The dreary town of Hawkins, Indiana is nothing but a cesspool. I hate the way everything fits in a three block radius. The grocery store, the corner store, the diner, the library, the church. I hate the way everyone smiles at each other, and the way they all grew up together. I hate the way they all fit in. I hate the way they look at me.

If there was anything I hated more than this place, it was the man I shared a roof with. I felt a pain of disgust even calling him a man. Neil wasn't a man, Neil was a coward. I hated that I was related to him, I was ashamed to call him my father. I was even more ashamed that when I looked in the mirror, sometimes I saw him in me.

I'll never know what Susan saw in him, but maybe she fell for the same person he pretended to be when my mother did the same thing. Monsters are good at putting on masks to lure in their prey. Neil was good at playing pretend for the outside world. As soon as they were married, Neil's mask came off and Susan was stripped of everything that made her Susan. Finally, he took her a thousand miles from everyone she loved. Susan was trapped in his web.

Susan came with baggage, a daughter named Max. That made Max my responsibility according to Neil. Neil didn't want Susan and him to be bothered by a child that actually needed to be looked after and cared for. Neil didn't want Susan's attention on anyone but him, not even her own child. That made me angry, knowing Max was getting the same treatment I was getting when I was her age. The only difference was she grew up knowing a different life. Max knew a better life before this. Max had that stolen from her.

I wanted out of here. Scratch that. I needed out of Hawkins. I had been working my ass off and saving every single penny I could to drive my ass as far as I could back to California, back to the big city skylines and the warm sunny air. My dreams were too big for this town and I wasn't going to be here for long.

I kept myself busy here, at out of the house for as much of my day as I could manage. At school my focus was on being large and in charge. The ladies, well, they adore me. I'm not surprised, the pickings in Hawkins are slim. They're like sharks, catching the scent of a single drop of blood. I can't blame them, especially when you've already banged every dude you've known and some new meat comes to town.

There I get to be just one of the boys. I get to play on the football team in the fall and basketball time in the spring. I get invited to all the parties and I'm in on all the jokes. I'm the one they think is top dog, but much like Neil, I'm great at wearing a mask.

Outside of school, my nose is to the grindstone at the shop. I'm constantly busting my ass working on cars and bikes, sometimes up until the early hours in the morning. It doesn't pay the greatest, but it's quick money and it keeps my hands and mind busy. Plus, when I'm pissed off, I can break shit without anyone turning their heads or asking questions. I'm pissed off most of the time these days it seems. I wasn't always like this.

The sun was going down through the bay windows, and my hands were black with layers of grease. I was working hard on putting an old motorcycle back together for one of the boys in the biker club that hung around in the pool hall just outside of town. They all brought their bikes and cars into Charlie's when they needed anything done. Their shit was probably half of Charlie's business. To be honest, I didn't care where the money came from, as long as I got paid at the end of the day. I wasn't asking any questions.

Charlie came hobbling in from the back room with a lit cigarette between his lips. Charlie had a fake leg from some accident on a farm when he was younger. He looked a lot rougher than he was. He tossed a shop rag at me. "Put your shit away, boy. And wash your fucking hands, for Christ's sake!"

I stood up, irritated. My words came out more angry than I meant for them to be. "I wasn't finished!" I started throwing the tools back into my box, angry to cut my day short and therefore my money.

"And I don't give a shit!" Charlie yelled back to me, pulling to cords to close the bay doors one by one. "I'm fucking hungry, and my dog misses me. So the sooner I eat, the sooner I get to go home to my little lady."

I never spoke about my home life, but I didn't need to. Charlie could always sense my aversion to going home; whether that be wanting to stay late, or just getting more and more angry until closing time. Today was extra early, and I wasn't expecting that. I didn't want to go home and be forced to sit through a dinner with Neil and Susan and precious little Max and pretend like we were some big, happy, fucking family.

I took my time cleaning and putting away my tools trying to kill as many minutes off the clock as possible. Hopefully by the time I made it home Neil would be locked away in his room for the night. I could feel Charlie looking at me. "Come on, kid. You done some good work today, let me get you a burger."

I gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "I don't need your fucking pity."

"You hungry or not?" Charlie was having none of my loathing shit tonight. "Either get in the fucking truck or you can go the fuck home. Either way, kid, I'm locking up."

"Whatever," I muttered, shaking my head. I tossed the rag on top of my toolbox and turned off the overhead lights, closing the final bay door behind me. "Fine. You win."

The ride with Charlie made me wish I took my car. I was glad we didn't talk, that part didn't bother me. It was the country music that he blared the entire time that was making my ears fucking bleed. I was so glad to have sweet relief when he cut the engine.

This place was a shit hole if I had ever laid eyes on one. The outside looked like an oversized shed sitting on a large gravel lot. There were various neon signs in the windows of different beer brands. This place didn't even appear to have a name, the giant sign on the front only said "Billiard's" with only the LL's, the R, and the D illuminated. The metal front door to the place was dented in so many places that it looked like it had been made that way, but it was clearly from the amount of times it had taken fists.

The air was potent with the smell of cigarette smoke, cheap beer, fried food, and motor oil. The lights were dim and there was some metal band playing on the jukebox. I had recognized a few of the faces in here, hidden behind bushy beards. I may have not remembered names. Charlie did all the interaction, but I had seen them through the shop glass, coming and going.

Charlie was completely at ease in this place, and clearly welcome. Charlie was met with nods and smiles, and taps on the arm the whole way over to a high top in the back corner next to an empty billiard table. I leaned against it casually on my elbows, picking some peanuts apart, tossing the shells on the floor. "I take it you come here a lot."

Charlie was putting a pinch of dip between his lip. "Every night. It ain't like I'm getting a home cooked meal or nothing." Charlie patted his stomach. "This place is as good as it gets." Carl yelled out over the crowd, at no one in particular. "Can we get a couple Budweisers over here?" He hobbled over, throwing me a cue. "Rack 'em up."

I lit a cigarette and began our round. We had gotten several dozen beers deep together and I had probably out played almost every dude in the place. I wasn't paying attention to the time, and honestly, I stopped caring. I was enjoying myself for once. I hadn't expected that. Not with Carl, not in this bar, not in Hawkins.

It was closing time, Carl was putting away the cues and I was shrugging on my denim jacket. Some small part of me dreaded the moment I would stumble in the door at home. Neil was not going to be happy with me being out like this, drunk, on a school night. As I headed toward the door I was stopped by the warm, wet liquid splashing down the front of me.

I jumped back, furious. I shook my hands dry and tried to wipe the pooled beer off my shirt. "What the fuck is your problem?! Can't you fucking walk?!"

Charlie was attempting to bend over, unsuccessfully to help the person up off the floor. "Ope, I've got ya."

"I'm okay, Charlie." Her voice was kind to him, but there was a hint of irritation. "Thank you, though. We don't need you on the floor too."

That was when I looked up to her. Aside from the fact that he was completely pissed off at me, and the fact that I was absolutely trashed, I felt something growing in me when I saw her. Her eyes were so light blue they could stop your heart and they stuck out against her dark hair and her pale skin. She was grungy, covered in tattoos, and definitely had trouble written all over her. I stood there, towering over her short stature for a moment. I wanted to say something, but my drunk mind couldn't come up with anything at the moment. She gave me a shitty look. "Excuse me."

Right, I was still in her way. It took me a second to realize that, in fact, I had been the one to bump into her. Drunkenly stumble, actually, and knock her over. Just lovely. I backed up silently, not going to backtrack and admit my wrong doing now. Billy Hargrove never admits when he's wrong.

After we got on the road, and I got sick of listening to the country tunes in silence, I spoke up. "Who was that?" I asked Charlie.

"Off limits," Charlie chuckled, knowing damn well who I was asking about. "That's who that is. That's Big Carl's little girl. Big Carl is the head honcho of the Blue Hound's. You fuck around with that," Charlie whistled, "Your ass is ain't gonna turn up nowhere. So better get that thought of that pretty little head of yours."

I know Neil heard my Camaro pull into the driveway, so there was no point in me trying to sneak in the front door quietly. It was well after three in the morning, and thanks to my own dumbass, I wreaked of beer. I stood outside the front door for an extra moment, taking another drag of my cigarette, preparing myself for whatever I was going to have to take on the other side of that hallway. I didn't like the way he made me afraid.

I unlocked the door and slowly slid inside, taking my jacked off and hanging it on the rack. I could sense him there, in the corner of the kitchen under the cover of darkness. I had grown the instinctual tensing in my muscles whenever I could sense him around. "Where have you been?" He always tried to keep his voice cool at first, but it never fooled me.

It did no good to lie. "I was out with my boss. He bought me dinner."

His laugh was demeaning, "So you're fucking your boss now? Is that what you're into? Or do you prefer to take it, is that more your thing?" He was standing in my face now, my back against the table that sat in our entryway. I swallowed hard, trying to not betray my fear. "You're fucking disgusting!"

I whispered. "I'm sorry."

Before I could blink his hands were around my throat, my head shattered against the mirror behind me, "What was that, Billy?! I couldn't hear you." He gripped my throat tighter, and I could feel the blood pooling in my face.

A light flicked on down the hallway, and a figure stood there, pulling a robe across her body. "Neil? Is everything okay?"

Neil gave me another shove back into the glass and let go suddenly. "Get the fuck to bed, and I expect you up in time to take your sister to school tomorrow."

I was ashamed. I stood there fighting off tears, chewing on the inside of my cheek. When I heard their bedroom door close, I finally let a few tears escape. "She's not my sister." I whispered.