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___________ c h a p t e r t h i r t y - f i v e
Almost immediately after the news segment ends, the store's phone rings, to which Sam answers it.
"Hello?"
"¡Gracias a Dios! Leo, ella está viva," her mother's voice comes blaring through the phone.
"Yes, ma, I'm alive," she chuckles.
"Did you see the news? You always call me crazy, but look, some kid is gone now."
"When have I ever called you crazy?" she furrows her eyebrows. "Don't answer that, actually."
"I just don't understand what's going on here. Hawkins used to be safe, boring even," Gianna rants. "Joyce had the right idea."
"We're moving?"
"I haven't decided yet. I don't want to take your sister away from her friends, but Samantha, I can't handle the thought of you or her being on the news. You are all we have."
"I know, ma. It's just... this is home. I hate it, but it's all we know. And... you and dad can't exactly afford a move like this right now," she whispers, not wanting Michelle to hear.
"You're right about that. Maybe this will all blow over and Hawkins will go back to the boring town we know."
"Yeah, maybe," Sam weakly responds, disheartened by the familiar throbbing in her head. "I have a customer so I'll talk to you later."
"Please don't come home too late."
"I won't. Steve and I will probably get dinner when our shifts end and then I'll come straight home. Love you."
"Love you."
She then puts the phone back on the hook, anxiously glancing back at the TV as she searches her purse for Advil. "Michelle, can you ask your dad what's going on?"
"I can try, but he never tells me anything about his cases," she suggests.
"I just want to know if I should worry. I don't really need to deal with a serial killer on top of graduation."
"I'll ask at dinner tonight," she agrees. "I really am sorry, Sam."
"I know. You didn't mean it, I got it. There are bigger issues," she waves her off. "Just, you know, start thinking before you speak."
"Noted," she nods. "Well, I've got a shit ton of popcorn to make and tickets to sell, so I will see you around."
"Yeah," Sam waves, returning to the vinyl records.
_____
Unbeknownst to the horrors breaking free in Hawkins, the kids finally arrive at Rink-O-Mania with excited grins on their faces.
