One's Billy Hargrove (book 2)

Chapter Ten

I need to get the kids out of here safely but I don't know if that will happen.
The only way to get out of here safely is through the side door. It's furthest away from Billy but who knows if he's already out of the car. I guess that will have to be a chance I have to take.
We all run to and out the side door, only to hear a car door slam and a manly grunt follow. I look to the direction of Billy's car and see that he is able to move again. As he gets closer, the kids and I frantically run the opposite direction.
"Faster!" I shout at them. We run through a gate that only leads ups back into the mall but we have no other choice but to.
We run through the hallway that we go through to watch movies and to the right of us, there was an empty room. We stay there so that El could rest her leg and then we leave to find safety.
Our resting period doesn't last long. I hear a door close for out in the hallway and when I check, Billy is walking towards us. I go back inside and try to help Eleven up and make a quick slip through. Max goes to the door and speaks to Billy. Trying to get through to him.
A wave of annoyance and uncertainty comes over my body. I look over to Max and tell her to get away. She just keeps going.
"Max! GET AWAY FROM..." before I could finish, she falls to the ground and doesn't move a muscle.
"MAX!" I cry. I run up to her to see if she's okay but I'm thrown to the ground by Billy. I bash my head on the metal door and he goes after El. He smashes her hand against the wall and tosses her aside and she passes out immediately.
I'm still awake but I can barely move at all. Billy throws El over his shoulder and picks me up in one of his arms. Holding me like a baby.
"billy..." I whisper but he doesn't say a word. He just keeps walking towards the main entrance of the building. When he gets there, he lays us both on the ground. El is still not moving and I'm terrified that she's no breathing.
Billy then whispers the same thing he told me when I was first going to be flayed. To not move and stay quiet. He looks to the side and my eyes follow his. The mind flayer comes down from the roof of the building and roars immensely in my face.
"Eleven!" I shout for her to wake up. I try and make my way to her and help her but my body is too weak.
'I'm gonna die here.' Is all that was going through my head. I was so focused on saving Billy that I forgot the bigger picture. My friends. My new found sister. I can't believe that let them down.
Just as I'm about to accept my death, a loud crack fills the air and a burst of light comes right after. It was a fire work.
Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan, Will, Steve, and Robin had all come back. The fireworks woke Eleven up and the weight in my chest lifted.
They threw fire after fire, absolutely destroying the flayer. I was happy to that it was getting hurt. Until I heard Billy shouting and grunting from the pain as well. As he was being hurt, El made a run for it so that she would get to safety.
"Billy?" I say as he screams. I crawl to him to hold him to see if he's okay he pushes me away roughly and tells me to just leave. This time, I listen and try to get away but he pulls me back to the edge.
He wraps his hands around my throat and squeezes until I couldn't breath. I claw at his wrists, begging for him to let go with my eyes. He didn't do it. He just stared at me with fear in his eyes.
His head twitched and his grip loosened. Every few seconds, I'd feel his emotions truly coming through.
"Seven feet!" I screech. "You told her the wave was seven feet. You ran to her on the beach..."
"Stop. Don't tell me about her. Tell me about us." He cuts me off. A tear slips down my cheek and I touch his face softly.
"The first day we met. We ran into each other in the hallway. I bumped into you and we fought. I knew that I liked you from that moment."
"You did?" He croaks.
"You smelt like sex and expensive cologne. How could I not." I giggle. "When all of this is over, we can get married, we'll have two kids. The boy that looks exactly like you and the girl will take after me."
"Kids? I'd like some of those."
"Then fight him. I know you can."
"I can't." He whispers.
"You can."
"I CANT!" Tears fall rapidly from his eyes. "I just..."
He stops in the middle of his sentence and just stares at me for a few seconds. His eyes didn't dare leave my own. I stare at him intently waiting for his next move.
I have a feeling that he's going to still do as the mind flayer says. He is flayed after all. But his actions catch me off guard.
For the first time, he kissed me. He bent down and placed his lips onto my own. I wasn't expecting that to happen but I wasn't going to let it go to waist. I close my eyes and ring my hands through his hair and I take in every single intoxicating second of this moment. His lips are so soft and smooth and even after all the shit we've been through, he tastes like cherry.
I don't want this to end. I want all of it. I want him. That's all I want. The best thing that's ever happened to me was meeting The Billy Hargrove. I remember back in high school we despised each other and now I can't live without him.
When Billy pulls away from me, he cries loudly.
"I'm so sorry! I love you so much, baby girl. I wish that I could show you just how much I do one last time!" He's planning something.
"Billy? Why are you talking like that?" Billy ignores my question as he lifts me off of the floor in bridal style. "Billy?! What are you doing?!"
He stops in his tracks and gives me a look that I've never see before. For once he is truly not afraid. He's not angry at all. Not a lick of malice is inside of him. That's when I knew he had already made up his mind.
He places me down on the floor and at the corner of my eye, I see one of the Mind Flayers tentacles coming towards me. Just as I'm about to accept my fate yet again, the arm doesn't touch me. When I look up, Billy is fighting it off. He's pushing against it.
For a small second, I was proud of him for being able to fight back. But that feeling didn't last very long. Everything thing starts to move in slow motion as I see another tentacle come out from the side. It's claws clasped onto Billy's side. Stabbing him in the process. The air is knocked from my lungs at the sight of it. I get up so I can run to him but I'm held back. When I look behind me, It's Steve.
"LET ME GO!" I scream at the top of my lungs. Steve's grip just gets tighter with every move I make.
I watch as four other claw pierce into him and he falls to his knees. Billy screams in rebellion.
My senses go numb. And when I blinked, the flayer was piercing Billy through his chest. His rebellious scream stopped and my heart drops.
"BILLY!" I cry. I throw my head back to hit Steve in the nose and I try and get closer but I'm pulled back again. I push Steve away and run to Billy's body. I kneel down and try to push down on his wounds to stop the bleeding.
"HELP ME! SOMEBODY, PLEASE." I scream and cry but I knew deep down that there is nothing that anyone could do. Max comes to my side and the last thing Billy did was apologize to Max. I feel his emotions disappear and I knew he was gone.
The mall grew silent and I just hover over his body. I stare at his face then lay on top of him. I wrap my arms around his neck and a long awaited sob drags out of my throat.
"One." Steve whispers.
"He won't hug me back."
"One." He calls out to me again.
"I just want him to hug me back."
"One."
"Why can't I... you couldn't he!?" Steve pulls me away from Billy and pulls me closer to him.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."