Chapter Thirty

Back From Break

The smell of coffee filled the small dining room of the Byers home on a cold winter morning. A fresh fall of snow slowly fell from the cloudy sky and covered the earth. Christmas and New Year were done and gone despite some of the decorations still up along with the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Christmas was one of Joyce's favorite holidays so she didn't really rush to take down all the lights and tinsel. Hopper's broad frame slightly dwarfed the wooden chair as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the tabletop. Joyce quickly filled the two ceramic mugs up with the dark caffeinated liquid before placing one down in front of the Chief. She could see the fatigue and lack of sleep all over his slightly aged face. The dark bags beneath his eyes were prominent against his paler skin.

"Thanks," Hopper grumbled, grabbing the warmed mug and grasping it between his palms, before taking a long drink. He was tired, practically aching for caffeine, he didn't care how the drink burned his tongue.

"Of course," Joyce spoke, smiling slightly, before placing in all the sugar and cream she normally took in her coffee. "Now, you said that you wanted to talk?" Hopper nodded his head, taking another long drink. "About? Veronica, I'm guessing."

Hopper's eyes downshifted with sadness, "She won't talk to me."

Joyce huffed slightly, "I mean...cacan't blame her...you did lie about Eleven."

"It was to keep her safe," Hopper stressed, "Veronica was able to get away from the Lab after everything that happened and try and go and live a normal life. Eleven wasn't given that chance since she disappeared."

"Veronica doesn't care about that," Joyce shrugged, stirring her spoon in her coffee slowly, "Eleven is her sister, and you kept her away from her. You saw how hard Veronica struggled with trying to...get back to being a normal teenager." Hopper's eyes downcast again, his frown deepening. "All she wanted was to get to know her dad, and feel like she was a part of a family."

Hopper's eyes snapped up to connect with Joyce's, "And you don't think I did that?"

Joyce hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I think you were trying your best, given the circumstances, but all in all...Veronica was still hurt. She felt betrayed by you, and I have to agree with her Hop...I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes and groaned slightly, "What do I do? How...How do I make it up to her?"

"Only Veronica can answer that question. If she needs so much space from you in order to be able to heal a little before talking then you're going to have to give it to her."

Hopper sighed heavily again and reached a hand to rub along his grown-out beard. Joyce sat there in silence and watched the turmoil going through his mind play out on his face.

"I thought I got a second chance...after learning about Veronica and knowing that she was alive." Hopper started to speak, "First I lost Veronica, and then Lauren. No one knew...so I had to suffer alone knowing that my daughter was gone. I was a police officer, I should've been able to find her and help her. Then Sarah got her cancer diagnosis...and my second daughter was taken from me."

Joyce's eyes softened as she listened to the pain in her friend's voice, seeing the clear anger still flaring in his eyes as he spoke.

"The divorce was hard by that point...I was numb to everything." Hopper shrugged his shoulders and looked down into his half-filled mug, "Then...nearly twelve years later...Veronica is brought back into my life. I was so happy, Joyce. So happy...and now I feel I have ruined any chance of having a relationship with her."

"Listen...Veronica is a child, but she's been through a lot and needs to feel like she's got people on her side. Stop treating her like she's an adult, and treat her like a teenager. Talk to her, speak about these emotions that you're having, and I'm sure she has some of her own!"

"How can I talk to her if she's ignoring me, Joyce."

"She'll come to you, Hop. She'd still be your daughter and you're still her father. She'll come around. Veronica is a very emphatic teenager and I'm sure she knows you're hurting too. But her feelings matter more."

Veronica searched through her locker for her English binder and book to head to her third-period class. The school was buzzing with high energy since it was the first day back after Christmas break. The holiday was good since everything was done and finished with the Upside Down and the Mindflayer. The migraines were gone, along with the blackouts and blank spots. The phantom feeling of everything was still there. The nightmares still came nearly every night, dreaming of the Mindflayer killing everyone around her before finishing off with her. Veronica knows that she watched the Gate close in front of her – but that feeling wouldn't shake away even after all the weeks had passed.

"Ronnie!" a voice called from the far end of the hallway, catching her attention, and drawing her eyes to her left.

Pushing through the slight crowd of people, Veronica watched as Steve moved toward her. He had a bright smile as he moved to her quickly. It had been weeks since either of them had seen each other. Soon after everything with the Mindflayer and the Gate, Steven went off on vacation with his family for winter break. In those two weeks, Veronica couldn't help but miss him. The butterflies that she felt erupt in her stomach were enough to make her feel dizzy for a moment. Steve was right in front of her in a few short strides.

"I've been looking for you all day," Steve panted lightly "Didn't see you in the parking lot when everyone was coming in,"

"Jonathan needed to get here early to develop photos for the school paper, and then Nancy had something," Veronica hesitated for a moment, a frown tugging on her lips "Sorry..."

Steve sighed softly and shrugged his shoulders, "Nance and I are good, don't feel like you have to dance around something cause she and Jonathan...a-are together."

"Are you good?" She whispered softly, looking around as if someone would be listening to the two of them. "Kinda just disappeared after everything,"

"I'm good, babe," Steve nodded his head,

Even had he said it, there was something in his eyes that had Veronica not fully believing it. But Veronica didn't want to push anything. The final bell rang out causing her to slam her locker shut and start back down the hallway with Steve right at her side.

"How are you doing?" Steve asked, keeping his eye close on her as they walked.

Veronica sighed heavily and reached up to scratch along the back of her neck slightly, a sense of nerves coming over her. Flashes of the Mindflayer and the Gate came through her mind like a horror movie with the clicking of the demodogs as the soundtrack.

"Good as I can be, I guess." Veronica shrugged "Feels nice...that feeling of someone being in my head is gone. But...everything also seems to have kind of gone back to normal, or whatever that normal was."

"And that's a good thing right?" Steve questioned.

Veronica shrugged her shoulders, "I guess you could say I don't really know what normal is. Since leaving the Lab, I haven't had a semblance of normal."

Steve followed her down the hall toward the wing where not only her next classroom was, but his own. Veronica paused outside the room as other students continued to file into the classroom.

"Well, I don't really know what that normal is anymore either," Steve chuckled dryly.

Veronica couldn't stop the laugh that slipped through her lips. The warning bell rang out causing the two to say goodbyes before Steve disappeared down the hall. Veronica couldn't help but stand there and watch as he walked down the hall, before filing into the room with the stragglers. She moved through the aisle before finding the final seat at the back. She couldn't stop the heavy sigh that passed through her lips before turning and seeing the girl sitting next to her. Her hair was a short auburn cut that framed her face. Veronica smiled at her slightly which caused the girl to smile back, her blue eyes brightening slightly.

"Hi, I'm Veronica," She spoke, a small wave as she spoke to her.

"Robin," The girl smiled back, reaching her hand out to shake with Veronica's.

The moment their hands touched, Veronica felt a calming warmth coming from her. Almost instantly she knew that she'd found a new friend.

"Moms working late tonight and I know Will is going to the Wheeler's for D&D." Jonathan spoke as the two of them walked through the parking lot, school out for the day, "Nancy was thinking of coming over."

Veronica felt a twist in her stomach, "Oh..."

Jonathan looked over his shoulder toward her, his brows pulling together tightly "That not ok?"

"It doesn't matter does it?" Veronica shrugged, opening the passenger side door, "She's your girlfriend,"

Jonathan opened his mouth a few times before shaking his head and getting into the driver's side of his car. The car filled with silence as Jonathan started the car up quickly and peeled out of the lot, joining the queue to leave out. Jonathan fidgeted with the steering wheel as music played softly through the speakers. Veronica could feel the tension to the where it felt suffocating. She knew that Jonathan wanted to say something but was either too afraid, or unsure how to say it.

"Jonathan, I'm not mad that you're dating Nancy. I'm happy...that you're happy." Veronica spoke once they were a few blocks from school. "It's just awkward cause she obviously doesn't like me."

"Nance doesn't not, not like you." Jonathan quickly defended "She just...doesn't understand. But I've been talking with her...she wants to get to know you."

Veronica perked up, "S-She does?"

"Yeah," Jonathan nodded his head, Veronica could feel that he was telling the truth, "She just doesn't wanna force it on you, in case you don't wanna get to know her."

Veronica gnawed on her lower lip and stared out the windshield watching as the snow-covered landscape passed by.

"Maybe we can get to know each other, maybe." Veronica shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"That would be awesome. Maybe a movie night?" Jonathan asked with a little excitement in his voice. "Or we can head out to the theater over in Monroe?"

"Yeah, maybe." Veronica shrugged, "Not really rushing to be in a forgiving mood."

Jonathan frowned as he pulled into the driveway. When he pulled up into the driveway, the both of them noticed the Chief's truck parked beside Joyce's station wagon. Quickly Veronica became antsy within her seat, not moving to unbuckle her seat belt, her eyes instead focused on the car. Jonathan couldn't stop himself from looking at the truck before looking back to Veronica.

"Do you wanna head inside?" Jonathan spoke softly.

Veronica shook her head, "Not really."

There was a long pause before she spoke again.

"I haven't really spoken to him since everything," Veronica whispered softly. "Keeps wanting me to come out to the cabin and have dinner with him and El. I-I don't know...if I'm ready."

"Have you seen or talked to El?"

Veronica shook her head and looked down at her lap in shame, "No. And I feel so bad that I haven't. I finally got her back and I...I pushed her away after everything."

Jonathan reached over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, rubbing it slightly, in comfort.

"You don't need to rush to it if you don't want to." Jonathan spoke, "I'm sure El understands why and that you might need a little time."

"Does she? Because I can't help but feel like a sister that has abandoned her."

Before Jonathan could speak again, the sound of the front door opening broke through the silence. Her head snapped up and her eyes looked in the direction of the opening door. Standing in the smaller door frame of the Byers' home was Jim Hopper. A cigarette pressed between his lips as he moved down the steps, but stopped short, the moment he realized Veronica was sitting in the car. Smoke billowed into the cold air as he stood there and kept his eyes locked on her. Veronica took a couple of deep breaths before opening the door and quickly stepping out. Hopper felt nervous as he watched his daughter move up the driveway toward the small home.

"Hey kiddo," He spoke as soon as she got closer. He looked apprehensive and nervous as she looked down at Veronica.

"Chief," Veronica spoke with her voice a little stiff and stoic. Hopper was unable to fully read the emotions on her face. But he deep down knew she was upset.

Jonathan and Joyce stood there watching at the two seemed to be at a standoff with one another.