💔💔
THIS WAS NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END.
A CLOCK CHIMED LOUDLY.
Billy turned to look at it, his heart rate increasing as the group hurried back into the Creel House and over to where the old grandfather clock was chiming. As the clock chimed a fourth time, Kendra gulped at the realisation of what it meant.
"Four chimes, Isadora —" Kendra said softly.
"What? N-No," Billy cried. Before Kendra had the chance to say anything, the ground beneath them started shaking and the group were thrown back against the wall as the Creel House as the Upside Down was shaken by an earthquake. When everything stopped moving, Steve looked up before he nudged Nancy.
"I guess that's our way out of here," he said as he pointed to the gate that had torn through the old Creel House.
"W-Wait, a g-gate only opened in a location where Vecna had k-killed someone," Billy said.
"Alright, Robin and I will go and find Dustin and Eddie, and then will meet you guys back at my house. You three should get back to our dimension, find the others and see if you can find out what happened," Nancy said. The group nodded as they split up, but as Nancy and Robin walked away from them, Billy turned his attention towards Kendra.
"Four chimes? You don't mean that ..."
"Isa was the fourth and final kill?" Kendra asked quietly, before she looked away from Billy and towards the old grandfather clock, "I should've stopped her. I never should have let her go through with this plan to distract Vecna, but she was insistent she would be fine. She was adamant that she wanted to lure Vecna, even knowing that she was cursed."
"Cursed? Isadora was cursed?" Steve asked.
"Yeah ... she told me that she was while we were at The War Zone and we kinda had a fight about her being cursed and her plan to confront Vecna because it was a dangerous, stupid plan and I should have done more to stop her. I thought the plan would work and I never thought that Isadora would fail. That's why I didn't stop her," Kendra said, and Billy clenched his hands together as he listened to Kendra talking.
"You knew she was cursed? You fucking knew and you let her go through with that stupid fucking plan of hers?" Billy shouted.
"I tried ... I told her it was too risky! And if you thought it was such a stupid plan, why didn't you do more to try and stop her from going through with it?" Kendra snapped back.
"You didn't fucking try! And I didn't know she was cursed, I trusted she knew what she was doing and that she was going to be okay! I would've stopped her if I had known she was cursed," Billy shouted.
"Come on, yelling at Kendra isn't going to change anything," Steve said.
"She knew, she fucking knew that Isadora was cursed. She never even told me! She let Isadora go through with this stupid fucking plan of hers," Billy snapped.
"Isadora didn't want you knowing, she didn't want anyone knowing and that's why she asked you to come to the Upside Down with us. She knew that if you knew the truth, you would have stopped her," Kendra said.
"Of course I would have fucking stopped her! You knew she was cursed, you knew this plan could get her killed and you let her follow through on it and Vecna fucking killed her!" Billy shouted.
"I'm —"
"Don't fucking say sorry! Your apology is meaningless. Let's just get out of this place," Billy snapped before he walked away from Steve and Kendra, who looked at each other before following Billy until they found a spot where they could escape and Steve helped Kendra first before Billy gave Steve a boost and finally Steve and Kendra helped Billy through the gate and back into their dimension.
"What happened here?" Steve asked, as he looked around and realised only remnants of the Creel House remained. Billy didn't respond as he stalked away from Steve and made his way through the house, looking for any signs of Isadora. As he made his way outside, he saw an ambulance pulling away and Billy sprinted out the door. At the sound of the running footsteps, Max turned around before she hurried towards her step-brother.
"How did you get here?"
"A gate opened between the Upside Down and here," Billy told her.
"Where are Nancy and Robin? I thought they went with you to the Creel House? Wasn't that the plan?" Ellie asked.
"They went to find Dustin and Eddie, and said they would meet us at the Wheeler's house," Steve said.
"Where's Isadora? What the hell happened here?" Billy snapped. The girls and Lucas remained silent, as Beatrix walked forward and faced her twin brother.
"She ... she ..." Beatrix stuttered.
"What happened?" Billy asked again.
"It was awful, Billy. She lifted up into the air and ... and we saw her arms and legs break. She — she —" Ellie trailed off, not knowing how to tell Billy that they had all witnessed Isadora die.
"We ... we watched Issi die. We all saw her die, we were there with her in her last moments but somehow she came back ... somehow she started breathing again. Billy, she's still alive," Max told him.
"I don't understand. What do you mean she's still alive? Why didn't you use the music? How did Vecna even get a chance to kill her?" Billy asked.
"Jason found us and smashed the walkman to pieces so we weren't able to use it to help Isadora," Lucas said.
"We should go to the hospital," Max said softly.
"No, I'm going alone," Billy snapped at them before he started walking away from the group.
"Billy, come on, that's —" Kendra started but Billy spun around to face her and Kendra trailed off when she saw the look in his eyes, a similar one to the one she had seen in his eyes years ago when he had come to the Byers house and had beat Steve up. Immediately, Kendra took a step back as Steve moved in front of her.
"I'm going alone to see my girlfriend and you're not going anywhere near her! She died because you didn't do anything to stop her from going through with her stupid fucking plan! You knew she was cursed and you didn't do anything to stop her and you didn't tell anyone! You let her get herself killed!" Billy shouted at Kendra.
"Come on, Billy, you're not being fair," Steve said.
"Wait, Is was cursed? That's why the plan worked? That's why she was able to lure Vecna to her?" Ellie asked.
"I should have seen the signs. Now it all makes sense why her plan worked," Max said softly as she looked away from Billy, who clenched his fists once again before stalking past his stepsister and making his way down the stairs and the group watched him go before Kendra looked down at her hands.
"He hates me. He blames me for knowing Isadora was cursed and not doing anything to stop her and he's right, I could've stopped her. She told me she was cursed and I did nothing to stop her from going through with this plan of hers," Kendra said.
"Hey, it's not your fault, Kendra. Whether or not you told her not to go through with this plan of hers, we both know Isadora wasn't going to let anyone or anything stand in her way. I don't think anyone, not even Billy, could have stopped her," Steve said softly and Kendra nodded, but she couldn't help feeling guilty. Meanwhile Billy walked down the street, clenching his fists as he walked and tried to think about Isadora and all of their happy memories together but the only thing that crossed his mind was the thought of Isadora dying and him not being there to save her or comfort her, and he knew that thought would haunt him forever. Billy felt like he had been walking for hours but he soon arrived at the hospital and when he did, he walked straight over to one of the nurses sitting at a desk.
"I'm here for Isadora Jones," Billy said.
"I'm sorry —"
"Please, I need to see her!"
"I'm sorry, sir, only family can see her right now," the nurse said, as she continued filling out a chart.
"I am family!"
"Sir —" the nurse started.
"She's my fiancé!" Billy snapped, not caring if it was a lie for he just needed to find a way to see Isadora and he would do whatever it took to saw her. Finally, the nurse looked up at him and nodded.
"Alright, I will page someone to take you to her," the nurse said. Billy nodded and soon a nurse arrived and showed him the way to Isadora's room. He thanked the nurse before walking into the room but as he walked into the room, he froze at the sight of Isadora, who was wearing a neck brace with both of her arms and legs in casts, and he could also see the breathing tube as he took a shaky step forward as the heart monitor beeped rhythmically.
"I-Is," Billy said softly, as he walked over to the bed and sat down beside it before taking her small hand in his and squeezing gently. There was no reaction from Isadora and Billy looked down as tears rolled down his cheeks but as he heard footsteps, he was quick to wipe his tears away from his cheeks before he looked up to see Beatrix walking into the room, "Trixie? How did you manage to get them to let you into the room?"
"H-Hi, I came to see Is but when they told me I couldn't see her, I lied and told them I'm her sister. How is she?"
"How the hell do you think she is?" Billy snapped and Beatrix gulped and flinched as Billy snapped at her. As he looked up, Billy saw Beatrix flinch and he looked towards Isadora before sighing as he looked at Beatrix apologetically, "Sorry, I'm just worried. I don't know if she's going to wake up, Bea. I can't lose her because I don't know what I'm going to do without her in my life."
"I wish I could have done more to help her or to save her. She fought to the very end, Billy. She ... she didn't want to die. She kept asking for you," Beatrix said softly, unable to stop her tears as she looked towards Isadora.
"I should have been there for her. I failed her, Beatrix," Billy said. Beatrix put a hand to his shoulder and squeezed gently before she left the hospital room, briefly stopping to look over her shoulder at Billy, who had returned his attention to Isadora, before she sighed softly as she left the room and made her way back down to the waiting room. As she walked into the waiting room, Beatrix noticed an older couple approaching the nurses desk and she walked past them and re-joined her friends, who sat a short distance away from the nurses desk.
"How is Isadora?" Ellie asked.
"She's alive but she's in a coma. It just doesn't make sense, we all witnessed her die so I can't understand how she's alive right now."
"We're here to see Isadora Jones," the older woman said and Beatrix turned to look at her.
"I'm sorry, family only."
"We're her grandparents," the woman said. At that moment, Kendra stood up and walked over to the older couple before tapping on their shoulder.
"Excuse me, what do you mean you're Isadora's grandparents?" Kendra asked them as they turned towards her.
"This should explain everything," the woman said, as she handed Kendra an envelope, and Kendra opened it, only to find herself staring at a letter and she read through it before raising an eyebrow.
"This letter is dated the 23rd October 1967, that's the day Isadora was born. Why has it taken you over eighteen years to show up?" Kendra asked them, as she handed Beatrix the letter and she read it, only to realise it was from Isadora's mother.
"We tried to find our daughter and her family but she made it impossibly hard to find them. As you can see, the letter was signed off as Mary Jacobs and the only thing she said was she had given birth to a daughter."
"How exactly did you find her?"
"A Chief Powell found us. He came to our house and told us that our granddaughter had been in an accident and was in the hospital."
"So, you're here to do what exactly?"
"We're here to look out for our granddaughter and make sure the medical decisions being made on her behalf are the right ones," the woman said.
"No, you haven't been a part of her life for eighteen years. You don't get to waltz into her life now and try and make decisions for her," Kendra snapped.
"Excuse me, young lady, you don't get to tell us what we can and can't do. Isadora is our granddaughter and it is within our rights to make decisions on her behalf should she be unable to."
"No, you haven't been a part of her life! You don't get to decide what's best for her," Kendra snapped. Meanwhile Max nudged Beatrix, who turned to look at her step-sister.
"I'm gonna go let Billy know what's going on," Max whispered to Beatrix, who nodded and watched as Max made her way down the hallway and headed in the direction of Isadora's room. Meanwhile, Billy fiddled with the ring he had given Isadora, the one she was still wearing on her finger and a few tears ran down his cheeks.
"I don't know if you can hear me but please wake up, Is. I need you, I need you here with me. You're my best friend and I can't imagine my life without you in it. I promise you when all of this is over, you and I, we're gonna get married and we'll have a family. Please, Princess, please come back to me," Billy said. The room fell silent, the only sound filling it was the sound of the heart monitor beating rhythmically and Billy sniffled, not realising Max had just walked into the room.
"We're gonna find a way to bring her back, Billy," Max said. Billy quickly wiped his tears away and looked towards his step-sister, who took a step forward and smiled sympathetically at him, "I'm sorry, I know you hate people seeing you cry. I was just coming to see you and see how Issi was. You know it should have been me. I should be the one in that right now, not Isadora. She sacrificed herself to save me and to save the rest of the world."
"And I would sacrifice the world to save her," Billy said, as he looked towards Isadora before he looked over at Max and sighed softly, "Max, it's not your fault, and no-one should be in this bed, not you and not Isadora."
"Uh, there's something you should know ..." Max said, as she looked down at her hands.
"What's wrong, Max?"
"Uh ... Isadora's grandparents are here and they said part of the reason why they're here is to make sure the medical decisions being made on Isadora's behalf are the right ones," Max explained.
"Wait, what? I thought Isadora didn't have any family left, aside from her cousins Katie, Cody and EJ, and her aunt and uncle?" Billy asked.
"Apparently these people are her grandparents and they're here to make medical decisions on her behalf," Max said.
"They can't ... I have a copy of the paperwork that Is signed when she turned 18 that said should anything happen to her, I would be the one to make any medical decisions on her behalf," Billy said.
"Well, they're here and they're asking to see Isadora," Max said.
"Stay with Isadora!" Billy snapped and Max nodded, as he stalked out of the room and made his way down to where Kendra was talking to an older couple.
"B-Billy," Kendra said.
"What makes you think that you can just show up at this hospital thinking that you have the right to make any medical decisions on behalf of Isadora?"
"We're her grandparents, which makes us her family," the woman replied.
"Family? You may her biological grandparents but you are not her family! You have never been a part of her life and you have never been there for her! I have, which is why she put me in charge of making her medical decisions!" Billy shouted.
"I don't know who the hell you think you are but you have no right to make medical decisions on Isadora's behalf."
"No, I have every right to make her medical decisions. I am her family! Now I am asking you to leave please. If Isadora wants to reach out to you when she wakes up, I will let her make that decision for herself but right now, I think it would be for the best if you left."
"Come on, darling. Maybe we should leave and come back later," the woman's husband said and she nodded before turning back to Billy.
"This isn't over, I will be back," the woman said. Billy scoffed as the woman turned and left the hospital before turning towards the rest of the group, who had been watching and he sighed.
"She gave us this letter," Kendra said, as she handed the letter to Billy, who took it before stalking back to Isadora's room, where Max was waiting for him to return.
"What happened?"
"I told them to leave. Max, did you know Isadora was cursed?"
"No, I mean I should have the signs and I hate that I didn't. It was only when she lured Vecna to her that I kind of realised why the plan was working. And I know you're mad at Kendra, but Isadora was the one who didn't tell you that she's cursed. She didn't tell anyone else except for Kendra," Max said.
"I know and I know that I should be mad at Isadora too for keeping the fact she was cursed a secret, but right now I can't bring myself to be mad at her because I just want her to wake up. I want everything to go back to the way it was before this all happened," Billy told Max.
"I heard what Issi said to lure Vecna to her. She believed we'd be better off without her .... I know she always felt guilty but I never realised she thought we'd all be better off without her. She thought we'd be safer without her," Max said.
"W-What? Why would she think that? And what did she feel guilty about?"
"I don't really know why she thought that, Billy, but I know she felt guilty about Laura's death. Issi blamed herself for not only Laura's death, but her dad, sister and mum's deaths too," Max said softly.
"What happened to her family wasn't her fault, neither was Laura's death," Billy said, before he looked towards Isadora and he made a vow to himself that he was going to find a way to save Isadora, whatever it took.
💔💔
Since we have no idea how they escaped the Upside Down, I made it up.
Also, Isadora's grandparents showing up 18 years later is gonna cause problems for Billy 😭
Enjoy! Xo
💔💔