[ 𝙶𝚘𝚕𝚍 & 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 ] ~ 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

XVIII - Babysitting

The group of nine walked into the hospital, Rylie lazily walking in the front with Nancy just behind her. "No, that is not mean. That is honest. She won't find out. See, you're the only one who gon' tell-" The woman behind the front counter said into the phone. Nancy tried her best to walk past her without getting noticed but with how many of them there were, it was impossible. "Woah, woah, woah! Excuse me!" She called, standing up from her seat. "Where do you think you going?" 

"Oh, uhm. . ." Nancy put on a fake smile, turning to the woman. "I was just going to visit my grandma again. And- And this-" She looked at the other eight. "This is my family. . ."

"Extended." Lucas smiled. 

"I don't care who they are, you know the rules; two visitors at a time." 

"Yeah, but-"

"Two!" The woman held two fingers out, leaving no room for discussion. 

Rylie sighed, smiling at the woman. "We understand, thank you ma'am. We'll just wait in the lobby for our turn." 

"Girl, this child has lost her mind." She spoke into the phone again, sitting back down. "She brought a whole zoo in here." 

Justin turned to Nancy.  "I'm not babysitting." She declared.

"They're twelve, it's more like. . .hanging out-" 

"Great, then you do it." Justin huffed, pushing past her and walking ahead. 

Rylie snickered, shaking her head as she watched the dirty blonde walk away. "Jonathan, you better go with her." Rylie waved him off. 

"I- Uh- I- Yeah-" He gave a half nod, before turning around and following after Justin. 

"Come on." Rylie nodded toward the waiting area, waiting as each of the kids started ahead of her. She tapped Mike on the shoulder, handing him two dollars in quarters. "Go buy me a Coke and a couple Twix." She ordered. 

"Uhm. . .no." He scoffed, shaking his head. 

Rylie tilt her head to the side, glaring at him. "I wasn't asking, Wheeler." 

"Uh. . ." Mike hesitated before sighing and heading toward the vending machines. Rylie slumped in a chair, leaning her head back against the wall. She was so tired. She just wanted to be at home, with Steve on the couch half-assedly watching tv, and Lucy coloring or painting on the living room floor, and Billy holding Rylie to his chest. God, how she missed Billy. She could feel an ache in her chest, begging that Billy were okay. 

She heard something shake heavily and looked over to see all the snacks in the vending machine that Mike and Lucas were at, had fallen out of their spots. Mike was looking back at El, who was wiping under her nose. Rylie chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Thanks." Mike called. 

Those two were cute. Not as cute as Dustin and Lucy, but cute. Mike bent down, grabbing the Twix bars that Rylie had asked for as well as a bunch of other snacks before walking over to the soda vending machine. Mike dropped the candy in the seat next to Rylie, putting her Coke on top, before walking over to Eleven. 

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Does your . . .species like M&Ms?" Mike asked Eleven, holding up the package.

"Species-" Rylie breathed out under her breath, her brows drawing together. He must've taken flirting tips from Steve. Rylie shook her head, ignoring the two as she popped her soda can open.

After ten minutes, Rylie looked at the roof, the lights were flickering. "Ah shit." She mumbled. "Come on guys." Her voice was soft as she grabbed Will's arm and pulled him out of his seat. "I said come on!" She yelled, rushing all the kids out of the hospital. 

Nancy was right behind them, shouting about 'what's going on'. Rylie ignored her questions, instead forcing the kids into the car and herself into the front seat. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew that flashing lights meant upside down shit. And that wasn't good, ever. 

"Wait! What about Jonathan and Justin?" Max asked. 

"We're not leaving yet." She hissed. "We're just. . .getting ready to." 

Rylie watched as the entire hospital went dark before lighting up brightly, a screech sounding from one of the floors up. Rylie sighed. "Welp. . .they're dead."

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Word Count - 706

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Published - January 31, 2024

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