𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓, ˡᵘᶜᵃˢ ˢⁱⁿᶜˡᵃⁱʳ ¹

07

𝟬𝟳
𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀

    𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒, casting muted, golden streaks on the worn wooden floor. The house was quiet, almost unnervingly so. Lena sat at the kitchen table, her fingers resting on the pages of an open textbook, but her eyes weren't focused on the words. She kept drifting between the paragraphs, her mind far from the biology chapter she was supposed to be studying.

    Across the room, Tessa lay sprawled out on the couch, her eyes half-lidded, barely paying attention to the notebook on her lap. She wasn't drawing anymore, just idly dragging the tip of her pencil across the page, lost in thought. A clock ticked softly in the background, and the wind rustled the last of the leaves outside, brushing them against the windows. It felt like the whole world was holding its breath.

    Then, the phone rang.

    Its sharp trill cut through the stillness, startling both of them. Tessa groaned, tilting her head back, unwilling to move. "It's probably Mom," she muttered, but made no effort to get up. Lena looked up from her book, already annoyed, and shot her sister a look.

    "You know, you could answer it," Lena said, her voice laced with impatience.

    Tessa rolled her eyes but finally dragged herself up from the couch. She sauntered over to the phone, picking up the receiver with a lazy twist of the cord around her fingers. "Hello?"

    There was a brief silence on the other end, and Tessa's brow furrowed. "Hello?" she repeated, a little more forcefully this time. Then, the voice came through, soft and trembling.

    "Tessa? Is that you?"

    Tessa blinked. The voice was familiar, but not enough for her to recognize it immediately. "Yeah, who's this?"

    "It's Joyce Byers—Will's mom" the voice replied, shaky but urgent. "You—uh, were at Mike's with Will?"

    Tessa's hand tightened around the phone cord. Will's mom? Why would Joyce Byers be calling her? She turned her head slightly, glancing at Lena, who was still sitting at the table, looking mildly curious now. "Yeah, I was. What's up?"

    There was a pause, and when Joyce spoke again, her voice was rough with worry. "Tessa, have you seen Will? He didn't come home last night."

    Tessa's eyes widened as the words sank in. The room suddenly felt colder, the stillness growing more oppressive. "Wait, what?" Her voice came out sharper than she intended, and Lena's head snapped up, fully alert now. "Are you sure?"

    "Yes," Joyce answered, her voice cracking. "I've called everyone, even the police, but no one's seen him. I thought maybe... maybe he mentioned something to you?"

    Tessa's mind raced. She remembered the night before, sitting on the edge of the couch in Mike's basement, watching as the boys dove deep into their D&D campaign. Will had been there, quiet as usual, but nothing seemed off about him. He was just... Will. "No," Tessa stammered. "He didn't say anything. He seemed fine when he left Mike's. I didn't think—"

    "Please, if you hear anything, or if you see him, let me know," Joyce's voice trembled on the edge of breaking. "I'm just—I don't know what to do."

    Tessa's throat tightened. "Yeah, of course. I'll keep an eye out."

    The phone clicked as Joyce hung up, leaving Tessa standing there, the receiver still pressed to her ear, the dial tone buzzing softly in the quiet. She slowly lowered the phone back into its cradle, her heart thudding uncomfortably in her chest.

    "What was that about?" Lena asked, her curiosity piqued now as she closed her textbook and turned her full attention to her sister.

    Tessa took a deep breath before turning to face her. "Will's missing," she said, her voice low and serious.

    Lena frowned, confused. "Will?" she echoed, clearly unfamiliar with the name. "Who's that?"

    Tessa rubbed her forehead, trying to shake off the creeping sense of dread. "Will Byers," she explained. "He's a friend of Mike's. I saw him at Mike's place when they were playing Dungeons & Dragons."

    Lena's frown deepened as she processed the information. "There's a Jonathan Byers in my Chemistry class, so you mean his brother has been missing since last night?" Her voice held a note of disbelief, as if the idea of a kid just vanishing didn't quite make sense. "And his mom just called you?"

    Tessa nodded slowly, feeling the weight of the situation settling in. "Yeah. Joyce is freaking out. She said he never made it home after their game." She bit her lip, her mind flashing back to the basement. She hadn't paid much attention to Will when he left—he'd just slipped out, quiet as usual.

    Lena's expression shifted from confusion to concern. She stood up, pacing toward Tessa. "That's... weird. Have they called the police?"

    "Yeah, they're looking for him, but she called me just in case I knew something," Tessa said, leaning against the counter, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "But I don't. He was fine last night. He didn't seem like the kind of kid who would just... disappear."

    Lena pursed her lips, her gaze thoughtful now. "Maybe he got lost? Or... I don't know, maybe he stayed at Mike's and didn't tell anyone?"

    Tessa shook her head. "No, Joyce said he never made it home. He definitely left Mike's place."

    They both stood there, the weight of the conversation hanging between them. Lena chewed her lip, unsure of what to say next. She didn't know Will, but even she could feel the wrongness of the situation. Kids didn't just vanish in Hawkins—nothing ever happened in Hawkins. But here they were, talking about a missing boy like it was some sort of distant tragedy, when it was happening right in their backyard.

    "What do we do now?" Lena asked quietly, her voice more tentative than usual.

    Tessa looked down, her arms still crossed tightly. "I don't know," she admitted. "But something about this... doesn't feel right."

    They stood there, surrounded by the quiet house, with only the wind outside to remind them that the world hadn't stopped entirely. But everything felt different now—like the stillness wasn't peaceful anymore. It was a warning.

.ೃ࿐ IRIS SPEAKS !

short chap this time, soz, im hungry and have no motivation

OBX???? HUHH???