𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒔 ❪ steve harrington ❫

lviii

Andrea didn't know how to make herself not think about everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours. It stuck with her to the point that she wasn't sure she would ever forget about it. After all, this was only the start. She knew that this was not over.

Andrea got out of the car while Steve, Robin, and Dustin had taken part of the boxes in. Her curly hair was a mess but she didn't seem to mind as she wore a slip dress with one of Steve's shirts over top just so that she could be comfortable.

She grabbed one of the smaller boxes and began to walk inside, dropping off a few things before pressing her fingers against a spot on her forehead that began to give her a bit of annoyance as it pulsed angrily. But Andrea refused to let this knock her down, she wasn't going to let anything keep her down.

The girl moved and felt as soon as one of Steve's arms snaked around her waist, as he gave her a slightly disappointed look for the fact she brought a box in. Steve was worried about her overdoing it, still shaken up by the fact that the girl had died. Though, Andrea had since almost seemed like a shell of herself. But she didn't mind that as her eyes scanned the surrounding areas.

People of Hawkins were everywhere. Sitting and laying on different cots and chairs. Some have oxygen hooked up to them and others look fine physically but definitely not fine mentally. It was clear how bad they had been affected. Affected by her father. By her lack of being able to stop it sooner. Part of her wanted to even how Eleven had failed alongside her, but she was young. El deserved none of the blame.

Andrea found a frown tugging at her lips. She was partially to blame for everything that had happened. After all, it was her father's doing. Maybe if she had done a little more she could've stopped him. Maybe if she didn't hold herself back or become as weak as she had... maybe the outcome would've been different.

Maybe Eddie would've lived.

And maybe, just maybe, Max would still be skating around.

But they weren't.

Andrea hated to think the way she did but Max was pretty much dead. No one was sure if she'd ever wake up. If she'd ever be able to see again let alone move or hear. All because of Vecna. All because Andrea couldn't do anything. All because her father had outsmarted her and her friends at a game Andrea should've played better.

And so the town fell.

And Andrea knew she was to blame. No matter how much everyone told her she had no fault in what happened she knew she did. She was her father's daughter, she knew she could've found a way to stop him and put a stop to his actions. She could've saved the town. She could've saved her friends.

All of Andrea's time in Hawkins, leaving the lab, and finding a home for herself... she had been different. Unlike her sister, she had been put into a home in public. Not that she complained but there were a lot of risks at hand with that having happened. El was in hiding and lived harsher, yes, but she was safer than Andrea was.