In My Blood

Episode 20 - Closure And Its Consequences

One month later...

I glanced up at the neon sign over the small Hawkins bar as I set my bicycle stand down, resting it next to my father's sheriff's van. He was already inside, most likely sitting in one of the booths the Hideaway offered for our meeting. I crossed my arms over my chest with a shiver, my breath easy to see with the winter temperature of Indiana. The grey puff jacket I wore did barely any good to block out the cold, worn thin over the years. I bent my head down to fiddle with the zipper again, pulling it up and down as if it would change anything.

Nancy and Jonathan's recording of Doctor Owens had reached the public, and every time I turned on the television, Hawkins Labs was the ongoing topic. Whoever they had sent it to had kept all supernatural events and reasonings out of the story, turning the tale of experimentation and monsters into a chemical leakage. That was what the town of Hawkins came to easily believe, that Barb's death last year along with Bob's and Diana's had been the result of toxic asphyxiation. With no proof of an actual bear attack, the "truth" spread like wildfire.

That wasn't the only gossip being passed around. The knowledge of my and Steve's relationship was everywhere, and there were even adults I had talked with once or twice coming up to ask me about it. I didn't know whether to blame it on the fact his family was known by almost everyone or that the small town just relished in knowing everything about their neighbors. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Besides him and Charity, I hadn't seen much of anyone else since the funeral. Nancy and Jonathan never left each other's side that I knew of. Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max were always riding around town. Eleven was growing restless in the cabin, feeling much more like herself, and her rambunctiousness was rubbing off on the cat. Perhaps I was allowing myself to relive the past weeks to clear my head... or to give my dad and Doctor Owens more time to speak alone. He had promised to tell me what would happen after that night, but after Hawkins Labs was shut down by the government, it had taken a little bit of time. Then, I was dying to know, but now, I was stalling.

With a huff, I finally left my bike's side, pulling open one of the bar's twin glass doors and entering the building. I found Owens immediately, him giving a small tilt of his head as a welcome, and I beelined to the booth along the side of the wall. I plopped down on the cushioned seat beside my father, who had a thin grey envelope sitting on the table in front of him.

"The lady of the hour- welcome," the doctor greeted me, much cheerier than in our previous encounters. He gestured toward the envelope with a hand. "Go on, you'll want to see this." I glanced at him warily before picking it up and opening it, pulling a blue sheet from inside. It was a birth certificate, but it was the name 'Jane Hopper' written along the first dotted line. "Looks quite official, doesn't it?"

"Quite," I agreed, setting it back down on the table and closing the envelope. This was Owens's deal with my father for saving his life. It should've brought more joy out of me to see my sister share a familial name with me again, but it didn't. It was like I already knew it was meant to lessen whatever blow he was holding back. "Just in time for the holidays. I'd say Merry Christmas, but I don't know if you celebrate."