Dad makes breakfast while I was sitting at the table doing some work. I saw El has a sheet over her and I just left it to dad to deal with.

"Oh, Jesus." Dad shrieks I just laugh slightly.  Dad looked over at me for help I just smirk at him.

"Ghost." El states.

"Yeah, I see that." Dad carries on.

"Halloween." El reminds me.

"Hey dad can I do a quick round of trick or treat tonight?" I asked.

"No you can't. (turns to El) Sure is. But right now, it's breakfast, okay? Come on, let's eat." Dad states. I frown at him and do what I always do when I was doing work and it was time to eat. I put my work under my chair. 

"They wouldn't see me." El tries. I just smiled at her efforts.

"Who wouldn't see you?" Dad asked.

"The bad men." El answered. 

"What are you talking about?" Dad asked.

"Trick or treat dad." I answer for El.

"You want to go trick-or-treating? You know the rules." Dad states.

"Yes, but-" El tries.

"Yeah, so you know the answer." Dad carries on.

"No, but they wouldn't see me." El says not giving up.

"No. Hey. I don't care." Dad carries on. It was always something like this El wanting to leave the house and dad not letting her.

"But they wouldn't see me." El continues.

"I don't care, all right? You go out there, ghost or not, it's a risk for both of you. We don't take risks. All right? They're stupid, and..." Dad carries on.

"We're not stupid!" El exclaims. I just sit there looking at the wood in the table.

"Exactly. Now, you take that off, sit down and eat. Your food's getting cold. [sighs] All right, look... How about I get off early tonight, and I buy us a bunch of candy, and we can sit around and get fat, and we watch a scary movie together? How's that for a compromise?" Dad asks I just shake my head knowing he would be late.

"[stutters] "Compromise"?" El asks.

"C-O-M-promise. Compromise. How about that's your word for the day? Yeah? It's something that's kinda in-between. It's like halfway happy." Dad explains.

"By 5-1-5?" El asks.

"5:15. Yeah, sure." Dad answers. He never did this for me growing up.

"Promise?" El asked.

"Yes. I promise." Dad answered.

"Halfway happy." El carries on. Dad ruffles her hair and she chuckles I just get up and walked to my room.

"What's up with her?" I heard dad ask.

"I don't know." El answered remembering some of the ways to use them three words.

"I'll talk to her." Dad carried on walking to my room and knocking the door. I was curled on my top part of the bunk bed me and El had before me and Sara shared the bunk bed. She had the top I had the bottom.

"Go away I am not in the mood." I shout. I saw the teddy on the other side of the bed that gave me Sara had to other one that went with it but dad kept that one side. I picked it up and cuddled it.

"Hey you can talk to me." Dad answers walking through the door. I was tearing up knowing I wasn't the favourite child and because I missed the party and Sara.

"Just go back to El I'll be fine." I replied still holding the teddy close. I could tell he was climbing up the ladders to my bed and sat at the end.

"You think I don't know why you chose the top bunk every time after Sara died. You think I don't notice you kept that teddy you and Sara had as kids. You think I don't notice things but I do." Dad starts.

"But you don't notice everything do you." I snapped. I was almost full on crying. I looked at him.

"Care to explain." He asked.

"You don't notice how whenever you do something to make El happy it makes me upset. You don't notice how I got my bandana I wear every single bloody day. You don't notice how my moods change when you promise El you will be back at a certain time you never did that for me at all. You never did promise me you would be home to watch a movie with me and eat candy." I snap letting tears fall. "You never noticed where I was when Will missing you didn't even care where I was if I was dead or missing." I looked away so I could properly cry for once in about a year or so.

"So this is about El now is it?" Dad asked not caring.

"So you care more about El then me now?" I asked him looking him in the eyes.

"I have to she has no parents." He answered.

"But when you do that nether do I." I state.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"When you be the dad El wants I get jealous because I want that dad the dad that promises me things the dad that no matter what will make it up to me if he did something to upset me I want that dad." I answer looking away I wiped the tears from my face.

"Why didn't you say?" He asked as I hugged my knees putting the teddy in front of me.

"Because I didn't want to seem like I was letting you down and upsetting El for taking away your attention from her just to have it on me. I didn't want to seem like an attention seeking person because I'm not." I answered.

"I know your not trying to do this for attention I know that Alex you could of still said." He carried on.

"After Sara died you were always there for me ever since I got out the lab you were there for me I didn't want to take away anything from El since she is kind of fresh out the lab." I answered. I didn't notice El was climbing up to my bed.

"I wouldn't care Tess I wouldn't mind because I want you to have attention as well." El said sitting next to me. I put an arm around her pulling her closer.

"I don't deserve a sister like you El." I stated kissing her forehead.

"I don't deserve two very kind very loving girls who are always there for each other." Dad piped up. We were like a family but without the mom. Dad left for work ten minutes after my melt down in front of him. I set up for the day and I was planning on teaching El how to spell some more words but instead we watched tv all day. It was about 5:15 in the evening and I noticed dad was late again. The radio starts beeping and El gets up.

"L... A... T... E. Late" El says reading it. We both knew it was dad so we just cuddled on the couch and watched Halloween movies eating candy I stashed. I could tell dad was home by the fact I could hear footsteps. I changed places so I was on the floor drawing and El was in our room watching the tv in there while I watched the tv in the living room.

Hopper: Hey, kid. Open up, all right? Look, I know I'm late. I got candy here, all right? I got all the good stuff. Please, will you open the door? I'm gonna freeze to death out here." Dad starts breathing heavily as the door unlocks and he goes inside. I wiped the blood from my noise and looked up.

"She's in our room if you need her." I started. TV is playing in our room. 

"Thanks Alex. How was your day?" Dad asked. I looked at him confused.

"What you never ask me how my day was go get El she needs someone to talk to." I answer dad nodded. I got up and walked into our room and closed the door making sure dad couldn't get in like El wanted.

"Hey, kids. Open up, would you? I got, uh... stuck somewhere, and I lost track of time. And I'm sorry. El Alex, would you please open the door? El Alex? [sighs] All right. I'm just gonna be out here by myself, eating all this candy. I'm gonna get fat. It's very unhealthy to leave me out here. Could have a heart attack or something. But, you know, you do what you want." Dad said sitting down on the couch. I started laughing so did El even though she was watching the tv.

"One quarter pound of all-American beef, fresh-cut tomato, and four strips of crispy bacon." The announcer said on the tv.

"Did somebody say bacon?" Some random people answered. Eleven switches channels.

"Refreshing lemon-" The man on the tv started.

"...and they're perfect for dunking. Mmm!" The woman answered. Alex and El blindfolds themselves and gets the TV to static. There was voices echoing the girls sometimes went in together just too see different people.

"It's day 353. I had a bad day today. I tried looking for that bandana again still no luck. Mike swore you took it just before the incident for Halloween. I always knew you liked that one. I miss you I mean we all do Erica hasn't been the same without you here. She keeps talking to herself trying not to forget you. Mom doesn't make a cooked breakfast anymore because she doesn't want to set me Erica or herself off. Will isn't the same anymore he misses you as much as me and Erica. He says his mum or Jonathan is the same without you being round for breakfast lunch or dinner. Well mom still has that picture of us when we had our first Christmas as a party me you Mike Will Dustin Erica photobombing Nancy in the background and Jonathan dancing like a idiot. If you're out there, just please give me a sign." Lucas says.

"Lucas." I try.

"Tessa?" Lucas asked. He waits a second before turning the walkie talkie off and leaving the room. I take my blindfold off just realising El's is already off and we sobbed in each others arms.