[Jopper] Hard times

Nostalgia

Hopper opened his eyes, he was shaking. He removed the sweat from his forehead and tried to breathe normally.

"It was just a nightmare. It's over" He said to himself.

The door of his bedroom was opened a while later.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked with a worried tone.

He sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine" Jim said with a slight smile.

"Was it..." She muttered for a second. "Well, nevermind. Sleep well" The girl added.

"Hey, what were you going to say?" Jim asked

Eleven stepped in the room. "I just wanted to ask if you had another nightmare about Sarah... But you know, I don't want to sound nosy"

Hopper looked at her. He loved that girl deeply. Since she came along he made him be more caring and a better person. Sometimes he doubted if he was the father she deserved. He tapped the bed telling her to sit down next to him and she did it.

"It's okay, Jane" He said looking down. What he had just experienced was still in his mind. "It wasn't her this time, but it felt so real"

"Yeah, you're still nervous about it, I can feel it" She smiled.

He nodded. "I hate when I dream about losing people I..."

"Love?" She interrupted him. "I feel the same" Jane replied.

Hopper remained silent. That innocent comment made his thoughts a total chaos. He run his hand around her curls. "I bet" Jim said with a pause. "Go to sleep, Jane. It's pretty late for you to be up. Thanks for caring"

The girl kissed his father on the cheek. "G'night, Dad" She said before leaving the room.

Jim laid down again and cuddled in his blanket. He couldn't remove from memory the scene of Joyce crying over his shoulder once she had told him she would die in a few months because of a lung cancer. It seemed like the same story was repeating. He experienced how he had to hold Will tightly after her last breath and that stabbing pain in his chest. Again.

He shook his head. Things were fine... She was fine.

Jane's words would not let him sleep for the rest of the night. "Do I love her?" He thought worried. He didn't know how to feel about it. The thing was that he hadn't seen Joyce since the last time both got out and drank. He already thought she wasn't serious about the fact she shouldn't have dated Lonnie instead of him.

Jim didn't want to be annoying, but somehow, he felt the need to talk with her. Ask her how things were going, even if nothing relevant hapepened recently.

...

Joyce was washing the dishes in the sink. She had woken up early that Saturday morning to do some extra hours. She had to save more money for Jonathan. He would need it. Finals were in a few months and he would have to choose a university. Joyce already saved some money but New York was hard to afford.

She was drying her hands when heard a loud noise. Like something heavy falling. She left everything and run to the junk room they had in the garden.

It was Will.

"What was that?!" She said worried.

"...I...I was trying to find some tools to fix my bike and some boxes fell" He said.

Joyce looked around and took a deep breath. "God, you scared me again" She mumbled. "Be careful next time, okay?"

She kneeled and started to put some order and carry the heavy boxes. Will nodded and helped her.
"What's inside? You never told me that we stored rocks here" He said.