afterlife ➳ stranger things [2]

Chapter 011: Inbetween Life And Death

Cassidy threw her duffle bag into the rental car, walking over to the side of the car. She got in, Kali in the drivers seat and Sarah behind her. It was a rental car, blue with a white top. It reminded her of her parent's old car, the one they used to drive Cassidy and Erin on their first day of 3rd grade.

"Alright girls, pose!" Their mom cheered, pointing the camera at Cassidy and Erin. Erin smiled brightly as Cassidy gave a little smile. Erin insisted that she would wear jeans, even thought her twin sister was wearing a dress. Anything to differ from her sister.

"Mommy, when will Cassidy return?" Erin asked, the flashback turning into a nightmare.

"Oh sweetie, Cassidy is dead." Her mother crouched down, comforting Erin.

"What happened to her mommy? What happened to my sister?" Erin cried, Cassidy backing away as her vision filled with tears.

Erin snapped her eyes open, taking in the hospital sight once again. Her room was now dark, and empty. Moonlight shined from the windows, showing up on the chair. Erin remembered that she encouraged everyone to go home, but secretly wished they didn't as Erin was afraid of hospitals. It wasn't the idea of the hospital, with needles and doctors. It was the memories that Erin had of hospitals, like how she was practically kept in one for years. The flashbacks of her being tortured, the recent flashback of Erin making seven's brain melt.

Erin hadn't had much emotions since her sister died, trying to push past the fact that Cassidy was really gone. At first she pushed everyone away, including Eleven, Max, and Dustin. Dustin was the first one to push back, forcing her to let him in. She remembered her crying her bedroom floor, and him just holding her. She took it out on him, but he stuck. The next person to push back was El, talking to her in the middle of the night. El was the person who knew the most about Erin, that she really just wanted to belong to something more. Max came last, fed and done with Erin grieving. Max was the one who yelled at her the most, but it worked out. Erin told Max to go home, and then Max gave her hell for it. She got Erin moving, to do her life in spite. She made Erin feel like doing something, so Max took Erin to the arcade. She still couldn't stop thinking about how Dustin decided to stay with her, even though she gave him hell.

"Just go home Dustin." Erin sat on her bed, flipping through a scrapbook.

"No," Dustin firmly stood in the doorway.

"What?" Erin looked at him.

"I'm not gonna let you push me away," Dustin stepped in the room. "You can push Max, you can push El, you can push everyone away besides me. I won't let you."

"Why?" Erin asked.

"Why what?" Dustin asked back, approaching her.

"Why do you fight for me, even though I push you away?" Erin asked.

"Because when you love someone, you want the best for them, even if the world begs to differ." Dustin explained, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed.

Erin grinned as she had the flashback, the only good flashback she's had in awhile. She remembers it clearly, remembering every detail. She knew she loved Dustin then, too. She closed her eyes once again, letting sleep wash over her as she thought of the memories she's made in Hawkins.

The next morning, Hopper and Joyce came in first. Joyce and Hopper smiled, realizing the bags under Erin's eyes were now gone. Joyce was so overjoyed to see Erin smiling again, realizing that she was getting better. Erin felt better too, and it reflected on the outside.

"Can I go home now?" Erin asked.

"We'll see," Joyce smiled. "We brought you some pancakes from that diner across the street."