Loss - Lucas Sinclair

The Spy (Part 3)

After a long hour or so, the bus was finally ready and their trap was set. Max, Steve, Dustin and Lucas made their way into the bus to wait for Dart to show up.

Lucas sat alone in one of the back seats of the bus, looking out the window to keep watch for any sign of Dart.

It didn't escape his notice that the last time they were there it was under completely different circumstances. Last time they were with the girls, waiting for Hopper to come to their rescue. Despite the unknown of whether it was a trap or not, a part of them let themselves believe that they were heading for safety. That they were going to figure it out together and everything would be okay.

Now they didn't have that sliver of hope. They couldn't get in contact with anyone. They were alone with weapons that the Demogorgon seemed to withstand and a bus that could only offer them so much protection.

They didn't have the girls. They didn't have Nikki.

"I'm gonna go up on the roof to keep a look out," he announced as he climbed up the ladder with his binoculars in hand, wanting to get away from the memories that seemed to haunt him no matter where he went.

They followed him to the roof as he imagined the sunny day that fell into a cold night. Five kids huddled around the makeshift map of Hawkins he had created from the dirt on the ground and an empty soda can. El and Nikki trying to recover from flipping and running the vans off the road. The sinking feeling when they heard the helicopter they knew was looking for them.

"Got some room up here?" Max asked as she climbed up the ladder and sat next to Lucas.

"Yeah, totally," Lucas sighed, still in his head. As horrible as the memories were, they were difficult to forget about. They were always replaying in the back of his mind like a reminder that they were real at some point. And, maybe, that gave him the smallest sense of comfort in the sea of negative emotions they brought with them.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lucas gave her a fake smile.

He looked through the binoculars to be on the look out for Dart, but he was too busy thinking to see anything.

"It's kinda awesome," Max broke the silence again.

"Huh?" He turned to her, afraid he missed something.

"The fog, I mean," Max explained. "Looks like the ocean."

"You miss it?" Lucas asked.

"What?"

"The ocean. The waves? California?" Max didn't respond, she kept looking at the fog. "Hawkins seems pretty lame, I bet."

"No, it's not that. It's just my dad's still there."

"Why?"

"It's this legal term called divorce," Max shrugged. "See, when two married people don't love each other anymore-"

"Yeah."

"My mom and my stepdad, they wanted a fresh start away from him. As if he was the problem, which is total bull. And things are just worse now. My stepbrother's always been a dick, but now he's just angry, all the time and well, he can't take it out on my mom, so..."

"So he takes it out on you?"

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this. It's just, I know that I can be a jerk like him sometimes, and I do not want to be like him. Ever. I guess I'm angry, too, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Lucas said.

Max shook her head at him with a mixture of disbelief and awe. "How are you like that?"