Chapter 38

They all looked up and grinned widely, as if they were expecting another attack. When Jonathan was satisfied with how close he was standing to each person in the room, he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Mary Wheeler.

"To get our pizzas", said Jonathan, not even turning around to face his mom.

"We ordered them from Subway", said Nancy.

"Don't worry", laughed Jonathan, "we're coming back for them".

When Jonathan closed the door behind himself, Nancy's mum spoke again.

"Jon, why are you acting this way?" she asked with a worried expression on her face.

Jonathan stopped in his tracks for a split second, confused by the question, and then turned to face his mother again.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding confused.

"You know what I'm talking about", she frowned. "Is everything OK? Why aren't you smiling anymore?"

"Mom, I'm happy we're finally gone from Hawkins", sighed Jonathan. "Can't you see that? Everything's changed. It's as if we've escaped a terrible curse. Everything will be fine now".

For a short while Nancy's mum stared at Jonathan's back, not saying anything. Finally she spoke again.

"What about Nancy?" she asked softly, trying to change the subject.

Jonathan took a deep breath before speaking, knowing that the truth was going to hurt a lot, even more than lying to their family.

"She's asleep", he admitted.

"Oh, my goodness...", exclaimed Mary Wheeler. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes and no", answered Jonathan hesitantly. "I think...", he hesitated again, "…I think she's suffering from some kind of brain injury".

Mary Wheeler blinked several times in succession.

"Brain injury?", she repeated, stunned.

"I don't really know", added Jonathan, looking downcast. "But I think...maybe that's what it is".

He fell silent once more, hoping that his parents weren't planning to interrogate him further. His mother opened her mouth, about to say something, but Jonathan cut her off before she could start talking.

"Look, I really think I should leave now", he told her. "I hope everything will be alright. You know how Nancy gets when something doesn't go right, especially with a headache."

His mother nodded slightly and Jonathan knew he wasn't going to get any further explanation out of her. Still, he waited until Mrs. Wheeler told him that their food would soon be delivered to the porch before he left for the elevator. The ride up to the floor where the apartment was located was filled with heavy silence and for once, Jonathan felt relieved when he eventually entered Nancy's flat and found her lying peacefully on the couch, the television playing the commercials she hadn't watched the previous day, but which she definitely wanted to watch this evening. She was sleeping deeply, her dark curls tousled, and her face relaxed, as if somehow she had managed to relax during the night, despite the nightmares. For the first time since Jonathan had gotten back to Nancy's place, she actually looked like herself, free from the haunted expression that sometimes appeared whenever she started to remember what had happened in the lab. But the smile didn't last long because a few seconds later, as soon as he saw Nancy's eyelashes flutter against her cheek, Jonathan knew he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep well that night.

Nancy stirred in her sleep and whimpered quietly. For a few seconds it seemed she was in pain and then she let out a loud yawn, stretching her arms above her head and opening her eyes. After blinking repeatedly and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Nancy looked around and spotted Jonathan standing near the couch. Her gaze wandered to the TV set, and her eyes widened when she realized that the cartoons had been switched off. Without even acknowledging that he had seen her, Jonathan slowly approached her. He crouched down on the floor next to the sofa so he could be closer to her height.

"Everything all right, Nance?" he asked gently.

Still half asleep, Nancy just hummed noncommittally and buried her face deeper into the pillow underneath her head.

"Are you sure?", asked Jonathan.

A sigh escaped from Nancy's lips.

"Jonathan, I'm just really tired", she murmured.

"Yeah...", sighed Jonathan. "Me too".

They didn't say anything else. They remained there, side by side, staring at the TV. Jonathan noticed that his best friend seemed tense, her hands clenched tightly around the edge of the pillow beneath her head as she tried to keep her breathing steady. At times she would twitch a little and Jonathan suspected that she may have remembered another dream. As he watched Nancy, he wondered if maybe Nancy was dreaming that someone was waiting for her somewhere in the darkness of the dreams. Maybe someone who had made everything so much worse than ever before, someone who still hated her so much for being alive. Jonathan shuddered inwardly at the thought as he looked over at Nancy once more, noticing that she'd gone stiffer than usual. He reached out and gently rubbed her shoulder, hoping she would let him touch her. Nancy didn't respond. Jonathan didn't know what to do anymore. So, deciding to try to do Nancy's bidding for the moment, he leaned over and hugged her. Slowly, he felt Nancy lean into his embrace. As his arms tightened around her waist he squeezed his eyes shut and wished that he could take away all the awful memories that she must still carry with her, just as much as he wished he could take her pain away. Nancy didn't seem to mind his closeness; she wrapped her arms around Jonathan and held onto him like she never intended to let go.

Will

Will woke up suddenly to the sound of voices from downstairs. Groggily, he sat straight up and looked around his bedroom for a while. The lights in the room were out so that only the faint yellow glow coming from the streetlights below illuminated the room enough for him to make out details.

It sounded like Nancy and Jonathan fighting. That was never good. Whenever they fought, Will usually ended up getting caught in the middle of whatever had gone wrong between them. He jumped out of bed, pulling on his jeans and shoes as fast as he possibly could and made his way quickly towards the front door.

In the hallway he paused momentarily, listening intently to the conversation between Nancy and Jonathan, wondering what on earth they were arguing about this time.

"I thought things went better", said Jonathan exasperatedly, "after I left your house for good."