Angelica "Freak Two" Munson

Chapter 56

Steve pulls into the small gravel driveway adjacent to the Munson house.

Closing his door quickly, he casually jogs up to the front door and knocks.

To his surprise, none other than Eddie Munson answers it.

He's puzzled but almost immediately replaces his expression with a teasing one, "Well, hello there, Harrington."

"Munson," he acknowledges him respectfully despite not really enjoying his company.

"Whatcha doing here?" He lightly taps a rhythm on the wooden frame.

"I'm here to see Angie. Is she here?"

Eddie opens his mouth to retort when another voice rings out from behind him.

"Eddie? Is someone at the door?"

He rolls his eyes at Harrington before turning to flash a smile at his little sister, "Yeah," he bows, allowing in their guest.

"Steve?" She questions from her doorway, quickly closing it a bit further to conceal the half-filled bag and scattered clothes upon her bed, "What are you doing here?"

He waltzes up to her, "I came to see you." Briefly, he turns to a nosy Eddie still by the front door. He lowers his voice, "We need to talk."

Steve attempts to walk into her room, but she places a hand on his chest to stop him. She clears her throat, "Can we– Can we go somewhere else?"

"I don't think that's necessary." He shrugs, moving forward once more, "We can just talk in here."

Whilst trying to stop him, her grip slips from the door, revealing her attempt at packing.

"What are you doing?" He questions, not missing the guilty look upon her face.

She steps back and allows him through.

"You're packing a bag?" Steve faces her to watch her expression, "Where are you going?"

"I um– I don't know yet. And– and I still might not even go." She stutters, closing the door.

"Angie," he addresses her softly, knowing that she's upset, "Where are you going?"

Her demeanor sinks as tears gloss her eyes, "I– Eddie and I are going on a road trip– cross country."

"How long will you be gone?"

He can tell by the look on her face that he isn't going to like the answer.

"Steve," She attempts, "I– I don't know... maybe four to six months, depending on how long we stay in each place."

"Angie, that's a really long time to be gone." He steps closer, "What about school? What about–" He pauses, his thoughts racing. What about us?

"I'm taking a break. I– I need a break." She shrugs, "I'll try my best to catch up when I get back, but I–" she takes a deep breath to collect herself, "I don't know if I can stay here, Steve."

"I understand that what happened last week was... really difficult for you, and I'm not trying to dismiss your feelings, but it was really hard on all of us. You can't just leave, especially now. We all need each other."

"I'll come back. I–" she tries to excuse herself.

"In four to six months!" He exclaims.

"I need time to process this." A tear slips from her eye.

"Why can't you do that here?" He runs an anxious hand through his hair, "We're all here for you. We went through it, too."

"Steve, there's something about that night that you don't know." Angie begins, staring at the ceiling for a moment to stop the tears from flowing.

He waits silently for her to continue.

"I–" she clears her throat, taking a deep breath, "I lost a brother."

"What?" Steve mutters, unsure if he even heard her correctly.

"I lost a brother." She repeats softly, "Billy was my brother and I–" she tries to contain her sobs, "I didn't know it until after he was already gone."

"Angie," Steve steps closer to her as she cowers in the doorway.

"He– he protected me, and he died so that we could live." She sputters, "And I... I never got to tell him that I for– forgave him for everything that happened in November, and it– it's k-killing me, Steve." She cries, holding her hands close to her chest, "That's– that's why I have to leave. I just– I need to–"

"No." He cuts her off, "Don't use death as an excuse to run away."

"I'm not running away." She tries to defend herself, "I'm just upset."

"You think that I'm not upset?" Steve questions her with a small scoff, "I went through it too, remember? Do you think I'm not torn up about losing Hopper or hell– even Billy?"

"Steve, that's not fair." She mutters.

"No– you know what's not fair?" His voice begins to raise, "What isn't fair is you kissing me and then deciding that you're going to leave for four to six months! Why would you do that?"

"I was trying to protect El from the Mind Flayer! I didn't know if I was going to make it back! I just wanted you to know–" Angie shouts.

"But you did, Ange!" He cuts her off,  "You did make it back, so what am I supposed to do?" He places his hands on his hips, "What does it mean?"

"I don't know!"

"Bullshit!" He exclaims.

"I just told you that I didn't know if I was going to make it back! I wanted you to know!" She shouts.

"Know what?" He almost seethes, his patience wearing thin as stress floods his body, "What did you want me to know?"

"That I love you." She confesses, cursing herself at the volume.

Steve stays silent, unsure if he even heard her correctly.

"I just– I didn't want there to be a chance that I died and you didn't know." She states quietly.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that from you kissing me and running away?" He questions genuinely.

"I–" she clears her throat, "It was the best I could think of at the time. I guess I didn't really– I guess I should've been clearer, but I didn't really have a lot of time to think about it." She mutters, clearly embarrassed.

He takes a seat on the edge of her bed, away from the scattered clothes. After a moment of contemplating, he speaks, "So what are you gonna do?" He asks softly.

She sighs, "I don't know. I just– I need time away from–"

"From me." He states rather than questions.

"Steve,"

"No, it's alright. I get it." He rises from her bed and steps past her, opening her bedroom door.

Gripping the handle tightly, he pauses, "Have fun on your trip."

Steve closes her door, leaving her alone in her room.

He looks up to Eddie reading a magazine on the couch, "Munson," he nods, bidding him goodbye.

Eddie salutes him hesitantly, watching his solemn expression as he leaves the premises.