no one lives forever || part 2

o1 || dustin

Dustin Henderson was not having a great summer. As much as he hated to say it, Delilah, his older sister was to blame. After everything that had happened in March earlier that year, Delilah had taken it harder than anyone he knew. She sat on her bent knees, her hands clutching the edge of the toilet bowl as she vomited bright red liquid out of her mouth. She had made spiked punch at her party which was still kind of bumping down stairs. Delilah had had too much to drink and was paying for it now. Their parents were out of town on a couples therapy retreat and Delilah had ridden the house with endless parties. Dustin would have to step over people passed out on the floor in the mornings before he was able to usher them out of the house. This night seemed to be no different. He held his sister's long curly hair back from her face and slowly rubbed her back.

"I'm so . . . " She gagged lightly, her body shifting from the intensity of her gag, "I'm so sorry Dustin," She barely got out before she was sent forward, vomiting once again in the toilet.

"It's okay sis," He said, pulling her hair further back, "Just get it all out," He noted, looking away from his sister before noticing how tangled her curls were.

Ever since Steve had helped Dustin with his hair routine, he had always unkempt his curls, but Delilah had let hers tangle and rat up. There was a knock on the door and Dustin immediately hollered, "Occupado dude!" He used poor spanish that he had nearly failed that year had it not been for Suzie.

"I just gotta piss!" A voice called out before the door was sent opening and Tommy H. stumbled through before catching the sight of Delilah hovered over the toilet, "Oh shit! Henderson, you got fuuuucked up!" He said with a stifled laugh.

"Fuck you, Tommy," Delilah barely got out before she launched another vicious puke attack on the toilet.

"Get out of here! There's another bathroom down the hall!" Dustin hollered, standing to his feet but people had gathered behind them and began laughing at the sight. Dustin's eyes stung with tears of frustration, but he dared not let them fall. "I said get the fuck out!" Dustin screamed, startling several party goers before they all began to mumble before making their way out of the bathroom where his sister lay in a heap on the floor now, red vomit caked on her chin. Dustin began to shove people out of the door before slamming it shut.

He returned to his sister's side before realizing that she had completely passed out. He had seen his sister in this situation more often than not as of late. Billy Idol blared from down the hall in the living room where Delilah had put on one of her infamous mixed tapes. She had even made Dustin one at one point who had listened to it with Will and Jonathan one summer afternoon a couple years ago. When things were much simpler for the Henderson family. There was no Charles, no Vecna, no Eddie Munson- God did he miss Eddie. He thought about him all the time. He had nightmares of him stuck in the upside down and turning into his own upside down creature. He had tried to talk to Delilah about it, but she didn't seem to keen on ever talking about Eddie.

She had been seeing a court appointed therapist since she had sounded crazy trying to defend Eddie and blaming it on another universe. No one believed her. They still received death threats and angry letters from concerned parents about Delilah dating a man who allegedly murdered so many people. She was seen as the devil's concubine one letter had called her. Charles would leave the letters in her bedroom for her to read in an attempt to make her think about her decisions. He wasn't sure if Delilah read them or destroyed them, but she never seemed bothered by any of it. Dustin's mind went to the time a woman had said something to them inside a grocery store one day.

"You're the devil's whore!" The woman had screamed at her, as Delilah watched her items ring up on the conveyor belt. She seemed to ignore her at first before the woman continued to holler at her, "Eddie Munson is a murderer and I know you were in on it to!"

Delilah had snapped at her so quick, it startled everyone in the immediate vicinity, "You think you know about the devil?!" She yelled, "You think you know about hell?!" She clenched her fists tightly and stared the woman down, making a B-line toward her past the people behind them in line, "You don't know anything bitch!" The crowd gasped before Delilah got face to face with her, "Go ahead," She said, bumping her chest against the woman who had tried to instigate with Delilah Henderson, "Say something else about Eddie Munson and the devil to me, please, I'm begging you," Delilah had grabbed her wrists and held them up, staring down into her soul.

The woman had been shaking at this point before Dustin was successfully able to pull Delilah off of the woman, "Come on D, let's go," He said, as Delilah paid for her items, still staring down at the woman who was now sobbing at the back of the line, a couple of employees helping her to the ground.

Delilah was always quick to defend Eddie, much like Dustin tried his best. He never got as intense as Delilah did, even though sometimes he couldn't blame her. He was brought back to the moment at hand when he noticed his sister crying. He thought she was unconscious but something had kept her awake. She slowly pushed herself up from the ground and Dustin slid his arms under hers before he began to pull her out of the bathroom. No one was in the hallway as he drug his sister to her bedroom. It smelled of stale marijuana and lysol. He reached the edge of her bed and leaned her up against it before he began taking her red vans off. She was still crying.

"What's wrong with me Dustin?" She cried, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, smearing her makeup all over her eyes, "Why can't I just let him go?"

The words stopped Dustin in his place as he had just thrown one of her shoes into a corner. It was then that he realized that his sister didn't have anyone to really talk to about Eddie. She couldn't very well spill to her therapist that she had watched her boyfriend get ripped apart by a creature from another world. His heart stung for her before he removed her other shoe with ease. "We all grieve differently, D," He spoke, softly tossing the shoe in the corner with the other one, "It'll get better I promise-"

Before he could finish Delilah snapped at him, "Really? You really think this Vecna creep is gone? He's not Dustin, I can still feel him . . . and no one understands . . . and Max," The more she talked, the harder she cried. Dustin immediately leaned forward and embraced his sister in a tight hug.

"She'll be okay to . . .She has to, El wouldn't let anything happen to her," He said, reassuringly, "We'll be okay, Delilah," He said, holding his sister as she cried in his arms. Her arms eventually raised and hugged him back, but Dustin knew that this moment would undoubtedly repeat again. This wasn't the first time she had cried about Eddie to him. He was sure it wouldn't be the last. The two of them had been visiting Eddie's Uncle Wayne ever since everything had happened. They had dinner together, he usually cooked and it was always something good. Sometimes Delilah would bring take out, but they would mostly sit in silence until Delilah would have enough to drink to start reminiscing about Eddie. It always made all of them cry.

The hole that he had left in their lives was bigger than anyone could have ever imagined. Dustin was brought back to the moment as he realized that Delilah had stopped crying and had passed out again. He hoisted her up under her arms and managed to flop her down onto her mattress. He looked down at her sadly, puke still dried onto her chin as she slept. It seemed to be the only solace she ever seemed to get. Even then, he knew she had nightmares that would wake her in a cold sweat. At least from what she had told him.

Once she was securely in bed, Dustin was able to sneak back to his room, undetected by the remaining party goers who were all still sipping on Delilah's punch. Once he reached the solace of his bedroom, he closed and locked the door behind him, noticing Tews had curled up on the foot of his bed, escaping the party much like he had done. He sat next to the small cat who immediately stretched up and made it's way over to Dustin's lap. He ran his hand over the cat's smooth furry back before Tews got cozy in Dustin's lap. He gave a soft smile before he looked over at his wall where the Hellfire Club yearbook picture hung on his mirror. As well as a picture of him in his Ghostbuster's costume and the group of his friends as well. Will, Mike, Lucas, and himself. How things had changed so drastically since the simple days of Dungeons and Dragons and pizza.