"Why Did You Leave?" Stranger Things x Reader

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Connection

"He, took your kid?" I know asking again wouldn't change what she has just said. There's no way I heard her correctly though. She just said Brenner's name, said that she wouldn't let us go back to him. There's no way...

"How do you know about Brenner?" Jake spoke quietly, like he didn't trust his voice. The air was still, the only thing that could be heard was the car Joyce was in our front.

Ellen had tears in her eyes now. I could see them reflect in the moonlight that peaked through the windows. "My boy, his name was Thomas," she started. "He was born October 12, 1962 in Hawkins, Indiana. I got to spend one year with him before he was stolen from me. I had no husband and was not taken seriously by cops. They brushed over my situation like I was crazy."

"The cops? Why would they-"

"Because he paid them off. He had all of Hawkins in the palm of his hand."

"But how did you know Brenner?"

She hesitated a bit before speaking again. "When my son went missing, I never went quiet. I would talk about his disappearance to anyone and everyone. I did my own research for years and found a connection to another women who claimed to have lost her child. She sadly went crazy. But it was through her I found Brenner. I found out through her he was the one who took my son from me and I'll be damned if I let him take anyone else from me."

"You don't even like us? Why would you care if we left?" I tried to hide my concern from the woman who treated us like shit for years.

She remained quiet, as if trying to figure out what to say, figure out something meaningful to say to us, but she came up with nothing. I grab Jake's arm and push past her. We don't have time for this. Every moment we spend talking to her is another moment we should be on our way to the airport.

"Make him pay," was spoken at last, and it rung through my ears on repeat. "Please." The last part broke off into a sob. We exchanged nothing more as Jake and I finally left the house and back to Joyce's car.

"Everything ok?" I feel like the tension from inside the house followed us out into the car, which sent Joyce's mother senses into overdrive. There's enough going on, no need to tell her anything that will add to her stress.

"Yep, let's get to the airport."

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I feel so bad I'm sorry.
I already started writing the next part, but I posted probably the smallest chapter I've written so you had something and so you knew I didn't die.

My bad :)

-blue