Drowning • Billy Hargrove

Chapter 14

"Do you have to go?" Billy asks.
"Yes. I'm just going to meet his parents and eat a nice meal then I'll come back. I'll call you when I'm home, okay?" I say, as Billy nods.
"Fine." He says, and turns the opposite direction and storms off to his car.
"Hey." Brandon says, meeting me outside the front doors of the pool.
"Hey!" I say.
"I just live near here so I figured we could walk if that's okay with you?"
"Yeah that sounds great." I respond.
Over the past week, we've become pretty close. Tonight, he's introducing me to his parents.
"So what's your stepmoms name?" I ask Brandon, as we walk to his house.
"Diane." He says.
I frown. That's my mother's name.
"She's going to come a little late though, due to work stuff."
"Oh okay!" I say, pretending to sound excited. I wasn't really looking forward to meeting his family.
"I'm guessing shes the mother of your little brother?" I ask.
Brandon nods. "Bingo."

We finally reach his massive house.
"Wow!" I say. "This is huge!"
He nods. "I know. It's too big." He says, pushing the door open.
Brandon leads me into the dining room, where the table is nicely set with fancy napkins and cutlery. This was completely different from what I was use too.
I look over at the China cabinet and I swear I recognize a set of glass doves that belonged to my mother.
I shake it off.
'I'm being stupid' I think. My mother was gone for good. Also, if she was smart enough, she definitely wouldn't move back to Hawkins. So, I came to the conclusion that I'm just being paranoid.
"You must be Kate!" A man says, emerging from the kitchen.
"Yeah I am! Nice to meet you, Mr. Miller!"
"Oh you can call me Paul!"
I smile and nod my head. "Okay."
"So you're Brandons first friend in Hawkins?" He asks.
I nod my head. "I guess so!"
"Well, he obviously has good taste, like his father." He says, laughing at his own joke.
"Well actually she's seeing someone." Brandon pipes in, drastically changing the mood.
"Oh." Paul says.
After a few moments of awkward silence, I decide to make small talk.
"So why did you guys decide to move to Hawkins?"
"I was transferred here for my job. My wife and kids did not want to leave Chicago, but I'm the one who's bringing in all the money, so I get final say. It must be like that at your household, right?"
"Uh yeah." I say.
"My wife Diane did not want to come back to Hawkins because she had some bad memories here with her ex-husband and daughters."
My heart drops all the way to the floor and I loose my breath.
"Oh." I simply say, my voice cracking.
If my speculations were right, I was in my mother's house. I haven't seen her in over six years and today, that was about to change
A timer beeps, causing me to jump in my seat.
"Oh that must mean the foods ready!" Paul says, jumping up and running to the kitchen.
"Hey is everything alright?" Brandon asks me, noticing my expression and mood change.
I nod my head and put on a fake smile, hiding everything I was thinking.
"Hey Brandon, can you get your little brother please? I'm a little busy." Paul says, plating the food.
"Yeah sure." Brandon says, standing up and walking over to the living room.
"Dinners ready." I can hear him say.
Brandon walked back with a young boy who looked to be around four or five years old.
"Timothy this is Kate. Kate this is Timothy." I swallow hard, almost choking.
Timothy was a splitting image of myself and my mother.
"Hi Timothy." I say, my voice shaky.
He greets me back then sits at the table.
"Here we are!" Paul says, placing the food down on the table, then running back into the kitchen.
"Honey you're home!" I can hear him say. "And by the way, we have a special guest."
"Oh okay!" She responds as she walks into the dining room.
I look up and we make eye contact. She stops walking and stares at me for a few moments.
"Kate." She whispers out.
My eyes start to flood with tears.
"Oh Kate!" She says, coming closer.
"You left us!" I yell, standing up. The chair slams on to the ground from how fast I stood up. Eventually, tears start to stream down my face, and I couldn't stop it. I didn't have the strength, emotionally and physically, to stop the tears from pouring out of my eyes.
"What's happening?" Paul says, coming out of the kitchen.
"This is my deadbeat mother!" I say grabbing my bag and storming out of the house.
I can hear her running after me. "Kate, honey please let me explain!" She calls out after me.
I just ignore her and walk down the street.

Thankfully, Officer Powell noticed me walking in the dark.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" He calls out.
Officer Powell and my dad have been working together for many, many years. He is one of the closest friends my dad has, so he's technically family now.
"I need to get home." I say, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"Alrighty, hop in." He says, as I climb into the passengers seat.

"Thank you." I say softly as he drops me off in the driveway.
"Anytime." He says, pulling away.
I walk into my quiet house, seeing no sign of El. She must've been off with Max or Mike.
"Dad?" I call out. I know he's home because his car is out front and his hat is placed on the table.
"Yeah?" He says, coming out of his room in an old t-shirt and pajama pants.
I couldn't hold it in any longer, I just start crying.
Immediately, he runs over to me and comforts me.
"Was it that boy?" He asks. "Because if it is, I swear to God I will kill him." He says through clenched teeth.
I shake my head. I needed Billy right now.
"Then what happened?" He asks, confused.
"She's back." I say through sobs.
"Who's back?"
"Mom."