OVERTURE: And so the Cycle Begins Again "I haven't. And I don't think I ever will."
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DURING FEBRUARY, THE MANOR FAMILY hit some more hard times. Jimmy wasn't making enough money to support the household. He had to go out searching for other jobs.
Luckily enough, he found one pretty quickly—three hours from Hawkins.
So, the Manor family had to move away. It was hard for everyone, especially Mallory. Billy and Mallory had become nearly inseparable, and not in a clingy way. They were just together and that was how they thought it should be.
Their goodbye was the hardest.
"So," Mallory started, trying not to cry even though she wanted to, "We'll call each other once a week?"
Billy nodded, his jaw tensing. He wasn't going to cry but, damn, was it hard not to. They stood there for a bit in silence, the Manor family's car running and ready to go.
"Well, good—" Mallory started to say goodbye with a shaky breath before Billy grabbed her and pulled her in for a tight hug.
"Don't say it just yet," He whispered into the top of her head as he kissed it. Mallory let out a few tears before Jimmy honked the car horn.
Slowly, the two pulled away and Billy wiped Mallory's cheek, "I love you, Mal."
"I love you, too, Billy."
Mallory walked to the car, sliding into the passenger's seat. Jimmy pulled out of the driveway, passing the for sale sign that now had the word "SOLD" boldly pasted on it.
As they drove down the street, Mallory rolled down the window and stuck her head out. Billy watched her and she watched Billy slowly get smaller.
"I'll see you later, babe!" Billy shouted to Mallory. Mallory smiled and blew him a kiss mockingly before slinking back into the car.
For the first month or so, the couples once-a-week calls worked out perfectly. They talked about anything and everything. Even dumb things neither of them cared about, like politics.
"So, the football coach here was caught with a student."
"Really? That's kinda hot."
"Billy!" A laugh would ensue, usually.
Although, it then turned into conversations were being left on the answering machine. It seemed like the answering machine was apart of the relationship now.
"Billy? Hey, it's Mal again. Seems like it sucks back in Hawkins. Call me when you get a chance."
Finally, there were just messages. No responses. Only a quick, "Call me back, please", or something of the sorts. Mallory felt like the relationship was going to end up as dead as the dial tone.
