CXV
Mike offers her the seat in front of his desk. He, for his part, goes to sit on the bed.
"So, are we going to talk about what happened?" he asks with a tone that seems to be trying to be humorous, but stays halfway.
Eleven ignores the bait and simply replies: "There's nothing to say."
Logically, Mike doesn't understand it at first; he cocks his head to the side and crosses his arms, a confused expression curling his features. "Uh, but you came to talk to me, right? So, there must be something—"
And because she is tired and knows it is the right thing to do, even though it may not seem like it, she only interrupts him to say: "I want to break up."
"WHAT?" Mike is unable to hide his surprise nor his indignation. "No, Jane, wait a minute, if you would only explain to me what's going on—"
She can't explain it though, can she? Certainly, he had made some mistakes, but that is not the real reason.
Not the main reason, at least.
"There is nothing to explain: I want to break up. That's all."
"But… But we have something so good!" he babbles, standing up and extending his arms in a gesture that is somewhere between offended and pleading. "If this is because of my reaction that day, well, I was surprised, and maybe I was a little upset in the moment, but, I mean… I'm sorry, I just… I didn't know what to do. I mean, it just was so crazy, it happened so fast, but it doesn't change anything: it doesn't matter. I… I care for you so much."
If this were any other time, she would have pointed out that they had both already used the words 'I love you' in their relationship on too many occasions for her to be content with a simple 'I care for you'.
Yes, in another time; in another life, perhaps.
In a life where Henry didn't exist or wasn't in her life, and she and Mike would have met under other circumstances.
So she simply looks up and repeats: "I want to break up, Mike."
"But you're being ridiculous, Jane! You are the most incredible person in the world and you can't let these mouth breathers—people like Angela—ruin what we have! I mean, they're nobodies!"
His words almost steal a smile from her: who would have thought that at a time like this he and Henry would unknowingly agree on this notion that others don't matter?
Anyway, Eleven gets up and walks over to Mike. She takes his hands in hers and, before the relief she sees appearing behind his eyes can take root, she says: "I'm sorry, Mike. But I want to break up."
Eleven doesn't blame her—now—ex-boyfriend for not walking her to the door: she's empathetic enough to understand that the sooner she gets away from him, the better for both. After all, it's not like she came out unscathed either: even now she feels affection for Mike. Perhaps the word 'love' fails to describe what they have shared, but the experience itself was something valuable and real while it lasted.
Yes, Eleven doesn't blame him nor does she want to cause him any pain, and that's why she just decides to look for Nancy—who had welcomed her into the house in the first place—to let her know that she's leaving.
She doesn't even have to make an effort: she finds her downstairs, sitting on the living room couch writing in a notebook. Eleven opens her mouth to say goodbye when she notices that she is not alone: in front of her, on the floor, playing with a dollhouse, are Holly…
… and Henry.
"Hello…?"
The adults look at her first; Holly follows suit.
"Jane!" the child exclaims excitedly as she hurries to stand up and throw herself into her arms; Eleven catches her without blinking. "Come play with us!"
Nancy gives her an apologetic look as she leaves the couch. "Holly, I think Jane and Henry have to go now; a storm is approaching."
The girl pouts at her sister's words. "But they just got here…"
Eleven would like to assure her that they can come another day, yet she does not want to lie to her. Nancy seems to notice her reluctance to speak—she knows, after all, that she has always cared about Holly—and rushes to put a contingency plan into action: "Hey, Jonathan came over a while ago, and guess what he brought? Ice cream!"
Her words accomplish their mission: the little girl is distracted and lets go of Eleven. "Strawberry flavor?"
"Of course." Nancy laughs, hugging her little sister. "How about I serve you a bowl?" The girl nods, excited at the prospect of something sweet. "But first let's say goodbye to Jane and Henry, okay?"
With her interest focused on ice cream, Holly soon obeys: "Thank you very much for coming to play," she tells them both, running again to hug first Eleven, and then Henry. "Come back soon! Bye-bye!"
She responds with a gentle "bye-bye" while Henry offers her a smile and a pat on the head.
"All good?" Henry asks her as they are leaving the Wheeler house and heading to the car.
"All good," she answers, because it is true enough; elaborating might invite questions she's not ready to tackle right now.
"That's great," he comments as he steps forward to open the door for her.
She is just about to ask him about Holly and how he ended up playing with her when she notices a couple of pink hair ties that barely separate some blonde strands in a cute attempt to emulate two pigtails on the back of his head.
So she decides to remain silent: she does not want to listen to Henry's justifications. To tell the truth, she prefers to just keep in her heart this moment in which she has glimpsed this side of him: the side capable of taking the time to cheer up a little girl without any ulterior motive.