The Great War | Billy Hargrove

33 | Hospital Visits

"You're right, Kendra. I deserved to know the truth and you could've told me what had happened to my Mum," Isadora snapped.

"Would you have really understood any of what was going on?" Kendra asked. As Isadora through about what she had witnessed, about how she had reacted to learning about Eleven having powers and the Mind Flayer, and Isadora knew Kendra was right.

"I guess not."

"I promise you that we weren't trying to hurt you, Isa. We were just trying to protect you ... protect you from all of this," Kendra said.

"I know. I get it and I guess I owe Hazel and Steve an apology, huh?" Isadora sighed.

"They understand why you were upset," Kendra said. Isadora nodded, but she knew she needed to speak to her friends, although no-one had seen Hazel since they had defeated the Mind Flayer and Isadora knew that Hazel, Ellie and Eleven were all mourning Hopper right now. At first, Isadora had tried to visit Hazel, but when she had asked for space right now, Isadora had promised to give her the space she needed to mourn and had told her best friend she was here for her if she needed her. Kendra and Isadora soon arrived at Isadora's house, and the blonde thanked Kendra before getting out of the car and making her way towards the house, only to find Beatrix sitting on her doorstep, waiting for her, and Isadora had to admit she was a little surprised to see Billy's twin sister waiting for her.

"Hi, Bea," Isadora said, as she walked over to sit down beside Beatrix.

"I-I didn't know where else to go and I really needed to talk to someone. Max won't talk to me, but right now she won't even really leave her room, and I just — I can't talk to Billy right now, Issi. I know something happened though because I felt it all. Everything he felt, I-I could feel too," Beatrix explained.

"Oh, Bea," Isadora said softly. After learning from Max that Billy was in hospital, Beatrix had shown up to see her brother but she had left almost immediately and Isadora had tried followed her to find out what was going on, but Beatrix had asked to be left alone, so Isadora was surprised that Beatrix was here right now.

"I hear him screaming. Every night when I go to sleep, I can hear his scream. What happened, Issi? I know it wasn't just a mall fire like Max told me," Beatrix said.

"No, you're right, it wasn't," Isadora said, as she looked down at her hands and thought about the way she had felt, especially not knowing the truth about what had happened to her Mum and Isadora decided Beatrix deserved to know the truth about everything that had happened, so she started explaining it all before she saw the look on Beatrix's face and Isadora sighed, "I know, none of it makes sense. In fact, it doesn't even feel real. I honestly feel like I just keep reliving some horrible nightmare."

"You — you nearly sacrificed yourself to save Billy?" Beatrix asked.

"I would sacrifice myself if it meant saving him, Beatrix," Isadora shrugged.

"Maybe it's just a twin thing, but I can hear his screams echoing in my mind every night when I try to go to sleep," Beatrix told her. Isadora looked down at her hands and scrunched up her nose before nodding.

"I ... I understand, Bea. Part of the reason why I have been spending so much time at the hospital is because I can't sleep when I'm here by myself without being plagued by nightmares of what happened. All I can see is Laura ..." Isadora trailed off as she tearfully looked down before blinking back her tears and continuing, "You are always welcome to come here, you know, if you need a friend to talk to."

"I know, thank you, Issi," Beatrix said, before she got up and said goodbye to Isadora before leaving. Isadora watched Beatrix leave before she wiped her tears away from her face and got up before making her way inside. The events at Starcourt Mall had changed everything, but no-one had really had a chance to process the events that had taken place. Isadora had found herself unable to be alone and so when she wasn't at the hospital, Isadora had been spending her time with Max, or Steve and Kendra, who had finally explained everything to her and had helped her make sense of what had happened, but since then, Isadora had been trying to suppress the nightmares of what had happened on the Fourth of July. And tonight was the first time Isadora had really been alone and as she walked into her house, a sense of loneliness washed over her. Isadora sighed softly before she made her way up to her bathroom so that she could shower. After showering and changing into clean clothes, Isadora made herself a quick snack before deciding to lie down for a quick nap. When she woke back up again, Isadora headed back to the hospital and Billy smiled when he saw her walking into his hospital room.