CRUEL SUMMER {stranger things • lumax}

𝖎'𝖒 𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌

Lucas sat somberly for the rest of the night, silence hanging uncomfortably between the four. He picked his head up off of Steve's shoulder as Doctor James greeted them.

"I've got good news for you this morning. Maxine is awake and more alert than we've seen her. I'd recommend you give a hello," he said, winking.

Lucas jumped out of his seat and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes. The doctor nudged him with a chuckle. "Yes, really. C'mon in son."

He pushed open the door hesitantly, but his anxiety melted away as Max's cloudy eyes slowly trailed to where he stood. Her neck brace had returned, probably for stability after what happened last night.

"Hello?" she asked barely above a whisper, eyes searching.

"Max! Oh thank God." He rushed over to her bedside and grabbed her cold hand. "It's ok, it's ok. Please d-don't cry," he finished quietly. Lucas's heart broke into a million pieces as her face twisted at the sound of his voice, and how she must've felt trapped in the brace. She said his name like a broken revelation and Lucas dropped his own head in defeat. "I'm here Max, right here."

Tears leaked down her blotchy cheeks. "L-Lucas, my eyes. I can't s-see you. I wanna see you," Max confessed wobbly, squeezing her eyes shut with grief. Lucas pressed her hand to his lips, his expression now crumbling too.

"I'm so sorry," Lucas murmured quietly.

Max took a deep breath in, turning her head towards him as much as she could.

"Is everyone else ok?" she then whispered. "The doctor... he told me what he could about what happened. That it's been... weeks." Her throat seemed to close up at the time she'd missed. Lucas noticed as she bit down on her lip to keep from crying again.

He gulped as a sick feeling bloomed in his stomach.

"We're ok," he replied slowly. If he was being honest, Lucas wasn't quite ready to rehash what Dustin had told him yesterday. He felt like El should be the one to tell Max exactly what had happened.

So Max nodded in understanding, not asking any further. She blinked slowly as she settled back into the pillow, and Lucas realized that she was probably on a few pain meds, making her a bit drowsy. Not to mention she had just woken up from a coma.

He looked down at his hands, not sure what to say next. A few tender moments passed.

Then, softly,

"Lucas?"

"Yeah Max?" he cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes, "What is it?"

"I'm... hungry," she admitted, raspy words slurring together.

Lucas loosened up a bit with that, "Yeah, ok, o-of course Max." He turned around to search the cart of supplies next to her bed.

"Mmmm, well there's a tempting bowl of oatmeal. I think I can even hear it calling your name." He was happy to see Max crack a smile at that.

"Sure, whatever." She coughed lightly. "I'll take anything at this point. Water too?" Sudden exhaustion was evident as she settled back into her pillow, finishing with a mumble.

"Of course Max." Lucas repeated. He'd do anything for her.

He removed the cling wrap from the oatmeal and searched the cupboards for a spoon. "Bingo. Ok so here's--"

And just like that, Max was asleep again. He placed the bowl down onto the table with a sigh. At least he had the comfort this time of knowing she'd be awake again soon. There was a soft knock on the door, the heads of Dustin, Steve, and Robin poking through the small window. Lucas rolled his eyes and slipped out the door, letting them know Max was really tired but in good spirits.

She'd be ok.

~

After a light-hearted but mediocre cafeteria meal, the trio insisted Lucas have the rest of the day to himself with Max.

"We'll be back again tomorrow, first thing. That's a promise, Sinclair," Steve assured him.

And so Lucas stalked up the several flights of stairs, giving a wave to the receptionist, and peeked into Max's room. The sun was setting now, making her hair shine like gold. He didn't see a reason he shouldn't be allowed in, so Lucas found his way to his usual spot as Max kept sleeping. Not wanting to wake her up, Lucas flipped through his book to where he left off and read quietly in his head. The dog gone wild had just bitten Donna in the stomach when he heard Max take in a quick gulp of air, eyes closed tightly.

Lucas's eyes drew in confusion. "Max... are you feeling ok? Is something hurting?"

Max's breathing only grew faster, eyes rolling under closed lids. Was she having a nightmare? For a fleeting moment Lucas actually hesitated to wake her up. She could see when she was dreaming. But Lucas decided there would be other days for that as Max left out a soft wail. He sat on the edge of her bed and placed both hands on her shoulders, saying her name firmly. He repeated himself a little louder and gave a small shake.

Lucas knew she would've shot straight out of bed if she had the ability to do so, probably slamming right into his forehead. But instead she looked widely up towards the ceiling, still breathing hard. Then she started to panic, "Wh-what I-I can't see anything - Lucas, why can't I see anything?!" She struggled to sit up, "Agh! I-I can't move... it hurts! Lucas it hurts!" She grew breathless. One of his hands remained firm in its place, the other reaching for the call button.

Lucas couldn't stop the tears that sprung into his eyes, the scene in front of him all too similar to what happened at the Creel House. "Max you're ok, y-you're safe. Deep breaths, ok? There was an accident, don't you remember? Your body is still healing."

Her eyes frantically searched the room but it was useless. Thankfully the nurses were quick to respond and calmly entered. One gave Lucas a kind nod, encouraging him to let go of Max.

It would be ok.

Doc later explained that temporary confusion wasn't uncommon for coma patients, especially after the trauma Max had endured. Her blindness would only make things harder, but her rapid recovery so far was promising.

Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair stopped by with dinner that night, concern etched on their faces for their son, and their town. They didn't say a word about Mrs. Wheeler or Will or anything that had transpired within the last year. Lucas knew he should be grateful they were even allowing him to step out of the house, let alone spend so much time at Max's side. Her mom had disappeared in the chaos of the earthquake, and the Sinclair family had a certain fondness already growing for the redhead long before the accident. They kissed him goodnight and made him swear he'd try and get some sleep.

Dustin, Steve, and Robin showed up bright and early the next morning as promised, and not long after, a surprise visitor too.

Lucas saw her before she saw him. Eleven looked around the lobby nervously as Hopper stood close by, probably asking the receptionist for directions.

"El!" Oh, this is going to be so good for Max, thought Lucas. There's not many things to smile about these days.

Eleven was already wiping her eyes furiously before the group met in the middle for a wet hug.

"Ok, no more crying." She gave a watery laugh. "Let's see Max."