ᵖᵃʳᵗ ¹⁴ - ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ
❛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ. sᴜɴғʟᴏᴡᴇʀ. ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ. ғᴏᴜʀ-ғɪғᴛʏ. ❜
It was the next morning and Seven was placing books back on the shelves where they belong as Eleven sweeps up the glass on the floor.
When the boy woke up, he knew it would be bad when he was awoken by Hopper yelling at El to clean the cabin up since she made the mess.
When he thought about 'mess' he didn't picture bookcases toppled on their sides, glass all over since he found out all the windows burst last night, and the windows were boarded up.
He heard a chair being moved so underneath could be cleaned, the boy putting a radio onto the shelve of random knick-knacks, turning when El called out to him.
"Ven..."
"Huh?" he asked, walking over to the still girl, following her line of sight to a hatch on the floorboard.
The siblings share a look before El shoved the broom in her hands towards Ven before grabbing a flashlight and opening the latch before dangling her body underneath the floor.
"You okay down there?" he sighed, his foot tapping against the floor in impatience.
"Wait..." he heard El say before becoming confused when she muttered, "Sarah...?"
A moment later, Eleven lifted a box onto the ground, it was labeled 'Hawkins Lab' before grunting as she struggled to get out of the hole, rolling her eyes as Seven just chuckled.
El managed, standing up and grabbing the box, walking over to sit on the couch with the box beside her, looking up at Ven to join her.
"What do you think it is?" he asked, his voice wavering in nervousness.
She shrugged before opening the box, finding papers on papers, folders and folders, all mentioning Hawkins lab.
The two had been like that for about half an hour, Seven was slouching, his eyes trained on a picture of Papa, thoughts haunting him as Eleven scrambled through files, her brows furrowed.
The boy snapped out of his thoughts when the girl spoke. "Ives, Terry."
He snapped his eyes to the folder in El's hands, red and big, thick, full of papers, sticky notes on the front with the big letters of the name on it.
El glanced at him before opening it, both of their eyes scanning the newspaper before them.
' INDIANA WOMAN SUES D.O.E. CLAIMS HER TWO CHILDREN WERE STOLEN.'
Seven's breath hitched, his eyes going to the bottom of the page where he saw a picture of a woman with long hair, who he thinks is 'Terry Ives'.
' TWINS, JANE AND OLIVER, TAKEN WHEN THEY WERE JUST BABIES, IVES CLAIMS.'
"Jane," Eleven whispered, putting a hand on her chest before pointing to Seven. "Oli."
Seven hid his discomfort at the name, his attention going towards a falling piece of paper from behind a page, his fingers plucking it from the folder.
Eleven saw his lost look, staring over his shoulder to see what he was looking at, her heart jumping. "Papa."
It was a picture, one of Terry Ives and a Young Dr. Brenner walking side by side.
El glanced at the T.V, the wires torn apart before her eyes went to the radio on the shelf where Ven had placed it.
Seven wanted to stop her, really he did, something in his gut saying 'don't do it' but, another side was curious, was this really his mom, what happened to her, was she really gone as Hopper said?
Eleven sat on the ground with the radio in her hands and a blindfold hanging from her neck, the girl fiddled with the knobs on the radio before setting it on the ground in front of her before lying the blindfold over her eyes.
Ven bit his lip, sitting on the floor in front of her, the static from the radio in between them, his eyes glancing at the photo of Terry and Brenner in El's hand.
The boy's eyes snapped up to El's face when she began breathing heavily, his attention going to the radio when he heard the mumbling of a woman coming from it.
"Three to the right. Four to the left. Four-fifty...Jane. Where is... Oli?"
"Mama?" Eleven whispered, Seven furrowing his brows in worry when the girl began screaming for her mama.
He scooted towards the girl, pulling her into his arms, the girl snuggling into his chest as she sobbed, Ven tugging the blindfold off her eyes gently before leaning his cheek on top of her head as he rocked them.
──
He did not like this.
He was in a permanent state of caution as he sat in between El and an unknown man in his big semi-truck.
Maybe he shouldn't have let El talk him into this.
There was an awkward silence in the air, he could feel the man's stare as he glanced the sibling's way, making Ven scowl.
Ven turned his head to look at El who was already looking at him, an amused smile was on her lips but in her eyes was an apologetic look.
'Sorry Venny.' he heard her thoughts making him smile sarcastically at her as she bit her lip to hold a giggle.
The moment was broken when the squeak of the truck's brakes ringed loudly in their ears making El wince though Ven smiled since he had his headphones on making El roll her eyes with a sarcastic smile.
"All right. I think this is it. Five-one-five Larrabee, right?" The man stated, looking at the kids in curiosity and concern.
Eleven nodded, opening the door and hopping out of the tall vehicle, Seven following after, giving the man a firm stare.
El closed the door watching the man drive off before she turned to Ven.
The boy took his headphones off and set them around his neck, his hand going into his pocket to stop the music.
The siblings looked up at the house before sharing a look. Eleven was first, walking up to the porch, Seven trailing behind her.
El glanced over her shoulder at Ven before she wipes her hands on her jeans nervously, knocking on the door loudly.
She shares a look with her brother as a silence loomed over them when no one opens the door.
She turns back to the door, knocking with more force.
"Go away! I'm not interested!" A woman's voice shouted from inside making El flinch while Ven rolled his eyes at the woman inside.
The boy got impatient, stepping up beside El and banging on the door with the side of his fist.
The bright red door opened only a crack so an angry-looking woman could peak her head though, the chain lock keeping the door from moving any further.
"Look, I don't want your thin mints, okay?" The lady snarled.
"Thin mints?" Eleven scrunched her face looking towards Seven as if he would explain but he just shrugged with a lost look.
"Or your religious mumbo jumbo. Whatever you're selling, I ain't buying, okay?" she continued, with a shake of her head before slamming the door in the kids' faces making them flinch.
El sighed and looked down, grumbling when Ven nudged her looking at her expectantly.
The young girl glared at the door a moment later they heard the chain of the lock fall from its place, the door opening slowly with an eerie creak.
The woman stared at them with wide eyes taking in the kids side by side, the girl's glare and the boy's proud but smug smile.
"I want to see mama," Eleven stated, her lip quirking slightly when she saw a slight hint of fear in the woman's eyes.
A moment later the woman guided the children in, her hands shaking in nerves, the woman stopped in the doorway, leaning against it, gesturing towards what looked like a living room.
Ven went first, on high alert, glancing over his shoulder towards El who then entered.
The twos attention goes to a woman in the room, sitting on a rocking chair while watching Jeopardy and muttering under her breath, the woman is the same one from the picture.
The siblings share a look before Eleven stepped closer to the woman who paid no mind to them.
"Mama?" The girl called out, not understanding what was wrong with the woman.
The woman didn't answer just continued to mumble, Eleven swallowed before walking over and crouching beside the rocking chair.
"Mama, do you hear me?"
The woman, again, didn't answer. Seven's brow twitched, his confused glare going over to the woman standing at the doorway, she, cowering slightly at the glare the boy threw her.
"It's me..Jane... Oli's here too."
The boy's attention went to the girl, him shivering as he felt the eyes on his back.
"We're here now," El whispered, placing her hand on top of Terry's that was sat on the armrest of the chair.
"What's wrong with her?" Seven grumbled, glaring over his shoulder.
The woman glanced his way but she didn't answer making the boy scowl and turn back.
The only sound was Terry's mumbling, but only for a split moment.
Eleven gasped, flinching back --knocking into Seven's legs, though he didn't care-- as Terry looked at her, or more like straight through her, continuing to mutter.
"Breath. Sunflower. Rainbow. Four-fifty."
El took a deep breath, looking towards the woman who was now standing by her brother. "What happened to mama?"
──
"I-i just need a little help understanding..." the woman who introduced herself as 'Becky' stuttered, her eyes looking between the kids.
Seven and Eleven sat across from the woman at the dining table, though the siblings' eyes were still on the woman in the rocking chair.
"Can you tell me where you two came from? Where you've been all this time?"
Ven's eyes trailed back to the woman, once in a while glancing at the sandwich she had placed in front of him, same with El. He was hungry, yes, but he wouldn't let his guard down.
"Everywhere..." he said, his voice was quiet but firm, and it made Becky perk up, thinking she was going to get answers. "... and nowhere."
He hid his smirk when she deflated with an irritated look.
"A policeman and a woman came looking for you last year. Did they find you two?"
Ven's brow rose, a picture of Joyce and Hopper flashing through the woman's mind before he closed the connection when he saw she squinted her eyes at him.
"She won't get better...will she?" El asked, her eyes going to Becky while grabbing Ven's hand under the table.
Becky looked shocked for a moment before shaking her head, her fingers beginning to fiddle with the table cloth. "They don't think so, no. But she's not in any pain. She's just stuck, they think. Like in a dream. A long dream."
"Yeah, but you don't know if it's a good dream though, right? So really...y-you don't know if she's in p-pain, do you?" Ven scoffed.
Becky's eyes glossed over before smiling forcibly. "She always believed that you two were out there. She always believed that you'd come home one day."
Ven bit his lip at her words, something tugging at him, his chest and brain.
This isn't home, is it?
"Home?" El whispered, a tear falling down her cheek.
The boy glared, staring at the table as he felt the longing coming off of the girl next to him, his leg bouncing up and down under the table as he too began to hold back tears.
"Yeah, home."
Seven was hesitant to follow the woman, she said she wanted to show them the room that was supposed to be theirs.
The door creaks open, El eagerly walking into the room when Becky gestured, while Ven just stepped in and stared around, ignoring the eyes on his back from Becky leaning against the doorway.
Two cribs were on each side of the room, one with pink blankets and one with light grey. There was a blue dollhouse in the corner of the room, on top of it held a small radio and some knickknacks.
A bay window, where there were blankets, the window showing the trees that Ven longed for. By the window was a shelf of children's books, like the ones he sometimes found hiding around the cabin in their first days there.
"Pretty."
The boy looked to where El was, seeing her smiling down at a stuffed bear, tears in her eyes, and happiness in her heart.
Why was she so happy? The boy kept questioning, all he felt was sadness, a longing for something that wasn't this.
Though he wanted his mom...she wasn't all there. This place didn't have Mike, who, even though Ven got annoyed with El's rambles about still...ew...missed?
This place didn't have Dustin and his crazy annoying rants about how cool his powers were, or some super sciency stuff that Ven barely understood.
It didn't have Hopper, who despite hating Ven and El, the young boy still missed him.
It didn't have Lucas, who he couldn't bare to think about.
It didn't have Nancy who he cared for even though he barely knew her.
This place didn't have anything! So why was she so happy?
Becky cleared her throat, the kids turning to see her with crossed arms. "I-i can get you a real bed and You can stay here with me. How's that sound?"
El nodded, her lip twitching up as Ven swallowed, this unknown feeling pulling in his gut.
"I wanna help you. But you gotta talk to me. It doesn't have to be now. It doesn't have to be today. But when you're ready. Okay?"
"Okay."
Ven didn't respond, his eyes latching onto the light in the hallway when he saw it flicker, El saw it too, stepping into the hall.
"Oh, yeah, that. That happens sometimes. Old house, bad wiring..." Becky excused, following the two, with a shake of her head.
Another flicker in the corner of his eye caught his attention, nudging El who turned to look at it too.
"If you ask my crazy aunt Shirley, it's..." Becky trailed off as the siblings walked off again, leaving her with nothing but to follow."...haunted."
One by one, each light on the walls flickered leading them down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Really it's just the wiring," Becky stated.
Ven rose a brow when he saw the lamp on the kitchen counter flicker as well. "Really?"
El walked towards it, getting a clear view of her mom from here, "Not just...wiring. It's mama."
As she said those words the lamp again, flickered.
The group walked into the living room, Ven and El kneeling on the ground, the girl's words being proven when a drop of blood began to run down Terry's nose.
"I don't understand."
Becky's words went unnoticed, the woman flinching when the T.V beside her changed to a channel on its own, white and black filling the screen as static echoed through the house.
"She wants to talk."
Becky just watched with a dumbfounded expression. Eleven walked over to the tv and turned up the volume, turning to Seven when he pulled her blindfold out of his pocket and helped her tie it.
The siblings went back over to Terry, sitting on the floor across from the woman while Becky took a seat on her knees beside them.
Ven glanced at the woman next to him, scooting closer to El, trying to disguise the uncomfortable look threatening to expose itself.
"Are you sure you should do this?" Ven whispered to El who was taking deep breaths.
El stopped, turning towards her brother, ignoring the look of a confused Becky. "Of course."
"I-i really don't like this--"
"You almost don't like anything." El interrupted with a smile.
Ven squinted his eyes back before sighing, "Can you at least let me in?"
El stared at the boy before staring back at Terry.
"It's okay if I sit here right?" Becky asked, clasping her hands in her lap, nervously, looking between the two.
"Yes," El said, placing the blindfold over her eyes.
Ven cleared his throat before nodding, even though he inched a bit towards El again.
"A-and I won't mess it up or anything?" The lady continued, stuttering slightly.
"N-no." Ven sighed, feeling impatient with his supposed 'aunt'.
"If you talk to Terry, will you tell her that I love her very much? And that I'm sorry that I didn't believe--"
"Stop talking." The siblings grumbled making Becky snap her mouth shut.
"Right. Okay, sorry."
Eleven grabbed Seven's hand, taking a deep breath before starting.
Ven kept the girl's hand in his, even when it went limp which was an indication that she was in the void, as he liked to call it.
"So how exactly does this work?" Becky whispered.
Ven glanced her way but didn't say a word, his attention snapping to El when her hand twitched around his.
Seven began to grow concerned as Eleven's breathing began to pick up, he could hear Becky trying to calm her down but his focus was on El.
The boy tried to see what was causing her to panic but all he found was a wall holding him back, a wall from her thoughts and painful memories.
The boy himself began to silently panic, he could feel the worries of Becky and the fear of El consuming him, Becky's thoughts were roaming, the only other sound than the static and El's frantic breathing.
Ven reached his hand out, placing it on his sister's shoulder, "Ellie? Snap out of it. Come on El..."
El gasped loudly, ripping the blindfold off, to stare blankly in the air with tears in her eyes.
Becky reached out to comfort the girl but El had already moved, letting out a sob as she curled into Ven.
Seven ignored the looks from Becky, shushing Eleven as she cried, hugging her close to his chest, and kissing the top of her curls. "Hey, it's okay...I'm here...shh..."
El sniffled, squeezing her arms around his waist tighter, Ven doing it back, holding onto each other like they were all they have.
At that moment though they felt, they were.
──
authors note| hey everyone...I'm back...sorta, haha.
sorry for any errors I may have missed lol. I hope you guys like this chapter.
I know its Mondays and they're the worst but I hope all of you have a great week, I love you all.