Royal Pain || Stranger Things

twenty-two || boys are stupid

She hummed in thought as she rolled over, tucking herself under his arm. "I have a stepbrother."

"I remember you saying that around when we first met. You never talk about him."

"His name's Ben. The difference in age is about what yours and Max is, but he's older."

"I hope he's nicer to you than I am to Max," he quietly said.

If there was anything she wanted her friends to hear, it was things like that, things Billy said when his ego wasn't the size of the moon.

"We were really good friends growing up. He even let me hang out with him and his friends sometimes. We'd go to the pool all the time. He actually taught me how to flip."

Billy grinned lightly. "That's sweet. Is he in England still?"

Tatum laughed a little hesitantly. "Not exactly."

"I take that has to do with the reason you two don't talk?"

"He defected to the Soviet Union a few years ago."

"What?"

"And that's why I don't tell people." She sighed, deciding to light her own cigarette instead of stealing what was left of Billy's. "All the signs were there. He learned Russian as a teenager before he was out of school. He even taught me some. We'd speak in Russian and play spies around the house. Dad thought he wanted to join the Royal Air Force and decode for them or something. We missed all the hints."

Billy's brows lifted. "That's insane. So, he legitimately lives in Russia?"

"Unless he's stationed somewhere else in the Soviet Union." Tatum shrugged. "I haven't the slightest clue. He called a few months back, but all of it was nondescript. It's not like he can say anything genuine."

"Does he get to call often? I wouldn't think they would let him."

"He never calls. That's the thing. He hadn't contacted us in two years, and then he has our phone number here. I don't know how he got it in the first place."

"That's a little unsettling to think about."

Tatum let out a great sigh, burrowing her face against his chest. "That's why I tend not to think about it."

After moment of silence passed, Billy snubbed out the little that was left of his cigarette. "She was my biggest surfing fan. She loved the beach, so she was more than willing to wait and watch. Dad never liked to go with us, so it was always just the two of us. She would carry my surfboard when my arms were too tired. Which was always, because I'd stay out for way too long catching waves I knew I wasn't good enough to ride."

"Do you know where she is?"

Billy lightly kissed the top of Tatum's head. "No. I have no idea."

If I knew her voice, I could find her, she thought.

But that's all it could be. Just a thought. Just an inkling of what could be done if she could ever tell Billy about the mystery of Hawkins.

About the mystery of herself.

And while she promised her friends that she wouldn't date Billy and failed miserably at it, keeping the secrets of herself and her friends was one of the most important parts of her life.

It was an unbreakable vow of trust to one another.

"Would you ever go looking for her?" she asked, the words slipping out without being able to stop them. She blinked mildly, thankful he couldn't see her eyes.