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ELEVEN HUGGED MIKE first, their reunion was short and sweet, and both of them had tears in their eyes by the time they pulled away. The realization hit her in that moment—that was why Mike had been so iffy about allowing girls into their party, or whatever he had said. He didn't want to replace Eleven. It was a sweet thought, but she was still tempted to hit the back of his head for being such a dick to her sister.
"I never gave up on you," Mike said, his voice thick. "I called you every night. Every night for—"
"—353 days." Eleven finished, nodding her head. "I heard."
"Why didn't you tell me that you were there?" Mike questioned desperately, still staring at her as if he couldn't believe she was really there. "That you were okay?"
"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper answered, making everyone look at him in shock. He slowly took a step towards her. He did a once over on her. "The hell is this? Where have you been?"
"Where have you been?" Eleven accused, but instead of replying, Hopper brought her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.
Huh, she thought. Maybe not so intimidating after all.
She forced her gaze elsewhere, suddenly missing that feeling of comfort she got from her own father. Her gaze landed on Max, and she immediately knew her sister was thinking the same thing.
Jackie had hated their dad at one point—when Susan exposed him for the cheating and caught him with his mistress. He'd destroyed their family, done it in their own home. Jackie vowed to never speak to him again. But her feelings were complicated, he'd been an amazing father, loving and compassionate, he'd never told her or Max no once in their lives.
She broke that vow a few months after their parents split. She hated herself for it—for missing him. But she did, he was her dad. When she drove to visit him, he was home with the mistress. Jackie hadn't met her, she didn't want to. But they were sitting on the couch, watching television and laughing, and Jackie had crumbled right there on the driveway.
She broke it again before they moved to Indiana, only to say goodbye, to accept an awkward hug from him. Max hadn't said a word, didn't even wave.
Jackie convinced herself every relationship would end like that, how could it not? Her parents had been in love, and he'd still torn everything apart. It felt like something fundamental in her had changed, to never trust fully again, to pull away before things got hard. Because they would get hard, indefinitely. She kept what mattered to her close to her, and that was Max.
But now... she had new friends, an open heart despite her fighting so hard to keep it guarded. She was in cheer, friends with these kids, friends with Steve...
