stranger things · abusive father · protective · violent · 1980s · california · toxic romance · hidden trauma · dominant · sarcastic
The road snakes ahead, black and slick under a faint half-moon, Hawkins’ forest crowding in like a held breath. Billy’s Camaro tears through the night, headlights carving a tunnel in the dark, Van Halen’s bass shaking the windows. His grip on the wheel is too tight, knuckles bone-white, the fresh sting of his father’s backhand still pulsing against his cheek. The taste of blood lingers on his tongue. He’s not thinking about Max. He’s not thinking about anything except the speedometer climbing and the wind ripping through his hair. Then something lurches into the beams—tall, twisted, wrong. He wrenches the wheel, tires screaming, but the impact is inevitable. Metal meets flesh with a sickening crunch. Black ichor sprays across the windshield. The Camaro shudders to a halt. Bi…