Harrington

Reunited

The second time I eat, I take slow bites and make sure it goes down properly. I eat toast and eggs, Hopper taking the time to make it for me. I feel much better afterwards, though my throat hurts, making it difficult to swallow. Hopper makes sure I eat everything, and drink about a litre of water. When I tell him I don't want anymore water, he tells me that I'm gonna sit here until I drink it all. Now I'm stubborn, but I knew he wasn't joking, so I reluctantly drank it all, throwing him dirty glares.

I feel my energy coming back, and though you can still see my ribcage through my skin, I know I will be okay. I am sort of able to walk now, only stumbling a few times. I'm proud of this, and take the liberty to walk around the house a few times before stopping by Hopper.

"Go." I say, "See friends."

I feel dumb when I talk like this, but the only way for my voice to come back is if I use it as little as possible.

He seems to think about it for a moment, "We need a cover story."

I agree, knowing I'll just end up telling Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Eleven where I was anyways.

"Lost?" I ask, frustrated with the fact that I couldn't go on with my idea. Normally I would rant on and on about anything I could, but now, I am limited to a one or two word range.

"Lost? Okay, you were wandering around on your bike and got lost in the forest." He looks at my face, and my overall appearance, "We'll just say you had no food, and spent a lot of time walking until you found the road again."

I nod, leaning on the wall and sighing in exhaustion. The little bit of energy I had gained from eating will wear off soon, and rest is what I really need. But I know there's no time for rest, not when Will is still stuck in that horrible place. Not when Joyce is spending every waking minute frantic over him. Not when Hopper is so angry, all the time, for reasons that I will probably never know. Not when my friends are worrying about me, when they should only be focusing on Will.

Rest is definitely not my first priority right now.

We're about to leave when I hear a knock on the door.

"Chief?" Someone calls from outside and Hopper swears.

"Here, get in the closet." I obey and rush into the small broom closet, watching as Jim closes the door on me. I hear him open the door and go outside, out of my earshot. I try to hear what he's saying, but the voices are muffled, and I give up after a while.

Soon enough, he reuturns, opening the doors and pulling me out. He has a frantic look in his eyes and I frown.

"Uh, we're going to have to just drop you off at your house, something's come up and I have to take care of it." He takes me to the door and opens it. "Wait in the car, I'll be out in a minute. I just have to make a quick phone call."

Before I can ask questions, he tosses me his keys and slams the door, making me stumble back and grasp on the railing for support. I sigh in frustration and turn, walking unsteadily to the passenger side. I wait in the cold car, rubbing my tired eyes and watching the door.

It takes more than just 'a minute', but he eventually comes out, running a hand through his hair and walking over.

He gets in the driver side and we're off, heading back to my house. I try to convince him to let me go to my friends and just skip Steve, but he says I should get home and clean up anyways. This is true, I suppose, I do look like shit.

So we begin down the road, and I stare out the window at the trees flashing by. I'm about to ask Hopper why the people were at his door, but he says something quickly, changing the subject before I can ask.