Chapter Text
January 18th, 2018
Nancy walked into her house, soaked from the rain.
“Hey! You’re ruining my carpet, young lady!” her dad, Steve, complained.
“I broke up with Jonathan,” Nancy blurted out, and Steve immediately stood up and rushed toward her.
“What? Why?” He ran a hand through his hair, clearly confused. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Nancy’s expression stayed serious. She didn’t look sad, but she definitely wasn’t happy either.
“He thought I kissed Barb. He says bi girls aren’t trustworthy and all that crap. I don’t even know where he got that from. I mean—Barb isn’t even my type. You know that, right?”
Steve kept his hand on Nancy’s shoulder, his face completely confused. He was a good dad, but sometimes his daughter’s life still caught him off guard.
“Well… are you okay?”
“Yeah! I mean, I wanted an excuse to break up anyway because we weren’t going anywhere. But it really offends me that he thought I’d actually do that.” She finally moved and walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
The phone started ringing, and Steve answered reluctantly.
Nancy watched as her father slowly started to crumble, his voice shaking before he began to cry on the phone. She rushed over the second he hung up.
Steve was crying like she had never seen before.
The only other time Nancy had seen him like that was at her mom’s funeral, years ago. Back then, a woman with a soft, kind voice had been the only one able to calm him down. Nancy couldn’t remember who that woman was, but she remembered how close she seemed to her father—close enough that Nancy once thought they might be siblings.
That woman wasn’t here now. And her father looked like he had just lost a part of himself.
Nancy didn’t dare ask. Steve didn’t say anything either.
The next morning, her dad slowly stepped into her room.
“We’re going to Hawkins. Pack for a week, please. I need to go to my… sister’s funeral.”
“What? Your sister?” Nancy jumped out of bed and hugged him. She didn’t question how confusing it was—if her dad had kept a sister hidden from her for sixteen years, he must’ve had a good reason.
“We’re leaving this afternoon, okay?” He kissed her forehead and walked out.
Nancy stayed there, watching him leave. She was confused. And worried. He looked so sad.
How could he have hidden a sister from her? Why?
She didn’t remember her grandma ever talking about another daughter. Not even her dad’s friends had mentioned her.
Later, Nancy sat in the car, staring out the window. Then a song started playing—one that made her dad quietly start to cry.
Wonderwall by Oasis.
“It was her favorite song…” He wiped away a tear, avoiding the name once again. “I never understood why. She said it reminded her of the girl she loved. That she wished she could hear it again for the first time… with her.”
So his friend was gay.
Wow.
Nancy stayed quiet, and the drive continued.
“Why didn’t she ever come home?”
“She lived in London. Well, actually, she traveled a lot—she was a translator or something like that. But it didn’t really matter. We talked every Sunday, and she sent me postcards with pictures of herself sometimes.”
“Can I see them?”
“I left them at home, sweetheart.”
Nancy nodded and let it go—again.
Hours passed, and they finally arrived in town. The sun was starting to set, and her dad drove straight to the funeral home.
Nancy looked around. The town was pretty—quiet, warm, peaceful. She remembered coming here every Christmas to visit her grandma.
“Nance, go to the house. I need to take care of some things here, okay? Take your backpack, I’ll bring your luggage later. Use the funeral home’s bike.” Nancy stared at him, confused. “Don’t ask why a funeral home has a bike. Just use it and go to your grandma’s.”
Nancy nodded and grabbed her backpack.
She pedaled fast, for reasons she didn’t fully understand yet. Her grandma’s house sat between the forest and the town, so the road was a little dark.
Suddenly, a deer crossed the path. Nancy skidded, lost control, and fell hard onto the side of the road. She rolled far enough that she couldn’t see the old road anymore—until she crashed into a massive tree and blacked out.
“Shit…” the brunette muttered as she woke up, touching the small cut on her forehead. It was bleeding a little.
She stood up, picked up her backpack, brushed off her coat, and noticed her watch was broken.
She started walking back toward the road—which, for some reason, looked brand new.
Nancy frowned at that and scoffed when she realized her bike was gone.
Annoyed, she walked toward her grandma’s house on foot.
“Stupid thieves,” she muttered as she got closer. Except… her grandma’s house was now blue and new.
She frowned again, completely unsettled, then froze a few steps away from the main window.
Why was her grandma young again?
And why did her dad have such weird hair?
Why did he look… young?
Nancy grabbed onto a lamppost and forced herself to breathe.
Fuck, she thought.