NO ONE//Stranger Things

008

The rain outside flicked tiny water droplets against the windows that slowly tricked down. Carol called her parent's on Bentley's home phone. After a few minutes of conversation, Carol hung up.

"They'll be here soon." She told the expecting Bentley. He looked sad, leaning against the sofa. Thoughts, theories and ideas raced around Carol's mind as she remembered what Bentley had told her about Matt. Suddenly realizing that Justin was no longer on the couch, she asked Bentley where his younger brother had gone.

"He left with my dad. Apparently, my dad doesn't think I have enough money to support me and Justin."

"Justin and I,"Carol corrected, "Oh, no, I'm becoming Amanda!" She attempted to get her friend to laugh, but grief flooded his senses.

"Hey, are you-" Carol began. She was cut off when footsteps sounded above her. The two of them turned their heads to see who it was. Carol was shocked to see who it was-the girl from the doughnut shop earlier today. Earlier today? It seems like a lot of time has past since then. Carol turned to Bentley to ask who it was, but before she could speak, the girl with the shaved head did.

"Justin? ... Where is Justin?" She asked, her voice quivering. Bentley stood up to deliver the bad news.

"18....Justin left." He spoke in the most comforting voice he could, but Carol could tell the girl was getting upset.

"Left? Where?" The girl searched around the room franticly, her panic rising.

"To his dad's house. He won't be back for....awhile." Bentley's gaze drifted to the ground. Carol realized how hard today must have been for him-first, he finds out his friend is lost, then his father proposes, and next, his little brother is now not staying with him.

" For how long?" She demanded, suddenly turning her fear to anger.

"Bentley, who is this?" Carol asked. Her question was ignored, since Bentley's attention was on the girl.

"Look, I don't know! Now, calm down! I'll get you some sushi." Bentley threw his arms in the air. His voice had a hidden note of panic, like he genuinely didn't know himself.

"No suh-she. Where is Justin?" The girl was walking down the staircase now, growing more furious by the moment. Bentley took a step back, like he knew she would do something bad.

"Hey," Carol spoke. The girl's attention was at her as she continued, "It's okay. You don't have to worry. I'm sure Bentley will do a good job of taking care of you. Also, you can call Justin. You will see him again. It's alright. Things will be alright." Carol tried to be soothing, and, by checking the girl's expression, it was working.

By the time her parents had arrived, the rain had only worsened. Carol, finding out the name of the girl, had grown a new state of compassion for her. Carol heard a quiet knock on the door. Before opening it, she turned around to see 18-staring through the window at the rain with her direct attention. Even the knock had not cause her to stop looking at the rain. Quickly opening the door, she saw her parent's happy faces.

"Is Joel home? I wanna say hi to that responsible teen." Her mom had said.

"Uh, no, he's taking a shower." Carol made up. Though she didn't look like it, she was an amazing liar.

Her mom nodded her head before signing to Carol to come inside the car. Carol had to run through the rain to get to the car-which she hated. It got her clothes, hair, and skin soaked. Getting in the car, and glad to be getting home, Carol relaxed for a minute.

"Oh, don't forget," Her mom murmured while starting the car, "You've got that internship at that lab tomorrow." Even more excited to go home, Carol smiled.

Why can't I get any sleep? Carol thought to herself. Getting of her bed, she checked her alarm clock. 4:46. She slumped back on her bed with a sigh. Most of the time, Carol would be expecting a call from Matt at this time, since neither of her parents knew about Matt. They would chat, but really quietly. It was a special time for the two of them-it was the only time either of them could talk, that early in the morning. Carol was heartbroken every time she thought about him. Especially his smile. Sometimes, he accused her of only loving him for his smile. Sometimes, she felt like she did.

Carol was choked up. She missed Matt, and was worried for his sake, since she had no idea where he was. Carol let out a few silent sobs. If Matt's fate had happened to anyone other of her friends, she would cry to Matt about it. He would comfort her, and make her laugh. She got up, wiped her nose, and strolled to the bathroom connected to her room. She sniffled once or twice and looked at herself in the mirror. She was a sloppy mess. She decided she would get ready early, so she pulled up most of her hair into a bun. Then, she wiped her eyes quickly.

The lights flickered for a second. Carol's heart stopped. She heard muffled talking, like someone was trying to talk to her from a different dimension. She felt like the person was right in front of her. The faucet in front of her started dripping water. Carol started to breath heavily. What was causing this? The lights flickered again. The voices started to get louder. The fauset started to drip more. Everything around her was taking a turn for the worst. It was going crazy. The lights flickered again. The fauset started pouring water. The voice was getting louder. She had to cup her ears to actually think. She looked up at the mirror. The lights were back to normal. SO was the fauset. The voice was gone. She looked at the mirror, terrified. She almost saw a person's silhouette in it. Reaching out, she touched the mirror. Nothing was there. Am I losing my mind? Carol thought. She looked behind her once or twice before jumping back into bed. Now she couldn't sleep at all.

"Carol." She heard a voice call. She sat up in bed. It sounded familiar, but she didn't know what. It was muffled as well.

"I'm stuck," The voice spoke, "I need you. Help me, please. Carol, please...." The voice grew softer. After it disappeared, she recognized it. Matt! She jumped up out of bed.

"Matt! Are you there?" Carol banged her palm on the wall. She had to press her ear on the wall to hear anything. This time it wasn't a voice-it was some kind of shrill animal call. She heard a slap against the wall, and muffled shouting. Something was after Matt, if that was him.

"Matt!" She sobbed. She pressed her forehead against the wall and took a while to let all her feelings out. She didn't know how long all that 'haunting' was, but after looking at the clock, she was surprised. 5:12. She jumped up, still in tears, and decided it was time to start getting ready for her day at the lab.

She was still shook up after what had happened earlier that morning. She dressed up in a pink blouse, with big sleeves, and a purple stripe across the middle. She got into her parent's car, and strapped her seatbelt in. Getting comfortable, she started the car. Carol looked at the piece of paper her mom had written of how to get to the laboratory. Reading the chicken scratch her mom had written, Carol assumed that she knew where she was going.