ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜᴏɴᴇ|ʙɪʟʟʏ ʜᴀʀɢʀᴏᴠᴇ

☥𝟢𝟣𝟦☥

⇰ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟.
-ℂ𝕠𝕕𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕.

When Bex arrived in Indiana, she caught a taxi back to her place. But when she got there, her heart had dropped further into that black pit that was forming within her. Her brothers stood on the porch, watching as Hopper and a few other officers hauled Cassidy off into the police car. Her feet carried her over to her big brother. "Cass, what happened? What did you do?"
His eyes were red and glossy as he looked at her. "I fucked up big time, Bex. Just take care of Anthony, alright? Make sure he doesn't hurt anyone or himself."

She nodded her head, bringing him into a hug that she wanted to last a lifetime before he was put in the police cruiser. She looked at Hopper with teary eyes. "What happened?" She questioned. "What's he charged with?"
"Honestly or ideally?" Hopper countered. "God, Hop, I need you to be honest with me right now!" He nodded in understanding, sucking in a deep breath. "Grand larceny, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and manslaughter."
Her throat burned red and hot as she tried to find the words to say. "What- How? What did he do?"

"I can't tell you that right now, alright? Come down to the station later and I'll explain everything, but I have to book him," Hopper said. "But-"
He stopped her, "It's either me or them, Bex. And I guarantee they aren't gonna handle him with care."
He gave her just the ghost of a smile before following behind his fellow men. Down the driveway, she watched as Steve's car came into view. As it drew closer to her, she walked to meet him halfway. He got out and ran straight to her, bringing her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Bex... It's fucked you have to go through all of this at once."
Her brows furrowed in confusion. "All of what?" She asked. Steve looked to the boys, to which the boys looked to her brothers who then turned away from them. "Lucas?" He raised his hands in mock surrender, refusing to answer.

She looked to Will, but he turned his head, scared of her harsh glare. "Can someone just tell me what the fuck is going on?" She grew angrier, less controllable by the minute. "For fucks sake, tell me what's going on!"
Dustin cleared his throat. "It's about Billy," He said. "The Mind Flayer..." She tuned him out as he went on to explain. That pit inside of her was only growing larger by the second. And eventually, it would swallow her whole into a deep abyss of nothingness.

☥

Later that day, Bex sat by the phone while everyone was in the living room watching TV. Steve had ordered a mandatory Jiffy Pop night for everyone, but Bex wasn't even up for it. She sat by the phone with the hopes that Billy would return the call somehow. She knew he wasn't himself, but she hoped he would call back -- tell her everything would be okay and that he can't wait to see her.
But she never got that call. The phone was dead silent for hours upon end. She sat with her knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs for dear life as she tried to choke back her tears.

Her eyes wandered up as footsteps narrowed in on her, and then they met her Best Friends. He looked at her with apologetic eyes while she looked at him with sorrow. Her arms reached for his as he sat down next to her. "You're gonna be just fine, okay? He's gonna be fine, Bex."
She shook her head. "What if he isn't? What if something happens and-"
"You can't think that way, especially not with Max around, alright?" He said, "You need to be strong for the both of you, 'cause we all know this is killing her inside. She just won't admit it."
Little did they know, Max was in earshot of the two, listing from the other end of the hall.

She felt for Bex, she really did. But she couldn't understand why Bex was so worried? She was sure they could figure this out -- make things okay again. They had done it time and time again, surely they could do it now, right?
Her stomach ached the same way Bex's did, but she was able to hide the pain better than her. Her eyes wandered over the crying girl and the way she looked now. She took note of her thinned-out hair and body, the way her skin lost its glow, and how her eyes were duller than ever.
'This isn't only about Billy and her brother,' She thought, 'This is something else...'

Steve looked down at the latter. "Hey, why don't you come to work with me tomorrow? Robin works with me."
The girl seemed to perk up at the mention of Robin. Before she had to leave during the summer, she had the opportunity to get close to Robin again. They used to be two peas in a pod before high school, even were a trio with Eddie Munson at some point, too. They thought of themselves as rejects, so when Bex became best friends with 'king Steve', they kind of kicked her to the curb.
"Yeah, that sounds nice... Thanks."

She gave his arm a small squeeze. "For you, Bex? Anything." He placed a kiss on her temple before pulling her close once more.