Chapter 1

The front door creaked as Chuck slowly stepped into the house. She hadn't been home in months, and though she knew Rick was currently locked up, she had an uneasy feeling being back. She knew she had to come home when she received a call that he'd been arrested again. He was well passed the 3 strikes limit so who know how long it'd be. Someone had to come and watch over the place.

The idiot couldn't stop dealing, even after she begged. His lifestyle didn't scare her off, though. He was her brother after all. Family is everything. It's not like she could really judge him too harsh. She used to deal alongside him when she was in high school.

But with the money she saved from those deals, she decided to take off. Travel the country, maybe even make it to Mexico. She always imagined sitting on a beach, feet in the sand enjoying a whiskey sour. Or maybe she'd try one of those fancy drinks with the umbrella and fruit sticking out of the top.

Of course she barely made it to Louisiana before having to turn back.

The house was a mess. Messier than usual. Rick had been locked up for only a month and already his "friends" were looting the place.

"Motherfuckers." Chuck mumbled.

She walked into the kitchen to find the pantry doors wide open, a can of SpagettiO's open on the counter, and a dirty pot sitting in the sink. "No fucking respect." She poked at a moldy dish towel slumped over the side of the sink.

Sighing at the condition of the house, she could remember how it was when her parents were alive. Clean, decorated, homey. They would have family barbeques almost every weekend during the summer. Living right next to the lake, it was the best house to hang out. It was always full of laughter. That was before her mother went missing. Before her father killed himself in his restaurant. Before her brother was into dealing. Before her grades started dropping. Before everything turned to shit.

Rick tried his best to support Chuck, but bills were already piling up. Their income, Benny's Burgers, died when their father died. Who'd want to eat at a table where a guy offed himself? Nobody. Plus, when that 'Zombie Kid' was found alive, he was front pages for weeks. Chuck's father's death was brushed under the rug. Nobody cared he died. He chose death, right? Maybe to the rest of the town, but Chuck knew better. She knew her father, and he would never leave her or her brother in the situation they found themselves in after he was gone.

Ever since her mother disappeared when she was 10 strange things would occur in Hawkins. The town had been cursed. Couple years after the kid was found alive, they blamed some deaths on a chemical leak from the Hawkins Lab just up the road. Then there was the mall fire "accident". Bullshit.

Chuck sighed throwing her backpack on the couch. She headed to the boat house out back to grab a few cleaning supplies and get started on the mess.

She turned the boat house doorknob, but the door was jammed. Chuck pushed harder with no luck.

"Son of a bitch."

She braced herself before throwing her shoulder into the door. It flew open with the blow from her body sending her flying into the shed floor and hitting her head on a few old tools hanging from the table next to her.

"Son of a Bitch!" she yelled in frustration. As Chuck stood up she heard a noise in the corner. Fucking rodents always making themselves at home. She grabbed the wrench that her head had just come into contact with raising it above her shoulder, ready to swing if it was anything larger than a raccoon. Slowly she stepped towards the corner trying to peak past the barrels the creature was lurking behind.

Something shifted and Chuck caught a glimpse of a white shoe on the floor. She barely had time to react after realizing the rodent wasn't a rodent, but a person. A large body jumped out from the corner and tackled her. Chuck screamed in horror swinging the wrench in the process. The person tried to grab the wrench from her hand, but she didn't let go. She wasn't about to let this druggie kill her today.

Chuck struggled with the person, trying to free his grip from the tool. "Let go you fucker!" she screamed as she tripped, sending them both hurdling to the ground. She hit her head against the floor losing her grip on the tool. The guy, who was now on top of her, took advantage of this and snatched the tool for Chuck's hand and tossing it aside.

Chuck started to scream for help before a hand covered her mouth. The screaming would've been useless either way. Nobody's going to hear her. But she wasn't going to let this psycho kill her. She was going to fight. She couldn't see the face of her attacker. All she saw was dark curly hair. She grabbed the guy's wrist with both her hands and swung her knee up connecting it to what she was hoping would be the guy's crotch but ended up hitting his ass.

"Hey!" he whispered loudly. Chuck paused. She knew that voice. She stopped struggling with the guys hand and finally saw his face.

Eddie Munson. She tried speaking, but his hand was still pressed against her mouth.

Eddie smiled that big Eddie Munson smile. "Charlotte Lipton as I live and breathe. I thought you ditched town months ago."

Chuck tried talking again, but her position hadn't improved. Eddie was cradling her hips holding her down with the pressure of his hand on her lips. She gave him a look to tell him to fuck off which he understood.

"I'm going to let you go, but you have to promise not to scream. Promise?"

Chuck tried pushing his hand off her mouth, but it didn't budge.

"Promise?" he said again. Chuck tapped his arm in agreement.

As soon as she was free of his hand she slapped him across his face. "What the fuck, Eddie?"

Eddie, still straddling her hips, laughed. "Haven't changed a bit, Chucky."

"I told you to never call me that. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hiding, of course." He said with a sigh. "I'm a wanted man."

"Excuse me? Wanted for what?"

"Do you not know?" Eddie looked down at Chuck confused.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking." She looked up at Eddie as he rubbed his face in exhaustion. She could see his face clear now, see how exhausted and shattered he was. Whatever happened, it was beating him up not only physically but mentally as well. She'd never seen him like this. "Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"Get off me."

"Right. Shit."

Disclaimer: I own nothing used here from the Stranger Things Universe. I only own the OC of this story and the story line that differ from the previously mentioned source.