Maybe One Day

Meet me tonight at our spot at whatever time works best.
I'll wait for you the whole night if I have to. I need to see you.

The note was written on a piece of paper folded up in half. She found it that morning, in the middle of the envelopes with bills she didn't know how she was going to pay at the end of the month. It didn't say much; It was simple and right to the point. It wasn't signed but it didn't need to be: she knew exactly who had written it. She would recognize that handwriting anywhere... too many rumpled pieces of paper with barely legible scribbles like those had been passed to her during classes over the last couple of years of high school.

She stared at the piece of paper in her hands for a while, white as a ghost, thankful that no one was home to see her and ask any questions. An overwhelming sense of relief brought tears to her eyes and she thought back to all the nights she had spent awake in bed, thinking about him, wondering if he was safe, if he was alive, praying that he'd come back safe.

She hadn't heard from him in a while. They had exchanged letters for months after he left  but after a while, she stopped replying to his and even though he insisted for a while, it didn't take long for his letters to stop coming too. She told herself she was just trying to protect herself, that she had to stop before she was in too deep because she knew there was a good chance he wasn't coming back and she wouldn't be able to overcome that. But deep down, she knew the true reason why she'd stopped writing to him was fear of telling him she'd moved on. She felt guilty, like she'd betrayed him by finding someone else. It just happened. She hadn't been looking for another guy, hadn't hoped she would find someone else... but she was sad, vulnerable, in need of a distraction and Lonnie was what she thought she needed at the time.

In different circumstances, getting that handwritten note would have made her the happiest woman in town but in that moment she couldn't help but chuckle at his bad timing. She desperately wanted to see him; she wanted to know if he was ok, to feel his arms around her, to hear his voice but for a short moment, she considered not going. She knew it was bound to be a disaster, that they were likely gonna hurt each other... but she needed to see him one last time before everything changed.

As 9pm rolled around, she found herself in her clunker, gripping the wheels as if her life depended on it, her heart beating dangerously fast in her ribcage. Part of her hoped the old car would give out before she arrived at her destination but as much as she was dreading meeting him, the idea of being stuck in the middle of an old road in the middle of the night with no way of going home was even less appealing.

That was not how she had imagined that night. She should be at home, getting ready to go to sleep, to get some much-needed rest before what she was sure was going to be a really long day. Instead, she was on he way to meet one of her favorite people, at one of her favorite places in town: Lover's Lake.

She knew it was cliché but it was true. When she was young, she was fascinated by the heart-shaped form of the lake. As she got older and started spending more time there, most times with him, seeking refuge from the rest of the world and enjoying each other's companies, it gained a whole new meaning. When she thought of the lake, it only brought back good memories and the thought of tainting them made her stomach churn.

She recognized the car parked in the woods near the lake as his mother's and parked hers nearby, but facing the way out, knowing there was a good chance she was going to need to get away as fast as possible when their conversation was over.

' Here goes nothing' Joyce whispered to herself after taking a deep breath and getting out of the car.

Her breath got caught in her throat when her eyes finally landed on him but he didn't notice her presence right away and she stood there in silence, studying him. He looked different- he had lost some weight, his hair was shorter, his shoulders were broader and there were deep dark circles under his eyes- but he was still Hopper and she wanted nothing more than to run to him, throw her arms around him and never let him go.