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When Billy woke up, he couldn't feel his arms or legs, but he could feel a boot being shoved into his side, "Hey kid, c'mon, I've got shit to do." Billy heard a voice gruff.
He assumed the voice belonged to the owner of the foot now rapidly tapping his hip. "I don't have all night." The man continued, his foot finally leaving Billy's side alone.
Billy sighed, unable to force himself to sit up, a burning pain in the side of his neck. "Night?" He finally managed to cough out.
"Yeah, night. Which is why you should be home in your own bed, not on the floor of a strangers house." Chief Hopper, Billy had finally managed to figure out who the voice belonged to, recognizing it from the amount of times he'd been pulled over due to his speeding, crossed his arms over his chest. "Am I going to have to drag you out to my car myself?" The older man huffed.
Billy sat up quickly, shaking his head and choking our a quiet, "No si-" before his body cut himself off, his hands too slow in their attempt to cover his mouth. He watched in horror as his vomit began to spill onto the chiefs boots and the floor next to them, hitting some stupid scribbled drawings that littered the floor.
He felt tears well up in his eyes, whether it was from the burn of the acid moving up his throat, or the fear of what was to come next, he wasn't quite sure. But he was certain he needed to leave, and soon, well, as soon as he could manage to stand that was.
Billy felt a huff come from above him, before an arm was under his own, tugging him up. The blonde gasped, trying to take a step back, letting himself fall against the wall, barely able to keep him upright. "I'm sorry, shit, I'm sorry sir." He quickly spoke, not bothering to wipe his mouth or attempt to make himself look decent as he stared at the mess on the floor, the chief only a few feet away.
"Just get out of here Hargrove, you're lucky Steve didn't want to press charges, you could've been in some deep shit." The man warned him, "I tried to convince him to, don't think for a second I'm on your side." He added.
Billy nodded, though he wasn't sure why Steve would be pressing charges, he was the one taking little girls to creepy houses in the woods. Shit. Max.
"I got to find Max," he mumbled, "Gotta get her home." He tried explaining to the older man.
"Max is fine, she's home." Hopper (he finally was able to focus his eyes enough to read the sherifs badge) told him, "I'm taking you back home, alright? Go take a seat in the back of my car, it's unlocked. I have to check around the house, make sure you didn't break too much." The man huffed, crossing his arms as he stared expectantly at Billy.
Fuck, why was he staring at him again?
Billy frowned, "What?" He asked, "No, no I got to find Max. I have to bring her home, you don't understand." He told the man again.
"You deaf kid? Or just wasted? I already told ya', she's fine, she's home." Hopper replied.
" 'm not drunk," Billy slurred out, "The drugs," he spoke tiredly, "Max, she, she drugged me." Billy told Hopper, looking around for the needle, it was a needle that Max had used, right?
"Max? Your fourteen year old sister, she drugged you?" Hopper laughed.
"Step-sister," Billy corrected him, he didn't feel like arguing or trying to explain how it happen. How, how, fuck. What happened again?
"You're drunk William, let's get you home." Hopper sighed, grabbing Billy's arm as he lead him towards the car out front.
"My car?" Billy frowned, his mouth too heavy to form the rest of his question.
Hopper ignored him, shoving him into the backseat of the cruiser, watching the teens head as he pushed him in, closing the door behind him.
Billy watched as a bright light came up beside him, the rumbling of an engine coming to a stop moments later as the lights shut off.
Fuck he was tired, a nap wouldn't hurt anyone, he decided, letting his eyes shut.
-----
"Jesus, Hargrove, scared the shit out of me."
Billy could hear a voice, in fact her could hear a lot of voices, too many for his pounding headache to like.
"Shut up," he mumbled out, closing his eyes, when had they opened? What was he even looking at?
He opened his eyes back up, squinting them to stare at the only person that had been talking directly to him, "Steve?" He asked.
"Yeah you asshole, Hopper left for a moment, came back and we thought you were dead. The fuxk were you doing sleeping in here?" Steve shot back.
"I," Billy looked around, Hopper had put him in here, right? Fuck, what was he doing here? Why was Steve talking to him?
"Whatever dude," Steve sighed, "Look, I know you were upset earlier, so I'm not pressing charges for any of it. Hopper's taking you home, your cars back there and so is Max." He explained.
Billy frowned, "Max is home?" He asked, looking past the other teen, seeing Hopper locking up the house, "The fuck happened to your face?"
"God, Hopper was right, you are so wasted Hargrove, can't believe you were driving like this." Steve groaned.
Billy felt his vision unfocused as he tried looking around again, making him close hsi eyes once more, "Don't wanna go home," he sighed out.
"Yeah, well you aren't the only one." Steve huffed, slamming the car door back closed.
Billy's heavy eyelids decided he would take another nap.
----
He had faint memories of the trip back home, gaining consciousness every now and then. He saw them pass by a gas station, the lights bright as the OPEN sign flashed blue and red. He remembered to familiar curve that happened right before they would enter his street. And he remembered Hopper knocking on the door, passing a limp body off to his dad.
What he didn't remember was the pain from when his father shoved him into his room, the pain from the belt that hit him or the now broken vinyls that had been smashed against his arms and chest.
What he didn't remember was his father the next morning, desperately trying to shake him awake, calling out his name on repeat as Susan called an ambulance. He didn't remember Max standing in his doorway, her eyes wide as she realized maybe she shouldn't have stuck a syringe full of monster tranquilizer into her seventeen year old brothers neck. He didn't remember his father cursing at him for "using" and drinking late at night when he was supposed to be finding his (step) sister.
Billy couldn't remember being loaded in a stretcher and sent off to a hospital away from Hawkins, instead he was sent off to a bigger hospital in Indianopolis (something he didn't remember either), and what he was sure he didn't didn't remember, was when he was pronounced dead an hour later.
---
He wouldn't remember his funeral, or the way his (step) sister would go on to blame herself for his death. He wouldn't remember his father running away or how Susan would become an alcoholic. He wouldn't remember the way kids he had never talked to would show up to his funeral, crying for a friend they never had. And he would never remember anything again.