Sunflower Girl [1]

The Bathtub

I bit my nails anxiously while we were waiting for Hopper to arrive with Eleven and the boys.

They informed us that they were hiding at the old junkyard in a school bus and now Hopper was picking them up.

"I'm so worried, Emma.",I heard Nancy mumble next to me.

I looked at her and smiled softly. "I know but they're alright. I know that. I can feel that."

"Do you think Mike hates me?",my friend suddenly asked.

"What?",I asked confused. "No. Why would you say that?"

"Because he didn't answer when I asked him where they were. He only answered to you.",she said.

Her voice wasn't filled with jealousy or envy. I know that Nancy and I would never come to this point in our friendship.
She just wondered why her brother would answer me and not to her.

"He loves you Nance. Your his big sister. He may have answered me today but that doesn't mean anything.",I tried to calm her down. "Mikes admires you, I know that. But he's Mike Wheeler. He would rather burn all of his comics than tell you that he loves you. That stubborn idiot."

"The Wheeler man really hate emotions.",my best friend admitted with a small smile.

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

Nancy looked at me gratefully when the sound of an approaching car took everyone's attention.

I sighed in relief and immediately got up from the sofa and went outside.

I ran as soon as I saw the first person getting out of the car and practically squeezed them to death.

"Hey, Ems, I- I can't breathe.",Lucas muttered out of breath.

I softly got off him and checked his face for any injuries. "You okay, right? Nothing hurts, nothing's broken?"

The Sinclair sighed. "Yes. I'm fine, Ems."

I smiled at him and gave him a kiss on his head. "I was worried about you guys."

The boy tried to hide his smile. "We're big boys, Emma."

"Well, not in my head.",I mumbled and got up from the ground to check on Eleven and the rest.

I smiled softly at Nancy and Mike who were hugging and laughed when I saw the younger Wheeler's confused face.

He loved Nancy with all his heart but man that boy had some real issues showing his love.

I quickly went to Dustin and pulled him into my arms as well. "You okay, Dust?"

"Yes, Ems. I'm fine.",the Henderson mumbled.

I let go of him and put his face between my hands. "You look a bit pale. You sure you alright?"

He sighed. "Yes, mom."

I smiled softly and ruffled his curly hair. "Alright, alright. But if something hurts, tell me!"

I turned around and noticed Eleven standing alone.

I softly smiled at her as I approached the girl.

"Hey El.",I muttered and got down so that I was at eye level with her.

"Hello.",she mumbled a bit sad.

"Are you alright, Eleven? Did you hurt yourself, do you feel weird or something?",I asked her worriedly.

She shook her head. "No. Nothing hurt."

"Do you want a hug?",I asked her.

The girl looked at me with her big eyes and hesitated for a second until she nodded.

I pulled her in the softest hug I had to offer and placed my hands on the back of her head.

"I'm here for you, sweetie. If you ever need someone to talk to, if you're not feeling alright or if you just want to be with someone, okay? I don't want anything bad ever happen to you.",I mumbled into her tiny shoulders.

Eleven softly nodded her head and sniffed a bit.

"Oh no, please don't cry, El. It's alright, sweetie. No one's gonna hurt you, I promise.",I said in a calm voice and softly rubbed her back.

I carefully let go off her and wiped the tears on her cheeks away.

"Thank you, Em.",the girl whispered with her sweet voice.

"You're welcome."