Samantha was quiet as her parents watched the news. There really wasn't much for any of them to say, at least not lately when all that was on their minds was something terrible.

There was so much going through Sam's mind that she could hardly focus on the chemistry textbook that was sitting in her lap.

She still hadn't heard from Jules and although she hadn't gone to his house after school again to check if he was home she knew without a doubt that he wouldn't be there. But what was she supposed to do?

If Mr. Becker had noticed his absence he would have already filed a missing person's report to the police. But that was assuming that he even cared to begin with.

Were people really going missing in Hawkins?

The thought itself seemed ridiculous. Hawkins was a quiet little town where kids had always been able to ride their bike across town late at night, and parents could stay at home comforted by the fact that their town was a safe space. That Hawkins hadn't had a major crime long before Samantha was born.

The only comforting thought that Samantha had was the knowledge that both Erica and Lucas were safe in their rooms. That nothing could happen to them as long as they were home. As long as she was close by to protect them.

Charles Sinclair reached for the remote, it was that time of night where her parent's were going to get ready to go to bed. Sam thought it was ridiculously early, but her paren't worked ridiculously hard to ensure that they lived comfortably.

Just as her father was about to turn off the television and emergency report appeared on screen. Samatha was about to dismiss the report, believing that it was possibly something that was of little importance to them but she instantly recognized the quarry in the background.

The report was being filmed live from Hawkins. And somehow without knowing Samantha knew exactly what was about to come next. It was like the last three days of worried anticipation had been leading up to this moment.

"Byers' body was found in the water of this quarry by state police earlier this evening. It was discovered by state trooper David O'Bannon just after dark."

The report began and although everyone in the room was already silent it was like they had all held their breaths as the reporter spoke. The bright red a blue lights shinning in the background as he reported live from the quarry made Samantha's head spin. She felt sick to her stomach.

"The star police are mounting an investigation to determine Byer's cause of death but an initial inquiry...."

Suddenly the door burst open causing Samantha and her parent to stand up alert, only for them to feel rushed the second that Lucas rushed inside. He didn't say a word and didn't even look in their direction as he rushed upstairs.

She shock that Lucas had snuck out was over shadowed by a different realization. Lucas didn't say a word but he didn't have to.

He knew that they had found Will's body.

He had probably been out there late at night in those woods looking for Will. Again the boys had decided to take matters in their own hands only for their friend's body to be found in the quarry. Three days Will was missing, and now that he was found Samantha didn't know what was worse. The not knowing or the confirmation that

"Should we go talk to him?" Charles Sinclair questioned, clearly unsure of what the best approach to this situation was. Not that Sam could blame her father, there was no best way to deal with loss. Everyone dealt with loss differently. And there simply was no knowing what was the best approach when it came to Lucas.

Sue Sinclair shook her head softly as she placed her hand onto of her husbands gripping it tightly. "No, he'll come to us when he's ready."

Turning her attention back to the television Samantha attempted to listen to more of the news report, but it was like she heard static. She could see the reporter's lips moving but there were no words coming out. She recognized that she was in shock, but she hadn't realized that she was crying until she tasted her salty tears on her lips.

"Honey." Her mother muttered softly as she placed a comforting hand in her lap.

Quickly brushing her tears away Samantha stood before quickly excusing herself for the night and heading to her room. She didn't want to risk Lucas seeing her cry, she was the one who was supposed to have her shit together. The person that he could come to if he needed a shoulder to cry. She had to be the strong one.

But as she closed her bedroom door behind her she allowed herself to cry a few more tears for Will. For everything that he should have been able to do and now would never be able to.

She thought of Jonathan and how devastated he must be. He was undoubtedly blaming himself for his brother's death, and she didn't even want to think about what state Joyce had to be in right now. As she continued to think about how devastating the news was she promised herself that she would never know what that kind of loss felt like.

All of this was just a terrible accident, and she realized that whatever happened to Julian couldn't possibly be related. But something in Hawkins had changed, their safe little town wasn't so safe anymore.

The next morning felt like Sam had woken up in some kind of nightmare. As she and her mother cooked breakfast in silence she wondered just how long it would take until they healed from this completely. Will was such an important part of all their lives, and his absence would be felt for a long time.

Sure, the entire town would move on from the accident in a couple of days. Parent's using Will's story to scare their children into coming home early and not going into the woods on their own. But, to everyone who ever cared for Will his lose would always be felt.

Samantha would always remember the shy boy who always kept to himself. All the nights where the boys would get together and play D&D, even though she personally wasn't very fond of the game she always enjoyed the joy that it brought the boys. It was their escape from reality just like painting was hers.

And standing in front of Lucas' door now Samantha didn't know what the right words to say were. There were so many things that could be said, but sometimes saying nothing at all was best. And Lucas was so unpredictable that Sam felt entirely lost. She usually knew what was best, how to approach a situation logically but this was different.

With a sigh Sam turned the door knob. Pushing the door open to find her brother looking up at her with wide eyes as he turned off his radio in a panic. Lucas always talked to Mike with that stupid radio, and he had never felt the need to hide that from her before.

"Don't you knock?" He exclaimed as he quickly sat up from his bed a panicked looked in his eyes. He was clearly hiding something, but Sam wasn't about to question her brothers odd behavior. Especially considering that he was going through such a traumatic loss at such a young age.

"Sorry." Sam replied, slightly shocked that he had yelled at her. It definitely wasn't what she had expected. "I just wanted to check up on you. I know this is hard and that you're hurting..."

"Oh yes I feel very sad." Lucas quickly interrupted before looking down, a sad expression appearing on his face. For some reason the gesture felt forced, but Sam attempted to look past it. Everyone grieved in different ways, and this was the first big loss that Lucas was experiencing. He their grandmother had died he was much too young to remember how that pain felt like. "Im going to miss him.... so much."

"I already talked to mom," Sam continued not moving from her place in the doorway doing her best to give Lucas the space that he needed to process everything he was going through. "you can miss school today."

Lucas' face brightened at her words, but that happiness was gone in an instant once again replaced by that sad expression that didn't quite meet his eyes. "That would be great."

Lucas' behavior was beginning to worry Sam. Maybe it was because she expected to have to comfort her crying brother again, but something about the way he was acting now made her feel like he was hiding something. "Are you okay staying home on your own?"

"I want to be alone." He replied bluntly. "You know to process my feelings. On my own."

"Okay..." Sam began awkwardly not feeling entirely comfortable leaving Lucas home alone. But she also recognized that he needed his space, and that he would work through everything he was feeling in his own way. "well after school I'm going to be working at the diner for a couple of hours. If you need anything don't hesitate to call."

"Yeah, sounds great." Lucas continued as he all but pushed her out the door, flashing her a quick smile before closing the door.

Samatha felt a mixture of confusion and worry. As she pressed her ear against the door she heard the muffled sound of Lucas speaking to Mike over their walkie-talkies. It almost sounded like they were fighting, but she couldn't make out any of the words that were being spoken.

For a moment she considered skipping school and staying with her brother, but she that this was her simply continuing to be paranoid. She didn't have to be worried about Lucas' weird behavior, he was a weird kid. If anything him being weird was normal.

Normal.

Samantha would give anything for things to go back to normal. But it was all wishful thinking, because it would be a long time before Hawkins felt normal again.

A/N: I know this is a bit of a shorter chapter, but again this is mostly set up for what's so come. I don't want to skip over important character moments to get to the good stuff. Just one more chapter until the end of Side A. I've really been excited to start writing the end of the season because that where all the fun is at.