𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐏𝐒𝐄 | 𝐬.𝐡.

𝟎𝟑. 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐚'𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

  "Because I'm such a people person," she nodded mockingly.

  "Then I met this really nice lady - her name is Claudia Henderson," her father continued speaking, seemingly unfazed by her little comments "and she mentioned she was working really late tonight-"

  "And what might I ask, does that have to do with me?" Lorelei furrowed her brows, feeling entirely lost in the conversation.

  "I'm getting there," he smiled quickly "she also mentioned that her son, Dustin, would be staying home alone tonight because of this - and she was worried about leaving him because of um - circumstances that took place here in the past. He's only thirteen, after all."

  "Circumstances?" Lorelei repeated "what circumstances?"

  "I don't want to get into it right now, Lorelei," her father tried to avoid.

  "I do," she shrugged.

  Her father hesitated for a moment, his eyes looking anywhere but at her, for the second time that day, and an unsettling feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach once more. David Keller was an attorney - so not only was he quite good at pleading a case, but he was also excellent at keeping his mouth shut when need be. Lorelei knew this, she always had, and she had always been proud when he told her stories of his master tactics with a proud look on her face. 

  But when he used those tactics on her - well, things had a way of turning sour very quickly.

  She still remembered the first time Hawkins had been mentioned - she was having dinner with both her parents - quite a while back, and her father had mentioned that he was going to make a trip to a small town in Indiana. Lorelei hadn't questioned it much after he had explained that the town's chief of police needed some help with shutting an operation down. 

  But now - now she wanted to know. After all the rotten feelings she had felt from the moment their car drove in, and after the look, Joyce had given her in that store, Lorelei was starting to get the feeling that something was very wrong with Hawkins, Indiana - and not just its lack of attraction.

  "Listen, Lor," David sighed "Dustin's mother is seriously worried about leaving him alone for the night, and the way she talked about him, he seemed like a really sweet kid."

  "You can't just keep asking things of me without giving anything in return," Lorelei said carefully "why do I have to take care of this kid? I'm not some glorified babysitter dad."  

  "I know - trust me, I know that," he nodded gently "but it would do you some good. Who knows? Maybe this kid will make your night a bit more interesting."

  She sighed dramatically, her head bumping on the wall behind her as she closed her eyes for a moment. Lorelei Keller had never been good with kids - they had always liked her for some odd reason, but that didn't mean she liked them. They were entirely too honest - which was her job, and they were never satisfied with just sitting still and unwinding, and that was one of her favorite things to do.

  "Please?" David dragged out with a budding smile, his hand reaching over to pinch her arm.

  "When would I have to go?" Lorelei asked reluctantly.

  "Well-" her father winced, his eyes darting to his watch "now, actually."

  Lorelei groaned inwardly and resisting the urge to roll her eyes was proving to be more challenging than she had expected. Still, she nodded her head carefully. What was the worst thing that could happen if she went? Surely the kid wouldn't set the house on fire - she might be unlucky, but Lorelei didn't believe herself to be that unlucky.