𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 - [𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻]

𝐱𝐥𝐢. 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄 - so long, farewell

━━━━━━━

 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 made it without Joyce Byers.

 Back on that day, Scarlet and Eleven hadn't been able to pull themselves off the ground. They remained as a weeping mass of limbs all the while Steve tried his damned hardest to hold them together, despite the fact that even he had been shedding a few tears.

 The Byers had tiptoed over; all three of them. Will descended to his knees, arms easily curling around the siblings. Jonathan had even reached out for Steve, a silent hand resting atop his shoulder... it wasn't a secret to him that Steve's father was just as bad as his own, Jonathan knew Steve looked to Hopper for that fatherly support.

 Joyce... Joyce had whispered into their ears. Her warm voice and soothing words had gotten the tears to flow silently, sobs trapped behind iron bars. Her fingers were feather-light as she tucked the girls into her neck, feeling tears slide down her own cheeks.

 Joyce promised them that she'd look after them, that the Byers' home was theirs.

 The night of the fire, Eleven had returned with Max. It had taken so much strength for the sisters to part... but their friends couldn't be left alone... Max couldn't be left alone. Scarlet had trailed with Steve and Robin in utter silence.

 The Harrington household was stone-cold when they'd arrived, and soon enough Scarlet and Robin were draped in Steve's old sweaters and bundled beneath blankets. Scarlet hadn't made a peep, but listening as Steve and Robin muttered between themselves had eased her heart... if only by a sliver.

 There was no way to describe how Scarlet felt. She couldn't quite understand the things bubbling within her gut. She was angry, so very angry... but that seemed to be a common emotion now. She was somehow... still elated that her friends were alive, that the children were okay, and that Steve Harrington loved her.

 It wasn't enough, however, to quell the pain.

 Scarlet couldn't truly remember breaking out into tears once more, face buried within a blanket as she tried to muffle her sobs. She had thought Steve and Robin were asleep, but the moment a cry trailed through the air, they both shot up within a heartbeat.

 They all joined one another on the floor, resting atop a makeshift mattress made from old blankets as they stuck together. Scarlet had been sandwiched between them, a hand curled around Robin's while her head rested atop Steve's chest. It had been enough to lull each of them to sleep... but not enough to keep the nightmares at bay.

 The hardest part of it all had been when Scarlet deemed it necessary to visit the cabin. Even though she'd been told that it had been ruined; beaten and battered by the Mind Flayer... She had been determined.