𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑

𝟖. 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

"𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚?
𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙.
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣,
𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧?"

⬻ 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳 - 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘖𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵 ⤖

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟔𝐭𝐡, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟔

The drive to Reefer Rick's place took all afternoon and a series of wrong turns and breaks on the side of the road so that Steve could re-convince himself that this was an OK thing to do – to bring you there. But eventually, as the sun dipped low behind the tall pine trees that surrounded the lakeshore, the car pulled into a gravel driveway that you knew all too well.

Steve cut the headlights and you all sat in the silent darkness of the car for a moment. "Are we really sure that he's here?" you asked, whispering, even though the radio had been blaring Blondie not five minutes ago.

Robin shifted in her seat, staring straight ahead through the windshield. A few yards away, the boathouse groaned in the gentle breeze. "Unless he abandoned ship in the last five hours, yeah," she mumbled.

Dustin and Max squirmed impatiently on either side of you in the backseat. They had already explained their theories as they drove you out of Gareth's neighborhood – that whatever was going on, it had everything to do with what went down last summer. The only issue was that no one could really agree on how.

You dragged your feet through the gravel, walking leagues behind everyone else as they advanced toward the shadowy boathouse overlooking the black waters of the lake. The flashlight that Dustin forced into your hand was pointed down at the ground. Not because you could see clearly through the dusk, but because you were afraid of what you might see if you held the light up in front of your face like everyone else.

Steve wrestled with the rusty door knob, shouldering the rotten wooden door until it gave way, standing to the side to allow everyone else to filter into the cold, dark room. You let everyone else pass before you, breathing in the old, dusty mothball smell from outside. When it came time for you to step over the threshold, Steve stuck his arm out and turned his body so that he was shielding you from the building. 

"Hey—you know you don't have to do this, right?"

You looked up at him, confused. It's not like you were going to just wait in the car while they talked to Eddie. If they had actually found him, that is. Because you were seriously beginning to doubt it. "Do what?"

He looked both ways, jaw locked in a silent plea as he lowered his voice even more. "This. Getting involved in this whole shitstorm. No one would blame you if you wanted to sit out for this round. I wouldn't."

This round, he says. Because even he knew that none of this would be ending anytime soon. But Steve was right. You were exhausted. It had almost been a full year since the mall incident but the daggers your classmates glared into your skin every day were just as sharp as they were in September. Could you handle being an accomplice to Chrissy's murderer on top of being the freak and the fire-starter?

Your hesitation spoke for you and Steve eyed the car parked a few yards away, out of sight from the main road but still visible under the yellow street lights. "Just say the word, I can take you home."

"Thanks," you said, doing your best to offer a sincere smile. Steve had your best interest at heart, but he was severely underestimating how far you would go for the people you cared about. "But I'm okay. Really."