THE KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT ｡ STRANGER THINGS

30 - THE LONSDALE CLAN

Silver starlight gleamed down on Marigold Lonsdale as she moved through the shadows, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked towards the lonely house that she once called home. There was a fresh chill in the night air, which made her skin crawl and her heart freeze. Although her Halloween was finally over, midnight long gone, she still felt like tonight would last forever, all because there was a dreadful and unsettling fear sitting in the pit of her stomach. A fear that made her pack her bags years ago and flee Hawkins.

The street was eerie, no sound on the wind and that made her eyes dart around, watching the bushes and the darkened houses for movement. Despite not being deep within the woods now, she could still smell that foul oder of decay, almost like it had clung to her clothing and promised to remind her that something strange was going on once again. Marigold picked up her pace when there was a screech of tires on the road further down the street, her head snapping towards the direction of the sound. Nothing moved behind her. Nothing but the sway of the trees and the glowing lights from above. Fucking hell, stop being paranoid, she mentally told herself.

Paranoia was something that had weaved into her body though, components that had become like a second nature to the young girl. Years ago, she had gone snooping for the truth and found herself in too deep with something she was not supposed to know. Before Marigold Lonsdale had ran away into the night, only leaving clues for her darling sister, she had been followed by men without mercy. These men were clever, they were cunning and without a doubt, would pull the trigger of a gun without a second thought, even if that meant murdering a child. That's why Marigold had left town. That's why ever since that night, she always looked over her shoulder wherever she went, just incase somebody was still watching her and waiting to remove her from the picture because she was a girl that caused too much trouble.

Little did Marigold Lonsdale know, somebody was still watching her.

Hurrying up the front steps, Marigold fumbled with her house key, her nerves on fire and her heart racing against her chest. There was that all too familiar feeling washing over her skin, almost like her body was trying to tell her somebody lurked in the shadows tonight. With a blurted out curse, the key dropped from her cold fingertips and landed on the wooden porch. Marigold bent down, her costume skirt brushing at her ankles and that's when a dog barked randomly in the distance. Marigold jumped, her eyes scanning the street. Her lips trembled, fear nipping at her thoughts.

Suddenly, the front door was yanked open, a pool of soft light breaking the darkness around her. Marigold was pressing a palm to her chest, trying to remain calm. Her cousin, Duncan Downings was staring across at her, eyes wide with question. "Mari, where have you been? It's past midnight. I was worried something had happened."

"God, sorry. I should have called or something." Marigold mumbled, collecting her key from the wooden porch and moving by Duncan, who stared into the darkness, maybe trying to see something the girl could not. The older boy was almost frozen and the oddness had Marigold wondering something terrible.

Dropping to the staircase, Marigold unclipped her heels. "Can you close the door, please? You're letting in the cold." she asked quietly and that's when Duncan twirled around, something hidden in his dark eyes. Although he was not truly a Lonsdale, he shared every resemblance to the clan. His dark blond hair, the way his lips turned into a scowl so naturally, the way he always seemed to be hiding something. That was the true Lonsdale way.

Duncan closed the door loudly, the bang against the wood making Marigold jump in her skin for the second time tonight. Slowly, the boy folded his arms and continued to stare at her. The pair had shared a lonely life together in Memphis, always on high alert, always ready to run just in case somebody had found them. They both knew the struggle of paranoia, it was like the very concept was drilled into their minds now and would never truly leave them, even when they thought it was safe now. "Are you okay? You're jumpy."