Chapter Forty-Three
The Return
After getting home from the mall after Steve had dropped her off she was hoping that a night of rest would shake the weird feeling she'd been having. But after nights of tossing and turning and waking in a cold sweat only proved that the feeling wasn't going away any time soon. Flashes of memories at the Lab haunted her along with flashes of other moments that she wasn't able to figure out. Evidence of her lack of sleep showed more with the dark circles under her eyes and a brighter paleness settled into her skin.
"You hear what I said, sweetie?" a voice spoke to her, dragging her out of her foggy thoughts.
Veronica jumped slightly and looked over to the woman who stood to her left. Her co-worker Doris looked down at her with concern reflecting in her blue eyes. She was an older woman who typically only worked weekends and spent more of her time working the counter.
"I-I'm sorry, Doris, what was the question?" Veronica spoke, her voice soft and gentle.
"I asked if you could place some of the books at the counter back onto the shelves?"
"Y-Yeah, yeah." Veronica stepped away from behind the counter and grabbed the cart.
"You feeling ok today, sweetie? Look like you're about to fall asleep at the register." Doris spoke as Veronica stacked the rest of the books onto the shelf.
"I'm ok, just a rough night of sleep is all." Veronica smiled slightly before pulling the cart with her and heading down the first aisle to place some of the books away.
She passed by a few kids, and couples and directed a few elderly women in the right direction of what they were looking for. But as she turned down one of the small aisles at the back of the store, she stopped short, as a tall figure with a dark hallow of long curls caught her attention. A pensive look on his face as his eyes scanned over the books in front of him.
"Having difficulty finding something?" She asked.
The older boy turned at the sound of a voice, his large moon eyes catching hers, a bit of tension rising into his shoulders. He just stared down at her without uttering a word. Anxious butterflies erupted in her stomach, second-guessing herself, before speaking again.
"You're Eddie, right?" Veronica asked, "I'm Veronica…we go to high school together, we had O'Donnell for English?"
"Yeah, yeah," He nodded his head, straightening his shoulders back as he looked down at her.
Veronica stood there blinking at him for a moment as she felt the emotion rolling off of him. She always felt bad for him at school, seeing that the others bullied him for no reason other than he was a little different than everyone else. Veronica could relate, and she did what she could to help him out. Like the time she caused Jason to trip and fall in the cafeteria.
But as he glowered down at her, his eyes hardening slightly, she felt something else. A little apprehension? Anxiety? Fear?
"Need help with anything? Maybe could help you find whatever you're looking for?" She smiled up at him, hoping it would ease whatever he was feeling at the moment.
"Um…" Eddie looked between Veronica and the shelf in front of him before settling back on her. "…new D and D players handbook was supposed to come out last week. Can't seem to find it."
"Oh!" Veronica spoke, her tone causing Eddie to flinch back slightly, before relaxing again. "That's at the front with the new releases fiction. My little brother has been asking me to get him a copy ever since it came out, said he needs it for the new campaigns he's been writing for his party."
Eddie's eyebrows disappeared into the fringe of his bangs, "You know about D and D?"
"A little," Veronica shrugged, turning to lead Eddie back toward the front of the store, "Will's been explaining it to me for the last few months, but I've never sat in on a game. He plays with his friends usually."
"Don't think I've heard of other kids into it in Hawkins. "Well, except for my friends," Eddie shrugged.
"Will just graduated from middle school so that makes sense,"
As Veronica spoke she stopped and pointed over to the row of bookshelves near the front of the bookstore, signs of them reading, New Releases.
"Just find the shelves that say Fiction, you should be able to find it easily from there," Veronica spoke as she turned to face Eddie more.
"Thanks, most people around here don't really go out of their way to talk to me, let alone to help me."
"Well, I'm not like most people," She shrugged her shoulders, "Don't be a stranger, Eddie. Here if you ever need anything."
Veronica meant it as she stared up at him. A new, warm sensation wrapped around her as Eddie his head, muttering another thank you, and walking away. Her mood perked slightly to know she'd made someone's day and possibly a new friend.
Jim walked beside Joyce as the two of them walked into the abandoned building that was once Hawkins Laboratory. Their footsteps echoed slightly through the dark and cold building, the flashlights in their hands being the only source of life.
Joyce had come chaotically into his cabin that morning talking about magnets and Scott Clark. The man was already irritated from the fact he'd been stood up at Enzo's for their date, not date. But the hellbent determination she had to go back to the Lab had him push that irritation and hurt down. The last thing he wanted was for her to in alone and end up hurt or worse.
Jim led her down to the basement part of the Lab, where the entrance into the Upside Down was formed. Where the door always stood even when Jim thought it was all over the first time. Only for it to haunt not only Will Byers mind but also his daughters. But even as the two of them stared at the blank concrete wall – the nightmares still loomed there in the back of his mind.
"It's all over, Joyce, I watched them seal it up to make sure," Jim spoke in a gentle tone, watching as she stared up at the large wall.
"I-I…I don't…" She shook her head for a moment before turning around to face him, her body sagging slightly, "I feel like I'm losing my mind, I could've sworn that…"
Jim sighed heavily, "You're not losing your mind, at least, you're not alone in that feeling."
Jim leaned against one of the scaffolds that were in the larger portion of the room. Joyce moved to sit down on the lower level of the other one.
"Just last week I almost shot Heather Danvers dog," Jim chuckled and reached to run his hand along his jaw "I could've sworn, for a split second, it was one of those damn things coming at me."
The two fell into silence for a moment before he spoke again.
"You know that I'm keeping my eye on everything right?" He asked, looking down at her. She nodded her head and looked down at her lap, her fingers nervously moving along the flashlight in her hands. "I want to make sure that everyone is safe. That you're able to feel like this place is still your home for you and your kids. I don't ever what has happened to us, especially Veronica and El, to ever happen again. I will do everything in my power to make sure of that. Because this is their home now, along with it still being yours."
Joyce's eyes widened for a moment before she cursed low beneath her breath. "Who told you?"
"First Ronnie, she mentioned how you were having repairs being done around the home. But then Gary spoke of how you told him you needed them done to get the house on the market." Jim spoke, his voice even, nonjudging as he looked down at her. "I'm guessing the kids don't know yet?"
"I-I haven't fully made up my mind yet, but I'm starting, just in case." She shook her head and ran her hand over her face. "My biggest fear is this thing coming back, I'm always looking over my shoulder expecting it to just be there…waiting."
He nodded his head and moved to bend down in front of her slightly, "I get that I do."
"I-I wouldn't expect to take Ronnie with me,"
"I know. I know, that was never a thought in my mind." Jim clarified quickly. "But I know that if you did choose to leave it would break her heart. Will and Jonathan are her brothers, and she sees you as a mom. And I'm not saying that in a way to guilt you at all,"
"I-I know. I know you're not." She sighed heavily. "I don't think I could bring myself to leave her either,"
"Well figure this out, together," Jim spoke sincerely, grasping her hand gently.
Veronica clocked out from her shift and moved to head down to the food court like she did every time she and Steve had matching shifts. But today it was a little different, she was more wondering about the Russian code and if anything, else came from it. Steve wasn't the one to take her to work and she didn't go down to the food court for her break.
The loud sailor music erupted against her eardrums the moment she walked into the sitting area of Scoops Ahoy! Behind the counter, she saw Robin leaning against the back counter with Steve ringing a customer out. Robin's blue eyes brightened the moment she saw Veronica walk into the ice cream shop, moving from the back counter to the small swinging door.
"Did you guys figure anything else out from the code?" Veronica whispered when she got closer to Robin.
Robin proudly nodded her head and smiled, "Figure it all out. The Silver Cat is a shipping company called Lynx. They dropped off a shipment to us today and that's what got me thinking. The second part speaks of a trip to China."
"You got more out of the code?"
"Yeah, this morning with Dustin, but that's not important." She spoke, "A trip to China sounds nice, that got to be the Chinese restaurant on the other side of the food court. If you tread lightly, Kaufman's Shoe Shop is on the second floor of the mall right above Imperial Panda. And then finally, when blue meets yellow in the west, that has to be the clock over the food court. The clock's arms are blue and yellow."
Veronica stared wide eyes, her brows up in surprise, as she looked down at her friend, "Wow, you…you figured that all out on your own?"
"I did say my ears are little geniuses," Robin smirked.
"So now what?"
"Now we wait for after the mall closes, we're gonna sneak to the roof and see if I'm pretty sure I cracked it right."
Steve finished scooping out ice cream to the small line that had formed before walking over to where the two friends were whispering to each other. He frowned slightly the moment he looked down at his girlfriend seeing the clear fatigue on her face.
"Hey," Steve smiled, moving closer, causing Robin to take a step back. She walked back toward the other side of the counter as a couple walked up to the counter. "You doing ok?"
"Yeah," Veronica shrugged "Didn't sleep well last night, but I'm fine."
Steve's frown deepened, "Why don't you head home? Get some rest, tomorrow is your day off. Can finally get away from this place for a little bit."
"What about the code? Robin said you're going to do a stake out?"
"We can do that," Steve shook his head, "You need to rest. I can see it clear all over your face baby."
Veronica frowned, "Will you call me tomorrow?"
"Of course." Steve reached and caressed her cheek softly before pressing his lips against hers.
She pulled away and sighed softly before turning to leave out of the parlor. Steve stood there and watched her leave before she was out of his sight. He made up an excuse when Robin asked why you were leaving, deep down hoping, he was making the right call.
Veronica walked through the front door of the Byers home, rushing inside as the rain came pouring down, lightning flashing above. The home was dark for the most part giving her the indication that she was home alone. She walked straight to her bedroom and stripped out of her soaked clothing, changing into a pair of sweatpants and one of Steve's oversized pullovers. The faded words of 'Hawkins Varsity Basketball' across the chest.
The entire bus ride back into town, Veronica felt more and more tired. It was like her body was finally able to rest from the workday and the fatigue caught up to her. The sound of the rain against the windows and roof of the home, only caused the pull of sleep to become stronger.
She shuffled toward the kitchen, and grabbed the kettle from the back of the stove, before filling it up with water. But before Veronica could turn the stove on to heat the kettle, the sound of banging on the front door caused her to jump slightly.
"Will? Will, you be there?"
"Will, we're sorry man, please!"
Two familiar voices, though muffled, could be heard at the front of the house. Veronica stepped into the living room and could see the small figures behind the window, the darkness of the storm causing them to look fuzzy as they moved along the front porch. She flicked the porch light on before opening the front door. The two boys on the porch waited with anticipation as the porch light came on and the door swung open. But the person they were expecting wasn't the one to open the door.
"Mike? Lucas? What are you guys doing here?" Veronica questioned.
"We're looking for Will," Mike explained "We kind of got into a fight earlier and we came to apologize. He left my house and said he was going home."
Veronica's brows pinched together, "No one is here,"
"What? His bike is right outside," Lucas pointed past the front yard where Will's bike lay in the rain.
"I didn't even notice coming in," She spoke, then again, her focus was getting out of the cold rain.
"I think I know where he's at," Mike spoke, before pulling the hood of his raincoat back up and running out and around the side of the house.
Lucas rushed quickly after Mike causing Veronica to hesitate for a moment. She closed the front door, noticing their pathing was taking them to the back of the house. Grabbing an umbrella from the stand beside the front door, she slipped on her shoes, before going out the back door. Veronica followed the calls of the two others and found herself going down the path to Castle Byers.
But just as Veronica came upon the fort that Will had built, with Jonathan, at the back of the Byers yard. A cold sensation moved through her body and settled at the back of her neck. That feeling that had been lingering around her became stronger and caused a pain to wrap around her skull.
That type of pain and feeling could only mean one thing.
Veronica's eyes moved to see Will standing frozen with his hand clasped at the back of his neck. But even with Mike and Lucas standing there in front of him, his eyes focused on Veronica.
He muttered one sentence that caused her stomach to twist into a nauseous knot.
"He's back,"
AN: Little shorter a shorter filler chapter with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. I'm very excited for Veronica in S3 cause I really want to bring her out of her shell. I also wanna dribble in a few things to bring S4 in, like her dream of Henry on her bday. I really enjoy reading reviews - it lets me know if you're enjoying the story.