My name is Y/N Byers. My brother Jonathan is about a year and a half older than I am. We're thick as thieves - best friends since day one. Will is a few years younger than us, and is easily the most traumatised - not that we'd try to make a competition out of it. Our mother has had it rough for far longer than we have. With our dad being a piece of shit that ended up being out of the picture, we've had to grow up faster than is fair.
At times, it feels as if Jonathan and I are co-parenting Will. Mom has a lot to deal with, and there's only so much she can do - if we have to look after Will more than regular siblings would, then so be it. That may make it sound like we have an absent mother, but that's far from true. She's a mother figure to everyone she comes into contact with. We just want Will to have a better childhood than we did, but unusual additions to our daily lives have made that practically impossible. But we don't give up on our family, blood or not. We got that from our mom.
For a while now, we've noticed mom's efforts at finding love again. Bob was the first good guy she'd ever been with. Seeing how happy he made her and how he was able to connect with Will definitely helped to sway Jonathan and I in his favour. Bob's sacrifice haunts her - it's something none of us could ever forget. It's taken a while after that for her to get back at it. However, a new contender has arrived.
I've seen how she looks at Hopper. He has a lot of walls up. She's managed to knock a couple of them down, but there's still something caged off. At this point, we know how this cycle goes. So, it's time for us to team up for an interrogation. Thankfully, mom is busy with something in town, and Will is at Mike's, so neither of them know about this. As Jonathan and I exit his car and approach Hopper's house, I prepare to take the lead as usual with my reserved brother as backup. Stone-faced, I knock on the door as Jonathan expresses concerns considering our target. What's taking him so long to get to the door?
"What do you two want?" He grumbles when he finally opens the door.
"We need to talk to you." I keep it brief.
"Now isn't a good time." He's short with us.
"It's important." Jonathan remains persistent, causing Hopper to contemplate his next move.
"Fine, but be quick." He moves to the side to let us in.
Walking into the small living space, I take note of the scattered mess. It's not as bad as I expected, but it could still be better. We take a seat after moving a shirt and tossing it to the closest corner.
"What are your intentions with our mother?" I quiz Jim as the door clicks shut.
"Excuse me?" Hopper's agitation appears to increase as he raises an eyebrow.
"At least let him sit down first." Jonathan lightly scolds me.
"What? He said to be quick." I shrug at him before turning back to Hopper and repeating my question. "What are your intentions with our mother?"
"Well, I'm not gonna kill her if that's a concern." Hopper folds his arms as he remains standing at the door, probably eager to kick us out.
"What? No!" I can't believe he'd go there.
"Why would you put that image in our heads, man?" Jonathan freaks out.
"What are you hiding, Hopper?" I spring out of the seat and approach him. He's not off to a good start.
"You're being awfully accusatory for an uninvited teenager in my house." He glares at me.
"Yeah, that's the point." I match his energy.
"Did you do this crap with Bob?"
"Of course. But he did a much better job than you are right now. So, you might wanna work on that."
"Says the girl I had to arrest a couple of years ago, just like her dad."
"Harrington started it, and you know it! Besides, we're cool now. And how dare you compare me to that monster!" I scream in his face whilst fighting off tears.
"We just want to know that you're not gonna hurt our mom." Jonathan scrambles to my side and tries to diffuse the tension.
"I promise I won't hurt your mom." Hopper cools down a little with Jonathan's level head.
"I'm not convinced." I hold my stare and bite my tongue, keeping my guard up.
"Look, Hopper, you have to understand that our family has been through a lot, and that's before Will went missing." Jonathan takes over as the voice of reason. "We've had our fair share of bullies, but our dad was the first. He hurt us in more ways than one." There's a brief pause as the vulnerability creeps in, making me question what I'm about to say.
"He did things that I never told anyone." My voice trembles. I didn't want to say anything, but it might be the best thing if he's gonna stick around. "I only told Jonathan after months because he knew something was wrong, and I couldn't keep it to myself anymore, and I couldn't dump it on my mom." Jonathan puts an arm around me as a form of quiet comfort, reflecting when he first found out.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that. And you're not like your dad, I shouldn't have said that. I've had a few run-ins with the guy - he's an asshole." His stern expression softens.
"Yeah." I mutter as I avert my gaze with a different and distant demeanour.
"Being with our mom is a package deal." Jonathan continues calmly. "It's not just her. It's all of us."
"There's another 3 of us (4 if we include El), and we're all sorts of messed up." I jump in without my rage. "We need to know that that you're ready and can handle that big of a change. You've gotta level with us, Hop."
"Look, your mom is an amazing woman. I would never hurt her, I promise you that. As for you guys," He sighs in the same revealing manner I did. "I always wanted to be a dad. And I was."
"Was?"
"I had a little girl. Her name was Sarah. She was such a sweet girl, full of life. But she got sick and spent a lot of time in the hospital. There was nothing they could do to save her." He recalls with a frown. "Her death tore my marriage apart. The most important people in my life were taken away from me. I just want that back."
"That's awful. We're so sorry." Jonathan is the first to speak.
"I'm sorry about your daughter. No kid deserves that." My mind goes straight to Will and how we all thought he was dead. "And I'm sorry I pushed you to talk about it." I regret my actions.
"It's okay. You had good intentions." He echoes my initial question. "Come here." He tests the waters, cautiously pulling me into a hug.
"What? Oh-" His actions catch me off guard. Does he see right through me? Does he see the frightened fragile kid trapped behind my eyes? Though hesitant, I reciprocate the hug. This feeling is so foreign, but not unwelcome. It takes a moment to adjust, but I soon relax and find peace in Hopper's embrace.
"You too." Hopper moves an arm out as he invites Jonathan in. He slowly joins us, clearly a little uncomfortable. "You're always safe with me. Remember that."
"Congrats, Hopper. You passed the test." I laugh slightly with a hint of discomfort as I pull away from the hug after letting it linger.
"Glad to hear it."
"Don't let us down. We're trusting you." Jonathan adds.
"I'll do my best." He seems sincere.
"I need you to promise me something." I make a final request.
"What do you need?" He's clearly trying to do right by me.
"Please don't tell our mom about this, especially what I said earlier."
"It won't leave this room."
Just as I begin to feel at ease, the sudden sound of a creaking door behind us startles myself and Jonathan. Our heads snap around to face the noise when the truth is revealed.
"Mom? What are you- oh, that's what you're doing here. Gross." Jonathan quickly puts the pieces together and grimaces at the realisation.
"Mom, how much of that did you hear?" I stand frozen in shock and fear.
"I heard everything, honey. I'm so sorry, I should've realised something was wrong." She approaches me and engulfs me into an apologetic hug. Emotions boil over, and I immediately burst into tears. "Oh, sweetheart. You can come to me about anything. You don't have to talk about it, but please come talk to me in the future." She rubs my back in reassurance before switching to Jonathan. "I'm so lucky to have kids as caring as the 2 of you. Having said that, you don't have to interrogate people on my behalf."
"Yeah, she can do that herself." Hopper quips.
"I think we should go." Jonathan speaks up.
"Yeah, you're right." I use my sleeves to wipe away my tears. "Sorry for barging in."
"It's okay, kid." Hopper ushers us out.
"I'll see you at home." Mom is the last one to speak before the door closes behind us.
I'm the first to the car but have to wait for it to be unlocked. We climb into our regular seats and just sit for a minute to decompress and attempt to comprehend what just happened.
"You okay?" Jonathan checks on me.
"I think so."
"Let's go get some food and watch a movie. Take your mind off things."
As Jonathan starts the car and begins to drive away, I roll the window down. Leaning against the door, I close my eyes and focus on the radio to ease my mind. I certainly didn't expect things to get so vulnerable, but I think it helped. And I'm grateful that Jonathan had my back. He always does. Hopper better not prove me wrong.