Night Shifts | Billie Eilish

Chapter Sixteen

INVISIBLE STRING

Billie was visiting Finneas today. I was left alone in the apartment for the first time in a while. It felt unbearably lonely. I could almost feel my heart being pulled out the door, down the elevator and to the park across the road where the siblings were having a walk by the lake. I sat by the window sill, staring out across at the park waiting for them to appear at the crosswalk down below.

My eyes wandered the grassy plains for a while until they fell on the bundled up girl I got to call my own. A smile instantly appeared across my lips. I watched them cross the road before getting up and trying to act casual for when they walked in, like I wasn't just watching them through the window like a creep. 

The second the door opened I jumped. It was Finneas, and he looked stressed. "Is everything okay?" I asked him, peering around trying to see Billie, but she was nowhere to be seen. "What happened? You're scaring me." I said. "Sorry, Billie's just- she's being... strange. Now, I don't know if you know about ... her thing-" Finneas stumbled on his words. 

"Oh yes, I know. Where is she?" I asked walking over. He pointed beside him and outside my door in the hallway was Billie on the floor. She was sat up, legs uncrossed and splayed out like Pug or French Bulldog. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself at the sight. "And what have we got here?" I asked her. 

"A sad little girl who doesn't want to say goodbye to me, but wants you and doesn't know how to express herself." Finneas chirped, also laughing. "So you're cool with her?" I asked, nodding towards Billie's childish ways. He nodded, "I've always been fine with it, I'd much rather this then the self harming." He said. 

"C'mon Billie, come say Bye-Bye to your brother," I said but she didn't budge. I went over to her and stood her up with a grunt as she was fighting it. I got a waft of her perfume which reminded me how much I missed her when she was gone for the morning, the sweet vanilla was intoxicating. 

Finneas hugged Billie and said goodbye, but all she did was grunt again. "Sorry, Finneas." I apologized. "You don't have to apologize for her, it's not your fault," He smiled. "Bye Harley, bye Billie." He repeated as he started his walk down the corridor to the elevator. 

"Come on, cranky pants, let's go inside." I said, dragging her behind me and into the apartment. 

She reluctantly came inside and flopped herself down on the couch. I leant down and kissed her on the cheek, next to her ear. "You're cold, honey. Would you like a warm drink?" I asked, pulling a blanket from beside Billie onto her body. She nodded into the blanket.

I walked into the kitchen and heated up some milk in my coffee machine. I poured it into a plastic cup and added a teaspoon of sugar and some vanilla essence. I screwed the lid on and placed a straw through the hole in the lid. 

I swirled the mixture around before walking back over to the couch and handing it to Billie. "What 's it?" She asked me. "I don't know what to call it, you taste it and tell me what we should call it." I said with a shrug. She placed the straw between her lips and took a sip. 

"Mmm, fairy milk." 

"Nice work, how'd you come up with that?" I asked. "Cause I a fairy," She said innocently making me giggle. I sat down on the couch beside Billie, her head moving to rest on my shoulder. "How much longerr," she whined quietly. "Hm," I said and checked the time. "Not too long now. Only 7 more hours," I said. She grinned and squealed into the straw while taking a drink, spilling the vanilla milk down her chin. 

I chuckled to myself and wiped it off with my sleeve. "Silly goose. Be careful."

It was Billie's birthday tomorrow. She'll be officially an adult. 

It was scary to think this fragile little girl is almost 18. It'll be good to legally never have anything to do with her parents anymore, though. With Billie and I moving further away from her parents, her mom started to call Billie a lot. Since her dad was in jail for a few years, her mom pulled out the lonely card and kept trying to pull on Billie's heart strings. 

I could tell it was really affecting Billie. She kept saying 'She's my mom, though. I feel like I need to love her.'

It wasn't my place, but I blocked Billie's moms number from her phone. The guilt eats me alive sometimes, but I just have to remind myself her dad tried to kill her for Christ's sake, what might her mom do?

I can't let anything else happen to her, It's my responsibility now. All my focus needs to be on her, and helping her to heal from the mental, physical and emotional abuse she's been through. 

Maybe when she is in a better place I'll tell her, but for right now my lips are sealed.

900 words.