Sunflower Girl [1]

The Bathtub

"It's like watching baby turtles trying to find their way into the ocean.",I chuckled amused.

Dustin and Lucas were trying to build up the kiddie pool in order for Eleven to find Will and Barb.

They were clearly overwhelmed by that task.

"Hey boys, you need a hand?",I shouted to them.

"This is cursed, Emma. I swear to God. How could Joyce build this shit up so often?",the curly-haired boy yelled back.

I shrugged my shoulders. "She thinks before she acts."

I walked over to them and in a few simple steps, the kiddie pool was build up.

"Done.",I exclaimed with a small grin.

The Henderson looked at me in awe. "You're superwoman."

I tapped on his head. "I wouldn't take it this far, Dusty, but I do know that I'm awesome."

"Barbara."

My head snapped to Eleven and for the first time in days, I felt hopeful.

Eleven was floating in Joyce's kiddie pool with googles on and tried finding our friends.

I looked at Nancy and took her hand to squeeze it gently.

It was silent for a few seconds until Eleven startet to breathe heavily and the electricity started to pulsate.

"What's going on?",Nancy asked alarmed.

"I don't think that this is supposed to happen.",I muttered worried.

"Is Barb okay? Is she okay?",my best friend tried to ask Eleven.

"Gone.",Eleven yelled. "Gone."

"No.",I whispered in shock. "That's not true. Barb's not dead. She's- She's okay. I-I-No."

Tears started to roll down my cheeks and uncontrollable sobs left my mouth.

I looked at Nancy who started to cry as well.
We just lost our friend. We lost Barb.

I tried to calm down. I couldn't cry, not right now.

My head snapped to El, who herself was just going through a panic attack. Her body trembled and she yelled over and over again that Barb was gone.

I rose from my spot next to Hopper and sat next to Joyce so that I could take El's hand in mine.

"Hey El. It's Emma. I'm here, sweetie. It's okay. You've done a great job.",I gently squeezed her hand to signal her that everything would be all right. "You- You found Barb. Thank you for that. Thank you, sweetie. Please, I need you to calm down, okay? I'm here with Joyce and we got you. You're okay. Don't be afraid."

My words seemed to calm her down since she stopped yelling.

It was silent for a few minutes again.

"Castle Byers.",Eleven then suddenly mumbled.

I quickly turned to Joyce who was looking at Jonathan.

It went silent again.

"Will?"

Joyce gasped and my heart stopped beating for a moment.

"You tell him...tell him I'm coming. Mom is coming.",the woman said to Eleven with hope in her words.

'Please, let him be alive. He can't be dead. Not Will too.',I thought to myself.

"Hurry.",Will's soft voice suddenly appeared on the radio.

A smile spread across my face. He was alive.

"Okay. Listen, you tell him to...to stay where he is.",Joyce stuttered. "We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey."

I gasped when Eleven suddenly rose up from the kiddie pool, totally frightened and exhausted.

I immediately grabbed the towel and pulled her out of the pool so that I could wrap the towel around her.

"It's okay. I got you. I got you, sweetie.",I mumbled while I held her in a tight embrace.

Joyce came up to us and joined the hug.

"You did so good, honey. You're safe now. You're safe."

I left the gym to find Jonathan and Nancy who went out a few minutes ago.

I stopped in my tracks when I heard them talk about how they wanted to distract the flower-monster and I immediately knew I had to help them.

"I'm coming with you.",the words left my mouth before I really thought about it.

"I'm not gonna let you do this alone. We started it together and we're gonna end this together.",I continued.

Nancy nodded. "Thank you, Emmy."

Only a few chapters left...☺️