Falling: A Stranger Things Fanfic

Prologue

     "Tell me a story, Daddy."

     I look up from the book I'm reading to see my dad curled up next to Sarah on her hospital bed, where he's stayed since we got here. I see Sarah look at my dad with a weak smile on her face.

     She looks so thin, pale, and overall sick. I feel something coil in the pit of my stomach. I know she's not going to last for too much longer, but I can't help thinking that she will. She's my baby sister, after all.

     He reaches over to the little table next to the bed and pulls out her favorite book, Anne of Green Gables. He settles against her and starts to read it to her, picking up where they previously left off, before the doctors came and administered another round of medication to her.

     He reads to her until she falls asleep. I'm barely asleep when he comes over, presses a kiss to my forehead, and sneaks off. I open my eyes and peek around. Mom's nowhere to be seen. I don't want to leave Sarah all by herself, but I'm curious as to where my dad is going. I get up from my chair and follow him. I watch as he leaves for the stairwell. Curious, I keep following him.

     He goes down a flight of stairs and sits on the landing. He doesn't see me, but I see him bring his knees up and bury his face in his hands. I watch his shoulders shake with tears and can feel my own brimming in my eyes. I tiptoe down the stairs and sit beside him on the landing.

     "Hey," I whisper, playing with the hem of my shirt. Dad startles, then sees me. His face is wet with tears. The corners of his mouth curl into a smile when he focuses on me.

     "Hey, kid," he says, his voice thick with tears. He wipes his face and sits back against the wall. He sighs. "How are you doing?"

     I shrug. "I don't know." I feel my throat start to close up with tears. "Is she going to be okay?"

     He hesitates. "I don't know, Jules." he pulls me close against him, his warm embrace soothing me against the cold of the hospital. "I just don't know."

~~~~~~~~

     She dies shortly after that day. Mom and dad end up fighting constantly, and I'm trapped in the middle. I don't want to be stuck with their fighting anymore. When they get a divorce, I'm forced to decide if I should stay with mom or dad. I eventually decide to stay with dad. We move to the town of Hawkins, Indiana, where my dad grew up. He gets a job as police chief in the local police department, which is great.

     I wanted to not have to go to school so soon after her death and the end of my parent's marriage, but that's life for you, I guess. I take a week to move in and start classes shortly after that.

     I meet new people at this time, the feeling of nervousness never shying away from me. But the most significant friendship I make is that of Jonathan Byers.

     You see, shortly after we moved to the little trailer we live in, Joyce Byers brought her boys over to introduce themselves to me. Will's around Sarah's age, and Jonathan is a little bit older than me. Maybe a month or something older than me. He's painfully shy, and Will is a little more outspoken than Jonathan. And in my grieving and pain, I latched onto their family in a way I needed more than anything.

     Dad and I have lived in Hawkins for a year, and I'm starting to get used to it. When we first moved here, I didn't think anything would happen in the sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana. But boy, was I wrong.