Harrington 4

Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)

"We're really just gonna leave him there?" I ask as we pile back into Steve's car, a newfound purpose in our minds and a newfound feeling of terror in our chests. It's nearly ten now, and after we listened to Eddie's story and assured him we weren't going to tell the police where he was, we left him in the boat shed for the night.

"It's the safest place for him right now," Dustin answers, Max sitting in the middle now. "The police will be searching high and low for him, and this place is pretty far out."

I shut my door, and Steve starts the engine, rolling off the gravel and back onto the road.

"So what's our plan?" I ask, leaning over Max's lap to look at Dustin.

"Well, I think—"

"We're not turning him into the police," I snap at Steve, who scoffs.

"I wasn't gonna say that."

"Yeah, right."

"You—"

"Can we not start this again!" Robin cuts Steve off, and he throws a hand up in annoyance as I huff back into my seat.

"Well, I was thinking we should tap into the police dispatch," Dustin answers my question. "With Cerebro — see if Eddie's name is circulating. We'll come back in the morning, but we should all sleep. We don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring."

Max shifts in her seat, and Dustin turns to her.

"You can crash at mine Max. I get it if you don't wanna go back there."

"Thanks," she says, and I lean over her again.

"Can I?" I ask. "I know I'm not dealing with a neighbouring crime scene — well, the stench coming from Steve's room could be a dead body for all I know—"

"There is no stench—"

"Yeah, you can stay over," Dustin cuts Steve off hurriedly, and I lean back. Steve lets out a little scoff and looks out his window, and there's a slightly awkward silence before Robin speaks up.

"I'll stay at yours, Steve," she says. "That way we can all meet up easier in the morning."

"Yeah," Steve mutters, his tone slightly bitter. I start to feel bad, and then I remind myself of how he and my mom have been in regular contact since she drove me out of the state, and the feeling goes away.

I turn to the window, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes watching the trees flash by. I hate how everyone seems to be on Steve's side. They can't differentiate the fact that I haven't been in contact from what he did to me. It doesn't matter that I haven't reached out, I would've never been in Ohio in the first place if it wasn't for my mom. I get that Steve was struggling financially, but there are other ways to get money. Harder ways, sure, but if I was in his situation, and he was the one taken away from me, I would never accept a penny from the person that was responsible. That person also happening to be the woman that left us with an abusive monster of a father only adds to the betrayal. She doesn't deserve his forgiveness, and she certainly doesn't deserve to be a part of his life after she took me out of it. She's weaselling her way back in, and he refuses to see it. Maybe it's true that she wants to be our mother again, but that window is closed and locked and boarded up. It has been since I was ten. Since Steve turned on me and everyone in my family was suddenly someone to be scared of.

I never blamed Steve. All those years that he hurt me and I never blamed him. Not during, and not after. I understood why he was doing it; he wanted some sense of control in a life where everyone abused their control over him. Me and him were broken off the same stem, and so despite the hurt, I could never hate him as a kid. I understood his pain, even if he took it out on me.