HAVEN - stranger things.

xxii. THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT.

xxii. conversations in front of the vending machine!

"susan michelle carmichael! i mean it this time, where is your sister?!" lori carmichael was distraught. they hadn't seen wendy in days.

lori and richard had already tried the harringtons, there was no answer—the harringtons were still on their spring break vacation.

"i told you! she's at nancy's!" susie insisted.
"that was two days ago, susan." lori huffed.

lorraine carmichael walked over to her husband, leaning her head into his chest. she was worried sick about her daughter. richard sighed, caressing lori's arm. he wasn't as worried, but he was starting to get anxious. wendy had never gone this long without calling them or coming back home. he just hoped that she hadn't gotten tangled up with that cult that the town had been talking about recently.

susie sighed, slipping out of the room to go up to her bedroom. she grabbed the phone from her nightstand, rapidly dialing any number that she knew—the mayfields, nothing. the hendersons, nothing. she even tried the wheelers, all she got was a lecture from officer callahan about staying inside during curfew.

susie walked over to her window, staring out at the starry sky.
"wendy, you better be safe." she groaned, crossing her arms across her chest.

across town, wendy carmichael was, in fact, not safe. the girl was drifting in and out of consciousness as her body became victim to chills, she looked out, seeing lucas getting his face beat in by jason.

it took all of her strength to hold out her hand as she gasped for air.
"lu-lucas..." it hurt to speak, to breathe.

she wished that she could help, she wished that she could get off of the floor and save lucas. but she was so scared. for the first time in forever, wendy allowed herself to be selfish and wallow in her own fear. she gasped for air, looking down at the bullet wound in her abdomen. she didn't know how long she had, but she felt her eyelids grow heavy.

she tried to fight unconsciousness as she watched max mayfield levitate in the air—no, this couldn't happen. max couldn't die as wendy was incapacitated.
"m...max." wendy gasped out, her heart rate was  picking up. it was beating so loud, she could hear it in her ears.

her body tried to slow her heart, but her nerves were working against her. the stress was not doing her health any favors.

wendy carmichael watched helplessly as her friend died—max's legs snapped, then her arms. a tear slipped from wendy's eye as she kept her arm extended out towards lucas and max.

"lucas! wendy!" erica yelled as she barged into the room.
"we need a doctor! call an ambulance! hurry! call an ambulance!" lucas yelled out in agony.

wendy felt her consciousness fade as her surroundings went black, the last thing she remembered hearing was max mayfield's cries and lucas sinclair's yell for erica's help.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

steve harrington ran into the hospital room, he was distraught—he knew that he should've trusted his intuition and he should've made wendy stay with him.

the carmichaels had found three seats to place around the bed, susie was the first to turn around once she heard steve enter the room.
"no..." he breathed out.

susan carmichael stood, ushering him out of the room and down the hall away from wendy's room.
"susie, i—" steve was cut off by a slap in the face by susan carmichael.

"you promised me! you promised you would keep her safe, steve! did that look safe to you?!" susie raised her voice, tears immediately poured from her eyes.

steve's eyes softened as he watched susie carmichael cry. he pulled her into a hug, letting his tears fall too.
"i'm sorry, i'm sorry. i just...this is my fault, she shouldn't have been there." steve sobbed, he let all of his tears out.

guilt had consumed his entire being, he almost lost his best friend. susan carmichael clutched onto steve harrington, it felt good to hug someone other than her parents.

"the doctor..." susie pulled out of the hug, swiping her tears away. "the doctor said she's going to live, the bullet didn't hit any arteries or, or whatever else could've killed her. but...whatever happened in that house, he said, stressed her body out and it might take her longer to wake up than normal." susie sat down on the dirty hospital floor. steve copied her actions, sliding down and sitting next to her.

susie carmichael and steve harrington sat in silence on the floor in front of the vending machines, watching as visitors passed by to grab snacks.

"i...god, please don't tell her that i said this," steve looked at susie, she didn't have any more of her thick eyeliner on anymore—he thought that she was beginning to look like her old self again. susie only nodded as she waited for him to continue. "on the way here, i just...i cried so hard. and i kept thinking, i kept thinking that i shouldn't have started dating her. being my girlfriend seems like the worst decision that wendy has ever made in her life. i was fully prepared to break up with her once i got here because, i don't know, i just feel like i've brought her so much bad shit. shit that she doesn't deserve, that no one should have to go through." steve rambled, feeling more tears fall from his eyes.

"steve?" susie looked at steve harrington.
"yeah?"

"that is the stupidest thing you've ever said in your life. i'm mad at you, yes, but i know that you mean the world to her. the stuff that happened with billy, wendy never would've gotten over it without you. i don't know what you to do, but whatever it is...it brings darkness, but you...you bring the light, steve. also...i think wendy would've gone into cardiac arrest if you broke up with her in the hospital. and not out of shock, she would've been furious with you. that would've been so crappy," susie brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"now..." she waited for steve to look up towards her. "i need to know what happened in that house."

—

only the epilogue left :(