✰𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫✰ // 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

000

1978:

how do you tell a 10 year old that her 7 year old sister wasn't gonna live much longer? well that question haunted both jim and diane hopper every single day.

the 10 year old was mature and smart enough to know her sister wasn't well and her parents weren't gonna be together much longer, due to the constant arguing and visits to the hospital. though she never knew this day would come.

she was sat in the waiting room with her grandmother, her mothers mother, waiting for her mom and dad to let her see her sister. finally her dad came out, she could tell he'd been crying. though he still had that smile on his face that would never leave when he saw her.

he held his hand out for his little girl to take. she looked back at her grandma who smiled and nodded. she finally gets to see her sister after a week, which to her felt like a year.

she skipped along holding her dads hand tightly. once the got in the room she ran over to her sister quickly. "sarah!" she exclaimed hugging the girl who laid peacefully in the hospital bed. wires snaked from machines to sarah. a beeping sound rhythmically sounded around the room.

"mar!" her sister grinned.

"hey be careful now." her mother chuckled at her excitement. Jim hopper stood smiling at the scene in the doorway, he picked a book off the shelf that hovered on the wall.

so for the next hour, margo hopper laid happily next to her sister, sarah hopper with their dad sat next to them reading a story using silly voices, and their mom sat on a chair wiping away each tear before they could go noticed.

until suddenly the constant beeping began to speed up. everyone apart from sarah  whose eyes were shut looked up, to anyone else she'd look like she was just sleeping, that anyone included margo. she furrowed her eyebrows as her parents quickly stood up, her mom pressing a red button behind the bed and her dad lifting her quickly off the bed ignoring the girl's questions and protests.

hopper held margo tightly in his arms as he rushed back to the waiting room, he placed her back in the chair next to her grandmother and sort of gave the older lady a look which spoke a thousand words.

her grandma quickly embraced her in a hug. "whats going on, ma?"

"nothing, everything's gonna be okay. why don't you try get some sleep love." she smiled patting her own lap inviting her granddaughter to lay her head down. margo happily accepted and fell asleep pretty quick.

margo awoke to a familiar surrounding, sandwiched between two people, she was laying in her own bed in hers and sarah's bedroom. her mom and dad sleeping peacefully beside her.

as she sat up both her parents woke up shortly after. their eyes were puffy and red like they'd cried, but she just passed it off as the fact the had just woke up. 

the morning went normal except the obvious, something was missing...someone was missing.

"mommy?" the girl spoke up as she sat at the table eating eggos.

"yes sweetie?" the woman replied.

"where sarah?"

"erm well—well." dianes eyes glossed with a thick layer of tears which forced her to rush to the bathroom.

margo was confused at her mother's outburst. she looked to her dad who looked down solemnly.

"dad, what happened?" margo asked forcefully.
her dad picked her up and placed her on the sofa, kneeling infront of his eldest daughter.

"margo you—you know how sarah wasn't feeling good. well her sickness got really bad but its okay shes happier now in a better place and shes with your pops and shes an angel now with wings and—" hopper rambled trying to say everything before he crumbled.

"dad im not 5, just tell me properly."

"yeah, sorry. so last night— last night sarah passed away. but its okay because she shes safer and not in pain anymore." his eyes began watering, however he sucked a breath in to keep it together.

"y-you mean shes not coming back?" margos voice broke and she fell into he dads arms. sobs erupting from her throat, hopper couldn't hold himself together much longer.

they cried in eachothers arms. he stroked her hair soothingly, trying to calm the girl.

"its okay star. i promise it will all be okay, she's our angel now." hopper whispered.

for days after that she sat in hers and sarahs bedroom either, looking at their toys, hugging sarahs tiger stuffed toy as well as her bunny rabbit or cried in sarahs bed. only leaving to eat.

her mom and dad always argued when her sister got sick, but now it got worse. to the point where she found her mom packing up all of her things in a suitcase.

"mom? where are you going?"

"i'm—i'm so sorry sweetie." Diane rested her hand against Margo's cheek but margo stepped back.

"whats going on mom?" she questioned again.

"i'm moving back to Wisconsin with your grandma." she guiltily whispered.

"huh? speak up mom cause i cant hear you." margo grew annoyed due to how worried she was.

"i said— i said i'm moving to Wisconsin." Diane repeated.

"what?! what are you talking about? you cant leave mom." margo shook her head quickly.

"i'm sorry mar."

with her sister gone and now her mom, her and her dad were left to there own devices.

—————
though six years later, margo star hopper learnt a lot. and now she's sitting at home, in a cabin in the middle of the forest, in front of their tv with her sister, eleven...