Drowning • Billy Hargrove

Chapter 4

"Am I suppose to know you?" Billy asks James.
"No but I know all about you! You're the jackass the beat up my little brother!" James says, the anger in his voice rising.
Billy chuckles. "He probably deserved it!"
"Oh yeah!" James yells. "I'm going to give you what you deserve, Hargrove!" He says walking closer to Billy who doesn't even flinch. Billy just sits there, knowing that he could take James in an instant.
"James walk away!" I say, trying to break them up.
"Shut up Kate!" He spits back at me
"Don't speak to me like that." I mumble, rolling my eyes.
"What did you say?" James says, putting his full attention on me.
"I said don't speak to me like that!" I say standing up, getting right in his face.
James looks shocked. I've never once talked back to him when we were in a relationship, but since I was with Billy, I felt protected for some reason.
"Oh yeah?" James says, inching closer to me. "I can speak to you however I like!"
"Not on my watch!" Billy says, swinging his fist and punching him right in the side of the face, causing James to fall on to his butt.
I grab Billy's arm, yank him out of the booth, and run out of the diner. He already paid for our drinks so we were good to escape out to his car.
As Billy steps on the gas pedal, I start to laugh.
"That was awesome!" I say as Billy and I break out into fits of laughter.
"I hit him pretty good, didn't I?" He questioned, still laughing.
"You did." I say.
The rest of the night flew by as we got to know more about each other. We actually had more in common than you would think.
     
"Thanks for the ride home!" I say as I exit his car.
"Yeah no problem... Wait!'
"What?" I say, confused.
"You forgot something!" Billy says.
I lean into the car and check my seat and the surrounding area to find the misplaced item.
"No. Up here." Billy says through a grin. He points at his cheek, obviously wanting me to kiss him.
I laugh and lean over and kiss him on the cheek.
"You're charming, Billy Hargrove." I say as I close the door.
"And you're beautiful, Kate Hopper." Billy shouts through the open window.
     
I walk into my house, grinning from ear to ear. I jump at the sight of seeing my dad still awake, watching me.
"You were longer than I expected." He says, concerned. He rarely lets me stay out late because he doesn't want me to end up like Barb.
"Yeah sorry... We got carried away." I answer, noticing El asleep on the couch.
All he does is sigh and nod. So, I decide to go to my room to get ready for bed. I throw on a pair of comfy PJs, brush my teeth, wash my face and crawl into bed and slowly drift to sleep.

"They aren't that bad!" I say.
"Yes they are! They're annoying little shits! All they do is hang out everyday! I mean how much can you see a person without going insane?" Billy says.
"Ouch." I say. "You see me everyday! Am I driving you crazy yet?"
Billy freezes. "Yeah but you're different." He says grabbing my hand.
We walk in silence down the pathway, just enjoying the fresh air and eachother.
Suddenly, the trees start to sway. I jerk my head in the direction to see nothing but leaves falling down to the ground about a couple of yards away.
"Calm down. It's probably just a stupid bird." Billy says, noticing my frightened expression on my face.
"I just don't want to get attacked by any bears!" I say.
Billy chuckles as the the trees start to sway even more. Suddenly, a big monster appears from the trees. It looks like the drawings of the Mindflayer Will drew when he was possessed.
"What the hell." Billy says, terrified.
I grab his hand and start to sprint for our lives. The Monster behind us starts to chase us, getting closer by every step. The path comes to an end and Billy and I both ended up running in different directions.
I look behind me and the Monster is about a football field lenght away from me. I decide to make a risky decision and hide behind a tree.
Thankfully, the Mindflayer runs right past me before unfortunately stopping in its tracks and turning around to see me.
"Shit, shit, shit!" I whisper to myself running in the opposite direction.
It was too late though. The Monster grabs my leg and sweeps me off of my feet.
"Billy!" I scream.
"Kate!" I can hear him yell back.
The Mindflayer drug me through the dirt, my side slamming into rocks and roots.
I scream bloody murder as I try to hold onto a tree, but it's no use.
It drags me for what seems like forever untill coming to a hard stop. I look up to see that it dropped me off inside an abandoned building.
I start to cry and scream and cry some more. I struggle to break free from the Mindflayers grip but it's no use.
"Kate." I hear Billy say, calmly.
"Billy?" I say looking up. The Monster finally releases its grip on my leg and I run towards him.
"What are you doing?" I say tugging at his hand. He doesn't budge though, instead he grabs onto my arm and drags me towards the Mindflayer.
"What are you doing? Billy let me go!" I scream through sobs.
"Just stay still." He whispers into my ear.
The Monster starts to move closer to me. I try to get up and run but Billy holds me down.
"Let me go!" I scream as the Mindflayer finally hovers over me.

I scream, waking up in pools of sweat.
"What is it?" My dad yells, sprinting into my room.
I try to catch my breath but it doesn't work, I just start sobbing and shaking.
"Oh Kate." My dad says as he holds me as I cry.