mercy ; peter ballard

20. i l o m i l o

she knew who this was. beatrice ran down of the front door, nancy, steve, and robin trailing behind. all that was left of him was a burned outline of his body and burning wood. he was gone.

he was still out there.

"your friends have lost. i'll be back for you, my darling," his voiced whispered into her ear, sending chills down her spine. it went quiet in her head. how could he have won? "i am with you forever."

"we got to get to dustin and eddie," steve said. "we'll worry about that," he points at the charred grass. "later."

they heard a chime from behind them. they ran to the grandfather clock.

"four chimes," robin exhales.

nancy whispers, "max."

steve and beatrice look at the two with concern. the house began to rumble.

"we need to get to dustin and eddie. now," beatrice commands, running out the front door and towards the trailer park.

nancy, steve, and robin race after her.

[REDACTED], 1976

"do you believe in soulmates?" peter asked, doodling away on a piece of paper laid on a hardback book. beatrice sat next to him, head on his shoulder, watching him draw. it was around the middle of the night. beatrice's room was illuminated by a single lamp. peter and beatrice sat next to each other, backs against the metal bedframe.

"i think i do. i think everyone has their person. it can be romantic or not romantic," bea explains, looking up at him.

he loved the way she looked at him. it was like he was ethereal. like he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. that was the thing about her that he loved. she looked at him like he was brand new.

they may have been forced together through circumstance, but they were in love.

"soulmates balance each other out. different parts of a soul split. tied together," peter spoke, shading in parts of his sketch.

peter looks down at her, meeting those chocolate brown eyes he adored. he stopped drawing, unable to break from her eyes.

"marry me," he whispered with a glint in his eyes.

bea furrowed her eyebrows, sitting up. she turned and looked at him. "what?"

"marry me," he repeated, grabbing her left hand. "one day, we'll get out of this stupid prison and we'll be able to have our own little family and i'll make a world where nothing can hurt us."

beatrice couldn't believe his words. maybe, he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. but what would he accomplish by doing that? maybe, he wanted the same things. beatrice couldn't look away from him. it was almost like she could see her future in his eyes.

"okay," she said, bringing her right hand to his soft cheek.

"yeah?" he smiled, moving the book and the paper to a small side table.

"yeah," she grinned, brightly. "i'll marry you. i don't give a fuck if it's not legal or some shit. you are my person."

she leaned in, planting a kiss on his soft, pale lips.