Trauma - Hopper Fan fiction

5. The first night

Joyce jerked her head up in her sleep and glanced at the clock.

"3:45 A.M. Really?", Joyce whispered to herself as she reached over and grabbed her phone to see who was calling her. She quickly sat up in the bed as she saw it was Hopper.

"Just you mother FUCKING wait!", Hopper mumbled not realizing that Joyce had picked up.

"Eh hmm, Hello?", Joyce said barely above a whisper.

"Joyce, I couldn't do it. You told me to keep my cool and I couldn't. That punk bastard put his hands on Jamie and she's all beat up. She said it happened YESTERDAY Joyce. FUCKING YESTERDAY!! I'M GONNA KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO YOU JOYCE I WILL DO IT!", Hopper yelled into the phone.

Joyce moved the phone away from her ear and put it back once he was done screaming. "Wait what?!?! That's INSANE! Do you need me to come over there Hop?! Jonathan can stay with El for a bit and-"

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. I forgot about El. What am I gonna do Joyce? I can't just tell Jamie that I.... just...adopted some girl from the woods with super powers while she was at home getting abused?! And Im pretty sure Diane has been trying to get in contact with her. I dont even think she really knows that she's out here" Hopper gasped.

"Oh, just fucking WAIT until I talk to Diane!", Hopper yelled as he flicked his cigarette.

"Hop, Hop, calm down okay? Look, we're gonna get through this. I promise. I'm off tomorrow. I can maybe meet you in the morning while the kids keep El company in the cabin. I don't want you to go scaring her thinking that the bad men are coming. And as much as I would LOVE to help you after all that you've done for Will, it IS almost 4 A.M, and I'm tired chief."

Hopper sighed. "Okay, yeah let's meet tomorrow. My place, after breakfast."

"Okay, Hop. See you tomorrow, Get some rest, please!"

"Alright, Bye", Hopper hung up the phone as he came back into the house and looked around for Jamie. He heard the toilet flush and saw her walk out and stand in the doorway like a deer in headlights.

"Hey", Hopper said quietly as she made her way over to the couch.

"You didn't call mom did you?"

"No, I didn't. I uhh, I'm not gonna call her kid, okay? You're safe now. Here, with me." Hopper pulled Jamie into a hug and kissed the top of her head. She hugged him back with one arm as they both sat on the couch.

"Im sorry I wasn't there for you kid... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.", Hopper spoke as his forehead pressed against the top of Jamies head.

"I want to live here, with you", Jamie said to her dad.

Hopper looked surprised. "R-Really? You want to live in this small town? The nearest mall is about a 25 minute drive kid. You sure you can handle that?"

Jamie chuckled. "Yeah, I do. I thought that I missed our family, but I think that I actually just missed you... and Sarah."

"I know what you mean Jai. But look, here's the deal. I'm gonna take off tomorrow, and maybe we can hang out or go for ice cream or something and catch up? What do ya say?"

Jamie smirked. "You can just take off work like that?"

"I'm the chief of police. I can do whatever I want", Hopper said jokingly as he gave his mean cop stare.

"Yeah? Maybe you can... teach me how to drive. You know my 16th birthday is soon". Jamie has only been behind the wheel once. David had pissed her off, so she stole his car in the middle of night and went joyriding. She only went around the block once, but damnit it felt good.

"Yeah? Well, we'll have to see about that. Maybe Joyce can teach you since I'm working all the damn time."

"Who's Joyce?"

Hopper glanced at the clock and let out a quick breath. "Um, it's a long story which I will be HAPPY to explain..... In the morning. C'mon kid, back to bed now."

Jamie hopped off the couch and smiled to herself as she went back to her fathers bed. Jamie wondered who this Joyce lady was. Whoever she is, her dad mentioned her so casually which led her to think that she may be his girlfriend. Whoever she was, Jamie was excited to meet the woman who's been keeping her dad company all these years.

Hopper layed back down on the couch thinking about how he could introduce Jamie to the gang of kids without having them mentioning El. It's not like he wants to keep them both a secret from each other, but he knows that Jamie doesn't understand why El needs to be kept a secret in the first place. Whatever he decides, he just wants Jamie to feel like she belongs. One things for certain, he didn't plan on Jamie being left in the care of Diane again. Ever.