Freak Show // Billy Hargrove

Chapter Twenty: Stranger Things

Chapter Twenty: Stranger Things

Kaity rolls over groggily, her eyes slowly opening. The sun was shining through her curtains, her room covered in a blanket of light. She didn't remember ever falling asleep last night. Kaity rubbed her eyes and looked at her hand to see a smear of black on it. She huffs out a breath and looks to her side when she sees something shining in the sunlight. Beside her on the bed, the photograph laid beside her on, making the memories of last night flood in. Kaity quickly gets out of bed and rushes into the hallway, stopping in front of the phone and dialing a number that she now knows by heart. "Come on, please pick up." She mumbles to herself, her finger twisting around the cord nervously. She hoped that Billy was okay. "Susan Hargrove," Susan called down the line and Kaity sighs. "Susan, this is Kaity."

"Oh! Kaity! Hi honey, how are you?" Susan asks sweetly and only if she could see Kaity she would know that she definitely wasn't okay. "I'm great. Have you seen Billy around? I've been trying to get a hold of him but haven't reached him." Susan frowned at this. "I saw him briefly this morning..."

"Really?" Kaity asked, leaning her back against the wall. She was surprised that he was even at home. "Well, did he say anything?"

"No, he didn't. He seemed like he was in a rush to get out of the house." Kaity narrowed her eyes at the wall across from her, her mind wandering. "Honey, are you okay? You don't sound right, like your worried about something." Susan was very good at knowing when there was something wrong with someone by just hearing their voice and over the time that Kaity and Billy have been dating, Susan and Kaity have formed a wonderful relationship with each other, sometimes going out together and talking like girls would. Susan was a great person and Kaity absolutely adored the women and Susan adored Kaity just as much if not more. "I'm okay Susan, just really tired. I need to head out but I'll try to call you later to catch up." Kaity lies, swallowing the lump that was slowly forming in her throat. "Okay, honey. Let me know if you need anything at all. Take care."

"You too." Kaity mumbles, hanging up the phone and Kaity sighs, rubbing her face as she thought. She turns back to the phone, dialing another number and listening to it ring. "Page Nelson," Page's voice calls through the phone and Kaity felt relieved to hear her friends' voice. "Page, it's Kaity."

"Hey, Kaity, what's up?" Kaity bit her lip. "Me and Billy were supposed to go on a date last night and he never showed up." Page stopped what she was doing and put all her attention on the conversation. Page knew how Billy was. Her and Billy got to know each other better and she learned that he was never late to anything that had to do with him and Kaity so she understood this was a big thing. "Really? Did he ever call or show up today?" Kaity shook her head as tears brimmed in her eyes. She just felt really confused at the moment. She didn't know what was wrong with him or what he had going on. "No. Never called me once. I called the house today and Susan picked up,"

"What did she say?" Page asked as she layed back in her bed, the phone on the bed with her. "I asked her if she's seen him and she said she briefly saw him this morning and it looked like he was in some kind of rush."

"Hm..." Page mumbles in thought. She could tell by just the sound of Kaity's voice that she was worried. "How about you meet me at Scoops Ahoy in fifteen minutes so we can sit down and talk about this in person and figure this out, okay?"

"Okay." Kaity nods licking her lips. "I'll see you in fifteen minutes. Keep your head up till then." They both hang up the phone and Kaity stays in her position for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts before she pushes herself away from the wall and goes back into her bedroom, collecting an outfit to wear. Kaity drags herself into the bathroom and she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She looked terrible. Her makeup was smeared across her face and she had bags under her eyes. Her hair was matted in the places she teased it and it was frizzy. She turns away from the mirror and turns the water on and strips off her clothing. The water was warm against Kaity's skin and she just stands there, letting the water run over her, hoping it would just take the stress and worry with it down the drain. Kaity scrubs her face, washing away the makeup from last night and sadly her feelings didn't wash away with it.