History Must Repeat Itself

Chapter 7

          I sat on the front steps, legs shaking in anticipation. When I got home, I finished one beer quickly. I was tempted to drink another, but I didn't know if I would be taking anyone to the hospital. I'd come to the same conclusion about smoking weed. The last couple hours went over in my mind. Where the hell did those kids get a spiked baseball bat from? Why did they have drugs that knocked out Billy? None of this made sense. I couldn't even see a connection to the story about Will and what he went through before.

Before leaving the Byers' house, I called Max's parents. Her step-father wasn't happy, but he thanked me for watching over Max. I hoped when Billy got home, Neil would leave him alone.

I heard the Camaro before I saw it. I was relieved that Steve was in the front seat. Madison sat next to him, her head down. I already knew she thought she was in trouble. I stood on the walkway with my arms crossed as the car stopped at the curb. Madison opened the passenger's door, barely able to look up at me. As she got out, I approached the car. I could see Steve's swollen face grow weary. Before she could close it, I grabbed the frame and leaned down. I pointed at the five worried faces in the car.

"All of you, inside. Now," Steve began to stutter but I glared at him, "I said now."

Walking back to the front door, I heard Steve comment to Madison how I made him feel like a child.

"Welcome to the club," she responded.

"Take off your shoes and come to the kitchen," I instructed as they followed me into the house.

I leaned against the counter, crossing my arms. The six entered the kitchen, guilty looks on their faces. Steve included. They all stopped just inside the door. Silently, I pointed at the table. Three boxes of now cold pizzas and water bottles sat on top.

"Wash your hands, eat, rehydrate, and then we'll talk."

The kids and Steve were shocked. They definitely didn't expect this. Madison shook her head, the first to recover from my behaviour. Max grinned at me before throwing open a box and grabbing a slice. It took the boys a little longer to realize I wasn't kidding. Mike and Lucas mumbled a thanks, and Dustin just stared at me with an open mouth. Steve walked up to me, smacking Dustin on the back of the head as he passed. The boy recovered, yelling a thanks before running off to the bathroom. Steve stopped in front of me, hands on his hips. He looked at me strangely, like he was trying to find something wrong. That's what I could read under the swelling, anyways.

"What do you want, Harrington?" I asked, sighing.

"Kids told me you know what happened last year."

"Yeah, well, it seems those boys can't keep their mouths shut when it comes to pretty girls. Madison didn't mean any harm from it," I shrugged, "she thought it was just a wild story that Dustin made up."

"I'm surprised you're not, ya know, freaking out. You're doing a lot better than I did."

I let out a half-suppressed laugh, rolling my eyes, "I guess I've seen a lot. I lived in Washington DC and Louisiana. And New York City for a little. Really weird stuff happens there. I was exposed to a lot."

Dustin rushed back into the kitchen, greedily grabbing a slice.

Steve chuckled, "we'll talk about that later. I'm going to wash up and eat," he glanced back, all five kids sitting at the table, "and tell you what happened tonight."

Noticing the fresh blood and open cuts covering the kids, on top of the swelling on Steve's face, I went to the bathroom on the second floor before grabbing some of the spare clothes I had destined for donation. Back in the kitchen, Steve joined the kids and the pizza boxes were now empty. I dropped the clothes on top.