Haste [h.s.]

~39~

y'all have NO idea how long i've been waiting for this😭

* NINE YEARS AGO - WESTPORT, NC *

"Don't forget to put some of the glue on the little knot so it doesn't break easily."

I flicked my vision up to where Billie sat with her legs crossed on the opposite side of the table with a bead tucked between her lips and the string stretched out in front of her over the hard surface where she counted up each one to make sure she was still keeping her wrist measurements right.

I followed her instructions, not really knowing much about the task, but went along with it anyway. "What does nail glue have to do with bracelets, anyways?"

She shrugged. "I ran out of my old crazy glue."

I chuckled and set the finished product aside, "That doesn't answer my question." I folded my arms and let my eyes wander over to where she was extremely enthralled in her creation, humming along to a tune I picked up was our latest tune from our summer rotation, Sweet Tuesday Morning by Badfinger.

"It helps keep it from snapping longer." She explained. "I don't know, I learned it from Kenzie at summer camp a few years ago."

The house phone began ringing from the other room and Billie stopped inserting the bead into the string to look at me in question, to which I stood up with some level of confusion and left her to go pick it up.

When I did, I could hear rustling from the other end of the line until it was finally clear enough for them to speak.

"Hunter?"

"Hi, mom." I kept my tone steady and monotonous.

"We just wanted to call to let you know we landed safely," Her excuse made me roll my eyes, already knowing whatever followed was any sort of unnerving flaunting. "Erin saw some Disney stuff at the airport, and you know your dad, he couldn't resist buying those park passes for her."

I hummed, letting her babble on for the longest minute of my life, but I barely heard a word spoken from her when I was keeping an eye on Billie to make sure she wouldn't notice my absence from the room was too prolonged.

She'd taken a sip from the lemonade we made when we got home, a content expression painting her face with a mind of serenity I wish I could forever see gracing her features. There was no other version of Billie I ever wanted for herself than the one where no harm would make her trip in her strides to success, but I was too naïve to ever believe it would be possible for as long as she lived under these burdening walls.

"We wish you had come." My mom exclaimed with a chip in her voice that gave me the impression she was smiling, something that irritated me to no end.