CHAPTER SIX
THE CRY

As if waking up from a dream she never wanted to end, Jess gradually opened her eyes. Even this small action felt like a hundred-year old door being pried wide. Light hit her carmel-colored eyes and a headache soon pulsed in the back of her head. Her throat was dry as she swallowed, like she'd been gnawing on sandpaper, and a wince soon followed.

Choosing to ignore the ache in her neck, she took a look at her surroundings. Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Quiet Riot posters littered the beige walls on her right side.

A navy blue comforter was draped over her sprawled form and she was laying on a white, gridded sheet.

Definitely a boy's room, Jess thought.

All at once, a smell overwhelmed her nostrils with vigor. The mixture of cigarettes and cologne invaded her senses and she tried her best not to gag at the immense amount of it. Whoever's room this had definitely been dowsing themselves in manly fragrances often.

So... Billy Hargrove's room, she confirmed to herself. It seemed like the only logical answer. The last thing she remembered was him giving her a lift home.

Suddenly, Jess heard a roar from the other side of the door, coupled with a mashup of yelling voices. By the sounds of it, a young girl was shouting at Billy.

"I swear to God, Max!" Billy's voice grew clearer the closer he got to the room Jess was in. "You're late again and your ass is grass!"

"Jesus, Billy, I said I was sorry!" The young girl yelled back. Billy stormed into the room, slamming it shut immediately after. Jess couldn't help but jump a little at his outburst.

He had yet to notice her, so she took the time to study him. Billy looked stressed, really stressed. His eyelids drooped and his hair appeared more unkempt than usual. The second he grasped a book, he tossed it to the side, resolving to yank a lone Marlboro from the box in his jean jacket. As soon as he lit the cigarette, he seemed to relax instantaneously; his stiffened shoulders loosened and his face eased into a soft visage of concentration.

He pulled the cigarette out from between his lips and it hung loosely in his fingers. He leaned against the table that faced the mirror and held his head down, taking deep and calculated breaths.

Jess didn't want to break the silence just yet. Billy wasn't mad, angsty, or even broody, he was just him at that moment. And it was odd seeing him so calm and so... scared?

But then he stood up and his breathing became erratic. He inhaled a large amount of the cigarette, so much that Jess could see the it burning up and traveling towards his lips at a fast pace. He sounded like he wanted to start hyperventilating but stopped himself short.

"Billy?" Jess spoke up, not willing to see him suffer any longer. He glanced at Jess for the first time and noticed her open eyes, wide with concern.

"Jess, what the hell happened?" Billy walked towards the bed and grabbed a magazine that was laying open, tossing it across the room, similar to the book from before, so that Jess wouldn't see.

"I don't know. I was kinda hoping you could tell me."

"You were shaking, saying that something was choking you and then you passed out," Billy explained. He looked awkward standing in front of her, anxiously sputtering words, so she pulled her legs closer to her body so that he had space to sit down. His face was marked with hesitance, so he sat with caution, as if he could break Jess if he made too many sudden movements.

"Are you telling me you don't remember it?" She shook her head no and looked away from his eyes. It was just like the night of the accident. Jess didn't remember a thing.

"Why didn't you take me to the hospital?" Jess didn't want to make him feel bad about his congeniality, but when someone has a seizure, you take them to the hospital, right?

Billy looked away and shrugged. "It was short and you didn't get hurt. You seemed fine afterward."

Jess leaned back, wondering why he thought that the hospital wasn't suitable. "Do you know a lot about seizures?"

"My mom used to get them all the time," he replied, shifting uncomfortably in his spot on the bed. It seemed like a touchy subject, the kind that starts arguments, so Jess didn't push further.

"Overtime, you know when or when not to take someone to the hospital." Billy leaned his arm on his knee and turned to the girl in his bed. The smile he gave her was intended to be warm, but Jess had a feeling that his words much had a deeper meaning.

"What do you mean?" Jess really didn't want to push him, but if Billy was trying to say something to her, she wanted to know.

Billy exhaled through his nose and looked Jess straight in the eye.

"My dad," he said, the lack of emotion evident in his tone. Pain invaded her heart once she realized what he meant. It must've shown on her face because Billy immediately scolded himself.

"Jesus, why am I even telling you this?" He got up and paced in front of the room. Jess sat there trying not to be as miserable as she felt, all the while knowing that she couldn't calm him down.

"Billy." Jess's voice pierced through his thick skull enough to get his attention. He stopped pacing. "I have to tell you something."

Not knowing if she was serious or not, Billy slowly sat back down on the sheets. Once it was clear that he was listening, Jess started.

"That wasn't the first time I've had a seizure."

"What?" Fear coursed throughout Billy, running through every vein and thumping within his heart. He should've taken her to the hospital. He should've drove all the way to the one on the other side of town and demanded they treat her. Jess was treading dangerous medical waters.

"I might as well tell you this now: I'm not from Hawkins." Billy said nothing. He studied her face and the way she looked at him. It's true, she doesn't look like any other girl here.

"I'm from the next town over." Jess laughed. "I know it's not a long jump, but I was the new girl three months ago."

"What happened?"

"I had a seizure while I was driving. I got into an accident and was on bed rest for the rest of the school year. The high school I went to wouldn't accept my transcripts and wanted to hold me back a year, but my mom wouldn't let them. She moved us here so that I could graduate on time."

"Damn." His eyes widened considerably.

"Yeah..." Jess fiddled with the blanket. "Then Taylor came along and..."

"Taylor? Who's Taylor?" Billy's forehead creased with curiosity.

"He's the guy that I..." Jess trailed and waved her hand forward to show what she was trying to say. Billy was lost.

"Banged?"

"No! He's the guy I pushed out the window." Jess shook her head in amusement.

"Ah, got it." Billy nodded and folded his hands in front of him. "Why did you do it?"

Jess wasn't prepared for him to ask that. Maybe because it was simple enough to understand, but then she remembered that Billy wasn't in the room where it had happened.

"He was going to kill me." And suddenly, a weight amplified on her chest; she didn't feel like talking about it anymore so she turned her head away from Billy. Tears started to well in her eyes as she recalled the event. It felt as if it all happened just yesterday.

She bent her legs and then thrusted them out and hit his chest. His body flew back and he crashed against the window pane up top. He fell down the roof and continued to drop onto the ground below.

Jess almost killed Taylor. She could've gone to jail if that police chief Hopper hadn't filed the official report. If she was ever to see him again she'd be sure to say thank you.

Billy saw the brunette crying and wanted to scoot farther away, but he didn't. What he really wanted was a way to ease the pain he could sense her releasing in waves.

"At least you didn't actually kill him." She stopped sniffling and turned to leer at Billy with slight annoyance.

"But I intended to. That's what makes this so unbearably painful to talk about. How do you think I feel in the halls at school? To be reminded of the crime that I have committed against another human being?" Jess knew she shouldn't be angry with Billy; he hadn't done anything wrong. But she desperately needed to get this off her chest.

"It's worse when people are saying that you actually did kill the person. They think of you as this violent, delinquent nobody when really- "

"- when really you're not," Billy finished. He nodded his head in agreement. Jess stared at him in shock. He knew this pain? He knew what it felt like?

Billy caught onto her thoughts and answered them with nonchalance. "I know what you mean. I'm not that guy who beats kids for no reason, I'm not that guy who tries to bag girls for fun. I'm no more afraid than the next guy."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Jess felt worse than she did before. To be honest, she totally thought that he was that kind of guy. At Tina's Halloween party, she told him what she thought of him. Turns out, that wasn't the case at all.

"How could you?" Billy laughed softly. Jess gave him a knowing smile and nodded. Her smile slowly faded as her mind wandered to the events that caused her life to be uprooted.

"I still can't remember anything about that day... yesterday," Jess whispered.

"Eh, I'm sure it'll come back to you. Besides, I'm... here for you." Jess's face lit up. It was at that moment that Jess knew Billy was different. It was refreshing to see him care about anyone else other than himself.

"Do you mind if I sleep here a little longer?" Jess leaned back onto the bed and Billy stood up.

"Go ahead," he said, waving her off. "I'm just going to be out here lifting."

"Okay," Jess nodded and huddled under the covers. They had the scent of the boy that seemed to invade her mind at any given time. She tried to sleep as images of Billy lifting weights clouded her vision behind her shut lids.

No longer than five minutes passed before she gave up. The music blaring outside wasn't the problem; rather, it was the boy listening to it. Why was Billy still on her mind?

Jess stood up and walked over to the door to open it. She wandered the hallway to find the bathroom. She opened the first door she came across and entered. It was only then when she realized that it was somebody's room.

That somebody was on their bed tinkering with their skateboard. It was the redhead girl she saw Billy drop off when he had almost hit her with his car.

"Oh, sorry, I thought this was the bathroom."

The girl gave her a tight-lipped smile and shook her head no. "Nope, that's the next door down."

Jess nodded and was about to close the door when curiosity got the best of her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Max, who are you?" The girl raised her brow. The tone she used sounded as if she wasn't really interested in Jess's answer.

"I'm Jess- a friend of Billy's, I think." The girl gave a hearty laugh as if Jess told the funniest joke in the world. The music from the living room drowned it out so that Billy didn't hear it.

"Aw! A friend of Billy's. That's cute." Max nodded and continued toying with her skateboard.

"Are you his sister or something?" Jess wondered out loud.

"Or something," Max mumbled. "I'm technically his step-sister but if you ask him, I'm just a piece of shit."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Max nodded.

"Look, I'm just here because I had a seizure and Billy didn't want to take me to the hospital. No funny business, okay?" Jess just wanted to clear that up before Max thought anything else.

"What a coincidence, my friend had a seizure today too," Max laughed.

"They did?"

"Yeah, right in the middle of the field. Really weird." Jess's mind rushed with a million questions, but one seemed to be the biggest unanswered question of them all. What if her seizures weren't coincidental after all?

"What time did they have their seizure? Do you remember?"

"Not sure, around five, why?" Max asked, completely losing interest in her skateboard now.

"Five?" Jess's eyebrows shot up in alarm. That was around the same time she had accepted the lift from Billy, moments before her seizure. "Who is your friend?"

"Well, he's not really my friend per se, but I know him through these two guys because the other guy really doesn't like me- "

"Max! What's his name?" Jess made the girl jump at her outburst but she eventually answered her.

"His name is Will."

"Will what?"

"Byers."

"Shit," Jess ran out of the room and to Billy. She needed to get home to ring Jonathan. She needed to know the specific details about Will's disappearance last year.

"Billy, Billy!" Jess ran to the boy who was lifting weights with the music on the highest setting. He finally saw that someone was trying to talk to him and faced Jess.

"What?"

"I need to go home." Billy's features became laced with concern.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I just need to go home," Jess quickly countered. Billy didn't bother asking anymore questions as they left the house. The ride back was quiet except for when he asked her for directions.

Billy pulled into her driveway and she wasted no time rushing out. She said thanks to him and then shut the door. After a beat, Billy peeled away and drove down the road.

Jess ran to the steps of her house. She stopped herself from going further when she saw what was on her step. It was Delilah who had tear streaks down her face and mascara rimming her eyes.

"Delilah?" Jess questioned softly. The once ebullient girl was now gloomy and sobbing. "What happened?"

Jess sat on the steps along with her friend, pulling her closer to her body. Delilah didn't say anything as she cried harder into Jess's shoulder.

"Here are your keys," Delilah hiccuped as she dropped the brass chain into Jess's lap. The brunette looked up to see her car parked on the street. She continued to rub her friend's shoulder to comfort her.

As the pair sat there not saying a word, Jess couldn't help but wonder: what made Delilah break? What was strong enough to crack her badass exterior, soliciting tears from her always dry eyes?

Rage bubbled beneath the surface as Delilah continued to sniffle. Jess was done letting bad things happen to them. She promised herself she'd be there for Delilah whether she needed her or not. But more importantly, she would get to the bottom of these seizures.

-

Jess had just set Delilah down on the couch in the family room when she rang the Byers' home. The line didn't ring for long as a woman's voice frantically answered.

"Hopper?!" After a moment of confusion, Jess cleared her throat.

"Mrs. Byers, this is Jess Carlisle. Where's Jonathan?" Jess could hear heavy breathing on the other side of the line. Joyce sounded like she was out of breath and... scared.

"Hi, honey. Jonathan isn't home right now. I'll tell him you called, okay?" Joyce was about to hang up when Jess screamed, "Wait!" into the phone.

"Is Will there?" If Jonathan wasn't there then why not go to the source itself?

"Yes, but he's not- "

"I'll be there in fifteen," Jess hung up the phone quickly before Joyce could protest. She briskly strode over to the couch where Delilah was resting. The brunette had finally gotten her to sleep and she wasn't about to ruin that. Instead of waking her up, Jess wrote a note:

Needed to go run an errand. I'll be back in an hour.

- Jess

After laying the note on Delilah's sleeping body, Jess took her backpack and left.

She was relieved when she saw that her Challenger was unscathed and in one piece. From seeing Delilah's state, Jess was worried that she may have been driving erratically.

Much like Billy, Jess peeled out of the driveway and in the opposite direction near Cornwallis Drive. Her high-speed driving made her a bit dizzy and nauseous since the last time she had been going this fast she seized up.

However, she willed her eyes to stick on the road ahead and blocked her mind off of anything else. She didn't turn on the music, she didn't turn on the heater nor did she roll down the windows. It was the winding drive ahead and nothing else.

She vaguely knew where Jonathan lived. He has talked about it before but not in specific detail. She did know that his house was the only one for miles after a turn on what he called "Mirkwood". It was the intersection of Cornwallis and Kerley.

Once Jess made the turn, she pressed the gas pedal down to the floorboard of the car. She was going as fast as her Challenger would let her. After a few seconds, she came across a clearing in the woods and knew this was the Byers' residence.

She parked in the driveway at a painful angle and got out quickly. Running up the steps, Jess prepared herself for the worse: that it was all a coincidence.

It can't be, she thought to herself. It won't be.

She knocked on the door and Mrs. Byers answered with a knowing glance.

"Honey, Will isn't feeling- "

"- well? Yeah, tell me about it." Jess invited herself in and Joyce watched her with a confused expression.

"What are you talking about?" Jess turned to face the worried mother.

"I'm here to talk to Will about that thing that takes control of him?" Joyce's face turned from confusion to shock.

"How do you know about that?" Joyce weakly pointed to Jess accusingly. The girl felt her heart pounding wildly in her chest and traveling up to her ears.

"Because I think it's inside me too."

-

[EDITED]