heart strings // stranger things

T W O

Audrey ate by herself the next morning, her brother already left for school. He 'walked', or so he claimed in the sticky note he left on the fridge. She figured he was still pissed off from the night before and didn't want the argument to carry over into the morning like most of their family's disagreements tended to do. She was eating a bowl of cheerios with skim milk, watching a bird eat some of the seed out of the bird feeder her mom set up outside the kitchen window when they first moved in.

She was nowhere near ready for school yet. A mouth full of morning breath, her hair a mass of bedhead, and was still dressed up in the same pajamas she'd been wearing for the last week. Wear them to bed, take them off in the morning and toss them to the side until she got home and put them back on for the night... repeat.

She debated on not going to school at all, staying home and playing hooky for the day but she's not able to dissect her plan long before her house phone is ringing, dragging her out of her thoughts. She forgets about her cereal and stands up, wiping the moisture from her lips with the back of her hand. She plucked the phone off the wall, pressing it to her ear, fighting the tangle of the curly cord at the same time she greeted whoever was on the other side of the call.

"Audrey. Sweetie, it's Aunt Karen. I was just calling to check in. I am not sure if you heard or not but Michael's friend Will... he went missing Sunday night." Her Aunt's voice came in through the phone, surprising her in more ways than one. She hadn't been expecting her to call let alone tell her one of her cousin's friends is missing.

"Oh." She manages to croak out, wondering silently if his disappearance had anything to do with the bear Artie mentioned Sunday night then she realized she was starting to sound just as crazy as him.

"No one is quite sure what's happened yet so make sure you and your brother are going straight to and from school. Just until this whole thing gets resolved." Audrey doesn't say anything, not sure if she should mention the bear or not. Karen takes her continued silence as an opportunity to keep talking. "There's still a few days until your mom's due home. Is there anything you two need? I'll be out later so I don't mind grabbing a few things if you need me to."

"Thanks but we're okay. Mom left us our usual fund for survival. I still have to get ready for school but I'm sure I should see you soon. I love you."

"Of course, like I said I just wanted to check in. Your Uncle and I love you too."

Audrey grimaced as she hung the phone back on the receiver, not exactly in belief that Uncle Ted could love anything besides his favorite lazy-boy recliner and her youngest cousin Holly. Him and her mom often argue with other family members about how much they're not alike, proving everyone right in the process. The two of them clashed more often than not but Audrey wasn't sure who her mom could get along with at this point.

Audrey made her outfit simple after she got a glimpse of the time; a navy blue shirt with red, yellow and green stripes, and then a simple pair of high-waisted jeans with her converse. She stuffs her homework from last night into her messenger bag, slinging it around her before shoving her pack of cigarettes into her top desk drawer. Already craving another one, the cigarette she inhaled down last night had only calmed her enough to get what she needed done before she went to bed. Now, she wanted another just for the sake of it, one to get her through the day but if she was ever going to get her car back then she needed to stop.

She headed outside after brushing her teeth and detangling her hair; only tracing over the make-up she'd been wearing from the day before instead re-doing it all over. She walked the sidewalk to the end of the street, just like she always does, stopping at the corner to wait for Rhonda to pick her up. She doesn't wait long and before she knows it, she's on the bus, by herself.