Chapter 23

Instead she headed back towards the Wheeler residence. She was worried. Worried for her brother, worried about his family, and worried about Will.

The first thought that entered Nancy's mind as she closed the door behind her, however, wasn't concerned about where her boyfriend was currently residing. No, it was rather concerning what Jonathan had previously said to her. The fact that someone could disappear so suddenly was something that both Nancy and Jonathan had been trying to understand since it had happened. Although they had managed to figure it out, they had discovered the truth. There was absolutely no doubt in anyone's minds that something horrible had happened to Mr. Wheeler, and the fact that nobody had any idea where he was didn't really make it easier to grasp at the possibility of him being dead. But despite this, Nancy was beginning to think that Jonathan had gotten it mixed up. After all, even if Mr. Wheeler was alive, it had to be pretty impossible for his body to have vanished completely. It had to have taken some form of transportation, which most definitely meant that Will had taken the train, which would mean he hadn't just disappeared. And as she was currently lying face down on Jonathan's bed, Nancy couldn't help but ponder exactly how she was supposed to prove that she believed the man they had spoken to the day earlier to be his true son. All she knew right now was that she couldn't simply accuse the man of being his father when she couldn't prove it herself. That wouldn't do anybody any good whatsoever.

The brunette lifted her head up from where she rested upon the sheets and began staring blankly at the wall next to her. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Even though she found it difficult to accept that Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler's son wasn't the one Jonathan truly believed that he was (and even if he somehow was), Nancy decided that the best thing she could do was to try and focus on the case instead of dwelling on such thoughts. So, she pushed her confusion aside, got up from the bed, and began to take out a notebook and a pen from her backpack before heading towards the small kitchen table. She began jotting down questions and answers as Jonathan's story came rushing back to her mind, the things he had said the day before coming back into her mind as well. She continued writing until her wrist was aching uncomfortably because it continuously moved back and forth along with the rest of her fingers, causing Nancy to snap her notebook shut and rub the soreness away with her free hand.

As Nancy laid back down on top of the sheets, her phone buzzed and lit up with the notification of a new text message. It was Will, asking her if she was okay.

Nancy smiled to herself, realizing that he was probably worried about her. Before she texted him back, however, she decided to send her brother a message. Nancy didn't expect to get a reply, but nevertheless, within seconds she felt her phone vibrate again. She turned on her side to glance down at her phone as she typed out a brief reply. When she had finished typing it, she sent it straight away before turning her attention back onto the ceiling, allowing the sound of the rain pattering onto the roof to drown out any noise that may have come through the walls of the bedroom.

Once she had completed the task that she had set for herself and had settled her thoughts back onto the investigation, she glanced briefly out of the window and took notice of how dark it had already become. Nancy figured that it was now about six o'clock at night, so she decided that it was probably time for her to sleep. She quickly climbed out of bed and headed back over to her bag to retrieve her pyjamas and then slipped into her room. As she changed, her thoughts began to drift away from the case once more, once again taking over her thoughts as she stared aimlessly at the ceiling.

As she crawled beneath her covers and turned off her light, Nancy was able to push the troubling thoughts from her mind as she drifted off into dreamland.

***

When Nancy awoke the next morning, she noticed that Jonathan wasn't in bed next to her. She sat up quickly, looking around frantically. It wasn't unusual for Jonathan to wake up before she did, but she hadn't expected to find him gone yet. He must've gotten dressed by himself, she surmised to herself. Nancy then quickly swung her legs over the edge of the bed and jumped to the floor, grabbing her clothes off of the bedside table as she went.

Just as Nancy stepped out into the hallway, Jonathan walked into the room. His hair was disheveled and his eyes seemed tired and lifeless. She immediately stopped walking forward, noticing the state her boyfriend had returned to when he had come home last night.

"Hey" he murmured quietly.

Before Nancy could even respond, Jonathan had grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her forwards so that she fell backwards onto her mattress. He wasted no time before dropping his weight onto top of her, pinning her hands above her head and leaning downwards as he pressed his forehead onto hers, closing his eyes tightly as he fought to keep the tears back. Nancy reached down and wrapped her arms around Jonathan, pulling him closer to her as she gently placed a kiss atop his forehead and whispered something under her breath which sounded suspiciously like:

"It'll be alright"

***

After spending almost a week without speaking a single word to each other to anyone outside of the group, the entire family had gathered together again to talk about the matter that was weighing heavily on everyone's minds. However, this time, Nancy didn't seem eager to discuss it with anyone in particular, only with Jonathan alone. As much as she loved and respected her brother's company, she was also aware that she needed someone to talk to who wouldn't ask too many stupid questions, like what had happened to Will, or why she had broken up with Jonathan.

"How did you find out?" She questioned Jonathan, her eyes fixed on his own brown ones.

Jonathan sighed before looking down at his intertwined hands, unable to meet Nancy's gaze as a result. The blond could see Jonathan's Adam's apple bob up and down multiple times as he inhaled deeply and released it slowly.

"It was a while ago...but I was sitting by a creek near my house, and I could feel someone watching me. I guess they were waiting for me to leave the area before attacking me or something like that, but...when I heard footsteps behind me, I turned around to see that it was Will. And he..."

Jonathan paused to breathe for a few moments before continuing,

"...He had these scratches all over his face. He was wearing the exact same clothes that he wore when we went to Hawkins, and he...I'm not entirely sure how to describe it. He had bruises all over his torso. On the left side of his chest there looked to be bite marks. On his shoulder…there were several long scratches all the way up to about halfway between his collarbones.