Drowning • Billy Hargrove

Chapter 26

4 weeks later.
We had a small funeral for my dad. A couple of his close police partners came and a few of his friends. Joyce, Mike, Nancy, Max, and Billy we're also invited.
I stood in front of Billy as the pastor spoke. He had his arms wrapped around me, comforting me.
El stood beside me, holding onto Mike's hand.
"Jim Hopper was an incredible father and an amazing police chief. He died saving and protecting Hawkins and quite frankly, the world. That's just the man he was. Somebody who put others before himself."
The pastor went on but I zoned out. I was too busy thinking about a huge decision I had to make.

The ceremony finally ended and everybody left the graveyard. El, Billy, Max and I stayed to watch the workers lower the empty casket into the ground.
"What if he's not gone?" I ask.
"Kate." Billy says, looking at me with soft eyes.
"I'm serious! What if he escaped before it all exploded!" I say, raising my voice.
El looked at me with tears in her eyes.
I knew I had to shut up because I was making her upset.
"Sorry." I say under my breath, knowing I must sound crazy.
Billy looked at me and threw his arm around my shoulder. "Let's go." He says as we begin to walk to his car. El and Max follow, not far behind.
I lean into him, inhaling the smell of his cologne.

A couple of days later, my big decision was due. This decision was not only going to affect my life, it was going to affect my loved ones lives.
I was either going to leave Hawkins and go to a nursing school two hours away or stay and hopefully pick up a full time, better paying job to support myself and El.
"What are you going to do? We need to know in the next ten minutes." Billy says, chuckling.
We were currently sitting at the diner where we had our first date. I felt extremely nostalgic, as we were sitting in the same booth we sat in a couple of months ago. All we needed was for James, my ex boyfriend, to come and start a fight with Billy.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I don't want to leave you and El behind."
If I were to leave Hawkins, El would move in with Joyce and Will. Jonathan was moving away to study photography, so El would be taking his old bedroom.
"I'm behind whatever you do. If I'm being honest, I don't want you to go, but that's just me being a selfish piece of shit." Billy decided that going to college or university was definitely not for him. He figured that he'd work for a local mechanic or a construction company until he had enough money to move out of Hawkins.
"I know you are. The nursing school accepted me for a reason. I really don't want to turn them down and I'd be making a good amount of money. But I feel like I'm being selfish and careless if I leave the people I love."
"El already told you she's okay with you going. Babe, she supports whatever you want to do, like me." Billy says, sipping his drink.
"I know! I just-" I let out a long sigh. "She's been through so much and I don't want to ditch her!" I say, running my hands through my hair.
"You've been through a shit ton too! Think about yourself for a minute! You deserve better, Kate. And plus, how would you support her? The pool is going to close for the summer and we will be out of a job."
I nod my head. "Joyce can support her financially. I can't. Joyce knows how to raise kids and I don't know how to yet." I say, sadly. As soon as those words left my mouth, I made up my mind.
Billy nods. "We're not ready for that yet."
"We?" I ask, smiling and a little shocked.
"Yeah. Someday we'll raise kids together, but not today." He says, smiling.
My heart skips a beat knowing that he wanted to have kids too.
"You don't come off as the typical family man, Hargrove." I say, impressed.
"Surprisingly, I want kids. Could you imagine little Billy's and Kate's running around?"
My smile slowly starts to fade as I think about what would happen if I go away to school.
"What's the matter?" He asks, concerned and clearly worried he said the wrong thing.
"What would happen to us if I leave?"
Billy pauses. "We'll figure it out. We have too because I can't loose you, I love you too much." He says.
"I can't loose you either." I say, smiling.
"We're here!" El says, sliding into the booth beside me. "We got caught up in the rain."
"Hey Ketchup and Mustard." I say, looking over at Max who was sitting beside Billy.
We called the girls Ketchup and Mustard because they had red and yellow rain jackets. It started as a joke, but then it kind of stuck.
They giggle.
"Hey." Max replies.
"So have you made a decision yet?" El asks me.
I nod my head. "I think so." I say.
Now, everybody was staring at me. Especially Billy.
"Do tell." Max says.
I look over at Billy and he smiles at me and nods.
I take a deep breath and look at everybody.