Bloody Negatives {Stranger things}

Chapter Two

《Chapter Two》
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"I was no shit missing for a whole week?"

"Either that or I've been wasting a lot of time looking for you."

Tally laughed lightly, wincing at the pain it caused.

The doctors had determined that there wasn't anything too damaged within him. Physically, at least. He did have a nasty case of amnesia.

Officer Callahan smiled, scribbling something down on his notebook. That notebook made Tally anxious. It made him feel like he was under investigation. Like he'd done something wrong. He hadn't don't anything wrong.

An officer Tally didn't recognize poked his head into the cramped hospital room they sat in. He looked panicked.

The officer cleared his throat loudly. "Officer Callahan? Could I speak with you?"

Callahan nodded, nudged Tally's shoulder, and left the room with nothing more than a brief "I'll be back soon."

Tally's eyes darted around the room. It was too bright. If he looked at the walls for too long his eyes started to sting. The entire room was far too bare of personal belongings. His parents had visited him earlier, but they were too busy screaming at him to drop off any of his stuff.

Being alone was frighteningly boring. Callahan had been talking to him for the past however many hours he'd been in the hospital. He said it was to help Tally get his voice back, though Tally didn't see why the questions Callahan asked had to be so... personal.

Instead of spending another miserable few seconds staring at the wall, Tally decided that eavesdropping was a good option to pass the time.

Callahan had forgotten to close the door on his way out, and he and the other officer were only right outside the door. Tally could still only hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

The one thing that caught his attention was a name.

"Chrissy Cunningham."

He knew Chrissy. She was almost a friend of Tally's. He liked her, she was nice to him.

The officers kept saying her name, and Tally couldn't quite hear why.

"It's horrible," murmured Callahan.

What?

A few seconds later Callahan walked back in, and Tally had to frantically pretend that he hadn't been listening to their conversation.

"Hey, Tally," Callahan said softly, his voice somber.

Fear clenched at Tally's stomach. It hurt, not knowing what was happening. It made his head throb agonizingly.

"I don't know how much of that you heard," Callahan started nervously, before gradually beginning to talk more confidently, "but something bad happened."

"What?" Tally squeaked, still adjusting to how difficult speaking was.

"You know Chrissy Cunningham?" Callahan asked, barely waiting for Tally to nod before he continued speaking. "She was... murdered last night."

No thoughts went to Tally's head for a few moments. He was empty.

"Before you think I'm implying anything, I'm not," Callahan continued, seemingly unaware that Tally couldn't hear him. "I just want you to be prepared to be part of an investigation."

Tally shook his head frantically. Chrissy wasn't dead. Why would she be dead? No one would want to kill Chrissy Cunningham. She was an absolute angel.

"Tally?" Callahan whispered, finally seeming to pickup on Tally's emotions.

"She's not... she's not dead," Tally decided, each word burnt his throat, as if his body knew it was a lie.

A pitying expression crossed Callahan's face. "I'm sorry, Tally. I know you were close with her."

Tally shook his head frantically, trying to choke down the tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes.

"I'll have to go with Officer Powell to question her associations, so you'll be alone for a bit, is that okay?" Callahan asked in such a soft tone it made Tally feel like a child.

He nodded weakly, squeezing his eyes shut and flopping back down on his bed.

This felt unreal.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Callahan asked, not waiting for an answer as he left the room.

Tally let out a silent sob, slowly allowing his body to drift back to sleep.

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