Sugar pills

Part 39

Several days later, after the sugar highs and crashes had passed, and Hop and Billy had their encounter in the bathroom, and all of the events during said time had been processed by everyone, life was settling back to normal in the Hopper cabin. Neil Hargrove received a visit from Hopper, in the uniform he lent Billy, on a cold Saturday morning. Hop was thinking it was the first time he had seen Neil quite as early in the day, and therefore, sober. The only other time he had seen him was the one of first nights he was dropping El off for a sleepover, and Neil answered the door rather than Susan. That evening Neil, beer cans covering the coffee table, Neil was holding on to the door for dear life, swaying just a bit. He had explained Susan was upstairs with Max getting everything ready. Hopper was tempted to turn around and take El back home, he definitely wouldn't have trusted this man not once if he had seen him before, but Max came running to the door with Susan on her heels, and the two girls were so excited he didn't have the heart to do it, as El was rarely allowed to sleep anywhere but home. And even if he did take her back, she would either complain and whine (maybe even cry) about it or not talk to him out of anger for days... maybe weeks. Or both. a little after some awkward silence, Neil stumbled towards the bedrooms mumbling something about going to bed. On this cold November morning, Hopper turned his attention to Susan Hargrove instead of the 'sober' douche. He couldn't help thinking of how she reminded him of a chihuahua, strangely. She looked so breakable and tiny in her clothes, fragile really, not to mention a slight shakiness running through her. He couldn't imagine her bark having any bite following it. Not with such a figure. He noticed she kept pulling her sleeves over her wrists, going so far as to cover her thumbs. Neil Hargrove, of course, had both hands on Susan's shoulders, dangerously close to her neck. Definitely not unnoticed by a police chief's eyes. "Mr. Hargrove, you know my daughter, El, and Max are very close friends, and I know you have an older son, Billy". Hop broke the silence. He quickly paused, seeing something like fear and caution cross her eyes, and pure ice in Neil's blue eyes, as well as a quick flare of anger. Hopper expected a negative emotion to connect whenever he mentioned Billy, but he never imagined that emotion (this ice-cold glare) to be so sharp and hollow.

Nevertheless, he continued: "I am asking this as a father, not a police officer. I have a very special... investigation, you could say. I am working on with the FBI, and it will take up a lot of my time. I was wondering if Max could stay with El after school and sleep over to keep her company, and Billy keep an eye on the two of them. Just to make sure the girls don't do anything crazy around the house" Hop gave Neil a humorous glance, trying to lighten the mood. More like to see if Neil's stare would change at all. Hop cleared his throat after an awkward moment of silence. "-I can get someone else for school hours, as she is homeschooled, but I don't want her feeling alone so much. She's not used to an empty house during the night so I imagine Max and Billy would help." Hopper was lying through his teeth in a bid to keep the kids safe and out of Neil Hargrove's house. He wasn't usually one to throw simple smiles and 'jokes' but he didn't want to look so formal in front of the man. Afterall... he didn't want to raise any suspicions in Neil's head. And yes, he had a special investigation going, but really with the FBI doing him a favor and gathering most of the information, and the target was Neil Hargrove himself, he needed this to work. Neil rubbed his index finger and thumb along his jawline, and Hop swore he could smell burning rubber from the wheels in his head turning. "How about we follow your plan during the week, but the girls stay here Saturday through Sunday afternoon? I trust you. but we still want to spend family time with our little girl" Neil finally replied with a forced-out-looking smile. "And yours is more than welcome here. Besides... Billy needs some time to do his own thing and you know how boys are." It was obvious to Hop how hard Neil was trying to look how he was some perfect wonderful father. " I don't even mind if he stays at your place over the weekends... I am sure there will be some things around the house that will need attention." Hopper noted, with a touch of sadness, that Billy was not included in "family time". But... was it really a surprise? However, he almost burst out laughing at the way Neil Hargrove said some things around the house could use attention. Because, really, Neil had no idea how true those words were, though it was specifically someone, not "some things". They parted with mutual thanks and Neil stating that Maxine and Billy would be there tomorrow afternoon to settle in. Hopper got back in his truck, pleased with the compromise, and now knowing Neil would not harm Billy if he was in the house while El was there. Besides, he knew El could do an incredible amount of damage to protect herself, Max, and Billy if he went home. Now he just needed to take care of the difficult part: talk