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THE WOODS WERE LOVELY, DARK, AND DEEP, but it seemed like the group had miles to go before they encountered a potential gate to an alternate dimension. Amara had long since cycled through both water bottles she'd brought along for the trip, her muscles aching and a stitch in her side from overexertion. And she was far from the only one in their party tempted to call it quits until they had a better plan – at this point, Dustin was the sole individual with a skip in his step.
At some point throughout the journey Amara had gravitated toward Eddie, who despite swallowing his fears and choosing to go ahead with Dustin's hunch remained tetchy, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder like Jason was shrouded in the darkness and waiting to strike. Lucas and Max had stuck close to one another for most of the duration, communicating in hushed whispers and shoulders brushing; Dustin led the group with his gaze fixed on his trusty compass, Steve repeatedly reminding him to keep his eyes in front of him before he tripped; Nancy kept to herself, silent with worry for her brother and her boyfriend but simultaneously thankful they were anywhere but with them; Robin and Shaelynn were all subtle glances and smiles when their eyes met, so adorable to Amara that it was peculiar to think they were strangers only last week.
Amara let her mind wander to her family, whom she hadn't seen in days even if they knew the truth this time around. She was too far removed to know whether Patrick's murder had changed anything, the scope of the backlash Eurydice was undoubtedly on the receiving end of due to her insistence that Eddie was innocent even after he had ostensibly killed a third time, if Scott still had ahold of his job at the dealership, if Kevin had caught wind of anything given that the recent events had likely reached outside of Hawkins by now. It meant so much to her that they believed that her friend was innocent and were willing to fight for him, just as they had done for her all her life, but it pained her that they were risking their safety in the process.
Eddie seemed to share a similar sentiment. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you," he broke the silence between them with a quiet whisper, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "On behalf of your mom, I mean," he added in response to Amara's confusion. "I guess it's easier to blame the person everyone else assumes is guilty, so it really means a lot that she went to such great lengths to defend me. Even if it's all for nothing now."
"It's like I said. My mom isn't one to back down from a fight," Amara smiled warmly. "She knew that if I believed you were innocent that it had to be true, that staying silent was the same as agreeing with everyone else. And she isn't the only one – your uncle's on your side as well. Plenty of people are."
"Yeah, but that was before Patrick died and I ran away again," Eddie disputed, shaking his head fiercely. "I ran like I always do and now everyone's bound to think I'm a psycho murderer on top of the town freak. If I hadn't run – "
"Jason would've killed you, Eddie," Amara interrupted sharply, the quaver of her voice a slight shock to him. "He saw what it was easiest to believe and to make matters worse it's his girlfriend and best friend who died. As much as I hate to say it, he's too far gone at this point – nothing we say is gonna convince him you're innocent, not when he's more likely to think that Shaelynn's helping you than he's wrong. You were right to run."
