Insomnia // Billie Eilish

Chapter 8

"What happened with your mom?"

"It's... a long story that I don't want to get into right now." I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck anxiously.

"That must've been hard." She frowned and put a hand on my knee. My heart skipped a beat and I could feel my face heat up, my heart beating out of my chest. I wished I didn't like her so much. It was frustrating.

"Yeah, but that was a while ago. I'm fine now. Anyways—uh, how's your music?" I said, quickly slapping my forehead as I realized that I'd already asked. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she leaned her back against the wall and scooted over, making room for me to do the same. "Hey," she said, perking up. She had a cute grin on her face. "Do you wanna stay the night?"

"Oh, uh-uhm," I stuttered. I didn't expect that question. "Sure."

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I'd like it if you did," she said, scratching the back of her neck.

"Sounds fun. I just need to text my dad."

"Cool," she replied quickly, returning to her cocky demeanor.

I texted my dad and then we went downstairs to "raid the kitchen," which is what Billie called it. It consisted of taking Taki's, watermelon, and some of her favorite candies.

I shook my head and put a piece of watermelon into my mouth. "Watermelon's so good. It's like... all I'll eat right now."

We ate all the food we brought up and Billie got out of bed. "I'm gonna brush my teeth." I frowned realizing I don't have a toothbrush. "Here." She opened a drawer and pulled an unopened package out with a toothbrush in it. "You can have this and it'll be yours for when you stay the night."

"Okay." We brushed our teeth together and then laid down.

"Can we watch the office?" Billie asked.

"Sure," I replied, yawning and stretching my arms out.

"Dude, are you really already tired?"

"Bitch." I laughed. "Leave me the hell alone." She turned off the red lights and pulled the covers up over her, turning on the T.V. I rolled over on my side and watched the T.V, trying not to fall asleep.

"You know I was just kidding, right?" Billie said softly in a half-whisper voice. Damn, her voice was so soothing. It was soft and she talked so precisely. "You can go to sleep if you want."

I hummed in response and closed my eyes, pulling as much of the blanket as I could and squeezing it. I always ended up cuddling something or whatever in my sleep. I usually had a big, green, stuffed bunny named Jeffrey Hopps III that I slept with every night.

Billie's laugh and The Office were the last things I heard before falling asleep.

A couple of hours later, I woke up to the sound of thunder. I hated storms. They brought back bad memories. The sound of rain hitting the roof made my head spin, and I waited a couple minutes until I heard thunder again. It rattled things throughout the house. I sat up, pulling my knees up to my chest and scooting closer to Billie.

Another wave of thunder rolled through and light from lightning bursted through the windows. The sound of rain patting hard on the roof rang throughout the house. "Cameron, what are you doing?" my older brother, Matt, yelled. "Go get in the cellar!"

"Lilly," I shouted. "I can't find her."

He looked at me confusedly. "I saw her running outside... but she's not... in the cellar."