𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔 • 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 [2]

12•

I waited on the couch until eleven o'clock before finally accepting that Billy wasn't coming. Honestly, part of me felt angry and upset that he had stood me up, but another part of me felt worried as it wasn't like him to just make plans then not show.

After a while of staring at the wall from my place on the couch, I sighed and finally got to my feet and walked over to the phone.

It took four rings before someone finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Oh, hello Susan." My heart dropped a little as I had expected Billy to pick up.

"Evie? It's quite late, is everything alright?" Her voice was laced with concern.

"Oh yes. I'm sorry for calling so late, it's just that Billy was supposed to meet me a few hours ago and he never showed up and I was wondering if I could talk to him." I fiddled with the phone chord as I spoke.

"Billy's not here, I actually thought he was with you." Susan's words just added fuel to my fire of worry. Where the fuck was he?

"Oh, that's alright. He probably just forgot and is out with some friends."

"Well I'll tell him you called when he gets back."

"Thank you Susan. Goodnight." I sighed.

"Goodnight Evie."

The line went dead and I breathed deeply through my nose before setting the phone down. He must have just forgot, but boy was he going to get an earful from me tomorrow.

With another sigh, I retreated upstairs to my room and fell asleep.

I woke up early and got myself ready before jogging downstairs and grabbing an apple. I took large bites from it as I drove towards Hawkins pool, throwing the core out the window just before I pulled into the parking lot. I walked into the pool grounds and spied Billy entering the supply closet and before I knew it, I was speed walking towards him.

I entered the small room, and it somehow seemed darker than I remembered. Billy stood with his back to me and I waited until the door clicked shut before I spoke.
"I missed you last night."

He took a moment to respond and through the darkness of the room I could see his knuckles turn white from gripping the shelf so hard. "What do you want?" His voice was harsh and rough and it made me frown.

"Well you made plans and then didn't show, I wanted to make sure you were okay." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"You need to leave." Again, his tone was harsh and again it made me frown. I took a small step forward to close the distance between us and hesitantly placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Billy-" My voice was quiet and soft but I cut myself off when he quickly turned around and held my arms by my side before pinning me against a shelf.

"You need to leave." He said again, each word was slow and deep and honestly it chilled me to the bone. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"I'm not going anywhere, not until you tell me what's going on." I noticed a slight quiver in my own voice and tried my best to hide it. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and I could see him look me up and down.

"Are you afraid?" His question seemed like a taunt and it made me want to gag.

"No." The word came out like a squeak and I inwardly cringed. Obviously I was fucking afraid but I didn't need to let him know so obviously.

His eyes again scanned my body and I looked down. I wanted to gasp when I glanced back up and met his eyes, but only they weren't his eyes. They were dark pools of anger. "Then why are you shaking?" A small smirk graced his lips and all my hopes of this just being a joke disappeared. "Why are you so afraid of me?"

The smirk remained on his lips and I swallowed once before answering. "There's no light in your eyes Billy, only storm clouds." A moment passed after I finished speaking and eventually he let go of my arms and stepped back.

"Go. Please."

The 'please' was so quiet that I barely heard it. I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it again once I realised that there was nothing to say. Slowly, I moved away and opened the store room door, not turning my back to him until I was outside. What the fuck had just happened?