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CHAPTER TWELVE THIS ISN'T THE END
Abby is discharged from the hospital and put straight on bed rest. Her head still pounds painfully from time to time. It had been a concussion apparently. The gash in her forehead which had been held together with nothing but a rainbow butterfly bandage had been stitched back together. The days that slowly pass by seem to have a lackadaisical effect. She wonders if it will ever end. It's only three days that she's on bed rest, but it feels like more. She sleeps for most of the day, it's really all she can do. It dismays her to know that while she's stuck at home, the world still carries on around her, the phones ring, and the clocks tick, but there she is, stuck.
Isla had visited when she could, they spent hours together as Isla curled up on a chair and finished her schoolwork. She brought conspiracy theories and the news that Hawkins Lab had been shut down. It gave her a sense of comfort to know that despite everything that had been twisted around and flipped upside down, at least one thing was still the same. Steve and Alex visited frequently, sometimes together, sometimes it had been only one of them, but their company is always appreciated. Alex had brought flowers every time she visited, holding them in her good arm while her broken one, sealed in a cast hung uselessly at her side and muttered something about finally having an excuse to wreck her mom's flower planters. Dustin brought the news of his new cat, Tews when he stopped by. Even Nancy had stopped by a couple of times, the first time to thank her for keeping an eye on Mike, but soon she comes just to fill the afternoons with idle chatter.
It was a joyful day when she can finally return to school. Her lunch was spent with Isla, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan at their own table. They couldn't talk about what had happened all those weeks ago with Isla there, but Abby supposes that this is a good thing. She needs a break from the thought of monsters, from the irrational fear of the darkness she had started to develop. They all need a break. Nancy was quick to offer a hand to help Abby catch up on the work that had piled up for every day that she'd missed. Even Billy Hargrove had stayed out of their way. Finally, things seem to be returning to normal in Hawkins.
But this isn't the end.
Abby has also learned that Alex Harrington is exceedingly difficult to shop with. Her feet drag across the shiny floor of the store as Alex makes her third round browsing the aisles. They've spent hours on end traipsing through the racks of the clothing store, picking apart different potential outfits for the Snowball. Everything's a little too bright, or a little too itchy, or a little too small to fit over her cast, but Abby's enjoying the freedom that she had been stripped of during the weeks that she had been condemned to.
