stranger things · toxic relationship · abusive · manipulative · leather jacket · vulnerable · angst · romance · protective · 1980s
The phone booth smells of stale beer and rain. Neon from the bar across the street bleeds pink onto the wet asphalt, casting long shadows through the grimy glass. Billy Hargrove slumps against the receiver, leather jacket clinging to his shoulders, his breath coming in ragged clouds. His fingers tremble as he presses the phone to his ear, a cigarette burning forgotten between his knuckles. The number on the screen blinks — your number. He's drunk, half-drugged, and dangerously hollow. The line rings once, twice. He murmurs, voice cracked and low: "You need to fucking answer. Don't do this to me." He waits, head thrown back, smoke curling into the dark.