The Great War | Billy Hargrove

14 | A New Friend

"Oh, uh, I ... I kind of finished your whiskey, I'm so sorry —" Isadora slurred a little as she handed the flask back to Beatrix.

"It's fine. It kind of seems like you might have needed it a lot more than I do right now," Beatrix said, as she took the flask from Isadora.

"Yeah ... I guess it kind of helped," Isadora shrugged as she looked towards the abandoned Creel House before spotting a nearby pebble and grabbing it before she looked towards Beatrix, "Does anyone come near this place?"

"As far as I know, no-one really comes anywhere near here. From what I've seen, the doors and windows are all boarded up," Beatrix said.

"Well, great, then I guess no-one will notice if I do this then," Isadora said, as she walked closer to the house and hesitated for a moment before she threw the pebble and Beatrix's eyes widened as she watched the pebble hit the boarded up door before it bounced off and landed on the ground. As it did, Isadora grabbed another pebble and threw it as tears rolled down her cheeks, "I was just a fucking ... I was a game, a conquest ... and the worst part about it all, the worst part was I — I was —"

"Isadora, are you okay?" Beatrix asked gently, as the blonde stopped talking and broke down sobbing as she collapsed down onto the ground and started sobbing violently.

"He .. he lied to me, or at least I think he did ... none of this makes sense. It doesn't make sense," Isadora sobbed. Beatrix sat down beside the girl, and despite not really knowing what to do to comfort the crying blonde, she reached over and squeezed her hand gently.

"Well, he's an asshole who did not deserve you. You deserve someone who makes you smile and laugh and who makes you feel special, not someone who makes you cry like this," Beatrix told Isadora, although she wasn't sure if she believed the words she was saying to the crying blonde because she had seen the way her brother had been earlier today and Beatrix was sure Billy was in love with Isadora. Shakily, Isadora nodded and wiped her tears away as Beatrix squeezed her hand before the two girls stood up and searched around the house until they found a small shed and Isadora carefully tested the door.

"It's unlocked," she said before opening it and walking inside, "Yeah, I guess this will do. There's even an old sleeping bag here."

"Are you sure about this?" Beatrix asked.

"Y-Yeah, it'll be fine here. Thank you," Isadora smiled at Beatrix, who nodded before she said goodbye to the girl and left the Creel House, leaving Isadora alone. And once she was alone, Isadora broke down in tears, the loneliness overwhelming. Over the next few days, Isadora remained hidden by the Creel House, often spending the days crying or sleeping. She wasn't even sure how safe it was for her to be here but with Beatrix coming to the Creel House to check on her and bringing her food and clothes, Isadora figured she would likely be okay here. Beatrix had also snuck Isadora some alcohol but the blonde had left the alcohol untouched, but that didn't stop her from feeling angry, alone and confused. And after deciding she needed to be alone, for the rest of the week, Isadora remained hidden at the Creel House, unaware that her friends had been searching for her everywhere.

"I bought you some food, and I thought you should know there are missing posters up everywhere. Everyone has been looking for you," Beatrix told Isadora one afternoon as she dropped a bag of food off for the girl.

"So, let them look," Isadora said.

"Issi ... I knew I needed to stop them from worrying about you, so I kind of did something," Beatrix said. Isadora looked up at her and frowned.

"What did you do, Beatrix?"

"I told Hopper you were safe."

"You — what? You promised me that you wouldn't tell anyone, Beatrix!" Isadora cried.