MY TEARS RICOCHET 𛲕 STRANGER THINGS

8. Paper Angels

CHAPTER 8: Paper Angels

Only 20 minutes to sleep,
But you dream of some epiphany
Just one single glimpse of relief
To make some sense of what you've seen
— Epiphany, Taylor Swift

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

November 9th, 1983: Harrington Home

LATER THAT DAY, MEERA WENT HOME TO SPEAK TO her parents, leaving Daphne alone in a house that was just a little too large. She tried to occupy herself with chores and homework, but eventually, she couldn't concentrate any longer. Left alone with her thoughts, Daphne couldn't help but let her mind wander to Fern.

The last person to have supposedly seen her was this Mike guy from the lacrosse team, but Daphne had never met him before and she had no clue where to find him. The only person who might know more about him was the person whose party Fern had met him at. The person who was currently not speaking to Daphne.

Strangely, Daphne was almost grateful for the distraction she had been given by Fern's disappearance. Because it was only when she was alone in bed at night that her thoughts would stray to Ethan Smith and everything he had taken from her. During the day, she could separate her feelings from her actions; she could go about her business without thinking of him. But at night, she was at his complete mercy.

For that reason, Daphne knew she had to get out of the house. She had to do something. And so she decided to drive to her ex-boyfriend's house and hope he would talk to her, so she could find out more about the last person who had seen Fern before she went missing.

She played her favourite Stevie Nicks record on full volume on the drive to Steve's, forcing herself not to think of Fern or Ethan. When she pulled up to Steve's driveway, she felt her hands clam up and fought the urge to turn around and go home. This was for her best friend. She could handle speaking to her ex-boyfriend if that's what it took.

She stepped out of the car, her feet crunching on the gravel as she made her way up to Steve's front door. She took a deep breath and rapped twice on the mahogany wood. She waited thirty seconds - no answer. She knocked again, but still, nobody came to the door.

It was then that she realised that Steve was probably at the football game. She had forgotten that it was today. Once upon a time, before Fern disappeared and rumours were spread about her, she and Steve had planned to go to the game together. She had been so excited; it was all she could think about. Now, she couldn't imagine how she had ever cared about something so trivial.

She turned to head back to her car when she heard a noise coming from around the back of Steve's house. The whine of the gate as if someone was coming in through the back, the sound of footsteps heavy on the path, and then a grunt as if they had fallen. Was someone breaking into Steve's house?

Daphne knew she ought to turn around and go home, but she couldn't help herself. What if the intruder was the same person who had kidnapped Fern? What if they knew something? Her eyes scanned the perimeter and landed on Steve's baseball bat. She quickly tiptoed over to it, picking it up and advancing around the corner of the house.

She heard footsteps getting closer, signalling that the intruder was about to turn the corner. Daphne raised the bat, preparing to attack, only to come face to face with an absolutely terrified Nancy Wheeler. Nancy screamed, holding up her hands in surrender, causing Daphne to drop the bat and flinch.