𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

2

 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒. a scowl crept onto her face as she tossed and turned under her rust-orange duvet. dani's headache was so dreadful that she felt as though her brain touched the edge of her skull every time it throbbed; it was easily the most painful game of tag she's ever experienced in her life. but now, going back to bed was no use, and the smell of a greasy breakfast coming from the kitchen was not helping in the slightest.

sheridan sat up in her bed, draping her blanket around her shoulders. through her heavy eyelids, she noticed the piece of lined notebook paper stuck to the wall with a pushpin above her nightstand. the edges were jagged and frayed, due to being torn directly from the notepad. i love you, sherrie diane. forever and a day. it was from her father. she read it every morning, whether she was hungover or not.

just below the note were a glass of water, three ibuprofen, and a half-eaten bagel bite. the red-haired girl let out a sigh of relief; she downed the medicine (and bagel bite) in an instant and set the glass down before slowly shuffling down the hall, into the kitchen. "where the hell are they?" her mother, joyce, questioned exhaustedly from the living room. "jonathan?!"

"check the couch!" the boy exclaimed in reply. sheridan plopped into a wooden dining chair at the end of the table as jonathan mixed some scrambled eggs over the stove. "nice to see you're up on time," he satirically stated.

"nice to see you're up on time," his sister mocked him in a high-pitched voice, scrunching her face and tilting her head with her words. jonathan let out a small laugh.

"i did!" joyce hollered over dani. the woman continued to fluff each individual pillow and unravel every blanket in the living room. "oh... got them!" sheridan chuckled to herself as she heard the car keys jingle in her mother's hand, realizing that that was what she had been looking for all along. "i will see you two tonight," the pair's mother began as she scooped up her purse from the kitchen floor. she gave jonathan a squeeze on his shoulder as he piled a few plates with eggs. the woman turned to the side and gave dani a kiss on her cheek, causing her to crinkle her nose. and just as she went to do the same to will, it had dawned on her that he had yet to join his siblings at the table. "...where's will?"

"oh, i didn't get him up yet... he's probably still sleeping," jonathan answered. sherrie giggled as she watched her brother. he gently placed the yellow skillet in the sink and gave it a rinse before wiping his hands off with the floral dishtowel. he looked like mr. mom; but her own mom's sigh had knocked her out of her trance. that woman had sighed more times this morning than she probably had in her entire life leading up to this point.

"at least one of you have to make sure he's up!"

"mom, i'm making breakfast!" joyce rounded the table and stormed down the hall, toward her youngest son's bedroom. 

"i was sleeping!" dani angrily responded, her brows dipping in frustration.

"i've told both of you this a thousand times!" joyce declared. she called for will and clapped her hands. the home was silent for the next few minutes as jonathan popped a few pieces of toast onto the plates. the boy set three down on the table, with one being placed right in front of sheridan. the ginger-haired girl dug in immediately.

"god, you're a saint," dani told the boy, cutting herself off by biting into a piece of fresh toast. she began to devour her eggs while their mother came back around the corner. a confused expression consumed her face.

"he came home last night, right?"

"he's not in his room?" jonathan inquired as he set the jug of orange juice on the table, along with a few cups.

"did he come home or not?" joyce insisted. both silence and tension swarmed the air.

"...i don't know..."

"you don't know?"

"last time i checked, he was at the wheeler's. maybe he spent the night or something..." dani spoke up through a mouthful of breakfast. "will told me they'd be playing d&d all day, they've been planning that campaign for, like, a month now. they probably played so late and karen wouldn't let them ride their bikes home." joyce nodded at her daughter's words. karen was a sensible woman. that added up.

"i can't believe you two sometimes," joyce let out. her eldest children could sense both the annoyance and worry in her voice. the pair's mother dialed a number she knew by heart at this point, her tone instantly changing as the woman on the other end picked up. "hi karen! it's joyce." dani giggled at her mother smiling, despite mike and nancy's mom not being able to see it. "hi... is that will i heard back there? oh, will didn't spend the night?" jonathan looked at his older sister with a questioning gaze. the girl glared up at him from her plate. she shot the boy a look, her eyes widening and her brows furrowing. at this point, they had mastered twin telepathy, just minus the twin part. what the hell do you think i had to do with this?! sherrie exclaimed in her mind. "um... you know what, i think he just, uh... left early f-for school... thank you so much, bye."

joyce byers hung up the phone, and sent disapproving looks to her children; the two children that were there, at least.

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