Blind

Chapter 12

Will's POV:
Nancy slowly opened the door, and we walked inside. I looked at El in the bed and she wasn't awake. She had no oxygen mask on though, and she was still in her clothes. I looked over to her arm and saw it bandaged up. We sat down and waited patiently.

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20 minutes later, Mike and Dustin came in. We smiled and greeted them. We stayed there and chatted for a while. Until finally, El woke up. She looked around, "Where am I?" She asked quietly.
"In the hospital Ellie." Max answered, speaking softly.
"Oh..." El said, looking at Max, tears in her eyes.
"You're ok now." I said.
"I don't wanna be ok. I don't deserve it." The poor girl whispered.
"You out of everyone deserves to be ok. You deserve to be happy." I said.
"Yo, Max. Wanna go and eat with us?" Dustin asked, interrupting the moment.

Max looked at me, as if to ask what she should do. "Go on. Make sure to come back after." I whispered in her ear.
She nodded, "Alright, let's go." The boys smiled and headed out, Dustin having his arm around Max's neck, his hand resting on her shoulder. Nancy went home since she wanted to let the kids speak by themselves.

When they left, Will turned back to El. "Why El, why did you hurt yourself?" He asked softly.
"I don't know." El said quietly.
"I know you're lying. Why did you do it El? I'm not mad at you, I just wanna know." Will said.
"To pay for everything I've done, your trauma is my fault, Max's trauma is my fault, everyone's trauma is my fault. All the things I've done to pay so far wasn't enough, so by not being here anymore it would be enough. It'd do everyone a favour and you'll all forget about me, being able to go back to your normal lives." El said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"You don't have to pay for anything. You've killed Vecna, the one who released the Mindflayer, the one who released the Demogorgon. That's enough for all of us. And our lives are better with you in it El. We all love you and can't imagine life without you anymore." I said.
El looked at me and smiled, then she began crying. I laughed as I cried too, I went up to her and hugged her tight. "Thank you." She said.
"That's what brothers do." I said.

We hugged each other for a moment longer before the boys burst back in. "Hey guys! We're back!" Dustin cheered.
I smiled and slowly pulled away from El. I ruffled her short, soft hair before sitting on a chair beside the bed.
"Am I going home today?" El asked.
"The doctor said you have to stay here tonight, but we can take you home tomorrow morning." I said.
She nodded, and we just talked for a while. El seemed a bit more comfortable without Lucas here, which was good. I noticed Max seemed a bit distant, and I think El noticed too since she would occasionally look at Max worriedly.

A few hours later, it was dark so we decided we had better head out. We stood up, and as we were about to leave, El grabbed Max's arm gently. "Um can you stay? Just for a minute." El asked quietly, as if she was scared Max was gonna reject her.
Instead she smiled, "Sure." She said.
I smiled and led Dustin and Mike out. "We'll be in the waiting room." I said, before closing the door behind me.

El's POV:
Even though Max is probably mad at me, I don't like being like this with her. She's been distant all day and I hope our friendship isn't ruined.
"I-I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And I know it's not enough but-" I tried.
"It's ok. Your sorry is more than enough, I mean you saved my life, that was way more than enough too. I should be saying sorry for all the things I said, I didn't mean any of it I was just angry and I... exploded you could say. But really El, I promise I never meant any of it and I never will. My vision is getting better and I owe my life to you. I'm so sorry for everything I said, I know how much it hurt you and I understand if you're upset with me or even want me to leave you alone-"

"No, Max. You're my best friend, and I hate it when we argue or when we're distant. So can we be ok now?" I asked.
She smiled, "More than ok." She hugged me tight and I smiled.
"I missed you Max." I said, my head on her shoulder.
"I missed you too Ellie. So much." She gently stroked my hair. Our moment got interrupted by someone banging on the door. Max laughed, "I better go before they break the door down. I'll see you tomorrow ok?" She asked.
"Ok." I answered. Max smiled and pulled away, then she kissed my head before walking out, waving and then shutting the door behind her. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, I don't know what this feeling is. I like it though.

I smiled to myself and laid back down on the bed. I got comfortable under the blanket and actually managed to fall asleep, no nightmares this time.