GONE GIRL » Billy Hargrove

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We came back home four days later, on Wednesday - Cameron did some cliche-tourist trips which he usually hated, but apparently he just couldn't resist Alice's offer to show him around a little. I stayed in the hotel most of the time and filled a bunch of pages in my sketchbook.

The taxi dropped me off at Steve's and when I knocked at the door it was opened almost immediately.

"Tell me everything!" He demanded as he let me into the house and Loki came running up to me, barking.
I sat down on the floor and rubbed his belly while Steve dropped down next to me, looking at me.

"He's gonna be in jail for three years, and my mom is on probation because she just let it all happen," I explained and he threw an arm around my shoulder.

"See, I told you things were gonna be just fine!" - "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" I asked as Loki rolled over and sat in front of me, still wagging his tail.
Steve shrugged. "Not really, nah. Nancy is with Jonathan now, officially. And for some reason Hargrove isn't being a complete ass anymore. I mean he's still a dick but like … less actively."

I nodded slowly, grinning to myself - maybe he did listen after all.

"What's that look? You got something to do with that?" He then asked as his mother waved at me from the kitchen and I waved back.

"I may have talked to him about it, yeah." - "Dude, Luce, thanks but- … don't, okay? That's not a guy you wanna keep company. Dont forget he pretty much knocked you out the other day."

I patted Lokis head and shrugged.
"Thanks for taking care of him by the way," I said and Steve rolled his eyes. "Anything for you."

"Lucy, you wanna stay for dinner?" Mrs Harrington asked with a bright smile that I couldn't say no to, but I insisted on helping her in the kitchen a little while Steve played with Loki outside.

"I'm glad he has a friend like you," his mother suddenly said as I was chopping some vegetables. "This whole situation with Nancy has been really hard on him and having you to hold on to helps him a lot. He doesn't talk to me about it but I can see that he's getting better."

I smiled at her. "I'm trying my best to be there for him, he does the same for me."
We fell silent again and continued cooking until Steve came back inside and informed me in great detail about everything Loki had broken over the past few days.

Over dinner Mrs Harrington took over most of the talking by informing me about every new bit of gossip from the neighbourhood, which I absolutely didn't need but still accepted. Steve gave me an apologetic look but I just waved it off.
Apparently Mrs Henderson was already planning on getting a new cat since she gave up looking for Mews a while ago.
I took another look at Loki, thinking about how convinced the woman had been that he had eaten her, and just now noticed that he looked a little more chubby than when I left. Steve's mom probably pampered him way too much so I'd have to go on extra runs with him. I didn't mind it though.

My best friend offered to lend me his notes from class so I could catch up a little before tomorrow and went upstairs to grab them, while I put Loki on his leash.

"Nice seeing you again, Mrs Harrington." I called out to her and she waved with the towel, smiling widely as she reminded me yet again to just call her by her first name.
Steve handed me his notebook and I promised to bring it back in tomorrow, as he gave me a quick hug and I left the house, walking home with Loki trailing next to me.

∞

When I came home I found Cameron talking to someone on the phone and I signalled him that I would be upstairs, trying to remember when I last saw him sit down while phoning somebody.

"Loki, I think he might have a crush on a certain someone," I said, smiling, as I turned on the lights in my room and sat down at the desk. I hurriedly jotted down Steve's notes in my own folders, then closed everything and changed into one of my cousin's old t-shirts and a pair of shorts, opening the door to my lair - at least I liked to call it that.

I turned on the lights and pulled an empty canvas from the top shelf, soon starting to just let the paintbrush take control.
For a while I had absolutely no idea where all those lines were going, or those colourful spots that had appeared suddenly. But at some point it started to take shape - upon looking at it from farther away I realised I'd drawn a pair of eyes, that I couldn't quite pinpoint to a person just yet.

So I continued. I added some vague rudiments of other facial features such as the bridge of the nose and the eyebrows. Lastly there were some strands of dirty blonde hair falling into the persons face and I smiled, setting the canvas aside to dry overnight so that I could go into the details later.

Before going to bed I went back downstairs to get a glass of water, and just now noticed that it was already 1 in the morning. How did I spend so much time drawing, not noticing how time had passed?

That was a feeling I hadn't gotten in a really long time … then again, now that I was finally free, things in general were going to be a lot different. I hoped.

If course I wouldn't go from being miserable to being the happiest person on earth - the damage done was too big for that - but for once I felt hope.

And when I went to bed and fell asleep I still saw that pair of eyes, making me feel at ease.

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A/N: Hope you guys liked the new chapter!💕
Also, if anyone is curious, I just recently started to upload a Life is Strange fanfic so if anyone happens to like that game, some feedback would be highly appreciated🙇🏻‍♀️
Either way, thanks everybody for reading and commenting! I hope you're all having a good day💕