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CHAPTER TWELVE
DYLAN CREPT INTO HER HOUSE, NOT WANTING TO WAKE HER PARENTS. All the lights were off so she stumbled around in the darkness until reaching the living room. She flung herself on the couch and flicked on the television. She sat there, scrolling through every channel but never satisfied. She was thankful when the phone rang. Dylan rolled off the couch and scrambled to get the ringing telephone before it woke her sleeping parents.
"Hello?" She whispered into the receiver.
"Dylan, it's Nancy," said the other line. "I need to talk to you. Can you come to Jonathan's?"
"It's late and I was just there," Dylan frowned though Nancy couldn't see it. "And honestly Nancy, you're not my favourite person right now."
For a moment it was quiet on the other line. Dylan could hear the murmur of familiar voices, chatting vigorously in the background, but nothing from Nancy.
"I know and I get that," the other girl said softly. "But it's about Barb. I wanted to tell you first this time."
At the mention of Barb, Dylan Holland was easily persuaded to get back into her car and make the drive over to Jonathan Byer's house. The house was almost empty at this point. There were no more kids around—except for Will Byers, who was passed out on the couch curled up next to his mom. Jonathan and Nancy sat at the dining table. Nancy stood up at the sight of Dylan. The other girl attempted to pull Dylan into a hug, which Dylan shrugged off.
"Dylan..." Nancy said timidly.
"I don't want another apology, Steve has said sorry enough for the both of you, it doesn't mean anything," Dylan cut her off. "I just want to know whatever it is you have to say about Barb."
Nancy sat back down next to Jonathan and Dylan pulled up a chair across from them on the other side of the table. It was odd being here without Steve or even without Barb. Dylan was never a saint, at times she would have been a straight up bitch—who probably had made fun of Jonathan at some point, for being his brooding self. And Nancy—Dylan had no problems with her until recently, but they were never friends who hung out alone. Barb is what pulled them together. Dylan felt like a fish out of water being with them.
"I don't know what Steve told you—"
"That you three knew my sister was dead for a year and kept it a secret, that's what he told me," Dylan butted in snidely. Jonathan and Nancy exchanged a cautious glance. "But go on."
"Well, at the lab—they wanted her death kept hidden, they even put her car at that bus stop, they didn't want anyone be to know how out of control their experiments were," Nancy continued slowly as if waiting for Dylan to attack. "They told all of us if we told anyone what happened last year, they'd kill us, our families. But I couldn't just let you and your family go on hoping..."
Dylan swallowed, looking down at the wooden table.
"So Jonathan and I went to Murray for help," Nancy said. Dylan noticed Jonathan squeeze her leg reassuringly under the table. "We had some evidence but we didn't know who would believe that some weird monster killed Barb—Murray told us to twist it and we sent it to a couple news outlets."
"Which means...?"
"The new story is Hawkin's lab had an experiment gone-wrong and Barb got caught in the crossfire. Then the tried to cover it up," Nancy explained to Dylan. "The lab will have to take responsibility. They're'll be closure. Your parents won't have to sell the house."
Nancy finished talking and the two teens across from Dylan watched her expectantly, waiting on a reaction.
"Okay, good." Dylan said lamely. Jonathan and Nancy looked at each other with confused expressions. "Did you expect me to praise you for something you should have done all along? Congrats on the bare minimum."
Jonathan banged his fist on the table and made both girls jump. "Do you have to be such a bitch? We were trying to get justice for you, your mom and dad, for Barb."
"A bitch! A bitch?" Dylan chuckled darkly. "I thought you of all people might understand Jonathan—what if the tables were turned? What if it was Will that was dead and all his friends, and even yours, hid that from you, huh?"
"What if—" Dylan's chair screeched against the hardwood as she stood up. "What if you spent every goddamn night praying for your brother to come home, crying until your head pounded, until your whole body was numb—aching to know what had happened to your brother?"
She banged get fist on the table. "And then now you want a thank you? After all the hoping and wishing and waiting you guys let me do?"
Jonathan couldn't meet her eye anymore.
"We were scared." Nancy said quietly.
"So was I! Scared Barb was dead, scared Barb was lost, scared Barb was locked in some perverts basement." Dylan paused to catch her breath. "The closure—that'll help my parents and I'm grateful for that but if being unsatisfied with your guys' bullshit makes me a bitch, then I guess I'm a grade A bitch."
"I didn't mean it." Jonathan frowned. "I shouldn't have said that—I'd would have been out of my mind it if were Will."
Nancy's looked to Dylan, her bright doe eyes pleading. "Dylan, you have to know we didn't want to hurt you."
"Well, you did a shit job at showing that." Dylan said, her voice trembling. "I had to find all this out from some random kids I've never even met."
"We're sorry for that—"
Tired of void apologies, Dylan hastily grabbed her purse off the table, throwing it back over her shoulder. "See you at the funeral!"
OK SO LAST NIGHT WATTPAD deleted this entire story! I'm republishing this chapter just to make sure it's actually back up. Let me know if you guys can see this!!
