A FEW MINUTES LATER, FIREFIGHTERS AND ARMY OFFICIALS OF ALL RANKS STORMED into Starcourt Mall under the impression that there had been a disastrous fire.
Nine teenagers were led outside knowing otherwise.
Each teen had been dragged away from one another by clumps of paramedics— Carla reluctantly being yanked away from Steve's side and towards an ambulance due to the bruises and blood on her figure—and were all currently scattered among the Starcourt Mall parking lot, each sitting in an ambulance or a stretcher with blankets wrapped around their shoulders, or bags of ice in their palms.
Carla was currently sitting on a stretcher, where she was being checked over by a paramedic. The woman seemed rather nice, but the Wheeler was no help to her questions, answers coming out one worded, or rather blank.
Despite her quietness, Carla had been listening—she had a mild concussion, a few bruised ribs and was in dire need of actual medical attention rather than a quick scan over. There was still a faint pounding in her head and her limbs ached for rest after the amount of exhaust and sleep deprivation she'd been through within the week.
"Okay, I'm all done here with you." The paramedic tries to make eye contact with Carla, but fails to do so as the Wheeler stays dazed off in the distance. The woman unscrews a cap and pours a few tablets into her hand, outstretching it to the injured girl. "Take these for any pain. If you need anything else, come find someone, okay?"
Carla allows the woman to drop the tablets into her hands, "Okay."
"You sure you're okay, honey?" The paramedic manages to meet Carla's gaze this time, taking in her blank eyes and sunken expression. The Wheeler wishes she could be in the woman's position—unknowing to the true horrors of Hawkins, able to sleep at night without being worried she'd wake up to find monsters wanting her.
Answering her question, Carla manages to plaster on a weak—and fake—smile, pulling the blanket she'd received closer to her figure. "Yeah, I'm fine." She adds the usual show of gratitude, "Thank you."
"It's my job." The paramedic replies with a sad smile before heading off in another direction, searching for someone else in need of medicine or ice or a simple check-in.
Once she's gone, Carla let's out a small sigh and looks down at the pills in her palm before downing them dry—she didn't care about the sour taste on her tongue, nor about the short-lived burn she felt as the pills went down her throat due to being rather parched.
She felt like shit. But, how else were you supposed to feel after being choked on multiple occasions, given multiple concussions, being possessed by an other worldly creature, dying, and coming back to life in the span of a week? Happy? Great?
All Carla wanted to do was go home. She didn't want to hurt, she didn't want to think about what happened, she didn't want to be questioned by her mother or by anymore doctors. She just wanted to go home and close her eyes; to process everything that happened.
Which begged her to think of what would happen when she was sent home. What would they do? How would Max go home knowing her step-brother was dead on the linoleum floor? How would El continue without her powers? How would Carla go into tomorrow knowing she'd been flayed; knowing she had been dead?
Every year, Carla ends up finding some sort of normal again after the Upside Down events, but this year, Carla Wheeler doesn't know if she can.
There's a light mist falling over the mall, and Carla appreciates the feeling against her skin. As the chatter of generals and paramedics and the sound of sirens falls behind her, the Wheeler girl's eyes scan around the perimeter, trying to spot her friends and siblings among the crowded lot.
Max, Lucas, and Robin are all clumped together by a stretcher. The Mayfield is sitting with her elbow resting on her knee, a bag of ice being held against her cheek. Robin's bruised knees dangle beside the redhead, the two girls sharing a blanket. The Sinclair boy is standing with his blanket wrapped tightly around his figure, and he seems to be chatting with the two.
The center ambulance holds Will, Nancy, and Jonathan. The younger Byers boy sits with his feet dangling on the edge of the ambulance, staring towards the mall with his blanket wrapped around his body. Deeper inside, the older Byers boy and Nancy sit, her head resting lightly upon his shoulder.
Beside them is Mike and El, with Steve to the side. The Wheeler boy and Hopper girl are sitting on the edge of the ambulance, clumped tightly together; El's figure is almost completely covered by the blanket. Standing by the ambulance door is Steve, a blanket draped over his shoulders as he held a bag of ice against his swollen eye. He's being checked over by another paramedic.
Carla hadn't gotten a chance to walk around and check on her friends, much to her dismay. She wanted to run to each stretcher and ambulance and hug Lucas, Mike, Max, and El as hard as could. She wanted to make sure Robin wasn't messed up from everything she'd seen. She wanted Nancy and Jonathan to know that she was okay.
Due to her injuries, however, it had taken more than a simple check-up and she was forced to endure forms of paper work, questions about the bruising on her neck and if she'd had any other head trauma—questions that Carla wasn't in the mood to discuss or think back too.
"Hey."
The sudden phrase causes Carla to give an unexpected flinch, but when she looks beside her and sees Steve, she manages a small smile, "Hey."
"El was given some pain reliever for her leg and a bandage for her head and Max has some ice for her cheek but everyone seems to be okay. No serious injuries." Steve states, coming to sit beside her. Before getting stopped by a paramedic, the Harrington had done rounds to check in on everyone in place of Carla, knowing she desperately wanted too.
Carla gives a short nod, thankful that no one was seriously hurt, "Thanks."
The Wheeler girl then frowns at the bag of ice in the Harrington's hand, to which he immediately brushes off.
"And if you're gonna start worrying about me, don't." Steve begins once he notices Carla's gaze on the bag of ice pressed against his swollen eyelid. "Paramedic said it would be gone in a few days."
"I'm Carla Wheeler and you're telling me not to worry?" The Wheeler slightly chuckles—she'd been worrying about everyone all week and she certainly wasn't stopping today. "Worrying about you guys is, like, my job right now."
Steve's gaze softens on her face, "And my job is to ask how you're doing. What did they say?"
"Another concussion, a few bruised ribs.....stuff like that." Carla sighs. Injuries didn't seem concerning to her anymore—this had to be her third concussion; it wasn't that fazing.
The Harrington nodded, "Feel okay?"
"My head hurts and my body is exhausted, but I think I'm okay." Carla replies. She really doesn't know if she's internally okay, but she doesn't need anyone worrying over her. "I don't know how someone who's gotten revived is supposed to feel."
Steve frowns at the mention of her death—she spoke of it so casually, like she wasn't sure how to feel about it herself.
"You really scared us in there, Carla." the Harrington boy admits. He pauses before changing his wording slightly, "You really scared me."
Carla took a breath, looking at her boyfriend with guilt. She'd known what she was getting into allowing herself to become flayed, but she couldn't imagine if she did die. Seeing Steve's broken whispers in her head was enough to make the Wheeler regret it.
"I'm really sorry, Steve." Carla begins, frown still etched upon her features. "I know you told me not to put the kids first, but I did. I couldn't let him get them; get to El. I just couldn't. I'll always put them first." She continues, "But I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to see my body—to think that I was dead. I never meant to put you through that pain."
"Hey, you don't have to apologize. Don't make yourself feel guilty over anything." Steve is quick to shake his head. Carla already felt shitty—she didn't need to feel any more guilt or regret over her actions.
"Are you mad at me?"
"Carla, I could never be mad at you." Steve replies. He sets the bag of ice down and cups the side of her face with his hand, wanting her to understand. As Carla leans into the embrace, the Harrington continues, "Am I upset that you put your life on the line? Of course. Seeing you like that....." He takes in a breath—he doesn't even want to think about it. "I'm just glad that you're okay. That's all that matters."
"He wanted me and I was fucking sick of seeing everyone else get hurt because of it." Carla quietly stated, "I couldn't watch the kids, Nancy, Mike, El, you.......I couldn't let you guys get hurt anymore."
"I know. I know that you put these kids, us, first every time. Most of the time, I admire it—you're one of the most caring and selfless people I know. It's times like this that I just....." Steve hesitates before admitting, "I wish you'd just put yourself first. Just once. Because I know you don't feel this way, but you deserve to be safe, too."
"I know." Carla whispers. She knew that she deserved the same protection that she always gave the kids, but she couldn't just turn off the urge to throw herself into danger for them; to bottle up her own feelings and do whatever it took to keep them safe. It was just who she was.
"I know that you're always going to do it, whether or not I tell you not to, but..." Steve trails off with a small sigh, eyes softening into an honest gaze, "I can't lose you again. Not like I almost did." He added, "So if you're not going to do it for yourself, do it for me, yeah?"
Carla doesn't think she's ever had someone care about her as much as Steve did—she didn't even care about her well-being like that. To say it didn't make her feel the smallest bit of warmth inside would be a lie.
So, looking at the boy with soft eyes, Carla bluntly states, "I love you."
Steve seems almost surprised by the suddenness of the statement, but he doesn't hesitate before repeating the phrase to his girlfriend.
"I love you too, Carla." His lips slightly upturn as he adds, "Always."
The Harrington leans towards his girlfriend, lips brushing against her forehead in a small, yet tender, kiss. Carla closes her eyes, embracing the show of affection.
"Carla?"
The couple quickly pulls away, Carla looking towards the sound of her name to see Eleven standing before her. The young girl has a bandage against her forehead and her eyes are worried.
"El. Are you okay?" the Wheeler girl replies, voice laced with its usual hint of concern and worry.
"I'm okay." El replies before continuing, "But, I can't find Hopper. Or Joyce."
Carla slightly frowns at her words, and she does a quick scan of the perimeter to find that El is right—there's no sign of Hopper or Joyce in the parking lot. The revelation doesn't bring much comfort to the Wheeler's heart, more so a knot of worry. Something could have happened.
"I'm sure they're here somewhere." Steve assures, nodding at the younger girl. "You can stay with us in the meantime, though, if you want."
"I won't be interrupting?"
Carla furrowed her brows, "Interrupting, what?"
"Max said that when you and Steve are alone—"
Steve sighs, "Jesus."
Carla shakes her head in exasperation if she hears one more comment about her relationship from Max's mouth, let alone any of the kids, she might just start denying their carpool requests. "Max needs to mind her own business."
"So I am interrupting?"
"Of course not." Carla replies, gesturing for the girl to come closer, "Now, come here."
El does so, sitting upon the stretcher in between Carla and Steve. She lays her head on the Wheeler girl's shoulder, the older girl wrapping an arm around her sister figure. Quietly, she asks again, "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm okay." Eleven reaffirms, repeating the question to the older girl, "Are you okay?"
With a weak smile, Carla states, "As long as you guys are okay, I'm okay."
Suddenly a figure dashes past Carla's stretcher and the three teens are met with Will barreling towards the center of the parking lot, where a short Russian guard stands—Joyce. The Wheeler girl manages a sad smile at the sight of the two embracing, sobs of relief leaving the mother and son's lips.
"There's Joyce." Steve mutters under his breath, eyes searching around for Hopper's familiar figure.
El quickly stands up, looking at the woman with hope that Hopper was nearby. Carla doesn't hesitate, following the girl with every step in case of the worst.
While the Byers woman would be easy to lose-she was small and easily covered-the Chief of Police would be harder to miss, even in a Russian guard get-up. To say that Carla wasn't beginning to grow worried at his no-show was an understatement.
Hopper had asked her to stay safe, but had he done so, too?
Carla's concern only grows when she sees Joyce's face. The woman is lightly sobbing as she hugs her son, which only grew louder and harder as she stared Eleven in the face—she couldn't even look at the young girl without the truth revealing itself through her broken features.
Carla didn't need to ask, she simply knew.
Hopper was dead.
It seems like Eleven didn't need a verbal explanation either, because her lips immediately started to tremble in realization.
Hopper, even with his hard demeanor and snappy comments, had become something of a father figure for all the teens. Someone who would easily protect and put his life on the line for their protection, for Hawkins—he wasn't the police chief for nothing. On the inside, he had a good heart; always had good intentions in mind.
He may have fallen off after his daughter died, but he had gotten back in shape; he'd became a role model for the teens—to Eleven.
Carla's heart clenches as she thinks of the girl in front of her—everyone would grieve Hopper, but Eleven would take it the hardest.
From the moment she was born, El had been raised into a life of needles and hospital gowns. She'd been a test subject—raised by a man who only intended her to be a weapon. But Hopper? He showed her a life of Eggo Waffles and movie nights. He allowed her to be his daughter, to just be El instead of 011.
He'd showed her what a father was supposed to look like; what a parent was supposed to be like.
He'd helped her feel a sense of normalcy in a world where all she knew was that she was different.
And now he was gone.
Eleven starts to shake her head, mouth forming the word 'No' but her voice has disappeared as shock and emotion overtakes her mind. Sobs begin to wrack from her body, and she looks back at Carla for only a moment before sinking into the girl, shoulders heaving as she began to simply grieve.
Carla doesn't hesitate before wrapping her arms around the girl, the two sinking down to their knees—she doesn't care about the gravel scraping against her bare knees, or the way her body aches at the sudden movement. She just holds on to El, cradling the girl's head as she buries herself into the Wheeler, a broken mess.
"It's gonna be okay." Carla whispers, running her fingers through El's hair rather gently in attempt to soothe the girl—she knows it's no use, given it would take Eleven much more than reassuring words and a comforting touch to make her forget that her dad was dead. "It's gonna be okay."
Carla can't tell if she's lying or not.
mara's misc!
GONE IS A YEAR OLD???? i'm a day late, but woah???
this book has been one of my favorites to write and has really been a way to showcase my growth as a writer. i'm forever thankful for all of y'all who have stuck around to continue her story, and those of you who are new who decided to join <33 ily all very much
however i'm also embarrassed low-key bc why the hell has it taken me a year to write one season worth of a book 💀
honestly blaming summertime sadness bc eden bexley took my motivation and hasn't given it back.
once again, i'm sorry for the delay between chapters! i don't know what it is but these past few chapters have been so hard to write. i'm currently on spring break but writing just does not want to happen. however, i managed to push this out (with starla to make you guys happy??? hopefully???)
but with this chapter.....it also means we've made it to the final chapter *sobs* actually explain to me how there's only one chapter left before i'm on s4??? the math doesn't math??? wdym it's time for vecna??? i'm not ready????
to make up for the sadness, i also present to you starla's future children!! one of them will be discussed in s4 during the van scene, so why not give you guys them early :)
monroe elizabeth harrington—portrayed by kaylee bryant. (she'll be talked about in s4!)
eliott james harrington—portrayed by griffin santopietro
that's all!
hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 24!