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 ) it's been a long, long time // harry james stand by me // ben e. king time after time // cyndi lauper
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Ruby reached out before she could stop herself. Her fingers hovered inches from his wrist, trembling.
"Please, don't move," she whispered.
"I won't," he said immediately.
Her fingertips brushed his skin.
Warm.
Not feverish. Not cold. Just warm, human warmth, unmistakable, the kind that carried weight and steadiness with it.
Ruby's breath broke apart in her chest, the sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.
"Oh God," she whispered. "You're... you're really here."
Billy's eyes softened, something bright and almost overwhelmed flickering there.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I am."
Her hand slid from his wrist to his forearm, then higher, gripping his sleeve like she needed the resistance to keep herself upright. He lifted his hand slowly, deliberately, giving her time to pull away.
She didn't.
His palm settled at her waist, light at first, reverent, like he was relearning the shape of her. When she didn't flinch, didn't recoil, his arm came around her more fully, solid, certain.
That was when she broke.
Ruby turned into him with a sound torn straight from her chest, burying her face against his shoulder, fingers clutching at his shirt like it was the only real thing left in the world. Billy wrapped his arms around her without hesitation, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other firm and grounding between her shoulder blades.
They cried quietly. Not dramatically. Just breath shaking against breath, tears slipping free because there was nowhere else for them to go.
"I thought I'd never get to actually do this again," she whispered, voice muffled against him.
Billy closed his eyes.
"I know," he murmured into her hair. "I know."
She pulled back just enough to look at him, her hands still fisted in his shirt, eyes red and shining.
"How did you know?" she asked softly. "How did you find me?"
Billy frowned, not guarded, just searching for the right words.
"I didn't... mean to," he said after a moment. "That's the thing."
Her brow creased.
"I wasn't looking for you," he went on. "I wasn't anywhere, really. And then suddenly..." He stopped, huffing out a quiet, almost disbelieving breath. "...you were there."
