1/2

5.7K 234 83
                                    

"WHAT THE HELL?" Jasper gasped, shutting her front door slowly. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of her house, which was an absolute disaster. Furniture was misplaced and lightbulbs were removed from every single light.

"Hey kid," a tired voice greeted her. Hopper emerged from the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry about the mess."

"What happened in here?" Jasper questioned, letting her bag drop to the floor. "Doing a little redecorating?"

"They bugged my place," he explained, taking a seat on the couch. He looked exhausted, placing his hat in his lap.

"Who did?" Jasper asked, sitting down next to him.

"Hawkins did," he answered, looking at his daughter with a grave expression. "I found a microphone in my light. They had two here. One in the kitchen, the other in your room."

"My...room?" Jasper echoed, aghast. "Why would they have this house bugged?"

"Oh I don't know," Hopper sighed sarcastically. "I mean, it's not like the kids of Elizabeth Marrow live here, including the one that belongs to me."

Jasper chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "I'm still not used to the fact that you're my dad," she told him in a small voice.

"I know, kid," he murmured empathetically, placing his hand and rubbing his thumb on her shoulder. "I'm not exactly the best at this whole parenting thing."

"Well, do you have any other kids? I mean, you had a wife," Jasper pointed out, vaguely remembering Hopper having a wife in the past. "Right?"

Sadness spread across Hopper's face as he leaned back in his seat. "Uh, yeah," he mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. "Her name was Sarah. She, uh, she's gone now. Cancer got her."

Sympathy coursed through Jasper's heart as she wrapped her arms around Hopper's side. "I'm sorry," she muttered, allowing herself to lean on her father. "I would've loved to have met her. She would've been a great half sister."

After a moment of silence, Hopper leaned forward again, suddenly. "I went to Joyce's place tonight. Ruby, Joyce, and I are gonna be out for a bit tomorrow. You'll be okay on your own?"

"I think so, yeah," Jasper nodded, smiling when she saw the urgent look on Hopper's face. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

"Okay," he murmured, patting her back. "Get some sleep, okay?"

The next morning, Dustin and Jasper met at the corner of the redhead's street as usual. Both of them were still recovering from yesterday, but at least they weren't caught in a fight like Lucas and Mike. The two still had each other.

"Lucas probably doesn't want to talk to Mike," Dustin sighed, pedaling his bike at Jasper's side.

"I wonder if El went back to his house last night," Jasper uttered anxiously. "From the way she talked to me yesterday, it seemed like she didn't want to go back at all."

When Dustin and Jasper arrived at Mike's house, they were delivered the news they feared. Lucas was still mad, Mike refused to apologize, and El was still missing.

Mike let out a huge sigh, pacing in front of El's fort with an upset look. "I just...I can't believe she didn't come back."

DANCIN'   ►   DUSTIN HENDERSON [1]Where stories live. Discover now