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THE NIGHT BEFORE WAS A blurr. After Cole died, Kali just kind of blacked out. Her eyes were ringing as they defeated the Mind Flayer and her drums snapped completely when she was faced with the news of her fatherʼs death. After that, she heard nothing. She processed nothing. She was dead. That night killed her.
And then she woke up. At first, she thought it was all a nightmare, that the Mind Flayer never came back, that she was never possessed, that she didn't take the life of her baby brother. Then, she took in her surroundings. She was in the Byersʼ house, surrounded by cardboared boxes and busy voices, her skin stained with blood. None of this was a dream, but it was a nightmare. A nightmare Kali was never going to wake up from. A world without Cole was a world with no light, a world without that boy was a world Kali didn't want to be in.
When she got up from the bed they'd made her in Jonathanʼs room, Kali found everybody around the house. She walked straight past Eleven, hearing the girlʼs sobs as she read over the letter their father left. She didn't stop to see her, she didn't make any attempt to comfort her. Kali killed Cole. The best thing for El was to stay clear of her big sister, no matter how hard it would hurt. That was how Kali saw it, at least. All that girl wanted was a hug from her big sister, who promised she'd never leave her only a night ago.
"Are you really leaving?" Lucas Sinclair held a face of heartbreak, the trauma of last nightʼs events evident in his eyes. He stared at Kali, the girl he thought of as an older sister, a mentor, desperately. "What about my basketball games? Girl advice? My first beer?"
"Beer is disgusting and bitter," Kali told him, her voice chilly, her face straight. "Don't drink that."
Lucas nodded.
Digging into her pockets, Kali took out a pair of keys, dropping them into the boyʼs hand. "Look after my baby," she told him, nodding towards the rusty, olive green Mustang that was parked outside. "Apparently, I can't take her to Cali."
Staring at the car keys, a smile almost grew onto Lucasʼs lips, but he still frowned. "I don't even have my license yet, I'm too young," he reminded her. His eyes glistened with tears. "You said you'd teach me."
Kali shrugged. "You think I have a license?" she asked. "Max can teach you."
Lucas sighed, watching his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye. "She hasn't spoke much since Billy..." His expression only continued to get sadder and Kali couldn't bare it any longer. "You'll come back, right? You promise you'll come and visit? See some of my games?"
Kali blinked at him, removing herself from any emotion she might've felt. "We'll see," she said instead, walking away.
Dustin was sitting on the doorstep, still crying. Losing Cole was like losing a brother. He peeked up when Kali walked past, thinking for a moment that she might offer him some kind of comfort. That she'd maybe give him a hug. But she didn't. She walked straight ahead and acted as though he wasn't there at all.
