𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒 | b. hargrove ²

𝟰| 𝙅𝙐𝙇𝙔 𝙎𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙃

[ Sexual ! Assault ! Is ! Not ! Okay ! ]

Lili sat ok the edge of Billy's bed. It was 2:56 exactly. Lili knee that because she was staring right at Billy's alarm clock that glowed red. It seemed like it was taunting her.

With every second that passed, flashes of what happened that night plagued her mind. Flashes of her drowning in the pool with a hand that felt like a ten-ton weight on her head. Flashes of Zach's body on hers that wasn't invited. Flashes of his touch on every exposed skin of hers. Flashes of finally getting saved by Billy who managed to knock the shit out of him.

Billy strapped Lili into his car after that. He took her to his place and she called Hopper from his phone, trying to sound as calm as possible. If anything, she sounded like a monotone zombie.

Many times throughout the evening, Billy tried to get Lili to sleep. He tried everything from coaxing to demanding. She wouldn't budge from her position on the edge of the bed.

She didn't move because that's where she'd sit every time something like this happened to her. This wasn't the first time, no, it wasn't even the second.

While she was growing up in Philadelphia, she liked to call Chuck her friend. In reality, he was just a horny 13 year-old who liked to 'pick on' a 12 year-old Lili. She'd sit on the edge of the bed every time it happened. Just like now.

That's all she knew. Fight it then rest. Wait until the morning. The bruises will show up. Your muscles will scream. You'll want to feel like you want to die. And Lili did. She hasn't had this feeling since Chuck. She thought she was safe. She thought that this summer was supposed to be the time to collect her earnings for college.

But it occurred to her that it wasn't.

So she wanted to beat the morning sun. With Chuck, she'd sit on the edge and cry. But then she'd eventually sleep.

But Lili wasn't her old self. Not since Hawkins. She was stronger and more resilient. And she had more control of her abilities. She wanted to beat that motherfucking sun. She wanted to beat that feeling of death. She was going to stay up and watch the glow of the sun pour into Billy's room even if it would kill her.

A shiver went through her body. Lili rubbed her arms which were now covered in goosebumps. She accidentally moved the bed. Billy turned and sighed.

Shit, Lili thought.

"Babe?" Billy's groggy voice pierced the silent darkness. "What are you still doing up?"

"I was just thinking," Lili said quickly.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Billy asked.

"No," Lili lied. It wasn't really a lie. You can't have a nightmare without sleeping. But you can have traumatic experiences. That's different.