the summer of me and my girl|| steve harrington

the mall rats

part one

lydia looked up at her dad and smiled fondly. the beatles played in the background and he hummed along to the melody while she sat in his lap and fiddled with her beloved toy truck, driving it up and down the arm of the chair. in the kitchen, her mom was in the midst of cooking dinner and the clanking of pots and pans was accompanied by the opening and closing of cabinets and the fridge door. she leaned against her dad's chest and inhaled his scent. he smelled of pine and books and laundry detergent all in one. and it smelled so familiar. but the feeling of wetness atop her head alerted her and she looked up and saw a mouth so large it seemed as thought it could swallow her whole in a single bite. a scream tried to escape from her throat but no sound was heard and what terrified her more was the way that her body failed to move. like she was superglued to the spot. the air had fled her lungs leaving her terrified in silence.

a faint voice echoed but she couldn't quite place where it was coming from. it was familiar. it was kind. it was safe.

"lydia honey, your alarm has been going off for 10 minutes you have to get up or you're gonna be late for work." her mom was seated at the edge of the bed in pajamas. covered in a thin veil of sweat, lydia's heart was pounding relentlessly in her chest. claudia quickly came to the realization that she was not herself and leaned forward to cup her face. "honey, are you alright?"

it would've been easier to say 'no' and not worry her mother with her bad dreams. she could've just shaken it off and gotten ready for work. but this dream was too real. it lured her in with sweet memories that she had with someone she loved and then it sunk it's teeth into her and tore her apart. the only thing that she wanted in that moment was the safety of her mother's arms. somewhere she knew she would be safe.

she lunged forward and threw her arms around her mom as she shuddered and sobbed.

"don't worry my darling," claudia whispered as she rubbed her back and ran her fingers through her hair. "mommy's here."

~

"are you sure you can't just call out? it might be better if you take a day off today and i can even call out of work and we ca-" while lydia grabbed snacks out of the kitchen for work, claudia followed her and tried to convince her to stay home and take a rest day.

"mom, i'm okay. it was just a bad dream," she explained. "there's nothing to worry about, it just shook me up a little." although she was nonchalant about the earlier incident, her mother knew otherwise. but the look in her daughter's eyes was pleading to let her go and drop the subject.  

"okay, honey. i trust you," she conceded. "just promise me you'll tell me if you do need a break. i'm always here for you." she pulled her into a deep hug and held her for a second. for a moment she felt like she was hugging her little girl. not the one scarred and held hostage by the past, her little girl who made fairy houses and worried about santa's reindeers getting cold in the dead of winter. her little girl that she wanted to keep in a little bubble so nothing bad would happen to her again.

~

mornings at the pool were filled with young children and tired parents who were tired of being dragged to the establishment too many early mornings in a row, swim lessons with cranky kids who would rather be watching cartoons, and water aerobics. the quiescence of the environment was enough to calm lydia down and allowed her to focus on her book. 

the hours went by quickly and by the time the pool started to fill up, it was time for her to leave. one of her friends came to relieve her of her duty and she climbed down from the tower onto the hot pavement. she walked quickly to the locker room so she could finally go see her brother for a little before her shift at the movie theater but was shocked when she bumped into someone. they only grunted in reply and refused to move from their spot. 

"billy, wh-" she finally looked up at him and saw him. his shirt was so sweaty that it stuck to his skin and he looked like he hadn't slept. everything about him was off. "are you okay?" she touched his arm gently and almost recoiled at how cold it was. there was almost no reaction to her touch. like he wasn't really there. 

he looked her in the eye and for a second she caught a glimpse of fear. not the kind of fear you get when you watch a scary movie; it was the kind of fear you see when you're afraid for your life. she was familiar enough with the feeling.

"i gotta go." his voice was unbelievably strained like it took effort to get the words out. 

"billy wai-" but he brushed her shoulder as he passed by and a chill ran up and down her spine. the kind that put her on edge when she was about to fight something. whipping her head around, she watched as he climbed onto one of the lifeguard towers with a pained expression. 

it was clear that he didn't want her help but it didn't mean that she was going to stop trying. after grabbing a water bottle from the cooler, she marched over to him and held up the water bottle. he could barely look down at her in the state he was in. he was in no condition to be here. if anything, she felt like she should try to get him to a hospital or at least get him checked out by someone with medical knowledge.

"drink some water, please." she pleaded as he waved her off. he ignored her. "you look awful right now, can we get you inside? i don't think this heat is good for you." 

"i'm fine." his words were sharp like a katana and it was clear that he wanted this conversation to be over. but if she inherited one thing from her father, it was his stubbornness. 

"you're clearly not so why don't you just get down from there and we can get someone to cover your shift and we ca-" 

"leave. now." his voice was low but it was stern. it wasn't as shaky as it was before, but it sounded more like him. more like the billy she knew. "i really need you to leave." finally, he looked at her. he was begging her to let him be and as much as it hurt her, she nodded her head and walked away. before leaving for the day she asked heather to keep an eye on him and to let her know if anything happens. and with one final glance, she left.