GONE GIRL » Billy Hargrove

0.12 » white noise

I just wanted to thank you guys so much for 1.5k+ reads so far!♡♡ I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter :3

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I woke up to Loki laying down on my feet. My eyes burned, my throat was awfully dry and I had a terrible headache.

Glancing at the clock on my bedside table I sighed, stretching a bit before forcing myself to actually get up and change out of my pyjamas. Loki whinced quietly before getting up as well, awake enough to jump around the room just a minute later.

I went downstairs, grabbed the dog leash from the kitchen table and slipped on my boots, waiting for Loki to stop panting so much.

As soon as we left the house he began pulling me into various directions and I needed several attempts to convince him to follow me into the woods. Not my favourite path to take but barely anyone wanted to be in those woods anyway ever since Will had disappeared a year ago, which meant the chances of meeting anyone were almost zero.

The dog, thoroughly excited to be outside again and going on a proper walk, marked his territory several times and kept bringing me sticks to play fetch. That way the shortcut to the Byers house actually took much longer than going by car.

When i knocked at the door realisation hit me, that by now I must've had a few bruises all over my face and most likely even a black eye.

Quickly checking my reflection in the window I covered the worst with strands of my messy hair, pulling the hood of my sweater over my head as well. I didn't recall anything besides getting changed this morning either.
Shit. I was really out of it this time.

"Oh Lucy, how nice to see you!" Joyce exclaimed after opening the door, smiling brightly. "I just wanted to ask if you need anything from the store? I'm going grocery shopping later and thought I'd ask if I can get you guys anything while I'm there?"

Furrowing her brows she pointed into the air. "Actually … Will … um he seems to have a bit of a fever. If you could get us something for that, that would be awesome. I'll give you the money of course, just a second."

She disappeared back into the house and I leaned against the doorframe. When she returned and handed me some money, I smiled wishing her a nice day and turned around to walk to the store way down the road.

I had a free period first thing in the morning so I figured that coming in late would be something clever to do. First of all I had to go get some new makeup to cover up whatever the hell was going on in my face at the moment. Then I needed the usual groceries, I would stock up on food for a bit as well, and of course get the stuff for Will.

I wondered if he was doing okay. Already the way Jonathan asked me about noticing anything odd made me a little suspicious. But if there was something going on they would tell me, wouldn't they?
Or maybe not.
Maybe we had drifted apart after being so close during such a difficult time.

People were like that.

Tying Lokis leash to a pole behind the grocery store I sighed, grabbing a cart before entering the facility.

It took me less than twenty minutes to get everything together, pay and leave without anyone noticing my bruised face. Good.

Loki jumped up on his feet, furiously wagging his tail when I came back outside, trying to somehow organise all the bags I was now carrying. I should've thought this through more thoroughly.

Against all odds I arrived at home just in time, after having dropped by at Joyce's to bring her the stuff she needed. I gave Loki something to eat and drink, quickly covered my black eye with my newly acquired makeup, and headed towards the door after picking up my bag.

Loki had curled up on the couch, looking at me as I told him to just stay calm and wait here the next few hours, genuinely hoping nothing would happen to him.

∞

When I pulled up into my usual spot in the schools parking lot everything seemed quiet. Lighting a cigarette after getting out of the car I leaned against the door, staring up at the sky.

The clouds from earlier this morning had loosened up a bit, the sun breaking through the gaps, giving everything around a slightly golden shade.

It was nice. Nobody talking, nobody even present, no danger at all.

I took one last drag, throwing the stub to the ground before stepping on it.

"Alright then. Here we go," I mumbled to myself, checking my makeup once more, before I heard the bell ring and walked up to the building.

Heading straight to the English classroom without really paying attention to anyone or anything around me, I just muted everything else. It was nothing more than white noise.

∞

"Are you feeling better, Ms Lockwood?" The teacher asked right next to me and I jumped a little, nodding to answer his question. Seemingly satisfied with my reply he went back to the front and scribbled something on the board.

People started pouring into the room and I opened my sketchbook, finishing the sketch from a few days ago.

A few minutes into the lesson a note was placed on my desk and I picked it up to throw it at whoever it was destined for, but noticed my name written down on the folded piece of paper. Then suddenly the door flew open and Steve stumbled inside, quickly apologising to Mr Brown. He looked at me, worried, and I managed to smile slightly. "Break?" He mouthed and I nodded.

My best friend began unpacking his stuff and I unwrapped the note.

Mask off for a second.
Are you alright? I mean did you get enough sleep? I assume you covered the worst up so people won't ask any questions. Anyway have you heard anything new yet?

I scribbled a quick reply, letting him know I was alright and I did get some sleep, and that I in fact hadn't heard anything new so far. I tossed the paper over Billys shoulder, then resumed drawing for the rest of class.

When the bell rang I got up right away, Steve was still getting all of his things together, as Billy quickly turned around.

"If anything happens, let me know."