voltage ; stranger things

twenty-one ; epilogue

one week later

COLLEEN struggles to reach the roll of tape that lies just out of her reach, her other hand keeping the top of the cardboard box shut. It took her nearly ten minutes just trying to close it, what with all the clothes spilling out the sides. She scoots just a bit closer, stretching out her hand. Almost there...

"Need some help?" Bending down, Tony grabs the roll and gives it to her with his good hand; his left arm is in a cast, already signed with names and hearts and graffiti up to the point where he can hardly even see the white underneath. The doctors say it will take a few months to heal; until then, he's to be strictly on bedrest. But he thought this could be the exception.

"Thanks." Colleen tapes the box shut, then exhales deeply and flops onto her back. She stares up at the ceiling of what used to be her and Eleven's shared bedroom, allows her eyes to wander over the cracks in the plaster and faded spots of wall where they hung posters and pictures. There's nothing here, now. It's all empty.

"Is this the last one?" asks Dustin, hauling the box into his arms. He shakes it. "Jesus, how many clothes do you have?"

"Yes," she says sarcastically, "that's it. Take it away." He begins to exit the bedroom. "Remember to put it in the car, not the moving truck!"

"I got it!"

She accepts Tony's extended hand and gets to her feet, stuffing the tape roll into her pocket. Everything feels so much... bigger. No beds against the walls, no dresser, no piles of dirty clothes on the desk chair. Everything has been divided and taken out.

"You alright?" Tony asks as they gaze around the room.

She takes a long breath, then nods her head. "Yeah. I'm good."

In the living room, they find Jonathan, Nancy, and Will sorting VHS tapes, and Max and Lucas hauling the boxes out one by one. "Hey, Collie," asks Jonathan as she passes. "Do you want Wizard of Oz?"

"No," she answers. "She can have it." She turns to Tony and gestures to the front door, which is wide open for people moving in and out of the cabin. "Will you go check on El? Make sure she's getting everything?"

When he's left, she turns back around and enters Hopper's old bedroom. Everything here is gone as well. It still smells like cigarettes and cheap cologne, though. She manages a small smile as she looks around, attempting to imagine what it used to look like.

There's a knock on the doorframe and she turns to find Joyce standing patiently. "Hey, honey," she murmurs and enters the room. "How are you doing?"

There's a special tone to her voice that makes Colleen's smile slowly fade. She swallows thick and turns back to the room. "I'm..." She hesitates. Does she really know how she actually is? She can't say.

"Here, sweetheart." Joyce hands her a piece of paper that looks as though it's been crumpled, then smoothed our again and folded neatly. "It was on his nightstand. I thought you might want to read it." She disappears out the door, leaving Colleen staring after her. She looks down at the note, her heart beginning to throb, and sinks to sit on the ground before carefully opening the paper. She presses a hand to her mouth when she recognizes Hopper's handwriting.

Colleen,

I'm writing this because I know that you're going through something right now that seems like the end of the world. At least, that's what Joyce tells me. I never dated when I was young, much less broke up with someone.

There's another knock on the doorframe. This time it's Steve, his hair pushed back and sneakers dirty with grime from outside. He still wears stitches along his eyebrow and cheekbone. "Hey," he says, glancing around the room. "Are you ready?"

Colleen nods her head, looking away from the paper for a moment. "Yeah. Just give me a minute." He glances down at the letter, then nods his head in understanding. He leaves her, and she continues to read.

It upsets me to see you like this. It breaks my heart just a little bit, and I'm sorry that this happened to you. I guess when I heard the news, I was... happy, to tell you the truth. It seemed like all you girls did was hang out with your little boyfriends. Nothing was like what it used to be.

Colleen wipes her eyes, then stands. She gives the room one last look, then shuts the door.

Maybe that's why I kept trying to keep you inside, why I kept trying to rewind the clock. Because I missed you.

Carefully placing the letter in her pocket, Colleen walks from the cabin and stands between the moving truck and Steve's car that sit in the front drive. Things change, she once told Hopper. Things change all the time.

The Byers have decided to, at last, leave Hawkins, Indiana. And they've decided to take Eleven with them. It was a long, long talk that Colleen and Joyce had, over who got custody and who could take care of her. It was decided Joyce could be a better mother than Colleen ever could be. She'll take care of her sister, always, with Will and Jonathan looking out for her, too. She feels good, knowing her sister will be safe.

When you girls came into my life, I started to realize what I'd been missing. I started feeling again. Feeling happy. Watching Eleven eat her Eggos every morning, listening to you sing along to that stupid rock band you love to blare from your radio. I don't mind, by the way. But I guess I've been feeling a little distant lately. We don't play board games or watch movies anymore.

"I love you," Colleen tells her sister as they embrace. They cling to each other like life preservers, feeling everyone's eyes on them. They don't care. "You be good, okay?" She's unable to keep herself from crying. "Listen to Joyce, and remind Jonathan to eat breakfast, and get along with Will."

Eleven cries, as well. She sniffles into her shoulder as she says, "I will."

They hug for another long, long minute. And then they let go.

You told me that things change. And I'm starting to think that's what scares me. I don't want things to change. I want to keep things the way they were, when you girls were young and needed me.

Colleen helps Steve shut the trunk to his car, then climbs into the front with him. She buckles up, then looks out the window and watches the others finish loading up the moving truck. One by one, they ride away on their bikes, and disappear into their cars. Slowly, Steve edges the car away from the cabin and down the drive.

But that's not how things work. You can't stop things from changing, and neither can I. Life is always moving, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it hurts. It hurts really bad. Sometimes it's sad. And sometimes it's amazing, and wonderful.

As they drive away from the cabin and back into town, Colleen pulls her keys from her pocket and examines them. The ring holds not only her keys, but the one to the cabin's front door, and the one to the new apartment she and Steve are moving into. She tucks them away, then reaches over and takes his hand.

"Is it tomorrow yet?" he asks, giving her a sideways glance.

She pecks a kiss to his temple. "I love you, too, Steve."

So... keep going, honey. Cry, and scream, and laugh. If life hurts you, kick its ass right back. Be tough, just like you've always been. And yes, Colleen. I put my keys in the bowl by the door.

end of book three