Steve's Girl

Chapter 8 : The Tale of Jonathan and Sofia Byers

"Where did you find her?" 

"She was off by Maple Street. I found her in the woods." 

"Was she alright?" 

"I'm not sure. She was really panicked and scared. She didn't let me take her to the hospital, and then she passed out." 

It was my mom. I could hear her talking. She was talking to Hopper. My conscious was awake, but my body was not. I was just listening to them talk. 

"Did you check her? Does she have any scrapes or anything?" It was Jonathan. 

"She has a few bruises around her body and a small cut on her lip. What's really concerning to me is her mental health. She seemed really shaken up by whatever happened to her." 

My body was starting to wake up. I tried moving onto my side, but it hurt like a bitch. I think I might've groaned because I heard my mom gasping, and then I heard footsteps running towards me. 

I started to open my eyes. I felt a wave of happy tears come over me. I sat up and hugged my mom. 

"Mom!" I sobbed into her chest. 

"Sofie! My little girl!" 

"Mom, I never gave up! I fought until I made it out!" 

She pulled me out of the hug and looked at my face. She put both her hands on my cheeks. She was just looking at me. 

"Jonathan.... where's Jonathan?" I asked her. 

"I'm right here, Sofie." He said from behind Mom and Hopper. He gave me a really awkward wave. 

"Well come here. I thought about you forever only for you not to give me a hug?" I said to him while stretching out my arms. 

He slowly walked up to me and gave me the biggest hug he's ever given me. 

"Are... are you crying?" I whispered to Jonathan. 

"Shut up, Sofie." 

"Sorry." 

"I thought you were dead."

"Me too, buddy. Me too." I said while starting to cry again. 

Me and Jonathan have always been really close. We're also really close with Will, but it's different with me and Jonathan. Jonathan is only a year older than me. I'm 16 and he's 17. Will is 12. Me and Jonathan were 4 and 5 when Will was born. 

We spent years of our lives just the two of us. We grew up with mom and dad constantly fighting. It was bad when mom and dad were fighting, but it was even worse when it was just us with dad. There was a day that neither me or Jonathan would ever forget. 

Flashback - 1980

Mom had taken Will to a doctors appointment. She said she wouldn't be home for a few hours. She had left us at home with dad. He was getting drunk in the living room by himself. 

He had promised mom before she left that he wasn't going to get drunk so that he could watch us while she was gone. We weren't babies, but we also weren't grown adults. 

Jonathan and I were just picking up and cleaning around the house. I was waiting for my friend, Eddie Munson, to drop off one of my books that I let him borrow. I sat down at the dinner table reading a different book. Jonathan came to sit down and talk to me about nonsense. We were talking when there was a knock at the door.  

I saw dad look towards the door, then back at me and Jonathan. 

"Sofia! Get up and get the door! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He yelled as if we weren't sitting in the same room.