Safe Haven (Billy Hargrove)

Best Friends 🌶️

⚠️This is a mature story. There will be explicit sexual content. Minors DNI. There will also be instances of violence, drugs, and gang activity.⚠️

Samara's POV

I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm kind of a bitch. Product of my environment? Maybe. Or maybe it's just who I am. I don't like many people besides my family. Though there is one person I... enjoy. He's my best friend. My person. Billy Hargrove.

Billy and his dad moved next door to me when I was in third grade. They didn't belong in this neighborhood. His blonde hair and white skin made him stick out like a sore thumb.

I remember the first time I saw him. I was sitting in my front yard painting my nails poorly. I watched as his dad yanked him from the passenger seat and drug him into the house.

I remember a tightness in my chest. A feeling of fear for him as well as a feeling of understanding. My dad never hit us girls. But he hit Javier. Javi never cried. He stood there and took the hits while I hid Maria away.

When I was fifteen my dad landed himself in prison. Sometimes he writes but I don't really care. I toss them in the trash as soon as they come in. He doesn't deserve my respect, so he doesn't get it. But back to Billy.

We quickly became friends. He sat next to me on the bus. I cussed out every boy trying to mess with him. People didn't want them here. They thought his dad might be the police. It was dangerous for that thought in this neighborhood.

Eventually after seeing Billy's busted lips or bruised eyes, they laid off. They realized he was just a kid with a shitty homelife like the rest of us. He didn't make many friends in the neighborhood but we always stuck together.

He protected me too. When middle school came along and boys started to make crude comments he became angry. His anger turned into fights in school which led to more abuse at home.

I would cry from my room as I heard Neil screaming. And then when the dust settled I would hear the knock on my window. There was one time when we were fourteen that was especially bad..

*******
Flashback

I waited patiently for his knock. The screaming had stopped 10 minutes ago. He should have been here by now. I walk to my window and push it open. My heart feels heavy as I see him sitting there.

His back is pressed against the wall of my house. His head is buried in his hands. I hear him sniffle. "Bills?" I whisper gently. He doesn't move so I push the window open further and slip outside.

I sit next to him and gently reach for his face. He allows me to bring his face around. Shit. The swelling is worse than it's ever been. His nose is busted. Dried blood mixed with fresh blood paints his face. 

A single tear rolls down his cheek making a little path through the red. My eyes fill with tears and he turns away again. I fight back my tears as I stand up. "Let's get you inside." I reach out for his hand and he looks up at me.

He takes my hand and allows me to pull him up. He climbs through my window and plops down on my bed. I make my way into the bathroom and grab some supplies. When I come back he's sprawled out on my bed with his eyes closed.

I come and kneel next to him as I brush a rogue curl out of his eyes. I take the wet rag and begin cleaning the blood off as gently as I can. He winces as I run across a cut above his eye. "Sorry." I say softly.

His eyes open and he looks at me gently. Before I know what's happening his lips are pressed against mine. I've never kissed a boy. And this isn't any boy. It's Billy.