Radical | A stranger things story

6: Finally

TW: Drugs/OD

"I'm not going to lie to you, though. It's happened before but a long time ago. When I was in middle school," I say.

"What happened then?" he asks.

"I'd rather not," I reply.

"One of your sticky notes says 'October 10th, 1981' on it. In 1981, you were in 8th grade, right?" he pushes.

"Drop it, Billy," I snap.

He stares and then lays back on my bed. I look at the sticky note for a while and sigh.

"On October 10, 1981, my brother overdosed. He died. My brother was my favorite person in the entire world. Nobody else mattered. It was just us against the world. That's what it felt like, anyway. He was 17," I state.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he says.

"Thanks, I am too," I say.

He slightly frowns.

"Billy, I did not like you when you came to the school. When I got partnered with you for the project, I thought my world would come crashing down," I start.

"Jesus, I'm that bad?" he teased.

I roll my eyes and look at my feet.

"I told you that I understand Max because our brothers are similar," I add.

I look up at him, and his smirk slowly fades away.

"My brother, Mason, and I got along very well. I mean, we shared all of our secrets. We played our sports together to help each other improve. He even taught me the world of music and how to play guitar and piano. He was creative and was always in his own world," I begin.

I pause and look up at him. He doesn't say anything and waits for me to continue.

"When my brother turned 16 something changed. He started lashing out and kept staying out late not coming back until the next morning or maybe even longer. He was just like you in a sense. You guys had the same personality around this time, is what I mean. My father tried to keep him under control but he wasn't enough. My mother is no different than how she was then. She still leaves for long periods of time. I don't know where the hell she goes, but I'll save that for another time."

He nods and remains silent.

"Every time my father and my brother would argue, he would leave. Each time they argued and he left, he would stay out for longer periods of time. One day would pass by, two days, three. It became so frequent that we no longer cared where he went. We knew he would come back. My brother no longer had any time for me. He'd want to go out and get laid, and when he would pick me up from school, there would always be a random lady in the car. I never saw the same girl twice. I tried to talk to him about it, and how I thought he was growing...distant. He basically told me to fuck off and to grow up."

"The lashing out when on for about a year. He had already turned 17 when one day, the arguing got really bad. He came up to my room and sat on my bed. He said-"

I sit there, trying to get the words out. I've never said the sentence that he told me out loud since that day. I feel my cheeks get hot and I feel tears in my eyes.

"He said..."

___

"I'm afraid. I did everything I was supposed to do. Whatever happens, Y/N, know that I love you. I want to become myself again, I really do, but something is off. I can't change it."

"What do you mean, Mason?" I ask, worried.

"I never meant to hurt you," he sobs.

"It's okay! It's okay Mason. It'll be okay," I say.