Break and Mend | "Lost and Found" Sequel

Chapter Eight: Gator Bait

Warnings: animal death, blood, mentions of suicide

Word Count: 4333

Due to El's tantrum the night before, Hopper had a very busy and interesting early morning. He had woken up and gotten ready for work, but decided to board up the windows El had shattered. Ever since the girl woke up, all she had been hearing was the banging of the hammer and Hopper's quiet grunts and curses to himself.

When he had finished boarding up the last window, he turned around. There peeking at him from her slightly opened door was El, a glare still on her face. Before he could even speak to her, she shut the door. Hopper sighed and slowly approached the door. When he stopped in front of it, he racked his mind for something, anything to say to her.

"Hey, kid," He started, leaning against the door. "Listen, um... about last night, I, uh..."

On the other side of the door, El waited with baited breath for what he was to say. In all honesty, he was struggling greatly. It was difficult for Hopper to express his emotions besides anger and sarcasm, and of course he and El had both said some things that they didn't really mean. Unfortunately, both of them were quite stubborn.

"I want this place cleaned up by the time I get back and then maybe I'll consider fixing the TV. You hear me?" He firmly said before striding out of the house, shutting the door behind him. El turned away from the door with an exhale of defeat.

After leaving the cabin and trekking his way through the woods, Hopper finally came upon his truck. Before he could even open the door, Flo, his secretary, could be heard speaking over the radio.

"Come in, Hop. Come in, Hop."

Hopper climbed into the car before snatching his radio and holding it up to his mouth. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm on my way in, and, yes, I do know what time it is." He sarcastically responded before setting the radio back in place.

"Joyce Byers has called eight times already this morning. Eight times. For my sake, please deal with her!"

He didn't need to be told twice before he was starting his truck and speeding off. Something drastic must have happened if she had been calling so many times. He told her to do so, after all. However, he thought there was a chance that she was being paranoid. Hopper understood if that was the case, but if so, then she needed someone with her to calm her nerves, and she surprisingly listened to him sometimes.

Pulling up to the Byers home, his confusion grew when he saw that the door was wide open. Hawkins was settling into its colder days, so for Joyce to have her door wide open during such chilly weather was odd. He cautiously walked through the door, knocking on it to let his presence be known. "Hello?"

"Leave it open." Joyce called back. She quickly made her way into the living room, a cardigan wrapped tightly around her as she anxiously smoked a cigarette. "Where the hell have you been?"

Hopper looked around, confusion deep in his tone. "I... overslept. What the hell's going on? It's freezing."

Joyce motioned for him to follow her, putting her smoke out in a nearby ashtray before leading him down the hall. With a smile she had plastered on her face, she slowly opened the door to Will's room. "Hey! Knock, knock." She softly greeted. "We have a visitor."

Will didn't respond. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, shirtless, facing away from his door but facing his open window. His expression was blank and his body was as straight and stiff as a board.

It took a bit, but Will and Joyce had calmly explained the current situation to Hopper. About Will's episode on the field, about his fever, and his sudden distaste for warm environments. Hopper had been staring at Will and Joyce's drawings of the shadow monster as he tried to make sense of everything. He was sitting beside Will on his bed with Joyce knelt on the floor beside her son. "So, this thing, this shadow thing... You told your mom it likes it like this. It likes it cold?"