Drowning • Billy Hargrove

Chapter 34

I walked home in the rain alone that night. I kept thinking about my argument with Billy and what I was going to do. I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to breakup with Billy because I loved him too much, but I also think it would be best if we took a little break.
I also debated on dropping out of school, just to keep Billy content. But, I soon realized that I was being stupid and I refuse to drop out over a silly boy.

I finally arrived back at El's place.
"Hey!" She says as I enter.
"Hello." I reply.
"Hey! How'd it go?" Max asks, turning the volume on the tv down.
I take a minute to think about how I was going to answer. I could lie and say it went fine or I could tell the truth. "Um. Not great, to be honest." I respond.
Max sighs. "He's an idiot! Billy never knows how good he's got it!"
"Did you guys break up?" El asks with her mouth full of popcorn.
"I think we're on a break now. Just until everything gets better between us."
Max groans. "I'm going to kill Billy when I get home."
I laugh. "I don't think so."
"I definitely am! Was he with Jenn?"
I turn and look at her. "How do you know about Jenn?"
"Before Billy met you, he always brought Jenn over to our house. She is obsessed with him and it's weird!"
I nod my head. "Yeah it was with her."
She shakes her head. "They're both idiots."
I smile and begin to watch the movie with them.

Half way through the film, the door swings open, revealing Joyce and Will.
"Hey girls!" Joyce says, setting a bag of groceries down on the table.
"Need any help?" I ask standing up.
"Kate!" She yells, running over and hugging me. "You're back!"
I smile. "Yeah I am! Just till tomorrow evening, though."
"It's better than nothing!"
I nod my head. "I suppose it is."
Joyce and I talk for what seems like forever. She was a really easy person to open up to and I liked that. That's probably the same reason my father admired her so much, too.

After the kids went back to their bedrooms, I decided to open up to Joyce a little bit more.
"I had this really weird dream the other night."
"What was it about?" She asked, sitting up straight.
"Dad. We were at a proper funeral for him. There was an open casket and he was in it." I continue. "I, for whatever reason, walked up to the casket at the end of the funeral and looked in."
She nods her head. "And then what?"
"He came back from the dead and said 'help me!' After that I woke up."
"I had a similar dream." Joyce says, seeming concerned.
"Really?" I ask.
She nods her head. "I did. We were at the secret Russian base and I had just turned the keys. Everything exploded, like it did in real life. After all of the flashing lights and loud noises, I looked up to see Hop laying on the floor, not breathing."
I nod my head, intrigued in her story.
"Murray and I got help and the Military came in and pronounced him dead. After everybody left, I sat there with him for a few moments before he said the same thing to me that he said to you."
I sit there, in awe. "What if it means something?" I question.
She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. I covered my eyes when it exploded, so I really don't know." I could tell Joyce starts to think for a minute. "Unless he escaped through the gate."
"The gate?" I ask, confused.
She nods her head. "Yeah, the portal to the upside down!"
I think about it for awhile as she grabs a pad of paper and a pen.
"He could have hopped into the portal while it was still open!"
I shrug my shoulders. "Maybe."
"This all makes sense now, Kate! I thought I was crazy about having that dream, but if you had basically the same one, it must mean something. Has anything else happened?"
I nod my head. "Yeah, actually it has. The lights always flicker and photos have been falling off of my shelf and desk."
She writes all of those facts down on the piece of paper. "Stuff like that happened to me when Will was trying to communicate with the real world!"
I look at her. "You don't think he's in there, do you?"
She smiles. "I don't think, I know he's trapped in the upside down." Joyce's smile slowly begins to fade away.
"What's the matter?" I ask.
"The portal is closed."
"We could maybe get some help from Doctor Owens?"
"That sounds like a good idea." She responds.
The last time I saw Doctor Owens was the night my father died. Apparently Joyce, Hopper and Murray called to tell him about the secret Russian lab, a few hours before everything happened. Eventually, Doctor Owens flew in with the US military to shut the Russians down.
"Maybe he could take us down to the gate for El to open it."
I nod my head as she continues to speak.
"Then we could climb in, get Hopper and leave."
I think about it for a moment. "But if the gates open, that gives the Mindflayer an opportunity to escape."
She nods her head. "That's true."
"Unless we get in and they close it behind us." It sounded like a terrible idea, but it could possibly work.
"That could work." She replies.
We sit in silence for a few moments, before I decide it's getting late and I should get going.
"No, no! Please stay!" Joyce says.
I don't hesitate to reply, since I didn't even have a place to stay for the night. "Okay! Thank you." I respond.
She gets up and grabs a few pillows and blankets from the linen closet. "Sorry I don't have a spare room."
I smile at her. "The couch will do just fine."

A few hours later, I decide it's time for me to go to sleep after the long day I've had.
After I've said goodnight to El and Max, I lay down in my makeshift bed and doze off to sleep.