slut [ eddie munson ]

006

Talia Wheeler had barely slept, her mind too busy worrying over her lost necklace to allow her the peace of sleep. She had tossed and turned all night, plagued by nightmares and her own thoughts.

It was five in the morning when Talia had finally given up on the idea of sleep. She had still felt muted pain at Eddie's words the night before, but she pushed them to the back of her mind like she always did. She needed to find her necklace, and the only way to do that was through Eddie.

The clock had just hit six when Talia decided to just go look for the necklace herself. She wasn't worried about anyone being at the trailer still—Eddie had once spoken about his previous hookups and how he had never let one stay till the morning before. So, she slipped on a pair of shoes and threw a hoodie over her pajamas and made the journey to the trailer park.

Eight o'clock was approaching by the time Talia made it to Eddie's trailer which was almost seven miles from her own house. Talia felt unease settle in her stomach as she slowly approached the stairs leading to his front door. His van wasn't there, which relieved her slightly. It meant that whoever he had been with last night was definitely gone, but so was he.

Cautious that perhaps someone was still inside, Talia knocked on the door harshly, waited a minute, then knocked again. Letting out a sigh, she grabbed the spare key from under the mat and shoved it in the doorknob.

When Talia finally pushed the door open, her stomach fell. A shrill shriek escaped her lips and her eyes immediately burned with tears, loud sobs escaping her as she stumbled backward down the stairs. She landed on the ground with a dull thud, frantically scrambling further from the door.

By nine o'clock, almost the entirety of Hawkins police force had flooded the trailer park. The area had been taped off from curious neighbors, most of them resorting to peaking through their blinds or lurking on their porches.

Talia, who had been found by Wayne Munson just a few minutes after she had discovered the body of one of her best friends, had to be physically moved when the police arrived. The girl had still been inconsolably sobbing, her breathing erratic as she tried to calm herself down and couldn't.

By the time she had calmed down enough to give her statement to the police, the police had already questioned Eddie's uncle and were partly through with examining the scene.

She had been sat in the back of an ambulance when the police finally approached her, her legs hanging limply off the back ledge and her arms tightly wrapped around herself. At some point, a grey blanket had been wrapped around her and a water bottle had been set down next to her, as well.

It was two male officers who approached—one with a thick mustache and darker hair, and one with a stern face and lighter hair. They moved slowly, as if they were trying not to scare her away.

"It's Talia, right miss?" The one with a mustache spoke first, his voice coming out low and almost soft.

Talia nodded her head slowly, her eyes focused on a spec of dirt that had been stuck to her sleep shorts, unable to meet their eyes, "Yes."

"I'm Officer Porely, and this is Officer Smith. Now, we just gotta ask you some questions, alright?" The same man spoke.

"Okay," Talia didn't know it, but both officers had shared a look of pity before continuing.

"These questions might be a bit difficult for you to answer, but just try your best, okay?" Officer Porely said. Talia couldn't help but wonder if he was the nice one, since the other officer hadn't even tried to speak yet, "You found the body, correct?"

Talia flinched, "Chrissy."

"Chrissy?"

"Chrissy, I found Chrissy, not some body." The officers had to hide their relief, no one having been able to identify the body yet and the uncle unsure of who the blond girl had been.