𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄 || 𝘔𝘈𝘟 𝘔𝘈𝘠𝘍𝘐𝘌𝘓𝘋

47. i didn't die today!

I DIDN'T DIE TODAY!

March 26th, 1986
⏰ 8:45 pm, 📍Hawkins, Indiana

༺♥༻ Stephanie drops her bike on the grass as the five rush into Eddie's trailer.

She gasps quietly as she sees a gate thrumming from the ceiling.

Dustin studies the gate. "We're gonna need something to break the skin with so they can get through."

Stephanie looks around the room. "Uh..."

Max throws a broom over to Dustin. "Here!"

Dustin reaches up to the gate and breaks away the layer of skin, covering the end of the broom with some interdimensional sludge.

They all look up through the gate, seeing the others looking back at them, reminding Stephanie of a funhouse.

Dustin gives the cheesiest smile as he stares at everyone's embarrassed faces through the gate.

————

༺♥༻ Stephanie and Max find a mattress and center it under the rope for a landing pad once they fall through the gate.

"The hell are these stains?" Max scoffs as she wipes her hands on her jacket.

Stephanie gives a shrug. "I don't know and I bet Eddie doesn't know either."

Dustin throws the makeshift rope through the gate, it magically staying in place as Robin hangs on it from the Upside Down.

"This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my entire life." Erica smiles. "And I've seen some crazy shit."

Dustin offers Erica a high-five, not peeling his eyes off of the rope.

Robin starts to climb through, making Dustin clear everyone off of the mattress.

"Oh, thank God." Robin sighs. "That was fun."

Stephanie offers her hand out for Robin to stand up but once Robin touches her she finds herself in her bedroom.

What the fuck?

She scans around her room, looking for any indicator of what is going on.

That's when she hears it.

"Why the fuck would you have kids if you didn't want them?"

Stephanie instantly realizes what's going on. It's a memory. One of her worst ones. She remembers it all too well.

Her parents had just gotten home from a week long trip. This must've been when Stephanie was about ten. They had just recently started taking longer and longer trips and her dad had just recently started drinking again. He always claimed it was prescribed to him. He was doing it for the better of everyone. Stephanie knew that wasn't true. She didn't believe a thing he said. Her parents started to fight, a nightly ritual at that point. They would stumble through the door, her dad would start drunkenly complaining, Steve would go into Stephanie's room and distract her of the yelling. It became a routine. However, this night was worse. She didn't know why, but she did know that whatever her dad said that night, he meant it. He really did.