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' Do you really think I'm an idiot? '
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Cindy Newby hated the dark.
When she was a little girl, Cindy could never sleep in total darkness. She was terrified of the dark and what was lurking in the shadows that she couldn't see. It got worse after her mother died. Cindy would refuse to go to bed as she was so scared of being alone in the dark. Bob tried everything to convince the young blonde that she was safe and that nothing in the dark could ever hurt her, but Cindy didn't believe that. In the end, Cindy would only fall asleep at night if Bob was near by. He would sit in her room and wait till Cindy fell asleep before quietly sneaking out and returning to his own bedroom.
As Cindy got older, she stopped needing her dad to sit with her at night, but some nights she would purposely leave a light on in the room to help her fall asleep. Last night was one of those nights.
Cindy's study session with Steve didn't exactly go to plan. The main reason for that was because Steve never showed up. The blonde had sat in the library for hours, but Steve was a no show. To say Cindy was pissed was an understatement. Cindy had walked the distance back to her house and waited for her dad to show up so she could rant about her day, but he never showed up either. He had told Cindy when they were at the Byer's house that he would be back and so Cindy waited up for him — with the lights on. She had tried to call the house, but there was no answer so all she could do was wait. The teen must have dozed off because she woke up the next morning still completely alone.
It wasn't like Bob not to come home when he said he would or not to call to let Cindy know he'd be late. Cindy was a worrier, like her mother had been, and Bob knew that. He used to call Cindy from work to let her know if he was going to be even a few minutes late so she knew not to worry. This is what stressed out Cindy the most about the situation. The radio silence was killing her.
The abrupt chime of the phone ringing made Cindy jump. She moved with haste as she climbed off the sofa and jogged to the phone hanging on the wall in the kitchen, mentally praying to hear the sound of Bob's voice telling her everything was fine. Instead, she heard the familiar sound of the eldest Byers boy, Jonathan.
"Hello, Cindy? You there?" Jonathan asked down the phone. He sounded slightly concerned which only added to Cindy's anxiety.
"Yeah, I'm here," Cindy replied, her fingers twisting around the phone cable.
"Is my Mom there? Or Will? I tried calling home but no one is picking up," Jonathan continued.
