melancholia. [ ALTERNATE SPIN-OFF ] [ BILLY HARGROVE ]

vi. CHAPTER FOUR

~*~
warning: mature language,
mentions of suicide

     The car door shut quickly, Dustin shoving his car keys in his pockets. He'd stop by the video store everyday after school to talk with Steve and just mess around before he had to go home and do his homework. He'd been taking care of him and his mom ever since what happened, and things were going well. He didn't want that to change. But things were about to get messy. 

     He walked into the video store, stopping when he saw Steve talking to who he thought was a customer. That is until she turned around. His eyes were then fixed on his sister, and he thought he was hallucinating. 

     "Mary?" he questioned, unsure if he was asleep. 

     "Kid," she smiled, tears threatening her eyes. She rushed to her brother, tackling him in a hug. He immediately hugged her back, tears rolling down Mary's cheeks as she stayed in the hug. She stepped back and looked at him, the bewildered look on her face not shocking her. "Oh, god. You really have to stop growing." 

     "What... What's going on?" Dustin asked, studying her face carefully. She was a lot skinnier than he remember, but he was sure that it was his sister. "You're dead. This isn't real." 

     "No, no, no, kid. It's me, it's really me," Mary reassured him, wiping away one of the tears that fell from his eyes. "It's so much to explain, but it's me. It's really me." 

     "What happened? How are you here?" Dustin asked, hugging her again in shock. Mary sighed out, hugging him back happily. "How do I even know it's you?" 

     "That I can answer," Mary said, stepping back from their hug. She took a deep breath, grabbing the hem of her shirt. She pulled it up right to where she could, everyone's eyes widening at the large, healed gashes where the creature had sunk its claws into Mary. 

     "Holy shit, are you okay?" Steve asked, walking to her quickly. 

     "They're healed, dipshit. I'm fine," Mary answered. "But we really need to talk because I'm kind of on a deadline." 

     "Mary, you need to slow down. We just learned you aren't dead, which, how is that even possible?" Steve asked.

     "Remember those evil Russian you all were investigating, back in... whenever that was?" Mary asked, looking between the three in the store.

     "That was like two years go," Robin inquired. 

     "Yeah, well, the Russian didn't let up," Mary said. "They kind of, maybe, might have taken me from the hospital, replaced my body with a fake, and took me back to a lab in Russia." The room fell silent upon her words, Mary looking between all of them in worry. She knew it was a lot, but what happened to her and what she gained was a lot more to explain. 

     "God, how did they do that?" Steve asked, running his fingers through his hair. 

     "Couldn't tell you. There's more to the story, but right now, I have one question," Mary said, grabbing Steve's shoulders and looking him in the eye. 

     "I feel like I know what that question is," Steve responded. 

     "Where's Billy?" 

~*~

     Mary knocked on the front door of the Hargrove household three times, stepping back to give them a minute. She turned her head to see the Camaro in the driveway, which meant at least Max was home. Steve and Dustin were behind her, waiting patiently for the door to be answered.