Chapter Text
Hawkins had been quiet for a while. It wasn’t its usual kind of quiet; the next-door neighbors gossiping, occasional cars driving through the streets and small businesses trying to stay afloat type of quiet.
Ever since the spring of 1986, Hawkins had been a different kind of quiet. The kind of quiet that evokes regret in most people’s souls, the kind of quiet that mourns death and the kind of quiet that tags along on the long journey of recovery.
The swing sets on the playground swung creaking in the wind now. Those families that hadn’t died in the ‘earthquake’ had left the town, too scarred from everything that had been going on since November of 1983. Most of them didn’t know what it actually was that had been going on, but they understood enough to know that Hawkins was cursed. Disaster after disaster, death after death – Hawkins wasn’t the family-friendly, small-town neighborhood anymore.
The handful of people that stayed in Hawkins – whether it was out of nostalgia, inability to finance a move or pure stubbornness – remained split on the issue of the murders in the spring of ’86.
Eddie Munson, that was the name that still popped up now and then. Even though Hopper, as Hawkins returned-from-the-dead chief had managed to secure a deal with the government that had cleared Eddie’s name, most of the population still believed he had something to do with it.
Nobody suddenly disappears from the location of a gruesome murder without at least an ounce of guilt, right?
Eddie did feel guilty, and no amount of weed could get rid of the gnawing feeling. He was sitting on the steps leading up to his and his uncle’s trailer, taking a drag on his joint, staring straight ahead at the trailer opposite from his. Max’s trailer.
“She’ll be alright.” Robin’s hand stroked his back once, twice, until she decided it felt too awkward.
The Mayfield’s trailer had been empty since spring. Eddie would’ve liked to think that her mother had just died in the process of Hawkins being torn apart because that was less cruel than the reality in his opinion.
He knew what it was like to be left behind. His parents had done the same thing. Decided he wasn’t worth taking care of anymore. Max’s mother had decided to stay away for a while. She had visited her daughter in the hospital twice before leaving Hawkins, having begged the group to take care of Max once she woke up from her coma. Eddie knew that she couldn’t bear to see her only daughter like this, she couldn’t stand the thought of one day hearing the news about her daughter’s death, so it was easier for her to leave this cursed town behind. And Max didn’t even know.
“What if she won’t be?” Eddie rubbed his temples. “I barely know her. But-” He sighed.
“It’s not fair if you survived and she didn’t?” Robin guessed. Eddie nodded. “You can’t think like that.” Robin looked at him, but he kept his stare straight. “Eleven saved her. She’ll be okay.” For a moment, Robin joined Eddie’s blank stare. “We all will. Eventually.”
When Eddie finished his joint, Robin stood up from the steps and held out her hand. “Come on,” she said. “I still need that ride home.”
Eddie joined her without taking her hand, and without another word walked to his van. He and Robin had grown close, having more in common than he would’ve ever expected, but he couldn’t bring himself to get too attached. Nearly experiencing death had made him cautious – he didn’t want anyone to ever have to grief him.
“You need to get your license,” Eddie said when backing the van out of the parking spot next to the trailer.
“I’m still poor,” Robin replied with a cheeky grin that vanished when Eddie didn’t laugh with her. “Some day,” she added. “For now, this will have to do. And Steve can drive me around too.” She kept her eyes on the passing landscape for a minute, but Eddie knew that she hated silence and she’d try to fill it if he didn’t respond. “Hey, Steve and I are looking for a new job right now. You should apply with us. It’s more fun if you’re there with friends.”
“I have a job,” Eddie said.
“Selling drugs is not a job.”
“It makes money.” Eddie shrugged. “And all those remaining teens who are still forced to go to school even after the literal end of the world are a goldmine.”
Robin sighed. “Fine. Let me know if you change your mind. Retail’s not all that bad if you have good co-workers. And it’s hilarious with me and Steve there. By the way, he’s been asking about you.”
“He can keep asking,” Eddie muttered. “I don’t want to talk to him right now.”
“I still don’t get why.” Robin’s legs were propped up on the dashboard and she turned her head toward Eddie. “He saved your ass. You got along so well before everything went to shit. And he keeps asking about you, keeps bugging me to convince you to talk to him. What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Eddie said and pressed his lips together, trying hard to keep his focus on the road. “If you want me to keep driving you places, that’s all the answer you’ll get.”
Robin exhaled deeply. “Just thought you should know that you’re like the only conversation topic he has right now.”
Eddie didn’t reply.
“We should all totally go to the lake some time,” Robin kept talking. “Weather is going to be hot now, and I’ve been meaning to go there for a while. Do you think I could invite Vickie? I have this really nice bathing suit that I’ve never worn, maybe I could put that on, and – “
“For the love of God, Robin, shut up.”
Robin stared at Eddie, taken aback. Her face turned visibly redder.
Eddie groaned. “I’m sorry,” he said and tapped on the steering wheel. “I can’t hear about all this.”
“About bathing suits?”
“About all – this!” He gestured wildly toward her. “Your whole happy attitude, making plans for the future, thinking about girls. I can’t listen to it.”
Robin pressed her lips together and leaned back in the seat with a huff. “Fine.”
This time it was Eddie who couldn’t stand the silence that crept up on them. “Sorry,” he mumbled again. “I just don’t get how you can be so excited and happy all the time. We’ve been through shit. You more than me. And still – “
“Pull over,” Robin interrupted him.
“Why?”
“Pull over, Eddie, please.”
He listened to her, and once the van came to a halt, Robin opened the passenger door and got out. “I’ll walk the rest,” she said.
“Come on, Robin, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know,” she said and started walking. Eddie hurried to follow her in the van, slowly driving next to her with the window rolled down.
“Get back in,” he said. “It’s like two miles to your place.”
“I need some time to think,” Robin said. “We’re good. Don’t worry. I just need some time to think.”
Eddie sighed. “Alright,” he said. “Call me when you get home.”
On the other side of town, El was sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a hospital room, legs pulled up to her chest and listening to the steady beeping noise of a heart monitor. While the rest of the group were starting to prepare for the remainder of the school year, she and her brothers weren’t thinking about classes at all. Hawkins High wouldn’t let them re-enroll until the beginning of the next school year in August, so she saw no point in trying to catch up yet. She spent most of her time in this hospital room, staring at Max, hoping for her best friend to finally wake up. A lot of the hours in the hospital she spent reading and practicing her grammar. At first, it was difficult to be in this room at all. Not just because of the anxiety she felt about the very real possibility of not having been able to save Max after all, but also because simply being inside a hospital made her think of her childhood, though this one was less tiled and didn’t experiment on its patients, unlike the lab.
But over time, El got used to the quietness of this place. She had met all the nurses and doctors who were taking care of Max, had watched as they cut off most of Max’s hair to simplify the process of taking care of it. She had read stories to Max whenever Lucas wasn’t reading to her, she had told her about her day and any news the group had. El had no idea if Max could hear her. She couldn’t find her in her mind, and after nearly two months of talking to her unresponsive friend, it was getting harder and harder to keep her spirits up. But it was even more impossible to give up on her.
Max would wake up soon, she had to. El couldn’t lose someone else, not again, and not Max.
Sleep took over her soon, the uncomfortable chair making her back ache, but she didn’t care. It was a restless sleep, dreams fueled by anxiety and memories of Henry. El didn’t like dreaming. She liked being in control of herself and of her mind, and dreams didn’t allow her to do so.
When she woke up, it wasn’t from nightmares or an alarm. One of the nurses gently woke her up and guided her out of the room into the waiting area. “What’s happening?” El mumbled still half asleep.
Her question was answered not long after when she was allowed to step back into Max’s room. El stared at Max for a moment, who stared right through her. “Max,” she whispered, wanting nothing more than to run to her and hug her, yet keeping herself and her emotions at bay out of fear to hurt or confuse her friend.
Max blinked a few times, her light blue eyes moving all over the room. Carefully, El took a step closer to her and swallowed her fear. This was the moment she had been waiting for. Two painful months of waiting. “Max, you’re awake,” she said, as if the redhead wasn’t aware of it.
Max opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her eyes kept wandering through the room, unable to focus on anything, and she attempted to sit up straighter in the hospital bed. Her right leg and arm were still in a cast; the other casts had been removed recently, but the broken bones on the right side of her body seemed to be worse. The rigid neck brace had recently been replaced with a softer, foam rubber brace, allowing for more movement.
El sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to hold Max’s hand, who flinched on contact. “It’s okay,” El said, convincing herself to keep her tears inside. “You haven’t talked for a while. Give yourself time. Here.” She handed Max the half-full glass on the side table and helped her bring it to her lips. Though El had never been great at reading other people’s emotions, it was clear from the wide eyes and the furrowed brows that Max was panicking on the inside, trying to understand what was happening. When she finished drinking the water with small, uncertain movements, El placed the glass back on the table and clutched Max’s hand. A small smile found its way onto her lips. “I’m so glad to have you back,” she whispered.
“I can’t see,” Max finally said quietly, and her voice sounded hoarse and painful. “I can’t see anything.”
“It’s okay,” El repeated. “I’m right here with you.” She sniffed, finding it difficult to keep her tears in, and she carefully leaned down to hug her best friend. It had been too long, and even though Max was far from being okay, at least she was awake. She was alive.
“I can’t see,” Max whispered again. “Is he here?”
El grabbed her free hand as it started frantically moving over the bed sheets as if trying to find support somewhere. Max turned her head toward El and a single tear rolled from her eyes. “Am I going to die?”
“No,” El whispered. “You’re okay. Henry is dead. You’re safe.” It still didn’t feel real that Henry could actually be dead. Even with all the gates sealed up and the Upside Down being left in the past, El always felt this lingering fear that something might go wrong any moment. She didn’t like the dark now, because every shadow could be something dangerous. It wasn’t herself she was scared for – she could defend herself, she had done so a thousand times and she’d do it again, but the others couldn’t. If El wasn’t there to help them, they might get hurt, and then it’d be her fault all over again, just like with Max. If only she had been there quicker, if she had acted quicker, Max wouldn’t have died for those couple of seconds, maybe she would still be able to see now.
With her thumb, she wiped the tear from Max’s face, letting her own finally fall and burying her head in her best friend’s shoulder. “I missed you.”