With What Strength Remains (A Stranger Things Fanfic)

CHAPTER FOUR - WHEN THE COLD SETS IN

She had called Murphy's while he showered and arranged for a tow truck to meet them at her car within the hour. She figured it'd be easier that way for him, she could just hitch a ride with the mechanic into Hawkins and Hopper could finally be free of her.

"Sounds good," he agreed even as something tugged under his ribs. He slumped in his armchair and fished in his pocket for his pack of Camels.

"You want to, uh, watch something on TV?" he asked stretching over to pick up the remote controller. They had some time to kill before needing to head out.

"You put whatever you want on."

Skipping anything Christmas, he settled on The Price is Right before tossing the remote back onto the coffee table.

They sat for several minutes, blindly watching the ecstatic contestants try to win merchandise and money. Hopper sucked away on his cigarette, not terribly interested in the show, wondering how quickly the garage would be able to fix her car. She was probably anxious to leave, perhaps her brother was worried about her...

"Did you want to call your brother? Let him know what happened with your car?"

She tore her eyes away from the TV screen, a sort of blankness covering them.

"Oh, uh, I hadn't thought of that. But, no, I don't need to."

"You sure? Won't he be wondering where you are?"

"No...see...," and she began playing with her cuticles, "Gilbert,...my brother,... doesn't actually... Well, he doesn't know I'm coming, so..."

"What, is it a surprise?"

Her eyes lifted.

"Yeah, yeah. He'll definitely be surprised," and she laughed nervously. He studied her as she continuing picking away at her nail beds. She seemed uneasy, sad even.

"Is everything you own in that Datsun of yours?"

"Yeah."

"And he doesn't know you're coming. Or possibly moving there."

"Nope."

"Boy," and he took a puff.

They had arrived before the tow truck and waited quietly in his Blazer, a bizarre silence hanging between them. She was back in her thrift store get up, though she opted to forego the ski mask and goggles as the weather was infinitely milder than it was the day before. She sat looking out of the window.

"Patrick Murphy is a good guy, he should take care of you," Hopper suddenly said, the weight of the noiselessness making him feel claustrophobic. She turned her face to him.

"If he doesn't I'm going to refer him to you."

They exchanged smiles.

"So, what do you have planned for the rest of your day now that you're nearly rid of me?" she asked, a light tease in her voice.

The bar and blonde popped into Hopper's mind.

"Don't know. Maybe see a movie."

"Nice."

He looked down at his steering wheel wishing the tow truck would just get there already.

Anne cleared her throat after a few moments just as he started drumming his fingertips on the truck's window ledge. More silence.

Hopper glanced at the time on his dash. Patrick was only about five minutes late, but he wasn't exactly feeling patient at this point. Not that he was itching to be rid of Anne. He cast a glance at her as she leaned her head back against the seat. He was beginning to understand, as he had the time to think about it, that he was simply anxious to be done with something that he didn't really want to do. It felt like anticipating a trip to the dentist or a tedious station meeting or something. Just...get it done. End it so he didn't have to think about it anymore.