The Girl in the Window {Steve Harrington}

Chapter 31

Ryan sat in a chair by Will's hospital bed, only one light on as the boy slept. It was nighttime once again, making it an official twenty-four hours that she had stayed at the hospital. She had managed to convince Jonathan and Joyce to go home for a little bit, just long enough for them both to take a quick shower and grab a change of clothes, promising to watch over Will.

The kids had all gone home, promising to come back the next day. Since the Wheeler's had gone home, Nancy had gone with them, giving Ryan a tight hug goodbye. She also promised to come back the next day, not wanting to leave Ryan's side.

Axel waited around as long as he could, apologizing repeatedly for his father. Ryan shrugged off the apology, not blaming Axel for a second. Sins of the father, not sins of the son is what she saw it as. She couldn't blame Axel for anything that had happened.

Aaron and Peter were at the station with Hopper, giving their statements to the state police. Apparently, when Peter was in the lab, Mr. Scott had admitted to being involved in a plot to kill their parents for finding out about the lab's experiments.

Her mind was still spinning with that piece of information. She slept over on the couch more times than she could count on one hand, she ate bacon and waffles at the breakfast table, she even asked for help on chemistry and physics homework all with Mr. Gregory Scott. She trusted the man, only to find out he had killed her parents.

Ryan looked over at Will, his eyes fluttering as he dreamed. In the hours he had been at the hospital, he had only managed to get in a couple hours of sleep here and there. She didn't blame him, the Upside Down was a scary place to have escaped from. She was only in it for ten minutes, he had been in it for a week.

A small knock sounded at the door, causing Ryan to turn around expecting Joyce to be back. Steve's head poked in as he waved slightly.

Steve stayed behind, not wanting to leave Ryan alone in the hospital. After everyone had left, he waited around in the waiting room for a little bit, trying to get his thoughts together before he faced her again.

"Hey Ryan," He whispered carefully, trying not to wake the sleeping boy next to her. "Can we talk?"

Ryan looked over at Will, still asleep in the bed before nodding, "Uh yeah, we'll talk in the hallway." She walked out of the room, leaving a small crack in the door to keep an ear out for Will if he woke up.

"How's he doing?" Steve asked, looking through the crack at the sleeping boy.

"He's doing well, all things considered." She said with a sigh. "I guess we're sticking with the lost in the woods story."

Steve looked at her, smiling softly, "Hey, you did it. They did it. You all did it." He reached forward to rub her arm. "You guys got him home, he's safe. You can relax now."

Ryan shook her head, her mind going a mile a minute. There was still so much wrong, so much she had to fix and she had no idea how to do it. She still felt lost.

"I can't relax, Steve." She admitted. He was the first person she had been this honest with all night. "He's been through so much this past week, all the kids have. I don't know what to do, or how to help them if they ask." She felt useless as she leaned against the window to Will's room.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, you always do." He said soothingly. "I mean, those kids, Will, they adore you. I mean, how can they not? You've done the best you can to keep them safe throughout all of this mess-"

"I didn't do enough. If I was there, if I had stayed behind, if I had just thought a little bit further-" Ryan felt a lump form in her throat as she thought of the little girl she had promised to protect.

"What happened was not your fault, okay?" Steve swore, taking her hands in his. She didn't meet his gaze, tears stinging her eyes. She had failed at keeping El safe. She'd promised to keep her safe. "There's no way you could have known that was going to happen."

"I lost her, Steve. I lost El." She cried, not able to hold back her tears any longer. Steve pulled her to him as she cried, the stress of everything finally too much for her.

"Hey, hey, you didn't lose her, okay?" He said soothingly, running his hands through her hair. "She'll be fine, I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I know if that little girl learned anything from you and those kids, she is going to be fine." He pulled away from her, lifting her chin with his hand, "Look at me, you did everything you could to protect her and the kids. You were a badass, Sunshine. The picture definition of badass, really."

Ryan shook her head, looking down at the ground. Steve lifted her head with his hands again, wiping the tears off her face. For a moment, everything felt right. Ryan felt like she was right where she was supposed to be, a calm feeling washing over her as she looked into his eyes.

In a split second, Ryan pulled away, ending the moment. In the back of her mind, a girl with sad blue eyes looked at her. A girl she called her best friend. She couldn't do this to her, no matter how she was feeling.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Steve asked, reaching for her hand.

"We have to talk about what happened in the car earlier, yesterday, whatever." She started, her heart feeling like a sinking ship in her chest. "We need to talk about it."

"Yeah we do," Steve agreed. "And actually-"

"No Steve, it's okay." Ryan cut him off, trying to beat him to the punch, her heart shattering into a million little pieces with every word. "It was just a spur of the moment thing, nothing more."

"But-"

"Ryan?" A small voice interrupted from inside the hospital room. "Ryan, where are you?"

Ryan breathed in deep, trying to pull herself together before she looked in the door, Steve peering in over her shoulder, "I'm right here, bud."

Will smiled tiredly at her, "He can come in with you if he wants, it's okay."

"Are you sure?" She asked, not wanting to exhaust him further. "Will, you look tired enough sweetie-"

"No, it's okay." Will insisted. "He seems cool."

Ryan turned to look at Steve, a small smile on her face. Steve looked down at her smile, the aching feeling in his chest easing just a little bit as he pushed past her into the room, "Hey buddy, nice to finally meet you."