Worlds Turned Upside Down: Will Byers x Reader

Chapter Three: Missing

(Y/N)'s mother storms into her bedroom, "Are you kidding me," she yells, shaking her husband, so that he'd wake up to hear what she's got to say. He slowly opens his eyes, gaining consciousness, and grimaces. He shuts his eyes again. The ringing in his ears is too much for him. "She isn't in her room!" (Y/N)'s mother says through a clenched jaw.
"What?" Her husband responds with fatigue.
"Our daughter!" (Y/N)'s mother shouts, making her husband groan because of the headache that is pounding on his skull. He waves his hand at her.
"Stop being loud," he manages to spit out. He can barely string a sentence together. "What about our daughter?" He's not piecing his wife's sentences together.
She starts off slowly and quietly, "Our daughter," her voice raises and gets more stern, "Is not," she finishes off at the same volume she came into the room with, "In her room!"
"Jesus," her husband scowls and sits up, rubbing his temples. "It's fine, she's probably just in another room or something," Mr. (L/N) is trying to calm his wife down, he believes she's overreacting.
"I've already checked every room! You think I wouldn't have done that by now!" (Y/N)'s mother states, aggravated with her husband for the hundreth time this week. "Where were you?" She questions him.
"What do you mean?" He grunts, his voice grizzly and rough.
"Are you?" she narrows her eyes and crosses her arms, "Are you hungover?" She asks her drowsy husband, venom drips from her words.
"What?" Is all he can muster as he looks up at his wife trying to fake a look of confusion. Mrs. (L/N) shakes her head back and forth and lets out a chuckle of disbelief.
"You were drinking last night weren't you?" She tries to be calm with her husband, however her demenor still has a harshness to it.
"No, of course not," (Y/N)'s father lies, it's a shame he's just as good a lier as his daughter.
"You're lying!" (Y/N)'s mother starts to yell again, causing her husband's headache to worsen. "You drank last night when I told you that you needed to watch for (Y/N)!" Mrs. (L/N) points her finger at her husband, "You were supposed to be there for her! You knew she was riding home from the Wheeler's on her own!" Her face is turning red. "Oh, God," she now has a look of fear and disgust painted onto her features. "What if?" She covers her mouth with her hand. "What if she got kidnapped? Oh, my God," her eyes are now teary.
"Listen," Her husband starts to speak. He stands up, wobbles a bit, and looks down at his wife, "I'm sure she just slept over at the Wheeler's, go give Karen a call."
(Y/N)'s mother scrunches up her nose and pushes her husband away from her, "I can't believe you," her eyes are glistening with tears and her voice is sharp and forced like she's trying to hurt her husband just by speaking. She whips around quickly and walks angrily down to the phone in the kitchen.
(Y/N)'s mother's high heels are clacking hurriedly against the hardwood floor. Her stomach has dropped and her muscles are tightened. The thought of her daughter being missing is too much for her to bear. She takes the phone off of it's hook and starts to dial the Wheeler's phone number. She messes up a few times before getting each digit correct.
As the phone rings (Y/N)'s mother sticks a piece of hair behind her ear and takes a deep breath, trying to get rid of the remaining feeling of rage which lingers from her outburst. After a few seemingly long seconds of ringing, Karen Wheeler picks up the phone and answers with, "Joyce?"
(Y/N)'s mother raises an eyebrow, "No, it's Mrs. (L/N), (Y/N)'s mother."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Karen apologizes, "Joyce just called and I-" Karen is cut off by an impatient Mrs. (L/N).
"Karen, did (Y/N) stay over last night?" (Y/N)'s mother questions while twisting the phone's cord around her finger nervously.
"No," Karen responds, "No, she and the boys left here a little after eight." (Y/N)'s mother's breath hitches. "Actually, Joyce just called about Will and-"
"I need to go. Thank you, Karen," Mrs. (L/N) cuts Karen off and quickly hangs up. She throws her jacket on and rushes out the door, nearly forgetting to close it behind her.

♥︎

A look of concern spreads across Karen's face, she wonders if the two children didn't find their way home last night. She takes a last look at her phone then, hangs it back on the wall. She makes her way up the stairs to Mike's room.
"Mike," Karen calls, gaining the attention of her son who is combing his messy hair out hurriedly. He turns his head towards her, indicating that he is listening. "Look for Will and (Y/N) today at school, okay?" Mrs. Wheeler leans against the door frame and her eyes wander around, trying to distract herself from her growing concern so she would come off calm to Mike. She doesn't want to worry him about his friends when they could be perfectly fine. "Mrs. Byers said that Will must have gone to school early. She didn't get to see him this morning so she wants you to check up on him," Karen tells her son, carefully wording her response as to not alarm Mike.
"Okay, I will," Mike responds nonchalantly. "What about (Y/N)?" Mike asks his mother, wanting an explanation on why he has to search for her as well. Mrs. Wheeler raises an eyebrow, not understanding what her son was asking her. Then, she realizes that she's left (Y/N) out of her version of the excuse.
"Yes, her too," Karen quickly says trying to be discreet with her words, leaving room for question. But not too much. She turns around and walks back to the kitchen hastily, as to not be bombarded with more questioning.
Mike is left in his room confused but he brushes this feeling off quickly so that he can finish getting ready for school.