𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 | stranger things

thirty-one

"What exactly were you all doing at the lake?"

Wren sat on the couch between Dustin and Max. She was hugging her cat for emotional support, trying to focus instead on the feeling of Kiwi's fur instead of the feeling in her stomach from being escorted home by the police.

Their parents stood around them. Lucas's little sister, Erica, was standing behind the adults with her arms crossed. Holly wasn't anywhere to be seen, so she was most likely upstairs.

"We were . . . We were just going for a walk," Max lied.

"A walk?" Officer Callahan repeated, not buying it. "At nine p.m.?"

"To the lake," Dustin squeaked. "We were gonna . . . take a little swim. Lil night swim."

"You sound guilty," Wren said, her voice flat.

"Wren, shut up," Dustin snapped quietly through gritted teeth.

"Dusty," Mrs. Henderson spoke up. She was crying. "Someone was just murdered there."

"Yeah, we . . . we didn't realize that until we got there."

"That's why we didn't swim," Lucas said.

"And Nancy," Mrs. Wheeler looked at Wren, "was she with you at this night swim?"

"No," Wren replied, her expression blank. "She's with Steve, Robin, and Chrissy. They're, uh . . . I-I don't know what they're doing. We haven't seen them all night. We thought they might be at the lake looking for clues, so we went there to see if they were."

"And that's when you guys came," Lucas added, going along with the story.

"Right." Max nodded. "Then they dared me to say what I said. The boys did. Not Wren."

Lucas and Dustin forced some laughter. Wren shook her head with an annoyed roll of her eyes.

"You're lucky you didn't get shot," Mr. Wheeler said, staring at them in unamusement. Lucas and Dustin stopped laughing.

"Have you had any contact with Eddie?" the chief asked.

"That psycho . . . freak killer?" Dustin asked, his voice raising an octave. "God, no."

"Nope." Lucas shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"No. W-We haven't heard from him," Max stammered.

"We barely know the guy."

"Who?"

"None at all," Wren said, continuing to keep her expression dull and emotionless. She often frustrated her parents with this, but at least she was a better liar than her friends and Lucas.

Erica stepped forward with her arms crossed. "Oh, that's a bunch of bull."

"Erica!" Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair scolded.

"I mean, you realize they're lying. The whole couch is on fire!"

"Erica," they scolded again.

"Just the facts!"

Mrs. Henderson looked at her son. "Are you lying to these policemen, Dusty?"

"No!" Dustin's voice went up even higher.

"Lying to the cops is a crime, son," Mr. Sinclair said to Lucas.

"I'm not lying!" Lucas's voice also went up higher.

"The fire is consuming us," Erica said.

"Lauren, you should be ashamed of yourself," Mrs. Wheeler snapped. "All your life you've been so well behaved. I am extremely disappointed in you."