We gather our things and head out right away, Robin closing the store early and claiming that Keith usually spends his Saturday nights either at the Arcade or binge watching Doctor Who in his mom's basement. We climb into Steve's car, me squishing in the back between Max and Dustin as Robin climbs in the passenger side. I briefly make eye contact with Steve in the rear view mirror, but then he repositions it so it's facing away before screeching out of the lot.
"Can't believe I'm doing this right now," Steve mumbles as he hops a curb and skids onto the road.
"Just drive!" Dustin says, and Steve points at the red light.
"What does it look like I'm doing!"
"Run it!" I yell. "There's no one here!"
"Oh! Run it, she says!" He snaps back. "A real delinquent my sister has turned into, ladies and gentlemen!"
Oh, you don't know the worst of it.
"A real pussy my brother has turned into, ladies and gentlemen," I retort mockingly, and Steve turns around in his seat to point a finger at me.
"Hey! Watch your mouth—!"
"Oh, come off it! I'm not ten, Steve—!"
"Could've fooled me, with the way you're acting!"
"Steve," Robin chimes in.
"You're one to talk!" I throw his finger out of my face. "Maybe if your balls had already dropped you'd have the nerve to run a freaking red light with no witnesses!"
"Who decided to bring you along anyway—!"
"Steve!" Robin shouts. "The light is green!"
Steve turns back around, jamming his foot into the gas pedal and sending us all crashing back against our seats as he speeds into the intersection. His hands grip the wheel in fury, and I huff, crossing my arms and opting to stare out Max's window.
"What makes you guys so sure this isn't some psycho murder case, anyway?" Steve asks, his tone still laced with discontent.
"Did we mention the mangled body?" Max asks sarcastically, and Steve waves his hand.
"Uh — yeah," he says, "that's why I said psycho murder, Mayfield. Try to keep up."
"No person could've done this," I mumble, shaking my head. The vehicle goes quiet, all of us likely processing what this all might mean while simultaneously hoping that our eyes and ears are deceiving us. Despite how we all likely want to just go home, hide under our covers, and pray that this will pass as some crazy one-off occurrence, we know better than to ignore it. We know how quickly it can grow if left unattended. It's like a fungus, what lurks under this town. It finds its way in through cracks and holes that we think we've closed and covered up but somehow always manage to unseal. If we don't nip this in the bud now, then it may be impossible to stop it at all.
The ride is decently long, long enough that by the time we're circling Lover's Lake, the sun has set. Steve keeps a heavy speed, cutting the travel time down by maybe a third, and as we roll past a mailbox that reads 'Lipton,' I feel an anticipatory chill run down my neck.
Steve cuts the engine, and for half a second we sit in silence, none of us wanting to open their door first before Dustin takes the step and we all follow suit.
We approach the door, holding up flashlights as Dustin steps up and rings the bell. Once, then twice. Then a multitude of times before Steve speaks up.
"Okay, well that's settled." He points to the house. "I guess he's not here."
YOU ARE READING
Harrington 4
FanfictionLiz Harrington is at peace with how things have turned out. At least, that's what she tells herself. After everything that went down in Hawkins last summer, she is happy to be away from the cursed town she grew up in. She's getting used to her new l...
