Insomnia // Billie Eilish

Chapter 64

"Babyyyy," Billie calls from the front yard. I sigh, lifting my head up from its spot on the hammock.

"Whaaaaat?" I stay quiet, waiting for a response.

"Where are youuuu?"

I laugh. "Backyard."

A few moments later, Billie comes into the backyard. "Aw, baby." She chuckles, kissing my forehead and then sitting on the ground beside the hammock. "I think you have sunburn again."

I hum. "I fell asleep."

She puts a hand on my cheek before sliding it into my hair and combing her fingers through it. "You hungry?"

"A little."

"Finneas and Claudia were telling me about this really good vegan pizza. Wanna try it?"

"Sure."

"Okay. I'll order it in a minute." She climbs onto the hammock beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. "How did that orientation go?"

"It was good," I reply. "We're on the right track."

She kisses my shoulder. "That's good."

It's quiet for a minute and then I turn over. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, I know it was just supposed to be Brian and now we have to become foster parents just to even get him."

She smiles, brushing a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Yes, baby. What we're doing is good. There are plenty of kids that need a good home. I wanted to do it eventually. Now it's just happening sooner than I planned. It's fine."

"Okay."

-

"Damn. This shit is fire, dude." Billie takes another bite of her pizza.

I laugh.

"I can't believe you only ate one piece. I think you actually have problems."

"I do not."

Billie's phone starts ringing so she answers it, leaning back in her chair. "Mhm... yeah—you're kidding, bro... she's home... we're on our way." She hangs up.

-

"He's having a little phase where he won't talk, so don't be surprised if—" The lady is interrupted when Brian comes in.

"Camin!" Brian runs up to me and I crouch down, holding my arms open.

He hugs me and I kiss his head. "I love you."

"Where you been," he asks confusedly.

"Nowhere. Don't worry about it. Look." I pull away and point towards Billie.

"B!" He runs over to her. I'm so glad that he likes her.

"Well, I guess that's that," the lady says with a chuckle.

She picks him up and kisses his cheek. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah."

"I heard you like PJ Masks." We walk towards her car.

"Yeah." He laughs.

"You're gonna love your room," she says excitedly, tickling his stomach before setting him in his car seat and buckling him up.

He points out every stop sign on the way home. I have no idea why, but it's funny. The drive home is fairly short. We pull into the driveway and I get Brian out of the car. "Where are we?"

"This is our new house." I grab his hand and we walk inside.

"Where's daddy?"

I look up at Billie, not really knowing what to tell him. "Why? Do you miss him?"

"Yes." He nods.

"Well, I don't know where he is right now. Okay?"

"Okay."

"You wanna see your room," Billie asks.

He jumps. "Yeah."

"Let's go." She leads him to his room and turns the light on.

"Gecko!" He runs over to the bed.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah!"

She laughs. "Good."

-

"Ahh! Billie! I swear to God—get it!"

She runs into the living room. "What is it?"

"There's a fucking spider." I point at the ground beside the couch.

She walks over and holds her hand out, letting it crawl on her as a mischievous smile plays at her lips. "Aw." She walks towards me and I back up.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I run into the backyard and she follows.

"It's cute. His name is Toby." She holds it out to me.

"Hell no. I hope it bites you. Toby probably knows that you used to eat spiders."

"I've never eaten a spider. I just put one in my mouth for a music video." She crosses her arms.

"Not much better, baby. It's still disgusting."

"No, it's not." She shakes her head. "You're just being rude. I think you should apologize to Toby."

I laugh. "Sike."

"Look. He's not hurting me." Billie turns her arm as it crawls around.

"No. You can have fun with Toby. I'm going inside." I linger in the doorway, waiting for her response.

"I'm gonna put him on your pillow," she says.

"Careful what you say, Eilish. I'm inside, you're outside, and there's a lock on this door." I shut the door and lock it, watching her through the window.

"Nooo. Let me in. Toby's cold." She laughs.

"No."

"Okay. I'm putting it down. Let me in."

I hesitantly unlock the door and open it. She throws the spider on me and I scream before noticing that she didn't have anything in her hands. "I swear, I hate you!" I punch her arm.

"God damn. You're abusive." She rubs her arms.

"Are you gonna cry about it or do something," I tease.

"Shut up. You were about to cry about that damn spider."

"Leave me alone. I'm about to go to bed. Let me just make sure Brian's still asleep." I open the door to his room quietly.

"He's probably not after the way you screamed when you saw that spider." She shakes her head. "Absolutely ridiculous."

"I'll have you know, he's still asleep." I walk into our bedroom and lay in the bed beside Billie.

She sets her phone down and wraps her arms around me. "Okayyyy. Just kiss me and shut up before I strangle you."

"And you call me abusive," I mumble before kissing her.