The Losing Game

ix. the second perspective

Isabella

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

SO AFTER THEO GOT trapped in the Upside Down, shit kinda hit the fan here in the regular earth dimension Hawkins. I found out later that night that the two embraced teenagers in front of me were named; Nancy and Jonathan. They are actually both cool, and Nancy is such a badass. Or at least she is when she didn't just get back from an alternate dimension and almost died to a skinless bear-venus fly trap hybrid.

Jonathan and I watched the portal close momentarily after Nancy escaped its goo-like cover. I remember dropping the flashlight as my hands rose to shield my mouth. My suppressed scream is what pulled the teens apart. Nancy turned around to see why I was freaking out. Tears began to blur my vision as Jonathan turned his attention toward me.

My eyes stayed glued to the spot Theo was supposed to be standing. Nancy examined the tree before she placed her hand against the covered surface. She would have damaged her hand if she had hit the tree harder. Nancy considered her eyes were playing tricks on her.

The tears had begun to leak from my eyes, dropping onto my cheeks and sliding down them, leaving trails of red across my face. Nancy shifted around to face Jonathan and me. She didn't know how to react, so she twisted back around to look at her hand, which was placed firmly onto the tree bark.

"What the fuck," I mumbled as all three of us gaped at the tree.

Jonathan got me to stop crying while the three of us walked out of the woods. Nancy didn't want to leave in case the tree opened up again, but we all knew that wasn't likely. We all knew seeing Theo again was not likely.

Nancy and I calmed down as we got to Jonathan's car. It began to buzz from the heating unit while I wiped my eyes. The stinging sensation from my tears might have been the only thing keeping me awake. We all sat in silence as Jonathan waited for the car to warm up. After a while, Nancy spoke up, questioning what to do about the whole 'Theo is trapped in another dimension' shit.

"What do we do...how did...why did he do that?"

Nancy and Jonathan were in the front seats. I was sitting behind the passenger seat, resting my head against the cold glass of the window. I occupied my hands by fiddling with the zipper of Theo's coat.

Jonathan was hesitant to answer her question. He wasn't sure whether it was rhetorical, however, the pleading look in her eyes forced him to come up with an answer.

"His home life isn't the best. Even if he knew the gate would close, I think he wouldn't have changed what he did," Jonathan was staring at the wheel in front of him as Nancy and I looked towards him for more answers, "I don't think anyone has ever looked out for him before. I know how protective he is with Will."

I thought the bruising I had seen on Theo was just from wrestling practice, but after hearing what Jonathan said, I wasn't so sure. He did seem like the protective type. I don't think Theo expected Jupiter and me to get caught up in this mess. I think he wanted to make sure the two of us would have friends in our grade when we moved.

"So he made the sacrifice play," I muttered to myself. Both teens heard me but didn't seem to react as they thought the same thing.

I wish I could yell at him. Scream at him for doing what he did. I know he saved Nancy, but I needed him here. I wanted him here. He was supposed to solve this thing and-

"What do we do about him missing?" Nancy spoke but wasn't questioning. No one in that car had any clue about what to do. Do we call the cops? Do we tell his parents? Do we just leave him in there and pretend like he never existed?