Our Turn

Him? Again?

Joyce's POV:

"Lonnie, what the Hell are you doing here?!" I yelled at him. Thankfully I heard the car to Hoppers car close already so he isn't hearing any of this. Of course Lonnie had to come in the middle of Me and Hopper's 'date'. How was I going to explain this one. 

"Didn't you get my call?" He asked me. Of course I did. But a call doesn't automatically mean someone is coming over, especially if it isn't said in the call.

"Yeah, and you never said YOU WERE COMING HERE!"

As I looked over at him, he was pinching the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. I knew the next thing that was going to come out of his mouth would probably be bullshit. "I don't need an invitation to come see Will and Jonathan, they're my children too!".

He did not just say that. His children, his children?! "You lost the RIGHT to call them YOUR children when you moved away to who knows were with who knows who! You probably don't even know how old they are!". I've worked to hard on protecting my children for him to come out of the blue for some unknown reason. Especially after he tried profiting off of Will's supposed death. 

Of course though he denied all allegations. Although why did he look truly hurt after I yelled at him? Then he looked me in the eyes, calm, and said "I understand why you think so little of me, but it still hurts. That's why I'm here, I'm better now, I'm better for this family. For you. I can't stop thinking about you baby". His voice was soft, and at some point he grabbed ahold of my hand.

Why couldn't I think of anything to say. I know he's lying, right? There's no way this isn't a scam, or some trick, or something with an ulterior motive. This is what he does. Comes in my life with promise of change, when nothing ever happens. But thinking of having someone to help around the house with Will and Jonathan did sound amazing. Maybe that someone doesn't have to be Lonnie? Now's not a time to be thinking about that though. 

"I- I don't know what to say"

"Well I do Joyce. And you drive me crazy" He said while tightening his grip on my hand. "You know what, how about you sit on it, and in the meantime I can stay with you, get to hang around with my kids, okay?".

I know I shouldn't, I know I should turn him away so he never comes back here again. But there's something about him that makes it so hard to say no. I don't know what it is, but a feeling tells me I should let him cool down a bit before turning him away. Yeah, that's what I'll do. 

"Fine, but this conversation isn't over. Don't just think you can come running in here and be welcomed just like that. We haven't heard from you in months. For all we knew you were dead." I mustered out. It felt good to stand my ground like that. Especially since I'm not sure how I feel yet about this whole situation. 

I let him walk in the house first. I had to stop and wipe a few tears that escaped from my eyes. The whole thing was just so stressful, they just kind of came out I guess. At least Jonathan and Will were together watching TV on the couch. Hopefully they didn't hear much.

So much happened today, and I just need to go somewhere I can relax in peace. So I headed straight for my bedroom, but Lonnie seemed to be following me. "What do you think your doing?" I asked him while blocking the doorway into my room. 

"Going to our room" he said back like this was his own actual room. Not just some place he happens to be at in the moment. There's no way I'm sleeping in the same bed with him. That just brings up a whole new load of issues. 

"Well your 'room' is right there" I told him while pointing to the couch. The puzzled look on his face was all I needed to see he was annoyed. This allowed me to sneak into my bedroom, away form him. I locked the door before he could see me, so that'll give me time to rest and recharge.