Sugar pills

Part 40

Now the three were on the porch, taking a small break from the heavy emotional story Hop had just dropped onto Billy. They were taking a quick smoke, all three leaning against the porch fence. Billy took a long drag, letting out a soft sigh as the smoke rolled out of him in a soft puff. He let out a small sigh. "I think... I think I'm ready." Joyce said with a warm smile of sympathy. Hopper nodded before putting out his cigarette, throwing it out to the backyard before he stretched briefly. "I'll begin to prepare dinner. Steve said he'll be back in around an hour or so. I wonder what he's doing with El. God those kids can definitely make a mess together like toddlers" Hop chuckled, shaking his head before beginning to walk back into the cabin, shutting the door softly. Joyce took one last long drag before she followed and put out her cigarette, turning to look at the teen beside her. Her face was a mixture of warmth, seriousness, and sympathy. She took in one last deep breath of the cold late November air. Her breath ever so slightly visible when it came out I'm a puff. "When Johnathan was barely Will's age, that's when it started. Lonnie used to be the sweetest most caring man. In my eyes. I always thought he would never hurt his wife...much less his children. Johnathan had a wonderful few years of his childhood, but that only lasted the early years of his childhood. Lonnie started to... drink a lot. Smoke a lot. Way more than I do. He was rarely ever sober. He was so hard on Johnathan. Forcing him to do things far beyond the limits of a 10 year old. Lonnie didn't understand his boy was still that, a young boy. He would get so mad at him... yell at him, pick on him, offend him in ways I don't think Johnathan even understood. Lonnie would push him, shove him, hit him a few times... there were times he even dared to punch Johnathan. And Johnathan was never the strongest type. And because of that, Lonnie had the greatest time beating his kid. He would threaten me... make me think I was weak. Think that he was the one on the right. I would always try to fight back, but there would be times that... he would go to physical violence. It hurt Johnathan so much. It hurt me so much. And then... Will came along. Lonnie never hit will... well, not physically. But his words were daggers to Will. I don't uh... I don't know if you know Will that well, but Lonnie would call him slurs... he'd call him a... a faggot" Joce said with a pained voice. Billy was silent. But the slightest glint of disgust and anger crossed his eyes when he heard the slur he had heard so much back in Cali. Joyce sighed "Look. I know since you're technically a young adult, you might think it's 'lame' to talk about these things with a 14 year old. But... maybe consider talking to Will about it. Will he... I know about you and Steve so I might as well tell you. Will has a crush on Mike. He's had that crush for years now. Many. And... and I just think that maybe you both could talk. Will could use it and maybe you'd like it too." Joyce said with a small smile. She brought her hand up to her face and touched her cheek, surprised to find a loose tear falling down. She sniffled and chuckled bitterly. "You're a good kid Billy. A really good kid. You mean a lot to everyone in this little cabin. Even to Hopper, as hard as it is to believe. He's a hard one. Hard to love, and a hard lover back. But he sure has grown a soft spot for you Billy. Especially after he saw just the good that sprouted out of you when you met Steve" Joyce's voice was soft and quiet like a whisper, each word striking straight at Billy's heart. He found a soft, broken smile laying on his face as he stared at her with an affection that he swore he hadn't felt in years. Almost a parental affection. Joyce laughed quietly again, quickly wiping her tears once more "oh god- sorry. I'm just, you know, getting a bit emotional and all" she chuckled, quickly collecting her composure as best as she could. She looked back up at the younger boy before she playfully elbowed him "Talking about Steve... what's going on between you two, hm? Real touchy now aren't you both? You get here and immediately ask for a certain someone. Are you guys officially together yet, huh?" Her voice was playful now as she talked to him, though the mention of Steve and his relationship made a blush appear on Billy "heh... yeah I guess we are... at least I hope so. We haven't exactly labeled anything yet but... we've kissed. That's that" he mumbled quietly, feeling a bit shy that he was confessing such a moment to Joyce, but really, even in such a short amount of time, he trusted her.

"Oh that's adorable. You know, if you ever need someone to talk to about yours and Steve's relationship, I'm always open. Or if you want to talk at all, Billy. As you know, having Will as my son makes all of this much easier to understand." She sighs. Just then, Hopper peeked in from inside, knocking on the wooden wall as if he already wasn't looking outside. "Are you both done yet? Steve's on his way and dinners almost done. He brought some snacks and stuff too so we can have a little movie night. Joyce? Do you want to stay? You're more than welcome to bring Johnathan and Will over if you want to" Hopper said with a smile, still not knowing of the situation. Joyce looked bitter at the mention of her older son's name, making her sigh and shake her head "no, they're fine. I'll call them and Will will most likely stay over with Mike or one of his friends. Johnathan can take care of himself" she muttered. "But I'll be more than happy to stay, Hop" she turned her expression to a warm smile, nodding. Hopper clapped his hands with a chuckle before he headed back inside. Billy simply observed the two, a bit amused and curious at their dynamic. Such a petite yet warm woman with a round-bellied tall, tough man. It made Billy smile to himself, feeling happy to witness such a cute little couple. "Alright then, let's go Billy" she patted Billy's shoulder before she headed inside, the younger not taking too long to follow soon after.

(HELLOOOOOO)