Hawkins Sweetheart - 𝐁.𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄.

Nine - Sheriff Station

Chapter Nine -

"We are only as blind as we want to be."

Jessica Stanford sat anxiously in the sheriff's station waiting room. She bounced her leg up and down rapidly as she looked around. Every sudden noise and loud voice made her jump. She thought about what had happened at school with Ricky, but that wasn't why she was here. 

Earlier that morning, after not being able to sleep all night, she had called Chief Hopper about the hallucinations she was having. Hopper had known her since she was a little girl. She knew him well and she trusted him. He had met her one night when she was younger after she had run away from home. When he saw the little girl with her head to her knees and tears in her eyes, he knew he had to protect her. 

She knew she had to tell someone about what had happened. She told him that at first, she thought they were just trauma responses and PTSD, but after what happened with Will at the school, she knew it had to have been something more. He asked her to come down to the station after school to talk about it.

Hopper walked through the doors of the sheriff's station and motioned for her to follow him to his office. Once they reached his office, he shut the door and locked it. He peeked outside his window that looked out at the other offices and quickly shut the blinds.

"Look, kid, we gotta make this quick," He started. Jess bit her lip nervously, still bouncing her leg, as he sat down across from her in his seat. "Will Byers, he uh, he isn't doing too well." Jessica looked up at him with a face full of panic. If Will wasn't doing too well, it meant that she certainly wouldn't be either. He coughed to clear his throat before continuing, "Tell me about what happened at the school." He said. Jess gulped.

"Well, um, I was just in the bathroom and-" She paused, trying to recount what happened. She shook her head while looking at Hopper, "I don't know. It was just like I was back there."

"The Upside Down?"

"Yes, The Upside Down. It all felt so real." Her eyes flickered to the floor as she swallowed, "And then I saw this figure. This monster. It came out of nowhere." Hopper ran his fingers through his hair and placed his elbows on top of the table. 

"Will saw some kind of figure too," He began. Jessica looked up from the floor to meet his eyes. "It chased him."

"Yeah, it chased me through the halls, until I reached a door that I couldn't get through." She added, tears filling her eyes. Suddenly, all the emotions and fear she felt at that moment came rushing back to her. A single tear slowly slid down her cheek, "I couldn't get away."

"What happened? Did it- Did it get to you?" Hopper asked. Jess opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. She shrugged. "Will said it engulfed him, that he could feel it everywhere." His words rung through Jessica's ears and into her mind. Had she felt that too? 

"I remember falling to the floor, and it covered me," She started, tears beginning to spill from her eyes. "I felt it inside of me, I felt it in my bones." Her voice began to crack. Hopper's stared unblinkingly in horror at the girl as she recounted the events. "It felt cold. So cold." She looked away for a moment to try and keep herself calm. She took a deep breath in before continuing, "But then, it all went away." She added.

"What?"

"I heard a voice, and it was like, it pulled me out of it."

"A voice?" Hopper repeated, raising a brow.

"Yeah, it was Mrs Byers, she was calling for Will." She replied. Her lips trembled as her tears ran over them. She lifted her hand to her face and wiped the tears away. "Then suddenly, it was all gone. I felt it being ripped away." Her eyes met with Hoppers, who was trying to keep his tears at bay.