Casey Hopper has lived an interesting life, yet she never had any real complaints. Growing up without a mother and being raised by her single father until he meets someone new. Casey is forced to leave her home of Hawkins and her best friend Steve H...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
THE EARLY MORNING RAYS POKE through the trees and into Casey's eyes. Gradually, she opens them, blinking a few times to allow them to adjust. It was cold even next to her dad who was practically a walking heater, though it did make it more bearable. She was shocked that she slept through the night and felt well rested for having been in the car. Not even a nightmare like she had predicted.
There was a desperate need to use the bathroom, so she carefully sneaks out of her father's grasp and out of the cruiser to approach the Byers home. She hoped that either Joyce or Jonathan was already awake, and she wasn't disturbing one of them trying to sleep.
She gives three soft knocks, and the door opens almost right away, Jonathan being the one behind it.
Casey smiles softly, "Morning. I didn't wake you, did I?" She can see the exhaustion on his face and can tell by his eyes that he'd been crying.
He shakes his head, "No, I've been awake for a while. What are you doing here?"
She gestures over her shoulder with her thumb to the cruiser, "Dad and I spent the night." She chuckles to herself seeing her dad from this angel. Head tipped back and mouth open—he looked ridiculous.
"Oh," Jonathan breathes, "Did you get any sleep?"
"Surprisingly, yes. But, um...can I use your bathroom?"
The door swings open, "Oh, yeah." Casey walks in saying a thank you of appreciation. She finds Joyce sprawled out on the couch in the living room asleep. It made her happy to know that the mother was getting some rest. She most definitely needed it.
After using the restroom, Casey meets Jonathan in the kitchen. It looked like he was scrambling a couple eggs in a pan and buttering some toast. He looks over once he heard her steps, "Hungry?"
She politely declines, "No, thank you." Lately, she hasn't had much of an appetite. Jonathan continued to make his breakfast and the brunette studied the home landing on the wall by the window. A flash of the creature invades her mind, and she tears her gaze away.
Casey wanted to tell someone about what she saw. Or else it would continue to eat her alive. And after hearing Joyce, she knew now more than ever what she saw was real. This wasn't just some strange coincidence that they had seen the exact same thing. If anyone would believe her, it would be Jonathan, right?
"Jonathan, I need to tell you something." She pauses, taking a deep breath, "About what your mom saw."
He stopped what he was doing to look at her, "What about it?"
"I saw it too."
He gives her crazy eyes, "What?" He scoffs, "Casey, this isn't funny."
She plants her hands onto the dining table, "Then it's a good thing I'm not joking. I'm serious, Jonathan." She straightens her stance and begins to pace as she recalls the events of the past couple days, "On my way home from Steve's, I heard something in the woods. I thought it might have been an animal. But, yesterday, after you dropped me off...I saw it. Right outside my window." She became more frantic the more she explained, and Jonathan walked around the table putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her in place.
