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December 20, 1985
MUCH LIKE GRIEF, HEALING ISN'T A LINEAR PROCESS. Kevin was well aware of that by now.
In the months following his survival of the mall fire, as he'd watered it down to his friends and girlfriend, he still couldn't rid his mind of the blood splattered across Alexei's shirt or the explosion that had taken Jim Hopper's life. Sure, he loved college life. He loved his new job at the Indianapolis Star. He loved his friends. And he knew he loved Ximena, his girlfriend of nearly a year. But hiding the truth from her was shaping up to be one of the most challenging things he'd ever done. However, he wasn't about to reveal anything to her when it would only endanger her.
The semester was drawing to a close, a thin layer of snow blanketing the campus of the University of Indianapolis. His finals behind him, Kevin deposited his luggage into the trunk of his Toyota, having declined Ximena's offer of help. She stood a few feet away from him, all raven curls and olive skin and eyes the color of a sunlit sky. She was beautiful, and not just in looks. Her compassion knew no bounds, whether she was handling campers' tantrums at her summer job as a camp counselor or comforting Kevin after he awoke from a nightmare. He could clearly picture a future with a baby blue house and a trim lawn and her, but his brushes with the Upside Down had taught him that nothing was ever set in stone.
Ximena Williams had known something was wrong with her boyfriend for months, ever since she'd called him about the mall fire only for him to tell her he'd narrowly escaped it. He exhibited symptoms of PTSD similar to her grandfather's from his service in World War II – how he'd wake up gasping from flashbacks every now and then, how he'd sometimes stare off into the distance like he wasn't completely there, how he wasn't enjoying the things he loved as much as he used to. She and Kevin had fought to keep their relationship afloat, but both were mindful of the invisible barrier where a string had once connected them. She was smart enough to understand that he wasn't telling her everything.
"All done," Kevin slammed the trunk shut, dusting off his hands. He leaned against his battered car, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his eyes cast to the sky. Ximena joined him, accustomed to the silence that came with him these days.
"Is your family still good for Christmas?" Ximena queried, too propping herself against the trunk.
"Yeah, they are. You'll finally get to meet my sister," Kevin cleared up. "And her boyfriend as well. But they have a habit of falling asleep together on the couch, so that spot's taken."
"That settles that," Ximena chuckled; she and Kevin had also fallen asleep on the couch one too many times. "Your parents wouldn't mind if I stayed in your room, right? I probably sleep in your dorm more than my own these days... "
"Perks of our friends dating each other," Kevin pointed out, winding an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Indeed, Kevin's friend Tristian and Ximena's friend Kaia had started going out a few months after their respective friends had, and they'd chosen their roommates taking into account the fact that they'd want to spend the night with their significant others sometimes. "But relationships happen to be the one thing my parents aren't uptight about. We'll be alright."
