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SEPTEMBER ??? 1979
VANCE'S POV

My hands were sweaty and I was nervous. I don't get why. I've been over to Lucy's house dozen of times. But this time is different. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a very tired looking Molly opened the door.

Her hair was messy, her skin was pale, she had dark circles under her eyes, tear still running down her face. My heart broke at the sight of her. "Vance.." she croaked. "Come in.." she said as she fully opened the door.

I was expecting the usual way they kept the house. Beer cans on the floor, trash littering the furniture. It was nothing like that. It was neat, freshly vacuumed and swept. "Woah" I muttered.

"Yeah I uh.. I had to clean so CPS wouldn't take me away you know? It's the most I can do to make it look like my dad is still here.."
She said obviously still on edge.

" Do you wanna... Talk? " I said trying to break the silence. She had that sad look on her face. As if she was near her breaking point on letting it all lose. It broke my heart even more.

I pulled her into a hug and that's when she started to bawl. It hurt me to see her like this. I didn't know what to do. I run from my problems and emotions but here I am, comforting her.

"It's going to be ok, she's ok" I said in a whispered tone, trying to get her to calm down. "How do you know!? She could be dead!" She cried.

"Because, your sister is a fighter, she's gonna get through it, I know she will" I said again trying to calm her down. Molly started to hiccup. "What can I do to help?" I asked.

LUCY'S POV

I think I'm going crazy. I know I'm going crazy. I hear the phone ring. And every single time I get to scared to answer. If I answer I'm feeding into my hallucinations.

I'm sitting on the mattress. Waiting for the grabber. He hasn't been down since he took Bruce with him.

The light flickered on. The grabber opens the door. He throws the plate of food on the ground. "What's.. what's gonna happen to him?" I asked.

"Nothing" said the grabber as he leaned on the door "I buried him with the rest". My heart sank. I didn't want to admit it but im probably going to be buried next to Bruce.

Since he had only the top half of his mask I saw him open his mouth to say something. He was cut off from a phone ringing and he immediately rushed upstairs, not fully shutting the door.

Again. That stupid phone on the wall rang. I know I'm going crazy because, how can it ring if the wire is cut? I went against my better instincts and answered the phone. My hand was shaking when I picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I asked. I was met with silence. "Hello?" Still nothing.

I hung up. As I was about to turn away and head towards the door but the phone, it rang again. I picked up the receiver. "Hello!?" I said getting frustrated. Static. That's all I heard was static.

"Don't go upstairs" said the person on the other line. The sound of their voice shocked me. "Why not?" I said glancing back at the door. "It's a trap" they said. "Who is this?" I asked. "I... I don't know"

"Do you remember anything?" I asked. "I delivered newspapers" they responded. The answer immediately clicked in my head. "Billy, Billy Showalter" I said. I was met with silence, as if he was debating on weather or not I'm right. "It doesn't matter, just don't go upstairs" he said in a stern tone.

"Why?" I look back at the door "what's he doing?" I asked. He took a bit to respond, "... He's waiting... On the other side with that fucking belt". I could hear the anger in his voice. "He'll punish you. He'll beat you with that belt till you pass out" he said getting more and more angry.

"It hurts. Worse than what you've gotten"
Then I heard a click. The static stopped and it was silent. "Hello?" I asked. Nothing. I turned and hung up the phone.

I decided to listen to Billy, so I didn't go upstairs.

VANCE'S POV

I was holding a stack of Lucy's missing papers and taping them on everything. I was walking Molly home and we held a light conversation. Till she asked "are you dating my sister?" Looking up at me. "What?!" I said clearly taken back. "Are you her boyfriend?" She asked again.

I sighed contemplating on my answer. 'no because im to much of a puss to admit that I might like her'  or  'its complicated'

"no but can you keep a secret?" I responded. She shrugged " I already know that you guys kissed" . " How the hell do you know that?" I asked intrigued." Because she was telling Jamie about it on the way to school, their horrible at whispering"

That made me smile. Soon the street lights came on once we made it to her house. "We still have so much papers left" she said getting upset. My heart ached. "Look get inside and go to bed, ok? I'll put the rest of these up." I said and her eyes lit up "promise?" She asked "promise" I said reassuring her. Before she went inside I gave her some money to buy groceries and I went off to put of the rest of the papers.

*******
Hey omg I got sick AGAIN it's sucks. But don't worry the next chapter will be posted soon I'm already working on it. I did change the photo for Molly's character only because I thought that she looked a bit to young so I just used an older picture or Julia Butters. Please leave some feedback! I really appreciate it! Love you! Have a great day/night/morning!

-payton

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