Chapter Six
"Do you wanna head to Susan's trailer for breakfast?" Billy asked from the bathroom, the steam of his shower billowing out into the motel room. Piper stayed in the bed with the rumbled sheets from the night before in Billy's shirt from the night before. "I don't know about you but I don't really want a vending machine and terrible motel coffee for breakfast."
Piper smiled and shook her head with a small laugh, "That doesn't sound too good to me either. But I told Robin I'd come to Family Video in the morning. She said they are super busy later in the day and won't really be able to hang out. Steve will be there too."
Billy popped his head out, his blonde curls wet against his neck and side of his face. "I sort of promised Max that I'd come. Why don't I drop you off at the video store, and then I'll go to Susan's."
"Are you sure? I can cancel on Robin."
Billy walked towards Piper and shook his head, his hand holding his towel that was wrapped low around his waist. "No, baby, we leave in the next couple of days. Spend time with your friends and we can do dinner or something before we leave. Max will understand."
"Ok," Piper smiled slightly before Billy stopped at the edge of the bed and bent down to kiss her lips softly.
Piper stood up from her place in bed and moved toward the bathroom to take her own shower. The couple moved around each other as they each got ready. Both were oblivious to the chaos that was starting to unfold only a few miles away. Piper slipped on her favorite pair of jeans and kept Billy's shirt on, before grabbing her jacket and following him out of the motel room. This morning Piper woke up feeling better, happier, and calmer. Something she hadn't been able to feel at all since being in Hawkins. Spending last night with friends and seeing the kids was something that she hadn't noticed she'd missed till that moment.
"I've missed that," Billy spoke as he looked over at her, the corner of his lips turning up slightly as his blue eyes moved from the road and her face. "I haven't seen that smile in what feels like forever, doll."
"Oh come on now!" Billy teased, a light laugh leaving his laugh, "Don't hide from me now. I was really liking my view."
"Stop." Piper laughed and playfully reached over to slap his chest
"I'm being serious. I haven't seen you this happy in...what feels like too long of a time, Piper." Billy spoke, his tone serious but still had that lightness sparkling in his eyes. "I knew you were struggling for a while and I-...I felt helpless cause I couldn't help you. I couldn't stop the suffering."
"Billy," You softened and reached down to thread your fingers with his, gripping his hand tightly. "It wasn't your job to save me. I just...I don't know...I should've been there for you too. It works both ways, we both were going through something."
Billy looked over to you when he came upon a red light, "How about when we get back home, we just...take some time for ourselves? Somewhere we can both unplug and it just is the two of us? How does that sound?"
Piper smiled slightly and nodded her head, "I would really really like that."
The bell jingled above your head when you opened the door into Family Video, both Robin and Steve looking at you at the sound. Robin let out a small noise of happiness before moving across the store toward you and pulling you into a hug.
"Oh, I thought for a second there that you weren't going to be coming!" Robin spoke with a wide smile. "You can help Steve and I pick out the movie of the day."
"I feel like I am about to have a day filled with nothing but you two picking at me all day," Steve spoke as he pushed his cart closer to the front, slowly putting them away one by one.
"Why would that be a bad thing, Harrington?" You smirked "It'll be like old times."
Steve shook his head and let out a soft laugh, "Being the butt of the joke for your twos entertainment isn't exactly something that's a whole lot of fun for me."
Piper rolled her eyes and moved to lean against the counter as Robin sorted through the stack of videos sitting on the counter.
"What were the two of you talking about anyway? Could've sworn I heard Vickie's name again." Piper cocked a brow to Robin as she stared t the girl in front of her.
Robin rolled her eyes, "More like talking about the conjoined pathetic status that is our love lives. Harrington and I need to figure out how to become one since both of us are pathetic in two different departments."
"Just become the Wonder Twins of Dating." Piper laughed and shook her head, reaching down and grabbing a box of candy from beneath, before turning her attention to Steve. "What happened to the chick from yesterday?"
"Wasn't feeling it...and honestly...I don't think we have much in common outside of wanting to sleep with each other." Steve shrugged his shoulders.
"We're both helpless." Robin sighed, "Oh found the morning movie," She held up a VHS tape from the stack in front of her. "Doctor Zhivago."
"Ugh...no, you know I don't do double VHS, especially on a Saturday," Steve spoke his face twisting slightly in disgust. "Not to mention it's about doomed love."
"Preciously." Robin smiled, before turning around quickly and moving to turn on the TV.
Piper laughed lightly at her friends as she continued to pop the chocolate into her mouth from the box that she'd grabbed before. As Robin turned on the television that hung from the ceiling over the back counter, the blaring sound of the news filled the video shop. Piper's head turned towards it quickly as they all heard the report's voice over the speakers.
"...a murdered teen was found in a trailer in the Forest Hills Trailer Park, shaking this small town as another tragedy strikes it. There are no suspects or information about the victim but it is being said that the family is being notified now."
"Holy shit," Steve speaks from behind Robin, all three of them having their eyes glued to the fuzzy picture of the news.
"That's the trailer park that Max lives in," Piper spoke up quickly, her back going straight and voice filling with worry. "Billy is supposed to be there right now. Phone! I need your phone!"
Robin scrambled quickly and grabbed the phone from under the counter and passed it over to Piper. Piper worked quickly and dialed the phone number she knew by heart for Susan's trailer and waited impatiently as the phone rang and rang. Piper's foot began to bounce slightly with each passing second and no one picked up the phone. Once the answering machine picked up, Piper cursed and slammed the phone back down.
"Fuck, no one answered," Piper whispered with frustration.
"I'm sure Max is fine," Robin spoke, giving a wary smile to Piper, "Or else Billy would've called right? It wouldn't be too hard to find out a phone number in the Yellow Pages."
"You're right." Piper nodded her head with a heavy sigh, her green eyes shooting from Steve's shocked face and Robin's worried one. "She's fine. They are fine."
Piper didn't have long to sit there and worry as the news continued to sound out from the television in front of her, as the front door of the video shop opened quickly. Everyone's head turned quickly to the sound of the bell over the door and saw both Dustin and Max come rushing in. Piper visibly sagged when she saw the redhead standing behind Dustin, she couldn't stop herself from moving away from the counter and rushing to her.
"Oh thank god," Piper exclaimed before wrapping her arms around Max, pulling her into a tight hug. "I was worried there for a second."
"How many phones do you guys have here?" Dustin spoke moving up to the counter where Steve and Robin were seated.
"Have you guys seen the news?" Steve asked, ignoring Dustin's question. "Someone was murdered."
"Steve! How many phones do you have!?" Dustin shouted toward him, his voice straining with panic and worry.
"Two. Why?" Steve asked, his face twisting with confusion as he looked down at the younger boy.
"Technically three, if you count Keith's in the back," Robin added on.
"Three will work," Max spoke from beside Piper, making her look down at her in confusion.
Dustin didn't hesitate for a second as he moved to hop up over the counter and push his bag across the counter till it hit the floor. Piper watched as Max ran around the counter to join Dustin, deciding to not make more of a mess that he'd already created. Robin and Steve shouted out in frustration at the tapes knocked to the floor and everything else being knocked over on the counter.
"What the hell is going on?" Piper asked, stepping forward to help restack the tapes for Piper.
"I need to look up the names of Eddie's friends, it's very important right now," Dustin exclaimed with frustration as he sat in front of the computer behind the counter.
"How is that important at all right now?" Steve asked
"On any other day you two could come in here and run around like toddlers, but today is Saturday. Meaning it's our busiest day of the week, so we can't really have this happening right now guys." Robin spoke, her speech speeding up the way it does when her anxiety is a little high.
"It is very important that we look for Eddie right now, ok?" Dustin spoke, not turning away from the computer, Max standing right beside him and looking over his shoulder.
"Oh Eddie, your new cool older best friend? The one cooler than me because he plays that DND game with you?" Steve whined as he stepped up beside Dustin.
"I never said that," Dustin spoke, turning to Steve and his voice holding offense as he looked at him. "But we have to find him right now, ok? It's of the highest importance. Max! Explain it to them please!"
"Explain what, exactly?" Piper asked, looking between everyone with every bit of confusion and worry.
She looked over to Max he stepped back from being over Dustin's shoulder. You could see the panic swimming around in her bright blue eyes as she stared at the three of you.
"It's about the girl that was found murdered in the trailer park this morning..." Max started, sighing heavily before getting into the details of last night.
As she told her entire story, Piper stood there in shock trying to follow along with the story that Max was explaining. As she was telling it, she was quickly able to realize who the two people she was talking about. Her mind flashed back to seeing the couple inside the van before it pulled out and drove away from the school. She didn't speak up on how she'd seen them together, seeing as it was already a known fact. Chrissy Cunningham, a senior at Hawkin's High, was found dead in Eddie Munson, fellow three-time senior, trailer.
"...he was running from the trailer like he was scared out of his mind. Normally, you'd think it was cause he just murdered someone. But not with how the lights were flickering...cause they were flickering like before." Max finished explaining.
"Like...before, before?" Piper asked, her heart rate spiking for a moment as flashes of the past three years went through her mind. Max confirmed by nodding her head.
"So that's why we need to find Eddie?" Robin questioned
"Yes, because if my thoughts are correct, Eddie is innocent," Dustin spoke, grabbing a piece of paper and writing down numbers. "Start with these numbers. Piper, you grab a phone and Max can work the other."
Piper nodded her head and walked around to grab the phone from the back counter and dial the number that Dustin repeated to her. The phone rang a few times before a voice picked up on the other line, from across the counter Max did the same, both of them asking about Eddie. Where is he? Do they know where he'd be staying? What about other friends that might know where Eddie was? It seemed that the numbers that Piper was calling were ending with a dud and no answer to anything. Minutes ticked by into hours as they went through the list that Dustin was able to come up with. Robin and Steve helped the customers as they came in that Saturday morning.
Piper sighed heavily as talked to her fourth person and nothing came up. She would start to think that this Eddie person was a myth and didn't really exist if she hadn't seen them herself.
"Thank you, thank you..." Max spoke before hanging up and smiling as she turned to face Dustin and Piper. "I think I've got something...Reefer Rick? Apparently, that's Eddie's drug dealer and supplies him."
"Reefer Rick sounds like a drug dealer," Piper chuckled softly "Did they say where he lived?"
"No. No one really knows where Reefer Rick lives."
"Well doesn't help much," Dustin sighed. "No last name? Nothing?"
Max shook her head and pressed her lips tightly together.
"I bet the cops would know his last name," Steve spoke from the front, sorting through the discount bin beside the door.
"Excuse me?" Dustin asked with a bit of shock, turning to face the older teen. "You want us to go to the cops?"
"I mean...if this Reefer Rick is really a drug dealer or supplier then the cops are going to know his last name and where he lives."
"Going to the cops is probably not a good idea, seeing as we're trying to find the person that is of interest in the murder that happened," Piper spoke, her brows pulling together slightly as she stared at Steve.
"We don't even really know what happened, ok? We can't rule it out that Eddie in fact killed Chrissy."
"That's exactly what we're trying to do here, dingus." Piper shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Thank you, Piper!" Dustin spoke loudly, "You think he did it, don't you? That's why you're not helping us out."
Steve shook his head and leaned against the counter, "No. I believe in the whole innocent until proven guilty...Constitutional bullshit."
"Doesn't really seem like it," Robin sighed before moving to stand beside Dustin, "Well, I'm sure we can look through the system and find this...Reefer Rick person."
Robin gently moved Dustin from the stool that he'd stationed himself on and quickly started typing away at the computer. Soon an entire list of "Ricks" came up on the system.
"Ok, there are only a few in here. I'm sure we can narrow it down with movie choices." Robin spoke as she scrolled through the system.
The first was for Rick that was obviously a father of two little kids, not exactly a drug dealer. The second was another dud, not really the movies for a drug dealer either, more for a teenage girl. But the third one, third one was more promising. The entire list of movies rented by this Rick character was nothing but Cheech and Chong movies.
"I think we have a winner," Piper spoke before grabbing the pad of paper sitting beside the keyboard and scribbling down the address in front of her. "I don't know what movie selection screams drug dealer more than this."
"Rick Lipton, living at 21120 Holland Road," Robin spoke,
"That's out near Lover's Lake," Max spoke up.
"Middle of nowhere, the perfect place to hide." Robin smirked "Let's go before another customer comes in!"
Everyone scrambled quickly and gathered their things before moving to rush out the main door of Family Video. Robin flipped the front door sign that they were closed, as Steve started up his car and everyone jumped inside. Billy entered Piper's mind for just a moment but knew they didn't have time to stop to give him a call. If he was even still at Susan's trailer. But Steve pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the main road before it became any more of a thought.