Smoke -- Jim Hopper

7. WHISKEY GAL

EDIT: I put a gif up there but it isn't working lol, I'll change it later 😂😂

Wow this is nuts this book is blowing up haha thank you guys! This is a extra long chapter!
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Hopper drove Natalie back to Joyce's house to pick up Bucky. As his car rolled up into the driveway, Natalie took a deep breath and wiped away a lone tear, the image of Will's limp body still burned into her conscious.

"Thank you for driving me back, Hopper." She thanked him in a quiet voice.

Hopper turned to look at her, "Jim," he told her with a small smile.

Natalie smiled back at him, "thank you, Jim."

She got out of the car and she opened the front door and gaped at all the Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. Joyce was on the couch shaking her head in denial.

"It's not him," she said in a quiet voice.

Natalie went over to Joyce and wrapped her arms around her, "I'm so sorry." She said quietly.

Joyce shook her head, "it's not him." She repeated.

Natalie squeezed her tightly before letting go, "are you going to be okay here?" She asked her.

Johnathan came out of his room, "you can go Nat, I've got her. Thank you for helping." He said sadly and gave her a hug.

Natalie nodded, "okay, call me if you need anything. Seriously, anything." She told him.

Johnathan smiled sadly and nodded. Natalie grabbed Bucky and went back out to her car and waved to Jim, who was walking into the Byers house. He held up his hand and smiled at her before entering the house.

Natalie opened the door for Bucky and then got into the drivers seat and drove home. Her thoughts consumed with everything that has happened in the past couple of days. So much has happened in such a sort amount of time. She parked her car and got out of her car just as Dustin was getting off his bike.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked him.

Dustin rubbed his eyes, "Uh yeah, I think." he gave her a small smile.

"If you need anything, let me know" she asked him.

Dustin nodded, "thank you." he hung his head as he walked into his house.

Natalie sighed and opened her front door. She took a long time to get ready for bed, she didn't want to face the nightmares that would most likely greet her once she fell asleep. After procrastinating for about two hours she finally got into bed and thankfully feel into a deep dreamless sleep. She woke to her alarm clock blaring and she slammed her hand down on it with a groan.

Natalie quickly got ready, kissed Bucky on his head and ran to her car and sped to the clinic and started her day. It seemed that the entire day was duller than usual, no one seemed to smile. This went on all week, and Natalie felt herself start to fall into a dark place, where she didn't sleep and barely ate. A relentless cold lifeless wind tore through Hawkins everyday since Will's death, mirroring the emotions of many.

Natalie stood in front of the examination table zoned out until Ms. Henderson snapped her out of her trance.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Natalie shook her head, "of course, sorry I got distracted." To be honest she was not okay. She hadn't slept in about three days, all she could see when she closed her eyes was Wills limp body. Natalie felt around Mews abdomen for the thousandth time, "like I said all the previous times, Mews is a very healthy cat." She said with a forced smile.