Blind

Chapter 13

El's POV:
I woke up, and felt the harsh hospital lights blind me for a second. I sat up, feeling a sharp pain in my left arm. I looked at the bandages and grimaced, at least the bleeding stopped.

There were no wires attached to me, so I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Will had brought clothes for me so I showered and put them on before brushing my teeth. The good part of having short hair is that I don't really have to style it. I wish I still had long hair though, it made me feel more normal. It's ok though, I can just grow it out again. In fact, let me show you what my hair looks like now.

It's grown quickly over these past few months, I think it'll take around a year to grow back to how it was when we were fighting the Mindflayer. Or when I first hung out with Max. I hope they come soon, I hate hospitals. It reminds me of the bad men, they all wear white jackets and test people.

I walked out the bathroom, my hair's still a bit wet but it doesn't take long to dry anyway. When I first grew my hair out, everyone was surprised it was wavy. I guess they expected it to be straight, but I like my hair. Hopper was the one who styled it, I miss him a lot. I haven't seen him since Starcourt, but Joyce doesn't think he died. I don't either, that's why I keep the door open 3 inches at home, that was like a top rule for him.

My thoughts got interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in." I said, sitting down on a chair. Suddenly, the party burst through the door, and my head shot up.
"Woooh!" Will cheered, "Time to go home!" He danced around with Dustin.
Max and Mike followed behind him, laughing too. But then Lucas came in, and my smile faded. He had his arms crossed, and an angry expression on his face. He didn't look at me directly though.

"Come on!" Mike said. He helped me up from the chair and I smiled.
"Okay, I'm coming." I chuckled. We walked outside the room, Will spoke to the receptionist for a few seconds before we were allowed outside.

We got into Nancy's car, this time Robin wasn't here though. "Hey El! We're going back to yours." She greeted.
I nodded and sat beside on the right of Max. She smiled so I did too. She said her vision is a lot better, she can see colours and outlines, I think the main problem is how blurry everything is. But it's slowly getting better, at least she can walk around without tripping.

I leaned forward and glanced over Max, seeing Lucas to the left of her. He noticed me looking and gave me an angry look. I quickly looked away and went back to my original position. Shit, he's still mad.

"Of course I'm mad! You did this to Max. You did this to all of us." The voices, whispers in my head. "It's your fault our lives got ruined. It's your fault Hawkins got destroyed. It's your fault Max was in a coma." No no no. They're getting louder, they're getting angry. I put my head in my hands, trying to get it to stop.
"She even said it herself. It's your fault. It's your fault! IT'S YOUR FAULT!" She said she didn't mean it. These voices are lying to me.
"We're not lying. You know it yourself. Stop hiding from the truth!"

"Make it stop." I murmured, holding my hair tight.
"We won't stop. We won't stop until we get revenge."
"Who are you?" I asked, feeling a sharp pain in my head.
"The people you've killed. Don't think we've forgotten what you've done to us. We're gonna get revenge. Eleven."
"No no no! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to hurt you." I said, ignoring everyone's judging eyes on me.
"Hurt us?! No, you killed us!"

"El?" Will asked.
"I didn't mean to. I didn't know." I said, beginning to shake slightly.
"You tried to kill yourself to get rid of the guilt. But it didn't work. You're a failure. You're a test subject. That's all you'll ever be."
I froze. Was that really all I was? Had I not proved myself yet? Am I only seen as a failure? A test subject?
"You know we're right. You killed us Eleven. You killed us."
"I had to. Papa made me!" I said.

I heard distant shouts, but it's like I'm trapped in my own mind.
"Papa's dead. Because of you. Seems like everywhere you go, death follows huh?"
"T-that's not true. Stop lying."
"But there the thing. We're not lying, are we Jane?"
"S-stop it. You're lying. And don't call me that."
"Jane? But that's your birth name isn't it? Oh wait. Your mum died too. Because of you, yet again."
"Leave me alone! Ow- fuck!" I felt a pounding in my head, as if someone was using a hammer on it.

Suddenly, I felt someone's hand on mine, and I was back in Nancy's car. I slowly took my hands out of my hair, and looked around. Everyone's eyes were on me, and we were parked outside my house.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Will asked.
"Nothing. I'm fine. Thanks for the ride Nancy." I opened the door and rushed inside, going straight upstairs.