——

Winnie mindlessly poked at her breakfast with her fork. She leans her head against her hand, squishing her cheek.

"You should eat, Win." Jonathan told her.

"I'm not hungry." The girl responded.

Across from her, an anxious Joyce lights a cigarette. Jonathan brings his mom a plate, causing the woman to jump.

"Be careful of the poster." Then she sighed. "Oh, I can't eat."

"I just need you to eat, Mom."

"No, listen. Listen. The Xerox place opens in like 30 minutes." The stressed woman explained.

"I told you. I got it." Jonathan reassured.

"But I don't want you going alone, so I'm gonna have Karen take you."

"I could go with him." Winnie offered.

"No. You should- you should stay here w-with me. W- we should be here."

"Ok . . ." Winnie didn't know whether Joyce wanted her home because she wanted company or because she didn't trust her. Not having the energy to overthink at the comment, Winnie went with the former. She just wished she could be more help. She felt like she'd done nothing useful since Will disappeared.

"We need to make, what, 200, 300 copies? How much is a copy? 10 cents? If we... ten cents—"

"Mom!" Jonathan cut her off. "You can't get like this, okay?"

"I'm sorry." Joyce apologized

"No, hey, it's okay." Her son told her.

Suddenly, there was loud knocking on the front door. Joyce quickly put out her cigarette and ran to open it. Hopper stepped inside.

"We've been waiting six hours!" Joyce told the chief.

"Yeah, I know. I came as soon as I could."

"Six hours."

"A little trust here, alright? We've been searching all night. Went all the way to Cartersville."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, god." Joyce covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a sob.

Winnie watched from the background, peering around the corner from the kitchen. The group of three talked in the living room until making there way back through the house. Accidentally making eye contact with her dad, she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Flo says you got a phone call?" Hopper asked.

"Yeah." Joyce gestured to the fried device on the wall.

"Wow." The Chief said upon examination. "Storm barbecued this pretty good."

"The storm?"

"What else?"

"You're saying that's not . . . weird?"

"No, it's weird."

"Can we like trace who made the call? Or—" Jonathan began.

"No it doesn't work like that." Hopper interrupted. "Now, uh, are you sure it was Will? Cause Flo said you just heard some breathing."

"No. It was him. It was Will. And . . . he was scared. And then something—" Joyce's voice broke as she explained.

"It's probably just a prank call. It was somebody trying to scare you."

"Who would do that?" The Byers boy questioned.

"Well, this thing's been on TV. It brings out all the crazies, you know. False leads, prank calls. . ."

"No, Hopper, it was not a prank. It was him." Joyce persisted.

"Joyce—"

"Come on, how about a little trust here? What you think I'm making this up?

"I'm not saying that you're making it up. All I'm  saying is that it's an emotional time for you."

"And you think I don't know my own son's breathing? Wouldn't you know your own daughters'?"

At that, Winnie choked on her breath. Yes, Joyce could have been referring to her, but the situation strongly implied something else. Sara. Turning away from her watch of the group, she leaned her back against the wall. Her eyes began to water as the silence thickened.

Upon hearing her dad clear his throat, she looked back up, noticing he had walked farther away from Joyce.

"You hear from, uh, Lonnie yet?" He asked the woman.

"No." She responded, upset.

"It's been long enough. I'm having him checked out."

"Oh, come on! You're wasting your time!"

Then, Hopper walked out the door. Joyce turned to her son who embraced her. Behind the pair, Winnie wrestled with her thoughts.

The tension in the air from Joyce's comment had not disappeared. Winnie still felt it. It suffocated her, and with such desperation to escape it, she made a decision.

Opening the front door, she ran to catch up with her dad.

"Hey, Chief!" She called out, but was met with silence.

"Chief!" She tried again. Still nothing.

"Chief!" Okay, now she knew he was purposely ignoring her.

Finally, she'd had enough. "Dad!"

That got his attention. Jim Hopper abruptly stopped walking. He turned to face the blonde girl behind him with an annoyed and somewhat shocked face. It had been a while since he heard that word leave her mouth.

The young girl sighed, "Let me help."

Hopper raised his eyebrow. "With what?"

"Anything. The search party, finding Lonnie, literally anything at all. I just need you to give me something to do!"

"How about you stay here with your new family. They need you right now."

"Don't be like that." Winnie scolded. "And they don't need me. In the past 24 hours, I've felt like nothing less than a complete and total outsider. An intruder. I'm watching them deal with this without me, and I feel useless. I don't know how to help them from here."

The Chief sighed, placing one hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Just... anything. Something you're good at. But let me deal with Lonnie. Let me find Will."

Then, he turned around. He got in his truck, pulled out, and drove away. Winnie huffed, frustrated. What was she possibly good at that would help them? She had no clue.

However, when Jonathan left for the Xerox place, it dawned on her. Something more useful than skipping school to sit around.

"Hey, Joyce?" The girl called out as she knocked against the wall to get the woman's attention.

"Hey, honey."

"Hi, um . . . I was thinking, since you're taking time off, that I could take a few extra shifts at Benny's?"

"Oh, no, sweetie, I couldn't possibly—"

"It's okay. I want to. This is me helping in any way I can."

"O-okay. Just, let me know of whereabouts, ok? I'm gonna go get a new phone today. Just check in."

"Of course, yeah." Winnie approached Joyce, who sat on the couch. Bending down, the blonde girl kissed the top of the woman's head, then squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You'll be okay here by yourself?"

Joyce nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine."

Winnie got dressed and then headed out, biking towards Benny's Burgers.

She really didn't mind working. She loved her job. And Benny Hammond was on of the sweetest people in this town, according to Winnie. With such a small diner, Winnie's shifts only ever consisted of her one on one with Benny. That's all the help he really ever needed.

Pulling up to the building, she noticed the vacant parking lot, which struck her as odd. Next, she saw the closed sign, which was even more odd. Benny's was always open on Tuesday's. Unless Benny was helping with the search party, but she felt like she would've been told.

Winnie tried the door and realized it was unlocked. Red flag number three. Then the smell. The blonde girl winced as she became engulfed in one of the most foul smells she had ever experienced. Covering her nose and mouth with her hand, she walked inside.

Immediately, she saw it. And she was horrified.

She screamed so loud, but no one was around to hear it. Winnie stared in terror at the scene. Benny Hammond, her boss, her friend. Dead, with a pistol in his hand. Flies buzzed around his head, which laid flat on a table.

This didn't make sense.

Not knowing what else to do, Winnie went to the phone and called the police. Turns out she'd be talking to her father twice today.

What the hell was going on in this town?

——

Winnie sat on the curb outside Benny's Burgers. The firemen had arrived first, gifting the young girl with a blanket. It's for shock, they told her.

Finally, the police arrived. When the Chief stepped out of his vehicle, his eyes immediately landed on the girl. He squinted in concern, making eye contact as he tried to communicate his worry. Winnie merely redirected her gaze to her feet. Something she often did in her father's presence.

Sighing, he walked past her and into the building, his two deputies on his trail.

"Suicide?" Powell asked him once inside.

"Mhm." Hopper confirmed.

"Missing kid. Suicide. You must feel like a big city cop again, huh, Chief?" Callahan said.

"Well, I mostly dealt with strangers back then. Benny was my friend."

The man huffed, rubbing a hand over his face. He was confused. Overwhelmed. This wasn't Benny. It couldn't be. Benny Hammond, the man who gave his daughter a job, the only one who would give Hopper updates on her life whenever they saw each other.

Then, the police chief looked out the window, eyes landing on the blonde girl on the curb. Why'd it have to be her? He asked himself. Of all the people to stumble across this, why her? It wasn't fair.

Walking outside, he turned back to the deputies who followed him.

"Why don't you two head down to the station? I'll catch up with you." He told them. They nodded and obeyed, driving off.

Hopper hesitantly sat on the curb beside his daughter. He didn't look at her as he spoke.

"This may be an . . . incredibly stupid question but . . . are you okay?" He asked.

Winnie shook her head, letting out a breathy laugh. "Stupid, indeed." She looked at him once before turning away. "I've been better."

Her father nodded slowly. "Why don't you . . . come back to the station with me and we'll get the shitty part over with and then . . . when I get off work we can do something to get your mind off this? That is . . . only if you want to."

Hopper had spent very little time with Winnie one on one in the last couple years. He had lost the skill of comforting her. But he was trying his best. And from the look on the girl's face when she turned to him, he knew she understood.

Winnie gave him a silent nod before standing up. Hopper followed suit and led her to his truck. Unlocking it, they both got inside and drove back to the police station. It was a very awkward and quiet ride. For a multitude of different reasons. And Winnie couldn't help but feel guilty about the fact that, despite Will and Benny, the most uncomfortable part of it all was being with her dad.

——

Picking at her fingernails anxiously, Winnie sat in a chair in her father's office while she waited for him to be done questioning some people about Benny. The girl had already talked to him about it, finding him and the last time she saw him and more. Now, sitting alone in silence, she only just started to feel the unbearable weight crushing her.

She exhaled, going to sit on her hands to stop herself from essentially tearing off her entire fingernail. It has always been an anxious habit, but it was getting out of control in the moment. Looking up at the clock on the wall, she read 2:04 pm. She had been waiting for over an hour.

Finally, the door behind her opened, and her father appeared. He walked around his desk and sat in his own chair. Sighing, he stared at her before opening his mouth to speak.

"Do you ever feel cursed?" Winnie interrupted before he got a chance to say anything.

Hopper furrowed his brow in confusion. "What?" He asked.

"It's just... I was thinking about it and... when was the last suicide in Hawkins? When was the last person to go missing? It's been decades since either and all of a sudden they both happen within days of each other? And they're both people I know and care about. I just..." The blonde girl abruptly stopped talking as she found herself getting carried away.

Her leg bounced aggressively as she fought to keep her hands underneath her thighs. Eyes watering and chest heaving, the Chief watched in sorrow as his daughter tried not to break down in front of him.

"You're right." He told her, causing her to look at him in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's weird. It's scary. And yeah it feels like... a curse. And it's unfair you've been dragged into both."

"Is that your way of comforting me?"

"Um... I don't know."

Suddenly, Winnie stood up. She shook her hands as if she was shaking off water. Then, she hugged her torso and stared at the ground, twisting her foot from side to side.

"I don't know what to do. I don't think anything will be able to get my mind off any of this... Can I... go home?"

Hopper was disappointed, but knew now wasn't the time to convince her to hangout with him.

"Okay... I'll call Joyce and have her come pick you up. Or actually probably Jonathan. Let me just—"

"No." Winnie cut him off, receiving a look of confusion. "I meant... I want to go home."

The look of confusion turned to one of conflicted joy. The Chief was happy to have her come home even for a little, but under the circumstances, he wasn't sure he was allowed to be happy about it.

"Um— Yeah. Yes, I just... yeah let me finish up here and we'll go. It shouldn't take more than 20 minutes."

They didn't leave for 2 more hours.

——

Winnie had been in a daze all day. So, walking into her old trailer for the first time in nearly a year, it didn't affect her the way she thought it would. She took a moment to take it all in. The trash, the carpet stains, the overflowing dishes in the sink, the smell of coffee and cigarettes.

It hadn't changed.

She walked through the living room, past the kitchen, into the hallway, and found her old bedroom. Opening the door, she saw what she expected to see. The bedroom of an 8th grader.

Her dad had not changed it since she moved out. He wouldn't know what to change it to. He hardly knew her anymore. Every time Winnie had been home in the past three years, it had been in exactly the state she left it in. Completely untouched. It looked as if she died and her dad preserved it in her memory.

But nope. Wrong child.

As she stood in the center of the room, she heard the floor creak behind her. Turning to face the doorway, the police chief stood awkwardly with his arms crossed.

"Are— Are you planning on spending the night?" He inquired.

"I don't know yet. I'll have to call Joyce if I do."

Hopper nodded. "Um... the search party is going out again tonight. I don't know what food I have, but if you want me to make something before—"

"I'm sure I can figure something out." Winnie interrupted.

"Okay..."

The pair stood in silence, neither knowing what to do. Winnie was exhausted. She didn't know why but she was. All she wanted to do was collapse on her old twin bed and sleep.

"I'm gonna... lay down for a little..." the girl eventually spoke up.

"Oh... yeah okay. No problem..." After a moment, the father left the room, closing the door behind him.

Despite the fact he'd left, the tension hung over the room for a long moment. Winnie slowly laid back on the bed. It wasn't the most comfortable, and it felt strange to lie on it again. But eventually, she was able to drift off. She was able to find a few hours of peace and just rest.

That is, if the nightmares let her.

——
(word count: 2661)

Hopper is trying so hard 😭

Hope you enjoyed! I really want to get more Winnie and Jonathan scenes and hopefully that can happen next chapter.

Let me know what you think!

much love,
chloe <3