowing the obvious answer.

"Finally teaching the girls how to play D&D.", Dustin exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. "And Will's come up with one hell of a campaign.", he added, beaming proudly at his friend.