𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆

20-return

August, 1988

El was far gone. It was as though she had been numbed from everything that had happened three years ago, and she was shocked into a shell of what the girl used to be. She was not that girl anymore.

The first few weeks had been the worst. It didn't take long for the police to file a missing persons report for the final two Wheeler children that still remained in the town, and quickly that spurred into constant questioning for her and her friends as well as daylong search parties.

The police had theorized that the two had left to reunite with their runaway sister, Nancy. But they figured if they still hadn't been able to find her it would be nearly impossible to find the other two.

El was the only one who knew where they were to her knowledge, and it drove her mad. It ate away at her more and more when the police would ask 'when did you last see him?' and she would act as though that afternoon when he came to her house with Holly was nonexistent. It made her skin crawl in fear when the others would ask 'do you know where he is?' or 'can you use your powers? to find him?' and she would stare forward in silence, not only because she was afraid of getting caught but because if she replied she would be lying to her friends.

A couple months passed, and she started to panic when she felt memory of him slipping. His voice, his laugh, the feeling of his face in her hands. She would cry to herself, forcing out every last piece of bottled emotions she possibly could until she was too tired to even get up from where she had curled up.

She had learned to live without him. El attended school for the first time when she turned fifteen, but that was so long ago and quite frankly forgetful without Mike there with her. Her seventeenth birthday had passed, however instead of celebrating she had spent the entire day crying in her bedroom, Max comforting her as best she could.

Her friends were worried about her. It was like the last bit of what remained in her soul had been violently ripped away from her and crushed. They tried to cheer her up, bringing her presents like new makeup kits and her favorite snacks, but when they left all the presents would go untouched, sitting on her dresser and allowing dust to collect on them.

But when August hit the small town with its dry heat and beating sun, there was a shift.

Nancy and Jonathan had returned to Hawkins.

El remembered vividly the moment earlier that day when she had recieved the news. She had been at home with Max, sprawled out on the couch together with every fan she could find pointed in their direction to cool them in the unbearable heat. They had decided that the best way to spend their day, besides actually doing something productive, was to buy chips and soda for an MTV marathon.

Their eyes had been ripped from the television for the first time that day when there was an overly enthusiastic version of the 'secret knock' at the door. The two girls groaned, El not even bothering to actually get off the couch and resulted to the nod of her head.

As soon as the sound of the last lock opening reached their ears, Will busted through the door and ran over to the girls. He clicked the television off, receiving two loud groans in response.

"Hey! We were watching that!" Max exclaimed, mouth full with chips. Will laughed, shaking his head and reaching forward to pull the girls from the couch.

"Not right now you aren't! I have news! Big news!" he practically cheered, finally getting the two of them to stand from the couch. The few years had given Will a few inches, meaning that now he was much taller than the two of them.

"Well, spill!" Max replied, both girls looking at him with confusion and anticipation. None of the party members had shown this much excitement since Dustin's last tooth finally grew in.

"Nancy and Jonathan are back!"

At that El swore she felt half of her lost spirit re-enter her body.

"What?!" The two girls shouted in unison. Will nodded to them, both of them squealing in surprise as they rushed into hug Will, the three of them quickly being encased in a bubble of utter joy. El pulled away from the hug moments later, looking to Will.

"Can we go see her?" She asked excitedly, Will nodding in reply.

"Yea! Come on!" Will replied, grabbing the two of them by the wrists and dragging them out the door and into his car.

El settled into the passenger seat, Max in the back. She couldn't keep the grin off her face, which was a surprising yet relieving sight to her friends since a smile was something that appeared so rarely on her face.

Of course, there was a small part of her that wished the one who had returned home was Mike. She hadn't seen him in three years, and she would be lying if she said the hurt had gone away.

She didn't blame Mike. In fact she was happy for him, he had escaped his personal hell and had gotten little Holly out of there as well. Holly. El thought. She must be so big by now. Eight years old. She sighed to herself, imagining what Holly and Mike might look like now, what they might be doing at this very moment.

She could look, but she never dared to. She knew how much pain that would cause her. She also feared that looking for him would result in not being able to find him, which was a fear that she was not willing to face. El preferred to assume the boy was alive.

However, Nancy's sudden arrival may change that.