Billy's gone.
Ruby Buckley's world ended with him.
But Hawkins isn't done with her yet.
When strange deaths begin again, Ruby is pulled into the heart of the storm. Between shadowy nightmares, the town's newest outcast, and someone she was never s...
( songs for the chapter ) songbird // fleetwood mac tiny dancer // elton john
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The afternoon sun filtered through a sheet of chartreuse leaves, the light soft and pale as it slipped between the branches. The canopy wrapped around their small group like a loose dome, green, quiet, protective, shutting out the world beyond the woods.
Ruby felt herself slide into that familiar, quiet melancholia. Thoughts of Billy always pulled a smile from her at first, unbidden and warm. But the warmth never stayed.
Reality always followed, slow but heavy.
Their plans, all those whispered someday promises, would never exist anywhere but in her head. No shared apartment. No kids. No late-night confessions tangled up in each other.
She still felt guilty for aching this much after so long, as if grief came with an expiration date she'd failed to meet. But time had moved strangely since losing him, racing in some ways, crawling in others.
Just yesterday, at least that's how it felt, they'd been cruising the empty Hawkins streets, windows down, the wind whipping their hair into a mess while Theatre of Pain played too quietly for his taste.
They'd driven until neither of them knew or cared where they were going, and ended up in some abandoned lot, climbing into the back seat just to end up staring at each other like idiots. Billy on his back, Ruby sprawled over him, elbows digging into his chest, both of them saying close to nothing.
Just looking. Adoring. Wanting. It had been enough.
Now, those nights lived only as memories that hurt more than they comforted. She would never feel the warmth of his skin again, never rest her hand over his heartbeat, never thread her fingers through his ridiculous soft curls.
She reminded herself, again, that this was reality. That she couldn't change it. That right now she had to compartmentalize, because Max's life, her own life, depended on it.
But the weight still pulled at her, like the massive shape of Skull Rock was pressing down on her shoulders instead of looming over Eddie. She felt unsteady, like the ground itself was swallowing her feet.
Someone was snapping in front of her face. It sounded distant, muffled, as if she were underwater. Her vision blurred around the edges until the short maroon-painted nails came into focus.
"Ruby?" Robin's voice finally broke through, sharper this time.
Ruby blinked hard and snapped back into her body. "Yeah. Sorry." She dragged a hand down her face, clearing her throat around the sudden tightness there. "Zoned out for a second."
Robin's hand came down on her shoulder immediately. "Are you okay?"
"Mhm. Just... thinking." She nodded, keeping her voice steady.
