Return & Redemption

Part 6

Billy woke up with a start, sweat seeping through his clothes and hair matted onto the back of his neck. "What the hell?" he peeled the bedsheet off his body and tossed is legs to one side of the bed, placing his feet on the cold tiles. "Where am I?" he looked around, realizing he was probably in a hospital, but he couldn't figure out why. He didn't remember much of anything. All he could rack from his brain was driving and then his car windshield being hit with something. That's it. He walked towards the door, trying to open it. Before he could even place his hands on the knob, the door whipped open, thwacking him in the forehead. "Shit!"

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry!" a nurse exclaimed. "What are you doing awake?"

"I, uh, don't know," Billy rubbed his head. "How did I get here?"

"A nice young woman dropped you off. She said she found you roaming near the wood off Huckleberry Street," the nurse took Billy's hand and led him back to the hospital bed. "Go back to bed, baby."

***

After a sleepover at the Wheeler's, we had all just woken up to a phone call from my cousin, relaying the news from the hospital that Billy was awake and conscious.

"We have to go!" Mike urged.

"Do you think that's the best idea?" Lucas questioned, folding up his blanket and placing it under the pillow he had used that night.

We were all squeezed into Mike's room, where he, Dustin, Lucas and Steve had slept. I had barged in, just moments before, Nancy, Robin and Max in tow, after receiving the information over the phone.

"Yes! We need to keep everyone else safe. We don't know how he came back or why!" Mike argued. "He might even still be under the influence of the Mind Flayer!"

"No, I mean," Lucas said with a look at Max. "Do you think that's really the best idea?"

"Oh," Mike muttered, looking at the girl beside me. "Well, maybe she can stay back and—"

"No!" Max interrupted. "He's my brother. Well, maybe. But, if it is really him, I should be there. Look, I know we never got along," she added, noticing the group's stares. "But he's family."

I sighed. "Max, I don't know about this. Everything I've heard about this last summer seems terrifying and now this?"

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy," she nodded. "But I'm hopeful."

I saw Steve and Nancy exchange a look and Dustin raise an eyebrow. I heaved a deep breath.

"Okay, I trust you."

"What?" Lucas asked disbelievingly.

"It's her choice, Lucas. She can make her own decisions," I shrugged.

"And I think we're wasting too much time, right now," Robin reminded. "We should go, guys. Come on!"