Worlds Apart

My little brother was gone, just hours after I’d tucked him into bed. I was losing my mind with worry, and I had no idea what to do. There was always the chance he’d snuck out, but what if something else had happened?

What if Will had been kidnapped, and the same person came and snatched Dustin too? It was pouring rain out, what if my baby brother was lying in some ditch left for dead, cold and lifeless? God, I was gonna throw up. I was pacing his room, tears running down my face, trying to keep myself calm so I could think.

Calling the police was out of the picture. If he’d gone with the others to go get Will, and Hopper found him, we’d need a parent or guardian to come get him. Mom wouldn’t be coherent enough to help, and if we had to call Don…

Nope. Not risking it. But what if he’d been taken? I’d heard something before that kidnapped victims are most likely to be found within the first 72 hours. If that was true, I was wasting time pacing his room.

I had no idea what to do.

Almost half an hour passed with me frantically pacing the room, and twice I nearly broke down and went to call Hopper. He’d kill me for using his direct number at midnight, but if I just called him maybe we wouldn’t need to tell Don?

I had just turned for the hall when I heard the bushes rustle outside. A moment later I caught the sound of bike wheels turning. I stood stone-still in the middle of Dustin’s room, holding my breath. Sure enough, a second later I saw a head of curls poke up into view, followed by two guilt-filled blue eyes.

“Uh… hey?” Dustin tried, easing himself into his room. I couldn’t even speak I was so furious. “Look, I know you said to stay inside -”

“Do you have any idea,” I said lowly, enunciating every word as I tried to keep from screaming, “what hell you just put me through?”

“I didn’t mean to,” he said quickly, coming towards me with his hands held out to keep me at bay. “We just wanted to -”

“I know exactly what you wanted to do,” I cut in viciously, taking a step for him. “Did you ignore everything I said earlier? Did you somehow forget Hopper told you to stay inside? Do you have any comprehension of all the bad things that could have just happened to you?!”

“Ally, we just went -” he paused as he looked up at me. “Are you crying?”

“Yes, I’m crying! You scared the absolute shit out of me, you little asshole!” I shouted, making him jump in surprise. “All I could think of was getting a call telling me they found your stupid body in a stupid ditch -”

I cut off with an angry sob and tried to calm myself down as I buried my face in my hands. Dustin’s arms - alarmingly wet and cold - wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into a hug. I bent down and held him tight.

“I’m sorry Ally,” he said solemnly into my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I just kept thinking about Will being all alone, and he’s probably scared. I just wanted to help him. He’s my best friend.”

“I know, I know,” I sniffed as I pulled back from him. I knew how bad I’d feel if Barb was missing; I would have done the same thing as he did. It didn’t make his actions any less stupid or dangerous, but... I took a deep breath to try and push my anger and lingering worry to the back of my head. Now that the furious red tint had cleared from my vision, I noticed just how soaking wet he was. “I’ll kick your butt for this in the morning. But right now let’s get you dried off.”

He nodded and followed me obediently into the bathroom. I grabbed a few fresh towels and helped him get down to his underwear, then wrapped him up tight. He dried off completely as I brought him some fresh clothes, and I gave him a few moments to dress while I rung out his other attire.

When I came back inside - now freezing myself - I found him waiting in the kitchen. He still looked guilty, but both of us were too tired to say anything else; it was just past one in the morning.

I herded my brother into his bed and tucked the covers in, shutting and locking his window. As I gave him a kiss on the forehead and stood up, I gave him a stern look.

“I want your butt in this bed until I come and wake you up. Am I clear?”

“Yeah, I won’t leave,” he promised sleepily. I gave a stern nod before shutting off the light and shutting his door. I collapsed on my own bed, exhausted. The emotions and adrenaline had all worn off, and I was thoroughly drained.

He’d be getting chewed out tomorrow as soon as I got the chance, but as mad as I was, relief overwhelmed everything.

Relief that my little brother came back.

My heart ached for Joyce and Jonathan. To not have Will come home… as I fell asleep, I promised myself I’d do whatever I could to make sure they got to see Will again.

-x-

Tuesday, November 8th

7:30 came a lot earlier than I wanted it to. It was a struggle to get myself out of bed, but hauling Dustin out? He groaned and buried deeper into his blankets. I stood over him - tired and grumpy - about to upend his mattress.

“It’s your own fault you’re so tired,” I reminded, ripping the blankets off and throwing them to the ground. He made a noise of annoyance and tried to inch down and grab them without actually getting up. “Dustin. Up and dressed in five or you’re grounded.”

I still had to get mom up, and I was just as sleepy as my brat of a brother, so he didn’t get any leeway. After getting her meds and ushering her and Mews to the living room, I looked around and saw a lack of brother.

Stifling a sigh, I focused on breakfast instead. And when he wasn’t out by the time eggs and toast were on the table, I’d had it.

He was back asleep, back under his covers snoring peacefully. Okay, that was it.

I grabbed his glass of water off his desk, pulled the covers back and then threw the water into his face.

He screamed and jolted awake, scrambling to look up at me in absolute perplexity.

“What the hell was that?!”

“Your wake up call,” I snapped, jamming finger at his closet. “Dressed, now. You don’t get to be late today.”

He let out a whine, but didn’t go to lay back down (probably because his sheets were soaked). “But I’m so ti -“

I gave him my most dangerous look.

“If you even start complaining about being tired, Dustin, I swear to god -“

“Okay, Okay!”

“If I have to come back in here one more time -“

“I’m getting dressed!” He all but squeaked, scrambling up off his bed. I gave him a last warning look before heading back out.

On instinct, I checked outside for Will. Our driveway was empty, and it was well past the time he would have been here. My heart twisted a little more.

When Dustin finally emerged, I ushered him away from the table, just giving him a few pieces of toast.

“Had you gotten up when I told you, you could’ve had a full meal,” I said pointedly, getting a grumpy look from him over his shoulder. “Get to school. I expect you home right after, okay?”

“But I wanted to -”

“I don’t care. I wanted you in bed last night and you couldn’t do that, so now you’re home as soon as you’re out of school.”

“Fine,” he huffed, stomping out of the house like a six year old. I rolled my eyes and went to gather my project and other school work. Just a few minutes later, Barb pulled into the driveway. I gave mom a kiss on the cheek and then hurried out to meet her.

“You look exhausted,” she said sympathetically as I dropped into the car. I nodded wearily and launched into a recap of my night. She sighed heavily and shrugged as I finally finished it out.

“I get why he went out to look,” she sympathized. I started to argue when she added in, “if you or Nancy went missing, I’d do the same thing. But you’re right, it was dangerous.”

“It was. Especially considering Chief Hopper came by after you left yesterday and said he’d already told the kids not to go out.”

“Ooh, strike two for Dustin,” she sighed as we pulled into the parking lot. I nodded as we got out, and walked with her towards school.

“Yep. He also, uh,” I lowered my voice, and leaned a little closer. “He told Hopper about Don.”

“What, really?” I nodded and she pulled me aside before we walked in. “Did you tell him?”

My eyes dropped.

“I couldn’t. I just kept thinking, what if he confronted Don and Don talked his way out? It wouldn’t be me, it’d be Dustin getting the backlash. I can’t risk it.”

Barb knew how to read me; somehow, even though I was trying to hide it, she knew how upset I was I hadn’t told Hop. She pulled me into a tight hug and I clung to her until the warning bell rang.

“It’s okay,” she promised as I fought the urge to cry. “Because I think I’ve got a solution to the Don problem.”

“W-what?” I sniffed, pulling back to look up at her. “Really?”

“Yes,” she promised. “He’s out of town, right? I can come by tonight and we’ll talk about it, okay?”

I gave my best friend one more tight hug and nodded eagerly. It felt like finally a huge, Don-sized weight was being lifted off my shoulders. Maybe soon I could just be a kid again.

-x-

Jonathan wasn’t in class again today.

Barb caught me staring at his empty desk, again, and nudged my foot across the aisle. I glanced over at her and couldn’t hide the worry on my face. Worry for Will, worry for Jonathan and Joyce, worry (in the back of my head) that Dustin would just run off after school. Or get kidnapped. Or lost. Or who knows what.

With the projects turned in, we were busy doing presentations, which meant I couldn’t talk to her like I wanted to. I was going crazy with my paranoia again, and having Jonathan gone just reminded me how real this all was. By the end of class, I was a jittery mess.

Nancy was walking ahead of us with Steve, but Barb hung back and said gently,

“We can go over to his house tonight and check on him, okay?”

“Yes please,” I said quietly, trying to settle myself. My mood for the day only worsened when we came around the corner and found Nancy talking to Carol and Tommy. Barb and I exchanged irritable looks as we came up to the crowd.

“Can they come too?” Nancy asked, glancing back at us. After a quick glance at each other, Carol and Tommy both shrugged. Carol turned her sharp eyes on me and smirked.

“I mean, if they’re up for a party, sure.”

Steve turned to Nancy.

“Are you in, at least?” when she looked back at Barb and I, unsure, Steve added to us, “it’ll be lowkey. Just us. C’mon, what d’you say?”

Nancy went to answer just as Carol looked past our group.

“Oh, god. Look.”

The six of us turned at her words, and my heart dropped. Jonathan was at the announcement board, pulling out what looked like a poster of Will. A ‘missing’ poster I realized as Steve muttered,

“Oh god. That’s depressing.”

I turned and leveled a glare on him; seriously, his brother was missing! Come on, cut the guy some slack! Carol and Tommy were smirking with one another, watching him struggle to pin the poster up.

“Should… should we say something?” Nancy tried, looking uneasily at me. So, in other words, Ally this is on you. I turned my glare onto her and she pressed her lips together.

“I don’t think he speaks,” Carol sneered, looking at the rest of us, waiting for our laughter. Barb handled the glaring this time as I snapped,

“Shut up. Just leave him alone you guys.”

Tommy’s smirk just grew and he settled his gaze on me.

“How much you wanna bet he killed him?”

Nancy and Steve both at least managed to look uncomfortable as Barb smacked him hard across the chest for me. My blood was boiling; no way was I going to the party, and no way was I staying here any longer.

“I’m serious, shut the hell up,” I snapped at them, glaring as I began to back towards Jonathan. Carol made a smart remark to Tommy and the two of them laughed. Nancy and Steve continued to stare at the ground and avoid my glare as I caught Barb’s eye and said,

“I’ll see you at lunch.”

When she nodded - and gave me an understanding smile - I turned and hurried towards Jonathan. He didn’t look up initially, busy trying to fix the poster to the board. His hands were shaking so much he couldn’t get the pins in. I reached out and gently rested a hand on his arm, and his head snapped up.

“Hey,” I said gently, giving him a smile. His lips flicked up briefly, but his expression didn’t change. I could see the exhaustion and sadness etched into his features, and it made my heart break even more. “Can I help?”

He let me take the poster, and then sat the pins in my open hand. He shifted back just a bit and stepped up between him and the board to secure the poster. I smoothed it down and smiled, glancing back at Jonathan.

“I like these pictures of him.”

“Me too,” he said in a quiet voice, and actually gave the smallest of smiles.

“Look, if you need anything, I’m here to help,” I offered, turning to face him. We were closer than I’d expected, but neither of us moved away.

“I really appreciate that,” he said as the bell rang. When he didn’t make to go to class, I lingered too.

“Do you have more posters? I can help you hang them up.”

“I can’t let you miss class,” he declined, taking a step back. I moved after him; I wanted to help. I wanted to find Will and give Jonathan the relief I’d had when Dustin came home.

“It’s fine, I’m ahead in it anyways.”

“I’ve got something I need to do,” he deflected again. When I went to ask about it, he reached into his bag and handed me a bunch of posters. “But if you could pass these out, it’d really help.”

“Yeah, of course,” I promised quickly, jumping at the chance to help him. He gave another small smile and turned to walk out to his car.

Just do it Ally, I commanded myself, and before I could chicken out I said quickly,

“Hey, Jonathan.”

He paused and turned back to me, and I closed the distance between us and pulled him into a hug. He hesitated for a heartbeat, but then folded himself around me and held me tight to him. His face buried into the crook of my shoulder, and I felt him let out a long breath, like he was relaxing for just a heartbeat. At least I could give him that.

When we pulled apart, I smiled up at him.

“Just something for the road.”

He actually chuckled and cracked a wider smile than before as he backed down the hallway.

“Thank you, Allison.”

I watched Jonathan leave and held the posters a little tighter, wanting nothing more than to run after him and make sure he’d be okay.

-x-

By the time the last bell rang, I’d passed out and hung up all but a few flyers. The rest I was saving to plaster all over my neighborhood. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And I wasn’t done yet.

Barb met me by my locker, and as I put my stuff away, I explained to her,

“I’m just gonna go down to his house, make myself useful. I’m sure Joyce is a mess right now, and I bet Jonathan could use some moral support, you know?”

“I think they’d both really appreciate that,” Barb agreed, walking with me to her car. “Any little bit will help them right now.”

I nodded, and then added,

“Do you want to come down there with me?”

She gave a heavy sigh and dropped into her seat, giving me an apologetic look.

“I know I said I would… but Nancy wouldn’t leave me alone about that party. So I’ve got to go get ready and then help her get ready.”

I made a face as we headed down the street. Nancy hadn’t mentioned anything to me at all, not even during lunch. Did she not want me there? Not like I wanted to go, but still.

“You’re really gonna go? You know it’s just gonna be her and Steve making out, and Carol and Tommy having sex on every available surface.”

“I know,” she sighed, shaking her head as she pulled into my driveway. “But Nancy needs the support. I don’t want her going there alone. And besides, it’s just one night.”

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want you going either,” I told her, giving a small smile. “How about I go with you? So when the couples split up, you’re not all alone.”

“No way,” she shot down; I gave her a look of surprise. “Jonathan and his mom need you more right now. We’re just gonna go for a few hours, and I’ll drag her back home.”

I gave my best friend a smile and leaned over to hug her. She chuckled and hugged me back, then gently pushed me out of the car. I leaned back in the window as I shut the door and said,

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Be safe, okay?”

“I will.”

“Look both ways before you cross the street,” I called as she pulled away. “Eat your vegetables! Wash behind your ears!”

“Yes mom!” she laughed, waving at me before she headed down the street. As I turned to go inside I nearly collided with Dustin. He was still on his bike, looking up at me moodily.

“You’re weird,” he informed me as I skirted around him and headed for the door.

“What, and you’re not?”

“Not as weird as you are.”

“Yeah, right. I’ve seen you spend three hours trying to flip a penny and get it in your belly button.”

“That’s called science, Ally,” he argued, following me into the house.

“It’s called being weird,” I deflected, setting my backpack on the table and pulling out my homework. Dustin sat with me, and at least he didn’t put up too much of a fuss while we worked. Afterwards, though, as soon as he shut his book, he looked up at me.

“Can I please go to Mike’s?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but realized that if I wanted to go to Jonathan’s, my best bet was to have him stay with someone I trusted. If I left him home alone, I had a feeling he’d just end up at Mike’s anyways…

“Yes,” I started, and snagged his elbow before he could take off. “Only because I have some things I need to do. And you’re staying there until I get back. Okay?”

He huffed again.

“I can’t guarantee our ship of curiosity won’t need to leave port.”

“Unless you want to spend next weekend with me cleaning the house, you’ll keep that ship docked. You got it?”

He rolled his eyes, but muttered a yes. I herded him outside and grabbed his old bike, hopping on and leading the way to Mike’s. When we got there, though, I rode up the driveway with him. Dustin gave me a questioning look, but I just pointed to the front step and followed him up the walk.

Mrs. Wheeler answered the door and gave us a welcoming smile.

“Dustin, Ally! It’s great to see you two. Come in, Mike and the boys are downstairs, and Nancy is in her room -”

“Oh, no, I won’t be able to stay,” I apologized, giving her a smile as I all but shoved Dustin inside. “I’ve actually got a few errands to run, and I was hoping Dustin might be able to stay here for a couple hours.”

“Of course, sweetheart! That’ll be no trouble at all.” I gave Dustin a last look to behave and listen to me before looking back up at Mrs. Wheeler. “Are you sure you don’t want to say hi to Nancy?”

“I wish I could, but I’ve got to get to the post office before they close,” I excused, slowly inching back off the porch. “But I really appreciate you watching Dustin. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Before she could say anything else I rushed back for my bike. I hopped on, and rode as fast as I could down to the Byers. When I made it down their driveway, though, the only car I saw was Joyce’s. Jonathan said he’d had something to do… was he still off doing it?

When I knocked on the door, I heard a flurry from inside and a second later the door was wrenched open. It took Joyce a moment to realize who was standing on her porch. I gave her a gentle smile and she gave me a shaky one.

“Oh, Ally. I-I’m sorry, I was expecting Hopper.”

“It’s alright. I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to drop in unexpectedly -”

“No, no. Please. Come in, come in,” she urged, moving aside and letting me in. I scanned the room as she shut and locked the door. I saw a pile of Will’s pictures on the coffee table, and her armchair had been scooted over to sit by the kitchen wall.

“How are you holding up?” I asked when she came back to my side. The two of us sat on her couch and she turned to me, tears in her eyes.

“I’m not. I just… I feel so guilty,” she confessed. “Jonathan and I both worked late. If I had been home -”

“You can’t blame yourself,” I said gently, shaking my head. “You were providing for your family. You had to be at work, and so did Jonathan.”

Joyce nodded, more to herself than anything, and took a deep breath. She lifted her eyes to me, like she was debating letting me in on something. I waited patiently as she gathered up her words.

“Last night… I swear that Will called me,” she almost whispered. “It had to be him. I’d know his breathing anywhere.”

“What?” I asked surprised, heart leaping at the thought. “Did he say anything? Is he okay?”

“He didn’t talk. But I know it was him,” she insisted, looking up at me desperately. And, okay, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to buy into something that sounded as crazy as this, but the look on her face… she just needed some support.

“I mean, you’d know your own son when you heard him,” I said slowly, and she nodded vigorously.

“Exactly! And - and then the phone, it just burnt out! I had to buy a whole new one! It’s like… like Will was trying to reach out to me! I know it! I know Will is alive, and I know he’s trying to come home!”

She searched my eyes for any kind of confirmation. She didn’t want to feel as crazy as she sounded. And after losing my dad, I knew how much it meant to have just a sliver of hope that they’d be back.

“He is,” I agreed softly; I saw the surprise flicker over her face. I was sure Hopper - and possibly Jonathan - weren’t buying into her theories, and to have someone on her side… I could see how much it meant to her.

“You really think so?”

“I do,” I promised with a nod. “Will is a smart, resourceful kid. Whatever situation he’s in right now, I know he’ll be able to get out of it. I just know it.”

Joyce surged forward and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tight as she let out a sob. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her and held her to me, running my hands up and down her back as I tried to soothe her.

For just a few moments, I was back two years ago, in my own living room, holding my mom. I had nothing to say, nothing to offer, but I knew sometimes the pain was so overwhelming all you could manage to do was cry and hug someone, and that was okay.

After a few minutes, Joyce sniffed and sat back, wiping the tears off her cheeks. She gave me a watery smile and rested her hands on my shoulders affectionately.

“You’re so wonderful, you know that? Thank you so much, Ally.”

“Of course,” I assured, resting one of my hands on her own. “Before I go, let me make you something to eat. I’m sure you haven’t had anything all day.”

She opened her mouth to correct me, but let it slowly close as she gave me a sheepish look. I was right. I stood and rested my hand on her shoulder briefly, and then made my way to the kitchen.

It was nothing fancy, just a few grilled cheese sandwiches, but she ate them like they were a five-course meal. I left her to her dinner, slipping down the hall towards Jonathan’s room. His room door was open just a crack; I eased it further, just enough for some light to spill in.

Dark and empty; he really wasn’t here. It was nearing 8 o’clock, where could he still be off to? Part of me wondered if he’d gone off looking for Will on his own. That wouldn’t surprise me. I knew he wouldn’t stop looking until -

A light flickered on in Will’s room.

My train of thought came to a stop as I stared at the light shining out from underneath his door. I could still hear Joyce in the kitchen, so who…?

I rushed across the hall and shoved the door open, looking around for either Will or Jonathan. The room was empty, but the light on Will’s bedside table was still on. I stared at it, perplexed, trying to understand how it had just come on.

“Will?” I tried softly, moving towards the closed closet door. The closer I got, the more the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something felt off; I reached my hand for the closet door handle, and the light flickered. My hand froze.

Come on, Ally! Just open it! Nothing’s gonna happen! I tried to convince myself, taking another half-step closer. My hand was shaking now, as was the rest of me. I inched a little closer, took a breath, and grabbed the handle.

I ripped the closet door open, and was met with a row of clothes. I let out a nervous laugh, letting myself relax as I turned to leave.

A tall, faceless man was standing just outside the window. The fear that burst through me was so powerful I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breath. All I could do was stare at the thing in pure horror. As if it felt my gaze, the thing outside turned its head towards me, and the light snapped off. A scream ripped out of my throat as I scrambled back and fell onto Will’s bed. The light flickered on just as Joyce burst into the room.

“Ally? What’s going on?!”

The thing was gone! What?! It’d just been right there! What the hell was it? Where had it just gone!? Was I just losing my mind -

“Allison!” I snapped out of my panic and stared up at Joyce, speechless and shaken to the core. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine,” I managed, getting shakily to my feet as I tried to compose myself. “I just - I saw a light on in here, and I was curious, so I came to check - it was nothing. I just - the light flickered, it scared me, and I just - I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be in here -”

I couldn’t control my nervous babbling, and I could see the worry on Joyce’s face as I skirted around her for the door.

“Sweetheart, are you - “

“I’ve gotta go,” I managed, forcing a smile (that probably looked more like a grimace) as I stumbled for her front door. She followed me with a bewildered gaze, like she wanted to help me but had no idea how. “Dustin’s at the Wheelers, I gotta, uh, I gotta go get him. It was nice seeing you!”

“Allison, what’s going -”

I did a quick glance around the outside of the house, but didn’t see any tall, faceless man. As I grabbed my bike off the ground, I didn’t see any weird footprints around the porch. Nothing to indicate the thing I’d see had been real.

Was I seriously losing my mind?

Joyce watched me nervously from her front porch as I got onto the bike and headed up the driveway. I gave her a quick wave, and then took off down the street. I tried to shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Had it just been a trick of the light? Was I just worked up and seeing things? I had to be. Faceless, giant creatures weren’t real. I couldn’t have seen it. So I made myself try to forget that incident as I pulled up to the Wheelers.

Mr. Wheeler answered the door this time, not even looking up from his paper as he stepped aside to let me in. I skirted through the living room and waved at Mrs. Wheeler as I opened the basement door.

“Dustin! Time to go!”

I heard a flurry of commotion and startled, hushed whispering. There was a bit of scuffling, but no mop of curly hair came up the stairs. With a sigh, I started down into the basement. A heartbeat later, Dustin came skidding around the base of the stairs and came rushing up towards me.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

“Jeeze, where’s the fire?” I asked as he ushered me back up the steps. “Hey, stop! You’re gonna make me fall!”

“Then keep moving,” he suggested; I glared at my little brother as he herded me back into the hall. He shut the door and then leaned against it, giving me a nervous smile when I lifted a brow at him.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“What? Nothing. At all. I just thought you wanted to leave. So let’s leave.”

“You really expect me to believe that?”

“What, that you wanna leave? Yeah. I mean, you’re the one who said ‘time to go’, so…”

“Okay, weirdo. Come on. I’ll interrogate you at the house.”

As the two of us made for the front door, Mrs. Wheeler leaned out of the kitchen and beckoned me. Dustin went outside as I stepped over to talk to her.

“Are Dustin’s spasms a common thing?”

“His what?”

“At dinner, he had a spasm,” she whispered to me, as if Dustin had sonic hearing. “It just seemed like something he didn’t really talk about. I wanted to make sure you knew about it.”

“Thanks,” I said slowly, giving a confused smile. Okay, Dustin didn’t have ‘spasms’. And how weird he’d been getting me out of the basement? Yeah, something was up. Dustin was waiting anxiously for me to come out. The second he saw me, he jumped onto his bike and started rolling down the driveway.

“So,” I called to him as I caught up down the street. “Spasms?”

“I just, uh, got this chill and I kinda, y’know, shivered.”

I gave him a deadpan look as we turned onto our street.

“You’re really going with that?”

“Yep,” he told me as we pulled up to the garage. I let out a sigh, but knew he wouldn’t give anything away if I kept pushing. So I let him scurry inside as I shut our bikes in the garage. I’d figure him out, sooner or later.

Dustin and I took turns showering, and he even waited up for me as I finished up and put mom to bed. The nights without Don here were easy and quiet. I wished, more than anything, that we could have this all the time.

I hugged my baby brother goodnight and walked him to his room, ruffling his hair as I pushed him in ahead of me. As he crawled under the covers, I tucked him in and gave him a stern look.

“I swear, if I come in here to check on you and you’re gone -”

“I’m not leaving,” he promised quietly. “I mean it.”

I gave a solemn nod and leaned down to kiss him goodnight.

“Good. And whatever it is that you’re up to -” his eyes widened ever so slightly, “just remember you can always come to me if you need anything. Okay?”

“Okay. I will.”

“Get some sleep, kiddo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He mumbled a goodnight as I slid his door shut. I hesitated outside his room, part of me wanting to slip back inside and watch him all night. I mean, I knew he wouldn’t sneak out again. I hoped. But what if someone tried to sneak in?

I had to shake those thoughts off. If I kept up like this, I’d never sleep again. I made myself go to my room and lay down, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep. As I rolled over and shut my eyes, the image of the faceless monster creature came back to my mind.

I wished Barb had come with me to the Byers house. Maybe if she’d been there, I wouldn’t have freaked myself out. She would’ve known how to interrogate my little brother. I wanted to call her, hell, I’d want her to come over if she could She was probably still at the party with Nancy, and I didn’t want to risk getting her in trouble. I’d have to wait until tomorrow.

For now, I was stuck with my oddly frightening imagination. That monster-looking thing had been pretty terrifying. I wasn’t as freaked out now, thinking back, because I knew it wasn’t real. Couldn’t be. But as I began to drift off, a quiet, curious part of my mind couldn’t help but wonder, why had I seen it then? Why had it been watching me, outside Will’s room?

What if it was real?

What if… what if it had been what had taken Will?

Don’t start going crazy, Ally, I thought groggily, drifting into sleep. Monsters aren’t real.