𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐄𝐏𝐓

chapter 17

"jane! good to see ya!"

~~~

the two girls approached the hawkins police center hand in hand, eyes scanning the small building as el began to feel the hollow pit in her stomach expand, grumbling with unease and agitation. she shifted on her feet, tired from walking, and looked around the small town she had grown to call her home. she noticed the erie quiet that blanketed the usually much more excited town center, most of that action being caused by the teenagers and middle schoolers. but it was unreasonable to ask for much action considering the two girls were currently playing hooky, for respectable reasons.

el felt uncertainty begin to pool in the bottom of her hollow tummy, gurgling and sloshing around independently, without movement. her cheeks puffed up a bit on instinct, as though she were preparing to puke out all her current worries. she swallowed hard, her previously puffed out cheeks sinking back inwards as she placed a free hand on the dip in her stomach, feeling the vibrations of it's threatened growls.

she knew that she had no choice. that she had to do this. she couldn't imagine having to live with another weight on her chest, barreling into her at top speeds then gradually slowing but not stopping, crushing her and forcing her to her knees. she thought back to the events of that morning involving mr. corrigan. his oh so familiar hands clawing at her greedily, just barely gripping the soft flesh of her thigh through her jeans and making her twitch, fists clenching tightly at her sides. she gulped at the memory, feeling so distant but so close all at once, like a dream that you couldn't quite remember unless you thought really hard about it. except instead of not being able to remember her nightmare, it was impossible to forget.

she felt her free hand shaking against her clothed leg, tapping to the rhythm of her apprehensive tune as she turned her attention back to the building before her, not noticing that hopper's truck wasn't even in the parking lot. max squeezed el's hand that she held reassuringly in her own, el turning to the girl who held some contorted version of a smile on her face that made el only more uneasy.

his hand on her leg,

her back pressed against the cold brick wall,

the hot tears that fell down her face seeping into his dry palm.

el breathed loudly, as if she were resurfacing after staying underwater for too long. max turned to her as she replayed the images in her own mind, feeling sympathy for el as she watched her reach for the door handle, yanking it open before waltzing inside.

she was immediately hit with the comforting a familiar scent of fresh donuts mixed with the musty air that pumped from the radiator. the small radio that was mounted on the counter by the donuts was screeching on about some pointless news story as they did every morning, but that was typical for the lazy town.

el waved to flo timidly, going around her desk to give the woman a hug, flo kissing el on the cheek before standing back to observe the young girl.

"my word, jane, look how tall you've gotten so fast!" flo exclaimed, el giggling at the woman's comment. she thanked flo before heading over to powell and callahan, just how she did every time she visited the station, politely greeting the two men at their desks.

they loved jane, especially callahan. after her constant visits to the station, the two officers had grown to see the girl as a niece. little did they know, she was the supposed 'russian' that murray wouldn't quit blabbing on about the year before.

"jane! good to see ya!" powell shouted, callahan snapping his head towards her, el laughing at his excitement and the way callahan's hair fell in his face with the rapid motion. the lanky man stood excitedly, hardly noticing max who stood silently behind el as he ran to engulf her in a hug, ruffling her head of curls and earning a light giggle from her.

"mini hopper! whatcha doin' here? how can we help ya?" callahan questioned, flopping back down in his spinny chair and kicking his feet up on the cluttered desk in front of him, el and max both smirking at the nickname he had given her.

"i need to talk to dad. he's here, right?" she asked, looking around and taking into notice that her father wasn't anywhere to be seen. now that she thought of it, she hadn't noticed his truck in it's normal spot. callahan and powell both shook their heads, powell taking a quick sip of his coffee before setting it back down on his desk, almost tipping it over as he swished his boot clad feet back and forth.

"you're out of luck, jimmy-jane. hop called in this morning, again. he's home." powell replied, using the nickname that him and callahan had given her when they first met her, loving to refer to el as a mini jim hopper. she smirked at the nickname briefly, before her face scrunched up in confusion at powell's statement. he was home? again? what did they mean 'again'?

"oh, uh, ok. i thought he came in today. thanks guys." el said, glancing at max confusedly before mouthing 'again?' to the red head, max shrugging in reply as the confusion swept over her as well.

"no prob, jimmy-jane! come back soon! we don't see enough of you these days!" callahan shouted after her, el laughing into her hand before waving at the two, giving flo a quick goodbye before her and max headed out the door, the anxiousness that once rattled el's bones reappearing. she turned to max, her left hand slapping over her right wrist and her thumb violently rubbing the black tattoo how she did every time she was nervous, or scared, or excited.

but max knew she was nervous. she was deathly afraid.

"why did he call in? why does he keep calling in?" el grumbled, her voice shaky as she looked at max with wide eyes, max ripping els' left hand away from her right before looking around, spotting the melvald's store as a thought sprung into her mind. she glanced back at el, who had resulted to biting the nails on her freehand as her eyes darted back and forth, not looking at anything in particular as her disquieted manner spread into max as the red head felt her heart fall to her stomach.

her worst fear was coming true, and she knew that she was much too late to stop anything from happening. hopper had read the diary, he had uncovered her secret and was digging too deep in a place that she didn't want him. she knew that it would only make her look like the weak link she truly was. she was a weak fool. she always would be too, and hopper was finally discovering that for himself.

"i might have an idea." max suggested, pulling el from her thoughts as she looked to hopper's empty parking spot. she kept her hand on el's wrist, dragging her towards the center of town and crossing the road briskly, the air that seemed to be growing colder weaving through their hair and slapping their faces as they moved in the direction of melvald's quickly.

just as max had suspected, joyce's car wasn't parked out front, nor was the short woman sitting at her normal place behind the register. max grunted in response to the scene, letting go of el's wrist as the girl watched her shake her head, max feeling her palm dry up as she placed it on her pale, freckled forehead.

"what is it?" el asked, rocking on her heels as her lips pursed together. max brought her hand away from her face, pointing a finger inside melvald's to where joyce would usually be sitting. el glanced inside, her lips forming an "o" shape as she surveyed the area, not seeing joyce anywhere.

"come on," max began.

"i know where he is."