tulip [S. Harrington]

{ 17. } The Aftermath

C h a p t e r 17
THE AFTERMATH

ONE MONTH LATER

A MONTH HAD PASSED since the portal to the upside down had been closed and since Tulip had been on one hell of an adventure. In those four weeks, Hawkins, Indiana had suddenly turned into a hotspot for the military. The news reported across the nation of the governments attempts in covering up the death of Barbara Holland.

Barbara Holland. The girl Nancy Wheeler didn't want to give up on, the best friend that had been in Hawkins for almost eighteen years before she was snatched away.

Barbara Holland, the young girl who was finally being laid to rest after nearly a year since she had gone missing. Since she had been taken to the upside down and left alone. Something Tulip would always find herself feeling guilty for.

If she had pushed— if— if Tulip had done anything other than be a constant damsel maybe then she could have helped Barbara Holland.

"Barbara was— she—" Marsha Holland was cut off from her speech as another wave of sobs crashed through her.

She had lost her baby, her little girl. The only child her and her husband had had together. Gone. She'd never get to see her get her diploma, never get to witness her getting accepted into college, never get to see her grow up.

Tulip stood tense beside Steve, not too far away from Nancy and Johnathan as the four attended the funeral to say goodbye. Tulip's lip quivered and her breathing picked up as she tried to control her own set of oncoming tears that threatened to spill as she watched the Holland family grieve.

A hand reached across Johnathan and Tulip glanced over to see Nancy holding onto her arm, sending Tulip her own watery smile. Both girls were upset, that much was obvious, but with Barbara gone, Nancy Wheeler and Tulip Henderson had each other and they needed that more than ever now.