Games| B. Hargrove

23

"Dammit Nicole, can you just chill out for a second?" Billy yelled, gripping his blonde hair as he took a drag from his cigarette, perched on his pink lips.

"Oh my bad, am I inconveniencing you? What are you still doing here? Just fuck off." Nicole snapped back, her energy drained from the constant crying she did lately.

"I'm not a douche, Nicole. I'm not gonna just leave you in the woods at sundown." He scoffed, flailing his hands around in frustration as he spoke.

"Yeah? But you can leave me at Tina's, in a neighborhood across town on my own because of some words-"

"They're not just fucking words! Look at me, you know what I go through day after day. Do i look like someone who knows how to be loved? Do i look like someone who gets told they're loved? The last time I heard that I was loved was before my mom aband-" Billy screamed at the blonde girl, before he realized that he was telling her something no one ever knew about him.

Nicole just stared for a moment. Left over tears silently fell down her face, and the second cigarette she bummed off Billy burned away at her side. Billy was panting, his eyes bloodshot, tears stinging and threatening to pour down his cheeks at the memory of his mom leaving him as a boy.

"Do I have something on my face huh? Wipe that dumb fucking look off your face. Quit fucking staring at me!"

"Now you're just being harsh." Nicole spoke in a soft tone, not really knowing what to say to keep Billy from blowing over the edge.

Billy finished off his cigarette in a hurry. Silence loomed around the teenagers, an awkward atmosphere now created. The nicotine calmed Billy's nerves, so well that he fought the tears away.

He sniffled, "do you uh- need a ride to Steve's?"

"Nah.. I've overstayed my welcome. I'll figure it out." The girl finally pressed her own cigarette to her lips, the cherry dim from being neglected.

"The guys frantic over you Nic'. Looks like a damn lost dog lookin for you."

"I'll find a pay phone and call him later on. What about Max?"

"I got sick of waiting on her." He scoffed.

"Well.. you should probably get home. That won't um.. it'll be worse if you're past curfew." Nicole scratched the back of her head before pointing to the setting sun.

"You need a ride.. anywhere? Maybe try your parents, it's been a while. Who knows, maybe they-"

"No. I got it Billy, just go." The girl snapped at the thought of her parents.

"I'm not leaving you on the streets Nicole. Just.." the boy looked around before his eyes fell on his car, "listen, just stay in my car. If you're gonna be that stubborn just take this. You'll be safe, a ride to school tomorrow and you won't kill yourself trying to survive."

"Will it make you leave me alone?" The blonde rolled her blue eyes to the back of her head.

Billy shrugged, "for now."

"Fine. C'mon, we gotta think of excuses for why you just ditched Max." She shrugged her backpack on and began walking to the car. Just when she got out of earshot Billy let out a small sigh of relief.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*: .

The wind howled down the family street and branches creaked as their limbs stretched. All Nicole could think is how the hell did she plan on sleeping on the actual street? Why did she have to be so damn stubborn? The only light offered was a street lamp about half way down the road, casting eerie shadows upon the Hargroves household. The blanket Billy provided her for the night was pulled all the way up to her chin. Nicole was undoubtedly terrified of the dark.

All of a sudden the road got extremely quiet, the wind stopped howling, wildlife seemed to disappear and the branches were still. Her eyes were fixed on the shadows of the house, and in the blink of an eye she swore she saw a shadow dart past the car window. She almost blamed it on her imagination until she heard a shrill shriek further up the road, something she'd never heard before. It sent her gut through a whirl and her heart pounded out of her chest. The girl clamped her eyes shut and tried to breathe in as deep as she could, only being able to make out shallow breaths.

Tap tap tap

The girls eyes jolted open, expecting to see her doom. A small squeak escaped her lips as her eyes fell on Billy's. The boy made a motion for her to unlock the car door, which she swiftly did. As soon as Billy opened the door enough to get in, she pulled him in. She didn't care that he was nearly on top of her, or that his car door slammed shut since he still had a grip on it.

"What the hell Nicole?" Billy managed to get out, not yet realizing how terrified she looked.

"Did you hear that? Billy, please tell me you heard that." Nicole panicked, her breathing becoming even quicker.

"Hear what? Nic'.. you need to breathe. Aren't you glad I made you come sleep in my car now?" The boy tried to crack a joke, not sure what the frantic girl was talking about.

"Can we please go inside? Please, like now." She practically begged.

"I mean, yeah, sure. I was comin' to see if you were comfortable anyways."

Billy was the first out of the car, Nicole coming soon after with her blanket wrapped around her small frame. She looked in every direction, especially the way that she heard the shriek. Nothing. The wind picked back up, the branches were swaying and even the wild life sang in the night once more. Maybe she did imagine it. That still didn't mean she wasn't ahead of Billy the whole way in the house, only behind him to lock the window and shut the curtains after they came in.

"Man, something really spooked you didn't it?" Billy spoke from his bed, his arm stretched out an empty spot he left open for the girl.

"It was nothing." Nicole spoke, trying to convince herself more than anything.

"Get some shut eye, princess." Billy spoke, quiet for a few moments.

"I'm sorry for everything between us lately. I'm sorry I left you. I hope you can forgive me."

Except the only response he got back was heavy breathing fanning his chest. An exhausted Nicole fell asleep almost instantly, feeling a sense of safety for the first time in days.
___

A/n: uh ohhhh..
What do you thinks gonna happen? :)