*I do not own the rights to Stranger Things
*I do not own the rights to any characters from Stranger Things
*I am not the creator of the character Autumn
*I do not own the rights to ANY music used or mentioned in this fan fiction
*This story is an extended ending to California Dreaming by brittyaustin89, please read her fanfiction first. Otherwise this might not make sense.
WARNING: This chapter contains domestic abuse, and may be disturbing to some readers.
Monarch: Autumn's Butterfly Effect
Chapter 8: You Give Love A Bad Name
3 Years Later-1989
Billy and Autumn's relationship was on the verge of complete collapse. They had tried so hard to put the pieces back together after the miscarriage. They moved out of the apartment, and used the government hush money to buy a house. Autumn got a new job, and Billy started working. They went to counseling together, but there was still too much hurt and too much tension. Autumn never wanted to be intimate, and when she was it felt forced. Billy spent most of his time finishing himself off. She was too depressed for physical touch, and he was more and more sexually frustrated. He even went as far as to buy all new furniture for the new house, and bought each of them a new car. But, all the money in the world couldn't heal the rift growing between them.
Billy went to the bathroom of the body shop where he worked. He locked the door and threw down his duffle bag. In it, he had a fresh pair of white wash jeans, a wife beater, black steel toe boots, and a black leather jacket. Billy and his roughneck buds from the shop were going out tonight. It was a friday, and Billy wanted nothing more than to let loose. This was his new usual routine. He didn't even bother going home until late on fridays. He had no interest in Autumn if she was just gonna sulk around all the damn time. Billy peeled out of his nasty work clothes, splashed some soap and water on himself, a few dabs of an expansive ass bottle of Armani cologne, and was ready to roll. However, he couldn't leave the bathroom without admiring himself in the mirror. He knew he was hot shit.
Billy and his band of misfits arrived at their regular spot. Denny's Dive was a bottom of the barrel kind of bar. It always smelled of whisky and cigarette smoke, but Billy was right in his element. The bar was full of his kind of people. More roughnecks, bikers, metal heads, and busty broads from wall to wall. The gang of 5 men sat at the same far back table. The owner knew to save them this spot. It was the guy's favorite, because it was closest to the pool tables, darts, and bathrooms...for a quickie. When the men had sat down, they immediately started drinking beers and smoking cigs. Billy knew it was gonna be a good night, because the music was pumping and the girls were hotter than usual tonight.
The crew of men knew that Billy was going through a rough patch with his wife, and they were insistent on him branching out and testing the waters. They were insistent on hyping him up to go flirt with different women once they had thrown enough drinks back. Billy always declined, but after an hour or so he felt real loose. Then some of that liquid courage started to over take him. "Hey, Hargrove! What about that one?" One of his buddies yelled at him from across the table. Matt was the worst at egging him on, but this time Billy's interest peaked. Matt pointed across the bar to a smoking hot blonde. She had long tan legs for days, a tiny waist that led up to a full bust. Her dirty blonde hair hung long down her bare back. She was wearing a dress that dipped low in the back. If she bent over she would have definitely been exposing some hot ass. "Damn man. I could see myself on top of that." Billy said smugly. He leaned across the table and gave his buddy, Matt a high five. "So go talk to her man." Billy shook the idea out of his head. "Naw man...Autumn." He said, tapping his wedding ring. Matt rolled his eyes at him. "Come on dude. When was the last time you got some? You're here with us more than your own home. What Autumn doesn't know won't hurt her." Billy was silent as he reevaluated his previous train of thought. Then he did the unthinkable...he slid his wedding ring off and put it in his pocket. Matt immediately started bobbing his head up and down. "Yes, man! That's what I'm talking about!" Billy stood up from the table and excused himself. He popped his collar and made his way over to this sexy piece of ass. Feeling more confident than he had in awhile, Billy tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, miss?" The woman turned around to meet Billy's gaze. She was more stunning than he expected. She had the most beautiful green eyes. "Yes, can I help you?" She asked him. "Yea, you can help me alright. Help me learn your name. I'm a regular here and I've never seen you before." The woman looked Billy up and down before smiling at him and biting the edge of her lip. "I'm Cynthia, and this is my first time here. I came with some of my girlfriends. They are in the bathroom right now." "Oh ok, well that answers it. Do you think I could buy you a drink?" Billy asked. "Sure, I could use another beer." Billy gestured to the bartender for 2 beers. When he got them, they each gave the bottles a little clink. "Cheers!" Cynthia said. "So, you know my name. What's yours?" she asked as she leaned in closer to him. "I'm Billy, and it's an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance." Billy placed his hand on the small of her back. So listen baby, I got a table back here if you wanna come sit and wait for your friends. "Yea, definitely!" Cynthia practically bounced over to the table. The only guy left at the table was Matt. The other men had started a game of pool. Billy motioned for Matt to get up so he could have the table to himself. But just as they were getting comfortable and flirting with each other, Cynthia's friends came out of the bathroom. One woman he didn't recognize. The other was Stephy. "Oh hey! Those are my friends!" Cynthia said, pointing them out. "Fuck." Billy grumbled under his breath. He had his arm wrapped around Cynthia's shoulders and he was sure that Stephanie saw it. "Billy!" Stephy shouted, as she approached the table. Cynthia looked back and forth between the two of them. "Do you guys know each other?" she asked, confused. "Yea, you could say that. I mean I'm friends with his WIFE!" Cynthia looked at Billy in shock. "You're married? Fucking dirtbag." Cynthia quickly got up from the table and Stephy followed behind her. Glancing over her shoulder once, she gave Billy a dirty look. "God fucking damn it!" Billy screamed and stormed out of the bar. He knew that Stephy would tell Autumn what she saw. He knew he was royally fucked, but at this point did it even matter? He couldn't save his marriage.
The next morning Billy was rudely awakened with a pillow being swung across his face. "Ah fuck!" he said, throwing fist and sitting up right. He squinted over at the living room clock. It read 1:15pm. He had fallen asleep on the couch. He spent fewer and fewer nights in his own bed. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" he screamed. Autumn stood at one end of the couch, her arms were folded across her chest, as she stared daggers at Billy. "I just got off the phone with Steph. She said, she saw you last night cuddled up to some blonde bimbo at the bar? IS THAT TRUE?" Billy looked away and ran his fingers through his greasy hair. He slowly got up from the couch, placing his hands on his hips. "Yea…" he said under his breath, and sucked his teeth. Autumn picked up another pillow and threw it at him. "Oh my God! You fucking asshole! SO THAT'S WHAT YOU DO AT THE BAR? YOU FLIRT WITH OTHER WOMEN?" "WELL WHAT THE FUCK ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, AUTUMN? You never want me around anymore! You dragass to work, and then dragass around the damn house the rest of the time! I still want to have a fucking life! I still want to have some fucking fun!" Autumn scoffed at Billy, and threw her arms in the air. "SO THAT'S YOUR IDEA OF FUN? FLIRTING WITH GIRLS YOU DON'T KNOW? WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU DONE BEHIND MY BACK? IS IT JUST THE FLIRTING OR IS THERE MORE TO THE STORY?" Billy was shaking mad. Balling his fist up on the sides of his jeans. "I've done nothing! There's no law against flirting! It's not like I've been…" Billy stopped himself before he said too much. "No, finish the sentence, Billy! It's not like you've been what?" Autumn had a sudden thought jump into her head. She quickly composed herself, and asked her next question. "Give me your wallet, Billy." Autumn held out her hand and started tapping her foot. She knew that in the past, Billy had kept a condom in his wallet. It was his go to spot when they were dating. If he had nothing to hide the wallet would be empty. Billy took a step back and exhaled sharply through his nostrils. He shoved his hand in his back pocket checking for his wallet. He had caught on to what Autumn was thinking. He never imagined that he'd cheat on Autumn, but right that moment there was a condom in his wallet. Autumn took a step towards Billy, still holding her hand out. Her words were slow and deliberate now. "Billy...give me your God damn wallet." In two long strides, Autumn had suddenly sprang on Billy. He didn't want to hurt her, but he was desperate to keep her away. He grabbed her wrists as she swung and kicked at him. They both toppled to the floor. "Hey, hey easy! Can you just back the fuck off!" Billy snarled at her. Autumn was breathing heavy and fighting with all her might. "Just...give me...the… wallet!" Billy quickly rolled over to get up, but Autumn snatched his back pocket. So hard in fact, that she tore it a little. When she did the wallet slipped out just enough for her to grab it. Autumn tried to get up and run upstairs to the bedroom, but Billy caught her from behind on the bottom step. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she kicked and screamed. "Let go, Billy! Let go of me!" "Give me my fucking wallet then!" he screamed back at her. She didn't mean to, but she threw her head back so viciously and slammed Billy in the nose. He immediately dropped her. She landed on her side, hitting her ribs against the wooden steps. "God damn it! You fucking bitch!" Autumn looked up at Billy, as he held his head back, squeezing the bridge of his nose. Blood was running out his nostrils like a fountain. It ruined his white wife beater that he was wearing from the night before. Ignoring the pain in her side, and the sight of Billy having a nose period, she opened the wallet to find a condom. "You asshole!" she shouted, throwing the wallet at his feet. Billy was even more pissed off than he was before. His nose hurt like a son-of-a bitch, and he was ready to breath fire. "I didn't fucking cheat on you alright! I just kept it in there in case…" Autumn slowly got up off the stairs, hugging her side. "IN CASE WHAT? IN CASE YOU REALLY COULDN'T KEEP YOUR FUCKING DICK IN YOUR PANTS?" Billy was 100% done with Autumn at this point. He ran up on her with a fist in the air. Autumn flinched and fell back onto the steps again. He was inches away from her face, but he didn't punch her. Instead, he screamed. "AAAAAHHHHHHH! You never fuck me anymore! You never do anything anymore! I'm sorry we lost the baby! I'm sorry your mom was an alcoholic bitch, but that's not my fucking fault! I've done everything for you! You ungrateful bitch!" At this point Autumn had her hands over her head, shaking and crying. They had gotten into fights before, but he never yelled at her like this. She honestly feared for her life. The only words she could muster through her tears were, "I want out. I don't want this marriage anymore…" Billy grabbed her chin in his hand, and forced her to look at him. He looked like something out of a horror movie. The blood from his nose had dripped down past his mouth and stained his teeth red. "If you want out of this marriage, then that's fine by me!" Billy let go of her chin and slammed his fist into the nearest wall.
One month...one month is all it took for Billy and Autumn to find lawyers and get a divorce. "Fastest I've ever flown through this process." Autumn's attorney would joke. Billy and Autumn knew they were done, so there was nothing left to fight about, or fight over. Billy moved out and left everything to Autumn. He agreed to keep the joint savings account, so she could have access to the government money. All he had to do was sign the papers, and pack his bags. Ironically enough, the day he was moving the last of his belongings, he and Autumn had goodbye sex. It wasn't anything romantic or overly exciting. Just a quickie on the couch as he was leaving. They both knew it would be a long time before they found anyone better for them, so they figured why not for old times sake? Afterwards, Autumn sat and cried. She balled herself up in the fetal position and fell asleep on the couch.