💔💔
I WAS SICK OF THE HOSPITAL FOOD.
ISADORA HAD BARELY LEFT THE HOSPITAL.
After everything that had happened, she had spent every single day at the hospital, snapping at everyone that she was staying until Billy was released and Isadora had only really gone home to shower eat, only after she had been dragged out of the hospital by Kendra.
"Come on, Isa. I know you want to stay here, but you're no good to anyone if you fall apart," Kendra told her.
"Oh, come on. I'm not going to fall apart, I'm fine," Isadora protested.
"Uh huh, and when exactly was the last time you ate something, or showered for that matter?" Kendra asked, as she crinkled her nose up at the blonde. Billy looked towards the pair and chuckled at the comment.
"Is, you should really go home to at least shower and eat something. I'll be fine for a few hours," Billy told her. Isadora looked towards him and rolled her eyes before reluctantly nodding.
"Okay, fine, I'll go home and shower, but then I'm coming straight back," Isadora said.
"Oh, I don't doubt it. I'll see you soon, Love," Billy chuckled. Isadora nodded, as she kissed his cheek before she squeezed his shoulder and then followed Kendra out of Billy's hospital room. As he watched her go, Billy couldn't help noticing that Isadora was still walking with a slight limp, but as she turned to look at him, he smiled back at her and Isadora smiled at him before following Kendra out of the hospital and over to her car, before the two girls got into the car and as Kendra drove, Isadora just looked out the window.
"Isa, are you still mad with us?" Kendra finally asked, breaking the silence. Isadora looked towards her best friend and shrugged.
"After everything that happened, being angry just seems ... it seems so pointless. I mean, I guess I am upset that you all knew about what happened to my Mum and didn't tell me the truth," Isadora said.
"Isa, we wanted to tell you the truth but we were told we would be putting you in danger if we told you what really happened. I promise you that we would have told you if we could, but the lab covered everything up and we weren't allowed to tell anyone what had happened or what we had seen. I do understand why you're upset and you have every right to be upset with us. You're right, you deserved to know the truth," Kendra said.
"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.
"Hi, Princess."
"Hi. Beatrix came over to see today, and I have to admit I am a little worried about her, Billy. Has she been in to see you again?" Isadora asked, as Billy shuffled over and made some space so Isadora could join him on the bed, and she smiled at him before sitting down beside him on the bed.
"No, I don't know if she's avoiding me or the hospital, but I haven't seen her since that first night she was here," Billy told her, as Isadora opened the box of cookies she had brought with her and held them out to Billy, who laughed as he took one, "Were you a little sick of hospital food, Princess?"
"Yes, I mean have you tried the shit? It's absolutely disgusting," Isadora scrunched her nose up, as she took a bite of her cookie, and Billy laughed and rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh, come on, Is, it's not that bad," Billy told her. Isadora chewed thoughtfully on her cookie for a few moments and Billy watched her before he wrapped an arm around her. As he did, he noticed the bruises on her neck had almost faded and he nodded towards them, "The bruises look like they have almost cleared. How is your neck feeling? And your leg?"
"Oh, it doesn't even hurt anymore," Isadora shrugged the question off.
"Uh huh, I noticed you were limping earlier," Billy retorted and Isadora rolled her eyes and shrugged as she took another bite of her cookie.
"I still have a slight limp, but honestly, it doesn't hurt anymore. You know, I'm sorry that I called you an asshole before everything happened."
"Is."
"No, I should've spoken to you first about getting a summer job. I know you just wanted to help me and I'm sorry I didn't talk to you," Isadora said.
"Princess, you have nothing to be sorry for. I was acting like an asshole, and I'm sorry for everything, for fighting with you and for flirting with Karen Wheeler in front of you, that was an asshole move," Billy said.
"You know, in retrospect, after everything that has happened, that fight just seems so trivial in comparison, so why don't we just ever forget it happened," Isadora suggested.
"I like the sound of that, Princess," Billy said and Isadora nodded before looking down at her hands and Billy noticed, so he reached over and gently lifted her chin so that she was looking at him, "Why do you look so sad, Is?"
"None of this ... none of it would have happened if it wasn't for me. Maybe if I had stayed, the —" Isadora trailed off and Billy watched her, as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks.
"Is, none of what happened was your fault, none of it. Please try to stop blaming yourself for what happened," Billy said. Isadora nodded, as she looked away from him and towards the TV, which was playing another report about what had happened that day at the mall.
"On the Fourth of July, a terrible tragedy struck the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, leaving 30 dead in a horrific mall fire."
"So, that's what happened? It was a fire at the mall?" Billy asked her, and Isadora looked over at him in surprise. Since he had been in the hospital, they hadn't really talked about anything that had happened and so she hadn't been sure if he even remembered what had happened or not, but his question seemingly confirmed that he didn't remember any of it. Little did Isadora know he remembered everything, but he wasn't about to let her know that.
"Uh, yeah. Hopper died trying to save others from the fire," Isadora lied. If Billy didn't remember the truth, Isadora wanted to keep it that way so he wouldn't have to have the same nightmares that she'd been experiencing every night since the Fourth of July. Billy nodded, wishing he didn't have to remember the fact that he was the one responsible for the injuries Isadora had sustained, and he watched as she looked towards the television again before shaking her head as she turned her attention back towards Billy, "It's all anyone in Hawkins has been able to talk about. They've been talking about how Hawkins might be cursed."
"Cursed?" Billy asked her.
"Yes, cursed. Anyway, I think they're planning to demolish the mall and build a memorial dedicated to all the victims of the fire," Isadora told him, as she grabbed another cookie before looking back towards Billy, "Bea sensed something was wrong that day. Somehow, she knew before I even told her anything, like, she had some kind of twin intuition. Is that even a real thing, like, can you two sense what the other is feeling?"
"I guess so. I've never really thought about it though," Billy told her.
"Do you think — actually, you know what, that's not a question that needs to be answered," Isadora grimaced before shaking her head, as Billy raised an eyebrow at her.
"What is going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Billy asked her. Isadora rolled her eyes as she looked towards him.
"Nothing, don't worry," she laughed, as she took another of her cookie, "So, when are you allowed to leave?"
"Hopefully soon. I am sick of this shitty place," Billy told her. Isadora nodded and looked down at her hands as she wondered if he was going to go back to living at home when he left the hospital. She remembered when she had spent the night with Max, Eleven and Laura, Isadora had seen the lock on the outside of the door and she couldn't help wondering why it had been there, but she didn't want to ask about it.
"A-Are you going to go back home?" Isadora asked him.
"I mean, I guess so. I don't really have a choice," Billy shrugged.
"You — you could always come and l-live with me. At least — well, if you wanted to. You don't ... you don't have to if you would prefer to go home," Isadora rambled.
"Is, are you doing?" Billy asked her.
"Yeah."
"I would love to come and live with you," Billy told her. A blush creeped across her cheeks, as Isadora smiled at him and he brushed her cheek with his finger, moving some loose strands of hair away from her face as he did.
"Neil's leaving. He — uh — well, Max told me that apparently he decided he didn't want to be in Hawkins anymore," Isadora said.
"What? That son of a bitch is leaving?" Billy asked.
"Y-Yeah, and I guess ... I don't know what's going to happen because everything has changed, but I want you to know that you, Beatrix and even Max will always have me," Isadora told him.
"I know, and I'm so grateful that I have you, Isadora, and there's one thing that hasn't changed."
"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Isadora asked him.
"How much I love you, Princess," Billy told her.
"I love you too, Billy," Isadora said, smiling as she lay down beside him and cuddled up to him. She knew everything was about to change again, but right now she just wanted to enjoy this moment of normalcy in their lives.
💔💔
Here's a little bit of a happier chapter - we have three more chapters of post s3 before we go to season 4.
Enjoy! Xo
💔💔