Hopper and Joyce left 30 minutes before their appointment while El showered and Jamie got dressed into an outfit that Joyce washed during the night. Jamie threw a few things into her bookbag and went to knock on the bathroom door.
"Hey, El", she called out.
"Yes?", El called back from the shower.
"Um... I'm not feeling well, So I'm just gonna be taking a nap in the room okay?"
"Okay, hope you feel better Jai. I will try to be quiet."
Jamie felt bad for lying to El, but she needed to get some fresh air. She knew that if she told El the truth, El would surely tell their dad. Jamie quickly grabbed her backpack and headed out the door, locking it with a quick flick of her head.
Jamie didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she needed to clear her mind. Her idea was to stay hidden, respecting part of her fathers wishes, but the other part thought about what nana said.
Jamie walked down the road with her hood on for about 15 minutes before making it to the first bus stop. Ironically, a bus was approaching. Jamie took that as a sign and hopped on the bus and sat in the back with her earbuds in. Jamie looked out the window with wide eyes as she marveled the small town that was nothing like New York. She'd slept in the car with her dad when she first arrived, so she hasn't seen much of the town.
As the bus stopped outside of Starcourt Mall, Jamie got off and did a full 360 spin taking in everything around her. She went inside the mall and instantly went towards the food court as she missed out on breakfast. When she looked in her bag for her wallet, she instinctively pulled out her debit card.
"Shit", she thought. Using it could leave a paper trail as to where she could be, but she knew she didn't have much cash, and she was hungry.
As she searched through her bag, Jamie rolled her eyes and smacked her lips. "$3.50, guess I should've ate before I left huh", she joked to herself.
"Hey!", a voice called out from the ice cream parlor Jamie wound up standing in front of.
Jamie looked up towards the voice and saw a tall, long haired boy standing behind the counter.
"You want a free sample? It's free....", he said awkwardly.
"Um...sure. What do you have?", Jamie said as she walked over to the display case and looked at the half filled tubs of ice cream.
"We pretty much have whatever you want... I like the strawberry cheesecake flavor", he said as he handed Jamie a spoon with a generous amount of ice cream on it.
"My names Steve..."
"Hi, I'm Jamie", she said plopping the spoon in her mouth.
Steve watched with dreamy eyes as Jamie slid the spoon slowly out of her mouth. He didn't realize how hard he was staring until Jamie cleared her throat.
"Ehhmm. I said can I have a small bowl of the cheese cake flavor", Jamie repeated herself annoyingly but kindly flashed a smile and laughed.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sorry 'bout that, I was just... nothing. Here ya go", Steve said as he handed Jamie the bowl along with a napkin.
Jamie felt herself getting slightly annoyed, but started to blush at the fact that Steve was nearly speechless.
"Uh... aren't you gonna tell me my total?", she asked with a slight smile.
"No.. no it's on the house", he mumbled.
"Thanks", Jamie said as she flashed another smile and turned to leave the parlor.
"Hey, hey wait up!", Steve said as he hopped over the counter nearly tripping and ran over towards Jamie catching her in the doorway.
"Yes?"
"Uh.. my break is in a few minutes and I was wondering if we could talk for a bit. I don't believe I've seen you around here."
"Yeah, I'm... visiting... a family member"
"Uh huh", Steve replied as he admired Jamie's beauty. "Just give me like 10 minutes okay? I'll meet you by China Max".
"Okay", Jamie said as she blushed and walked away. "Seems nice, cute too", she thought to herself as she went to grab an empty table in the food court.
As Jamie sat down, she felt a buzzing in her pocket and saw that it was her mom calling. Jamie's heart sank a little as she realized what she was doing. She quickly looked around to make sure that she wasn't being watched before placing an earbud in her ear and holding her head down.
"Hello?", Jamie said slightly in a whisper.
"Jamie! Where are you? I have been calling you! I'm so sorry about everything that happened. Please tell me where you are so that I can come get you", Diane pleaded.
Jamie sat there and thought about the news she's received that morning. The feeling of hurt and betrayal came back as she realized that her dad was in fact starting a new family of his own. She suddenly felt abandoned, the feeling she's felt in the past five years they've been seperated, however this time he was the reason behind their separation. It wasn't like she wanted him to get back with her mom at this point, she just wanted him all to herself.
"Jamie, Nana told me that she talked to you. She misses you Jamie, we all do", Diane continued.
Jamie sat there and sunk into her seat. She closed her eyes briefly and thought about the new relationships she's made since she's been in Hawkins. However, she did miss the few friends she had back home. She hasn't been in school or talked to her friends in nearly a week, all because her dad thought it was too dangerous.
"I'm at the mall... I.. I want to come home", Jamie said finally with a sigh.
"Stay put honey, I'm coming to get you!", Diane quickly said before hanging up the phone.
Jamie set her phone face down on the table. She sat there for a few minutes thinking about what she's just done. She finally huffs and looks over her shoulder at Scoops Ahoy and sees Steve leaving the parlor scanning the dining area for her. As Jamie stood to wave him over, she furrowed her eyebrows at an unusual sight.
Jamie noticed a tall man dressed in all black making his way towards her general direction. She tried to shrug it off, but when she turned the other way, she saw a similar man coming towards her as well. Feeling paranoid, Jamie rushed to meet Steve, quickly interlaced her fingers with his, and quickly rushed up the escalators.
"Woah, slow down, where ya going tiger?", Steve said jokingly.
Jamie took a look behind her and saw the two men meeting each other with full garbage bags in both hands. As they tossed the bags into a larger trash can, Jamie sighed with relief.
"You okay?", Steve asked as they still held hands.
"Yeah, sorry about that... I just get finicky in big crowds sometimes", she lied.
"Hey, it's okay", he said as he started to casually walk. "How long are you visiting?"
"Oh, I don't know. I'm just staying with my dad...." Jamie cursed to herself as she realized what she just said and hoped that Steve didn't question who her father was.
"So, are you going to school out here?"
"I'm homeschooled", she lied again.
"Wow, that sucks. Not like that. I mean, it's cool that you're getting homeschooled but it sucks that I won't be able to see you", Steve said as he frantically tried to correct himself.
Jamie giggled. "You're funny", she smiled.
Steve smiled and looked down at his feet. "Thanks... Hey, I gotta head back soon... Is it okay if I have your number? To keep in touch", Steve quickly added at the end to make it seem like this just wasn't some random hookup.
"Sure", Jamie said as she smiled and gave Steve her phone. When they ended up infront of Scoops Ahoy, Steve handed Jamie her phone back.
"It was nice talking to you. Sorry it was so short, but I'll call you!", Steve said as he flashed a friendly smile and headed in to finish the rest of his shift.
Jamie waved and quickly turned around to hide the enormous smile on her face. As she made her way back up the escalator, she felt her phone beep. Jamie took her phone halfway out of her pocket as she walked and peeked at the screen.
"It's Steve", the text message read. Jamie slid her phone back into her pocket and abruptly stopped as she bumped into the back of someone.
"Oh sorry!", she said as she looked up and saw her father.
Hopper turned around with a few shopping bags in his hand and the look on his face expressed nothing less than confirming he was indeed bat shit crazy.
"Hi, dad...", Jamie mumbled as she held her head down and watched her dad set the bags of clothes he'd bought her on the ground as he pulled her into a nearby corner.
"You better have a good fucking excuse as to why the fuck you are here", Hopper grumbled closely to Jamie's face as he bent down and looked her in the eye.
"Daddy, I'm sor-"
"Do NOT give me that fucking daddy bullshit!"
Jamie stared at her father as she started to cry.
"Nah", Hopper started as he shook his head. "You might as well save the tears because when we get home I'm gonna fucking let you have it! You know, sometimes you can just be so fucking stupid!", Hopper continued.
"Let's go", he groaned as he aggressively picked up the shopping bags while Jamie stood there and cried.
Jamie held her head down as she followed her father while he walked through the mall.
As Hopper met up with Joyce in another store, Jamie opted to sit on the bench outside of the store. She spotted a water fountain across the way and decided to grab a drink. Jamie stood there letting the fountain run for a bit before taking a small sip.
As she wiped the water dripping from her lips, Jamie turned around and bumped into someone yet again.
"Sor-", she started until she realized who she'd bumped in to.
"Jamie!", Diane said as she enveloped Jamie into an uncomfortable and unwanted hug.
"Mom", was all Jamie could say.
"Ugh", Diane scoffed as she looked at Jamie up and down. "I see your father couldn't even buy you any clothes."
Jamie looked back to the store where her father and Joyce were and couldn't see them from where she was standing. Jamie looked back to her mom and noticed someone approaching behind her.
Jamie's stomach dropped as she quickly attempted to retreat but Diane quickly grabbed her arm. "Jamie, where are you going? Come on, we've gotta go."
"Mom, what's he doing here?!", Jamie said terrified as David now stood next to Diane and looked at Jamie like a tiger looked at its prey.
Diane sighed. "We're taking you home, Jamie."
Jamie looked at David and then back at her mom as she tried to yank her arm away to no avail.
"No! No! I don't want to go!", Jamie continued to pull away as she caught a glimpse of the top of her father's head in the store. "Dad! Dadd-", Jamie shouted before David grabbed her tightly and covered her mouth while a few pedestrians looked over towards them.
Jamie started to panic as she couldn't pull away from his grip. As Hopper was standing in line to check out with Joyce, the lights quickly flickered in the store. No one seemed to take note of the incident except for Joyce and Hopper who casually looked over their shoulders.
"Let me go! Mom!", Jamie mumbled from under David's hand as he cursed at her to be quiet and not cause a scene. Diane looked at Jamie, and Jamie almost started to cry once she recognized the look that her mom wasn't going to intervene.
Jamie was on the verge of a full blown panic attack before she'd gotten an idea.
Once the lights noticeably flickered in the store earning a few comments from customers, Joyce looked over to Hopper worriedly.
"You don't think that's Ja-", Joyce started before Hopper cut her off.
"Yep", Hopper said as he placed the clothing down on a nearby table and left the store. Hopper grunted as Jamie ran full speed and crashed into his stomach. Hopper noticed the blood that was wiped from Jamie's face as he looked up and scanned the halls of the mall.
As Hopper saw a man kneeling while he grabbed his crotch, he made eye contact with Diane who rushed over to him and Joyce. Hopper quickly turned around and gave Joyce her car keys and handed Jamie the shopping bags.
"Take her and get out of here!", Hopper said to Joyce before Jamie grabbed Joyce's hand and started running.
Jamie abruptly stopped and turned around as she called out to her dad.
"Dad!!", she screamed across the mall which gained looks from mostly the men shoppers.
Hopper turned around confused as to why Jamie would possibly be causing all the attention to be on them two.
"That's David", she said in a loud whisper as she obviously pointed to the man who still held his crotch. Hopper had always heard about David, but he'd never seen him let alone met him in person.
"Give me my child James!", Diane scolded.
"Do you really fucking think that she wants to go back with you?! After all the fucking bullshit you've put her through?", Hopper spit back all while keeping an eye on David.
"She told me she wants to come home!"
"Bull fucking shit!", Hopper laughed sarcastically.
"You don't deserve her Jim. You don't even know her!"
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN I DON'T DESERVE HER?! YOU FUCKING LET THAT PIG OVER THERE MOLEST MY FUCKING DAUGHTER AND YOU DIDN'T DO SHIT ABOUT IT! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?! AND DON'T TELL ME SHIT ABOUT FUCKING COURT BECAUSE I WILL MAKE SURE YOU FUCKING ROT SIX FEET UNDER WHATEVER CELL THEY FUCKING PUT YOU IN!! ", Hopper screamed in Diane's face as his own turned red.
A mall security officer went over to Hopper and gently touched his arm.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to le-"
"SIT THE FUCK DOWN, PAUL BLART", Hopper shouted as he flashed his badge. "THIS IS POLICE BUSINESS SO STAY THE FUCK OUT OF IT!"
The security officer raised his hands in defeat and backed away. Before Diane could speak, Hopper saw David making his way over to him.
"I'm gonna fucking kill him", Hopper mumbled in disbelief to himself before he quickly met David a little more than halfway and slammed him into the door that hid in a nearby corner. As Hopper grabbed the collar of David's shirt, he slammed his head against the cold, hard ground.
David spit on Hopper as he went to reach for his gun that hid in his waistband under his jacket when a fragile hand grabbed his muscular arms. Hopper turned around and saw a terrified Joyce.
"Jim, No! Not here! Now is not the time", Joyce said to him.
Hopper looked at Joyce as her eyes pleaded for him to listen to her as she worried about the crowd the two had attracted. Hopper grumbled before finally releasing his grip on David after slamming him into the ground once more and allowed Joyce to drag him by his shirt through the mall.
Hopper and Joyce met Jamie at the exit and Jamie quickly walked to keep up with their pace.
"I told you to wait in the car, honey", Joyce said to Jamie as she grabbed her keys from her.
"Sorry, I didn't know where you parked", she apologized as she hopped into the backseat as Joyce quickly sped out of the mall parking lot.
They rode in silence for a few minutes as Hopper tapped his fingers on the center console, constantly checking to see if they were being followed.
"Dad...", Jamie said afraid to break the silence.
Hopper sat there with his head against the headrest and his eyes hidden under his sunglasses. After no response and a quick flick of her head, the railroad crossing lights came on and the gate went down causing Joyce to slam on the brakes, although there was no train in sight. Joyce glanced at her rearview mirror, then at Hopper, and placed her car into park as she saw Jamie brush her nose with her thumb.
Jamie just talked and hoped that her dad was listening.
"When Nana called... she told me that I should leave and go out because you were trying to hide me and she was calling you a bad father but I don't think you're a bad father and I love you so much and I'm sorry for lying to you and I don't want to leave you and I love El and Joyce and the baby and... I want to go to school", Jamie managed to say all in one breathe before taking a deep inhale.
After no response, Jamie banged her head against the headrest and sighed. "Sorry for being stupid", she mumbled under her breath.
Hopper finally turned around in his seat and faced Jamie. "Hey, you're not stupid, so quit acting like it. I love you too, and I'm sorry as well", he said before pulling her head towards him and kissing her forehead.
"Now quit talking to your mother before I catch a case and have to cover it up", he chucked.
Joyce and Jamie both laughed as Jamie sat back and looked out the window.
"Uhh... can we go now?", Hopper asked referring to the railroad crossing gates that were still down.
"That's not me", Jamie said as she smiled and sat up and leaned in between the center console.
Hopper looked to his right and saw a slow moving cargo train approaching as the conductor blew the horn.
Hopper tilted his head back against the headrest and groaned. "Ughhhh."
Joyce and Jamie both looked at each other and laughed.