Home Sweet Home

*To be read to Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue*

2:47 p.m., August 5th, 1985

He's had an ache for Hawkins ever since he left. Steve had been gone for the summer in Michigan filing documents at his dad's new law firm. His days faded together into a warm haze; nothing stood out except for that one armed robbery in July.

He ached for a touch that wasn't the from the young temp that followed him to the coffee machine. He ached for Billy and his smell. Before he left, Billy packed a t-shirt for Steve so he wouldn't be completely without him. The t-shirt lost the smell of tobacco, sweat and woody whiskey in the middle of July, leaving Steve to live out the rest of the summer on his own.

Steve would make the trip back home tomorrow and it didn't seem like time was on his side. His last day at the firm was met with cheek kisses from the receptionist and harsh handshakes from the snotty attorneys. The temp gave Steve a card and told him not to open it until he got home. She sealed it with a blood red kiss. He kept it, curious to read what she had to say about him.

He would leave tomorrow and swear to himself to never go back to Michigan.

9:23 a.m., August 6th, 1985

Steve turned the key for the last time on the shitty apartment he had been staying in for the past two months. His dad promised him something nice, but quaint. That's one way to phrase it. He turned back around and walked towards his car, ready to get on the road and get home to Billy. His touch was only 3 hours away and Steve will make sure nothing gets in the way of that.

12:48 p.m., August 6th, 1985

Steve pulled into an empty driveway, his parents were probably away for another conference or case in the city. His dad wouldn't leave a note telling him, it's not like Steve needed to know where he was. He pulled his bags from the trunk of his car and walked towards the front door to his house. He sighed and dropped his forehead against the door, breathing in the "shit-air" as Billy liked to say. Steve never really understood that; maybe California smelled 'cleaner' than Hawkins. He would never really know, it's not like he'll ever leave Indiana. His dad always told him that he'd "be lucky to get a job in the city with that attitude." He was probably right.

He unlocked the door and shut it with his foot. Big house, no parents, it seemed to always follow Steve's name; it's what he was known for. There was nothing else that stood out about him to anyone else. Sometimes, not even Billy.

He walked upstairs to his room and dropped his bag off. The letter the temp gave him was still unopened. He tore open the envelope with his pinky and glanced over the writing on the paper. Something about spending her summer with him and hoping he'll call. She wrote her number at the bottom of the page and left another lipstick mark on her signature. He had someone else to love.

All Steve wanted was to take a nap but he promised Henderson to give him a call as soon as he got home. He figured he'd call Billy too.

He dialed the number scrawled on the back of a coupon to Orange Julius, Steve noticed it expired on the 1st. So much for a welcome home treat. He waited for the cut in the ringing.

"Henderson's, who's calling?"

It was Dustin's mom, she seemed peppier than usual. Maybe that was a sign.

"Hi Ms. Henderson, it's Steve. Is Dustin around?"

"Sure, honey! Let me get him on the phone."

Steve heard Ms. Henderson muffle the speaker and yell "DUSTY! STEVE IS ON THE TELEPHONE!" He hoped Dustin was excited to hear that. The audio seemed to clear up.