⋆⭒˚.⋆ 𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐍 ᵃ ˢᵗʳᵃⁿᵍᵉʳ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵍˢ ᵃᶠ

𝟎𝟎𝟐

betsy exhales shakily but does not panic. "okay. she was at holly's yesterday, right?"

chris nods quickly. "yes. right. she probably just slept over there, yeah?" betsy goes to the phone and dials the wheeler's number.

"hi, karen?" a pause, "right, yes, i was just calling...is that meg in the background? no? just the television?" chris meets her eyes from the kitchen. betsy looks away. "no, that's okay...yes. are you alright, karen? you sound a little— oh, okay. thank you so much, karen. bye."

"mom?" chris walks around the kitchen table and looks at betsy's shaking hand as it holds the phone. "meg...didn't stay over?"

betsy shakes her head, but still, she won't panic. "it doesn't mean anything. she probably left early for school. she had that science test, remember? she left her notebook at school and needed to use it to study. yes, that's it. she's just at school."

"right."

"okay, so...so we'll see her after school then. and everything's okay." betsy combs her hands through her hair. "i need to go to work."

"yeah. bye, mom. love you," chris's gaze trails after his mom as she shuts the front door behind her. then he puts the phone back up on the wall and runs to meg's room.

everything is exactly where it was the morning before. her bed is neatly made, there are no clothes set out to wear this morning. chris feels a kind of dread sinking deep into his bones.

that afternoon, with shaking hands, chris calls karen wheeler once again. she tells him that holly hadn't seen meg at school that day. chris tells his mother at dinner, and they both lose their appetites.

betsy calls the hawkins police department just after seven pm on november 7th.

nineteen hours have passed since meg dahlia was last seen.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

"last night, november 6th, a freshman student at hawkins high was reported missing. megan dahlia, daughter to betsy dahlia, was last seen at her friend's house and she reportedly left the family's residence at around ten forty-five at night. any person with information on megan's disappearance is strongly encouraged to step forward and share it with the hawkins police department, who are looking into an investigation as we speak. dahlia family, we send you our best wishes and deepest condolences in this time of hardship. now, we will switch over to my fellow reporter, terry bennett, who..."

"i didn't even... i mean, we barely even said a real goodbye to each other. i didn't think..."

holly wheeler is curled up on her couch beside her mother that night, tear tracks running down her face as karen rubs her back.

"you couldn't have known," karen presses a kiss to her youngest daughter's head. "did they say anything at school?"

holly sniffs, "no one knew. me and matty and zach asked around because she told us she'd be there today, but no one knew. we just assumed she was sick."

there's a beat. "do you think she's—"

"i think she's alright, hol." karen cuts her off, knowing what comes next. she can feel her heart sinking, remembering what happened with mike and will. betsy's phone call earlier had been far too similar to the one she'd had with joyce all those years ago. her son's best friend came home safe eventually, of course, but he was never...the same, karen thought. she stopped herself from wondering if it was really possible that meg would come back just like will had. the chances didn't seem very high. "imagine when mike hears..." she murmurs.