3-27 (A Stranger Things AU)

Chapter 6

I woke up screaming in Steve's arms on the floor of what appeared to be someone's living room. My heart was beating so hard in my chest I almost vomited. Blankets were strewn across the floor, as twisted as my insides felt, and pillows were split at the seams, spilling feathers out across the room. I burst into tears, burying my face in Steve's shoulder as I squeezed my eyes shut, begging for the images in my head to go away. But the darkness fed them and they sprang back to life inside of my head, making me scream again. Steve clutched me to him, rocking us back and fourth, whispering something over and over again. But I couldn't hear him over my own noise. Steve pried my hands off his jumper and held them out in-front of me, that's when I noticed my nose was bleeding as blood ran down his wrists. I started to panic. What the fuck was happening to me. What the FUCK was happening to me?!

Steve was shaking, I could feel it through his grip on me.

"Hey, it's alright. Breathe. Breathe." He spoke, watching me as I looked around the room. Robin was stood a few feet away with another lithe female curled into her side like a cat. Eleven and the other teenagers were stood in the doorway, watching in horror as I screamed on the floor. The man and the woman from the facility stood behind the sofa I had launched myself from. The sight of them all instantly reassured me. Strangers.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I managed out, choking on the thick congealed blood that dripped down the back of my throat. Coughing the scarlet liquid into the palm of my hands, I finally calmed enough to sit back on my heels. Steve shifted as if to move and I flinched. A roar of pain rippled through my neck and along my collarbones. My hand's immediately searched for my collar and fell through thin air. It was like being hit with a cattle prod. I gasped. Loudly. Robin grabbed tissues from a side table and chucked them to Steve who then handed me a bunch of soft white squares. I wiped at my nose, spitting out the blood from my mouth.

"You're safe." He reassured me, reaching forwards and correcting my glasses that had fallen lopsided on my nose in my panic. I longed for him to hold me again. I wanted it so badly my stomach knotted and twisted so violently I wretched, a hacking cough.

"Deep breaths kid." The man commanded, his voice deep and authoritative. I stared up at him, taking in his rugged appearance, the bruise that flowered around his right eye socket and along the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not a kid." I said matter of factly. This was amusing apparently because everyone broke into laughter, loud, joyous laughter that had my hands clamped against the sides of my head almost immediately. Eleven crossed the space between us in seconds, kneeling in-front of me, her hands at mine, pulling them away from the sticky mats of hair.

"They won't hurt you." She said seriously, moving her fingers between mine. I watched as she searched my bare arms for something.
"Your number?" She asked me, the soft puppy like features of her face coming up puzzled. She held out her arm, lifting the material of her shirt so that a neat 011 was revealed tattooed into her olive skin. I twisted around lifting the hair from the back of my neck, showing her the 3-27 that had been branded into the flesh there.

"Sisters." She finally sighed in relief, throwing her arms around me, embracing me so tightly I felt like all my broken pieces were being gathered back up and put back together. I relaxed into her after a few seconds, breathing in the scent of her like flowers and the rain. And then I suddenly remembered.

"Ronnie!" I cried, whipping my head back to Steve, pleading with him with my eyes. He froze and then leapt into action. He pressed my sweet Ronnie into my shaking hands, I pushed my face into her soft body, drawing in the scent of her. Of home.

"What's that?" Eleven asked me.

"Home." I replied simply, rubbing the velveteen up and down my cheeks.

"You're from England?" She asked again. I could tell she was desperately trying to connect with me. A child of such love and grace. A rarity within our circumstances. I had seen other children tear each other apart. Limb from limb. I had lost so many. I nodded my head.

"Why did you have that collar on you? Is it because of your powers? Have you ever tried to escape before? What are those things on your arms?" She was asking me a billion questions at a million miles an hour. My mind flooded with images of home.

Dr Gellan.
The last time I had seen him.
He had kissed me.
His hands had touched me.
Fingertips trailing across my skin.
Telling me how special I was.
Caressing my face.
That I'd always be his special girl.
He undressed me.
My body reacting without my control.

I began shaking violently, gathering my legs up to my chest, rocking back and fourth as the adults began to yell and Eleven yelled right back. But I was still there. In my room. With him. His words in my ears. Body above mine.

"He called me special..." I whispered, rocking harder as tears spilt down my cheeks. No one heard me. "Special, special, special..." I kissed him back. My hands in his.

And then suddenly Steve was there, hands pressed gently to the sides of my head, blocking out the noise. Watching me with those infinite brown eyes. I could feel the pulse in his wrist, beating against my wet cheeks. A hot comforting thrum. He waited until everyone had left the room except for the man and woman. A door slammed. It was quiet. Steve slowly removed his hands.

The woman moved around the sofa and knelt before me, next to Steve, introducing herself as Joyce.
She apologised for Eleven.
El.
I said nothing.
She motioned for the male to join her. He crouched, producing a small smile as she introduced him. Hopper. She asked me if I had a name other than my number.
Anything.
A nickname?

"Lee."

"That's beautiful. It's nice to meet you Lee." I shook her hand reluctantly and then Hopper's and then Steve's. "I understand this must be a lot for you to take in right now..." She continued softly.

"That's an understatement." I muttered, looking down at my bloody hospital gown. They all laughed again. Someone had bandaged my mostly healed bullet wounds, thick pads of cotton taped to the skin.

"You're going to be okay." Joyce assured me as I itched to peel back the dressings and look for myself. "Now I don't want you to worry about anything else but getting cleaned up and settled in okay?" She asked, reaching out to press her hand into mine. I shifted away from her touch uncomfortably.

"I'm autistic." I said looking down into my lap. "I-I don't like to be touched."

"And that's totally okay." Joyce reassured me. "I know someone with autism-."

"It's not the same." I snapped.

"No! No! I know that. I'm just trying to say that I understand what it is and if you're struggling it's okay. I can help, or try and help." She explained. I relaxed and nodded my head, daring to lift my eyes to hers. She smiled, the skin on her cheeks darkening to a pale pink.

"There's some clothes upstairs for you. We guessed your size." Hopper nodded his head over his shoulder to the staircase in the hallway. "The bathroom is first on the right."
I took that as my cue to stand.
Wobbling, Steve held out his hands for me but I steadied by myself. I tested my balance with a few tentative steps, once confident I navigated my way to the bathroom, Ronnie clutched tightly between my fists.