tainted love {steve harrington}.

CHAPTER FOUR: TOO MANY QUESTIONS.

MALLORY DOESN'T REMEMBER what her dad said to her, she remembers him being quick to hug her, though she didn't have the strength to return the gesture. She just remembers insisting they go straight to the Byer's, which is what they did. She didn't know what to say, what to think or how to react, but she knew how to comfort Joyce and Jonathan.

Mallory pushed through all the police who reminded her she needed to stay away, ignoring their protests until eventually, Jim Hopper silenced them, letting Mallory into the Byer's living room, where her best friend and his mother sat, shocked silent tears falling down their faces as an officer spoke to them.

Jonathan's head spun at the sound of someone else entering the house, perhaps hoping his little brother would miraculously be standing before him and not in the black body bag he'd watched them zip him into. But he wasn't disappointed to see Mallory. The distraught young man leapt from the couch and crossed the lounge room in two long strides before throwing himself into Mallory's awaiting arms, erupting into sobs into his best friend's shoulder. Behind them, Andrew pursed his lips sadly, placing a hand on Jonathan's shoulder and squeezing before moving to the couch to sit beside Joyce, sharing in her shocked silence.

Mallory eventually guided Jonathan away from the open door that let cold air into the house and moved him to the couch. She perched herself on the arm of it and allowed Jonathan to continue sobbing into her side for what felt like hours. Every time she was sure his eyes had dried and there were no more tears left to cry, something inside him shook again and the sobbing began again. Joyce was no help, she would change from sitting in stunned, disbelieving silence to screaming at the sheriff in a matter of seconds. Mallory didn't blame her. There was no right away, or even any better way of mourning the loss of a child.

Mallory refused to cry, not in front of Jonathan and Joyce, not when they clearly needed her the most. However, many times throughout the late hours of the night and into the dark hours of the morning, even after the police had finally left them in peace, Mallory could feel the tears brimming in her eyes and her heart began to ache with the effort of keeping them at bay.

She would not cry, not yet.

It was some time past two in the morning when Mallory and her father had finally coaxed the exhausted Byer's into their beds, though they doubted they would get much sleep. Finally, Andrew convinced her it was time to go home. Mallory herself was exhausted and though she wanted to stay here and support her second family, she didn't think she could hold the tears in much longer.

So Andrew drove her home in silence, and Mallory began to piece the few shreds of information that she had managed to gather from Joyce's outbursts and the whispers of police. He was pulled from the shallows of the quarry, some hiker had reported seeing a body in there late in the evening. There were no signs of struggle. They thought he must have fallen into the quarry. Mallory didn't believe it, Will knew better than to go to the quarry alone, especially at night, especially when it's so cold, but she couldn't think of any better alternative.