Not Just Another Number

They're back

Sarah's POV

I slam my door and grab my keys. I shove them into the ignition and start to car. I watch Nancy quickly climb in and buckle up. I pull the car out of the parking lot and pull onto the road.

I grip the steering wheel tightly as we drive down the road. "Hey, are you okay?" I look over at Nancy for a second and nod. "Yeah, just peachy." I grit through my teeth. She sighs and places her hand on my shoulder. "What was that back there?" She asks.

I loosen my hold on the steering wheel and bring on of my hands up to my face. "Nothing, Nance. Just two siblings fighting." I try to brush off, but it obviously doesn't work.

"That wasn't just a normal sibling fight. That was....something else." She says, looking for a word. I laugh dryly and place my hand back on the steering wheel. I glance back at her with a little smile. "Well, that's just how we fight. Haven't really fought like that in a long time. I don't even remember the last time." I mumble, trailing off.

"Are you going to be okay? What he said was pretty bad." She asks, still keeping her hand on my shoulder. I place my hand on top of her's. "I'll be fine Nance. I just need some time to cool off. We'll probably be buddy-buddy by tomorrow." I tell her, patting her hand.

She moves her hand and nods. She seems reluctant about something. "Hey, um, I know you don't know him very well, but Jonathan's not that bad. That was a horrible example of his character, but he's really nice." I tell her as I turn down her street.
She's quiet. "Sorry, I just don't want you to judge him too harshly. He seemed like he liked hanging out with you, and he needs someone to be his friend, I just don't want another person to think lowly of him." I worry, holding onto the steering wheel tighter.

I hear her sigh, and I could see her shift in the corner of my eye. "You don't have to worry, he seemed okay. It was just weird to see a family act like that." I pull up to her house and park the car. Neither of us get out. "Maybe Steve was right. We are a bunch of screw ups, but we love each other, no matter how many times we piss each other off." I turn off the ignition and lean back.

"Well, here you are. I'll see you later Nance." I watch her climb out, but she doesn't close the door. She just stands there, leaning on the door. "Why don't you come inside. Cool off. Put some ice on your eye. We could hang out for a while." She suggests. I could go for a little cool down time...

I shrug and unbuckle. I place my key in my pocket. I climb out and get ready to close the door, but I notice something on the steering wheel. There's little burn marks along it. At least I burned that instead of Nancy.

I shake my head and shut the door. "C'mon, lets head inside." I say, gesturing for her to take the lead. I watch Nancy open the door and walk past her mother. She walks over to the kitchen and grabs a glass. "You want some water?" She asks. I nod my head and lean against the counter.

She pours herself and I glasses and sets them down. I grab a glass and take a large gulp. I look over at her mom, who's on the phone, and set my cup down. Suddenly, I hear a door slam open. I look over at the place where the sound came from, and see Mike and Dustin run out. I watch them run to the front door and then back.

I look at Nancy and she shrugs. Mike runs back over, stopping to a halt once he enters the kitchen. "Sarah?!? We need you right now." He says, running up to grab my arm.

"Whoa, calm down Mike, what's going on?" I ask. He doesn't answer, just starts to pull harder. I shoot Nancy an apologetic glance, and she just waves me off.

Mike drags me over to the front door. "Tell her." He points at Dustin before running off again. What's going on? Dustin looks back at me, a terrified look on his face. "Dustin, what's wrong. What happened?" I ask, stepping closer to him.