— CHAPTER 26 —
JUSTICE AT LAST

FRIDAY 23rd NOVEMBER,
1984

THE repercussions of the last two years, and probably many more before now, came thick and fast for the Hawkins Laboratory. Within a few days of El closing the gate, another one was opened — the media frenzy over the scathing truths published, which showed that the Hawkins Laboratory were directly responsible for the deaths (yes, they weren't 'missing') of Barbara Holland and Tonya McCarthy. It was all that was in the news for weeks, and the entire town was dumbfounded that this had been right under their noses. Daphne, Nancy and Jonathan had simply stayed quiet during the whole thing.

     Several lab agents confessed to covering up the girls' deaths, and before the end of the month, entire lab was shut down. Everything. Daphne honestly hadn't expected such a drastic reaction, after all the hush-hush that had followed in 1983. But surely enough, military police were locking the place up from any entry — an abrupt end to the affairs.

She did get one more chat with Dr. Owens before his ties to the lab were cut. It was her effort of putting a bookend at the pages of guilt and secrecy that the last year had entailed:

     "Well... back again," Dr. Owens hums, his voice a little weaker than before. He's still recovering from wounds that the demodogs left in the siege on Hawkins Lab — the one that came before the media tore them apart. Not that she isn't injured herself, her arm still pinned against her chest in a sling.

     Daphne nods from across the desk they're sat at. She isn't as nervous as last time though. For one thing, she knows that the Hawkins Lab has been shut down, and Owens is a jobless man. Most of all, if this experience has suggested anything, it's that he was perhaps one of the good guys. Simply caught up on the wrong side with good intentions.

     And of course, the main difference this time is she called them to meet, not him.

     "I don't know how much I can help you," says Owens, "but you can always try me, and I'll see what I can do."

     "I just have one main request..." Daphne replies, staring at him across the desk. "My friends, Amy and Felix. I want them to know everything. No more lies, no more secrets. They deserve to be clued in after I've left them in the dark for this long..." Owens opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him off with more to say: "But... when I say I want them clued in, I don't want them to be in any danger. No twisted ways of having them wrapped around the lab's little finger."

     "Right, see, that's where it gets tricky. I completely understand your worries, but this still stands — no one else can know about the Upside Down. It would go against our very efforts to contain this threat from civilians and from falling into the hands of the Soviets. Although... we could make a compromise."

     "What's that?"

     "Your friends will hear the whole story the press are hearing, with the chemical leak and whatnot. But I can have a chat to them and explain your involvement, and about the whole confidentiality situation. Especially with that boy, Felix, he probably has the right to know more than most..." Owens leans back in his chair, wincing a little. "How does that sound? That float your boat?"

     Daphne swallows thickly and nods. "It's a deal."

     "What are their names again? Full names."

     "Felix Rancourt and Amy Nakamura."

     Scribbling this down, he says, "... Hm. Alright, I'll get onto that as soon as possible."

     A beat passes between them.

     "... You have another question, don't you?" Owens tilts his head at her.

     Daphne sighs. "It's just... a thought. Look, I get it if you can't answer this, but it's been bugging me. When we were looking for Tonya last year, we found her car wreck in the middle of the woods. But then when I met Tonya in the Upside Down, she said she wasn't even near there when her car crashed. So... I guess I just wondered... if you guys had anything to do with it."

     Dr. Owens sighs, as if he's disappointed in his predecessors. He wrings his hands, considering whether he should be telling the girl this or not, before he finally caves in — the lab is closing, after all. "Your suspicions would be right. If I remember correctly, Brenner and his guys had the car moved to the woods, so it would look like a totally different incident. But, yes, from what was found, it looked like Tonya was driving on the road when the demogorgon grabbed her through the windshield..."

     Daphne nods slowly, staring down at her lap. Another beat passes. Owens blinks at her.

     "Does that answer your question?" he asks.

     "Yeah," she releases a breath she feels like she's held for a year. "But you guys should really do a better job at covering it up next time."

     Even though it's strange, they both laugh. She feels crazy for doing it, knowing a year ago she would be horrified at this scene. Then Daphne picks up her things and starts making her way over to the door. "Well, goodbye," says Owens to her, genuinely. "Good luck out there. And I hope we don't have to see each other again."

"Me neither. And you too, Owens... thanks."

That's how, on the day the lab is finally shut off from the world, Daphne decides to go down and see it for herself with a friend. First and foremost she needs Amy at the wheel because of her wrist — it remains in a sling, improving slowly with physio and proving a pain in the ass for her writing competition entry. But also because Amy knows now. Owens followed through with the decided compromise he and Daphne came to. She doesn't know how or when he did it, but one day at school she got the most intense look from her friend, and they both knew they were finally on the same page...

She still hasn't spoken to Felix.

     Either way, they must know some version of the truth now. The one everyone has been told is that Tonya and Barb were killed by a chemical leak from the lab. Sure, it isn't the full truth, but at least it is a lie Daphne can live with.

When the reach the lab, Amy pulls up outside. For a minute, they just watch the scene unfolding from inside the car. The giant barbed fences have been pad-locked all around, except the guards locking up the lab within the fence for the last time. Daphne's gaze then shifts to her friend in the driver's seat, nervously gauging her reaction. Amy is leaning over her hands gripping the steering wheel, lips slightly parted in disturbed concentration at the Hawkins Lab.

     "So... this is the place?" she finally asks.

     Daphne nods, sighing. "This is it. Should we get out the car?"

     Amy gets out and circles round to her side, so the pair can walk up to the entrance together. The old guards are leaving in droves of jeeps out of the gates, each one that leaves filling Daphne with more satisfaction. Good. Leave. But as the two girls get closer, they realise they aren't alone in the sight-seeing...

     A maroon Toyota van is parked outside the lab, the sliding doors left open as if it's a camping site. And in front of it, sat on a folding lawn chair, is a strange man — he has a bushy brown beard and even more impressive side-burns, if it weren't for the bald patch atop his head. He reclines comfortably as he smiles and waves at the guards leaving. He even does a mocking salute to one of them, to which they promptly reply with flipping the bird. Eventually the guy looks up and notices the girls, flashing them a cynical grin.

"Isn't it a beautiful day to be outside?" he coos, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Daphne and Amy exchange a perplexed glance, the former deciding to ask who he is. There are curious citizens, and then there's... him.

"I'm sorry, sir, who are you?" she asks, unable to hide the bluntness of the question.

"Who am I? Who are you? Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

She doesn't see how that means anything, but she rolls her eyes and tells him anyway. "I'm Daphne," she huffs. "And this is my friend, Amy."

"Oh. So you're the one that didn't show up with your little friends."

"What?" Daphne asks at first, before doing a double take. She seizes the moment to connect the dots, her jaw dropping a little as she realises: "Wait a minute... you're Murray Bauman?"

"In the flesh," replies Murray. "Don't look so disappointed. If you were expecting a man in a bowler hat and trench coat, you were gravely mistaken."

She can't say she is disappointed, but surprised is certainly a word. He just seems so... lazy. The last thing she would expect this Murray Bauman to have under his belt is helping take down Hawkins Lab. Although, for that exact reason, she has to hand it to him. This drunken, foul-mouthed, sarcastic man is one of a few who Daphne should be thanking for closure. Still... she might wait with that for now. Her brain still can't take this dude in the lawn chair seriously.

"Can we go soon? This place is giving me the creeps..." Amy pipes up, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. For most of the conversation, she has simply been staring transfixed at the lab, perhaps trying to make sense of it. The derelict building still stands there towering over Hawkins, casting its shadow of all the horrid things that have happened in there. It's enough to creep anyone out.

"Don't blame you there," Daphne sighs. "Well, uh... bye for now, Murray."

"Hasta la vista," Murray replies, pre-occupied with waving at a lab security guard as if it's his child sent off to Kindergarten.

The two girls stroll back to the car parked a little way off, and Daphne must admit she's relieved to be a little further from that place again. Amy just sits there, speechless, behind the wheel for a moment. When she finally speaks, her voice sounds small and almost hoarse: "You really were involved with all that stuff they said in the papers, weren't you?"

     Daphne just nods.

     "Holy shit... holy shit," Amy's cheeks swell with a puffed-out breath as she starts the car. "I can't believe I didn't know any of this."

     "That was kind of the idea," she replies, "that no one was supposed to know. It was a secret, to protect everyone. We had to sign all sorts of documents and everything..."

     A beat passes between them.

     "Ames?"

     "Yeah?"

     "I'm sorry if I've been... distant this past year," she sighs. "I wouldn't even know where to begin in explaining things to you, but all I can say is that if I could have told you, I would have. I promise. You would have been the first. And you and Felix have been battling your own things too. That only just clicked for me the other day, and I'm just so sorry I haven't been there."

     "Daphne—"

     But she's not finished yet. "And I want you to know that I'm also sorry if things were weird before all this, too. You know... during and after Felix and I dated? I sensed it was awkward for you, especially after we broke up. So I'm sorry if it felt like I forgot about you a little. And, I just– I really want to hang out with you again, you know? Like we used to."

     "... I accept your apology," Amy pretends to say nobly, which both makes them snort a little.

     "So that's it," Daphne claps her hands together. "No more secrets, I'm an open book. I don't want to hide things from you guys anymore."

     "We'll see how long that lasts."

     "You know what I mean. And, you know, if you need to talk about anything too, just say."

     Amy simply nods at this, drumming her fingers on the wheel as they stop for a pedestrian. Her gaze shifts to the road, to Daphne, then back in what feels like a pendulum motion. The atmosphere in the car suddenly changes gear, and she squints at her friend who she swears just started sweating a little. "... Ames?" she asks hesitantly.

     "I... I'm..." she stammers, unable to dare say it out loud.

     Daphne sits forward in her seat, waiting to hear her say it. She has a gut feeling what it might be about, judging by recent events, but she doesn't want to assume anything. Amy keeps opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish — then the traffic lights illuminate her face from red to green. It snaps her out of it, and she lets out a shaky breath, amending herself.

     "... I'm not sure I can make it to the funeral tomorrow," Amy steers the conversation heavily away from her own life; one of her special talents. Daphne sighs, not wanting to pressure her into anything, but also now distracted with what she just brought up:

Tonya's funeral. Tomorrow.

Daphne still doesn't know how she got invited. When the news got out that Tonya was dead because of the lab, perhaps Mrs. McCarthy had connected the dots from Daphne's call to her about knowing the truth, and insisted she come to the funeral if she was available. It felt wrong, yet right, and she accepted. There's certainly no turning back now...

     "That's alright," she says. "I won't be alone there. I've got Felix."

     But even then, they still haven't spoken since their big falling-out. In fact she's barely seen him around.

     "Well, uh, good luck I guess," says Amy.

She'll need it.

━━━━━━

     "REMEMBER, the homework on colonialism is due Friday! That's a warning for some of you, who still have homework due from last time..." drones the History teacher, amid the shrill tone of the school bell as the kids pack up their things. Cath slides her books and pencil case into her satchel, relieved for it to be the weekend now. Her heart flutters a little with anxious excitement of what awaits her after school, something she's been anticipating all day.

     Behind her, Mike fiddles with his crutches and hops a couple of steps before one of the bigger, popular kids brushes sharply past his shoulder. He almost gets knocked over, but simply re-stabilises himself with a curt sigh. Almost the whole class has dispersed in a flurry of eagerness for the weekend, leaving only him and Cath behind — she promptly holds the door open for him to walk through.

     "Thanks," he nods gratefully as he hobbles through, starting to really acclimatise to his crutches.

     "Here, let me take that," Cath slides the textbook out from under his armpit and carries it with her own. After he thanks her again, she tries falling into step with his slow and stunted pace, looking around every now and then for people that might knock him over. She's been like this ever since Mike first came to school on crutches — she always makes sure he has someone to help him to the next lesson, and had held open more doors this month than she can count. Cath enjoys it, though. Anything to take care of a friend... a really great friend.

     Since their promise that night, whether it will be upheld or not, Cath has definitely felt a relaxed comfort around Mike in a way she didn't before. She hopes he feels the same way too.

     "Are you doing anything after school? The four of us are going down to the arcade, you could always come," offers Mike, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

     "Oh, thanks, but I can't," Cath replies graciously, hugging the textbooks to her chest. "I've got that thing after school, remember? You know... the one we can't talk about out loud?"

    "That's today? Cool. You know where you're going?"

     "Mhmm. My dad even made me write the directions down."

     "Touché," Mike shrugs with a smile. He seems happier these days, since everything settled down. Or at least a little less lost.

     In a flurry of red, Max shoots past them on her skateboard and stops at her locker. Cath hoists up the books bundled in her arms and stares over at the girl. "You know... why don't you ask Max to come to the arcade?" she offers, glancing at the girl as she hangs out alone. "After all, she's the one who actually knows a thing or two about video games. You know me. I'm useless."

     Mike chuckles, knowing she's right, but still seems a little reluctant.

     "Please?" she adds, studying his face.

     Sighing, he hops on his crutches to turn his body the redhead's way. "Hey, Max!" he calls after her, grabbing her attention. "You wanna come with us to the arcade after school?"

     After a moment's hesitation, gauging whether he means it, Max slams her locker door shut. "Sure. Why not? But you'd best bet I'm gonna beat you all at Dig Dug again, Wheeler."

     "Never said you wouldn't."

     Mike turns back to Cath, as if to say Happy now? And she is. She genuinely is. The feeling of being excluded from things still haunts her, so she has empathised with Max from the very beginning. Even if he wasn't meaning to be spiteful to her, it hurt Cath whenever he acted cold towards her — it reminded her of all the times Stacy, Pamela or a number of others did the same to her. Thank you, she tries to say with her eyes to him. He just exhales softly through his nose, letting the Mayfield girl take over duties of carrying his textbook.

     "You guys have a good weekend," she bids them goodbye. "See you Monday!"

     Cath goes on to meander past the students in the hallway, glancing down at her watch to check the time. She should probably hurry. If she doesn't, her dear friend might start wondering where she is, and the last thing she would want to do is worry her. When she is almost at the door, she glances up from her watch — someone standing by the school bus makes her heart do a happy somersault.

     "Hey!"

     Andrea. She's waving enthusiastically from across the courtyard, bearing a smile Cath hasn't seen directed towards her all month. Indeed, they have not spoken since their argument. Not really. But is this... an olive branch? She feels like it. It's almost as if Andrea has forgotten about everything that happened. Grinning like old times. Swept up in the moment, Cath starts waving back, feeling a smile paint her own face as the girl runs towards her. "Hey, how are—"

     She cuts herself off instantly, with her hopes snapped in half; Andrea brushes straight past her. Whirling around, Cath sees her going to greet a group of three other friends she has made, chatting about their weekend plans. Her heart sinks all the way down into her Mary Janes, the disappointment tasting bitter. Why does it feel so difficult to salvage things? Andrea seems to want nothing to do with her, and even if she did, they made their stance pretty clear in the argument. Maybe she wouldn't even want to be friends with her again... perhaps she would deserve it, after all the secrets.

     With a dejected sigh, Cath continues walking to the bike rack getting ready to go — completely missing the regretful glance Andrea shoots her way as she rides off...

     But she shakes off the guilt for an afternoon, concentrating on the directions she has memorised all day. It's better seeing the way to the cabin in daylight and under circumstances. Not because they need to save Will Byers, who is now happy and healthy. She is simply paying a close friend a very overdue visit. Cath recognises the dirt path that cuts through the forest after Denfield, reverting to walking alongside her bike and dragging it by the handlebars after the dead end. The trees that tower above her aren't so ominous now.

     When she finally reaches her destination, Cath stands back for a moment and admires the cabin. It really does look rather quaint. But now she can hardly contain her excitement. Parking her bike outside by the porch, she bounds up the steps to the door. There was a secret knock she had to do, to let the girl inside know she was a friend and not a foe. Cath performs it carefully as she remembers and waits.

     "Anyone home? It's Cath..."

     A few moments later, a pair of dark brown eyes peek out from under the blinds. The door promptly squeaks open, revealing Eleven in the doorway as she quietly simmers with excitement. She has shed her bitchin' look from the last night Cath saw her, now dressed in a pair of teal corduroy dungarees over a grey sweater, and her face clear of make-up. What delights her the most is El's hair — it must be natural now, a halo of adorable brown curls sitting where the bare buzzcut did a year ago.

     "Hi," El says giddily, grinning.

     "Hi," Cath replies, just as excited.

     This is so surreal, yet such a relief. To see El not thinking about saving the world or running from the bad men — just being a normal girl living with her 'dad' (who would be Hopper) and meeting a friend after school. Of course, there are conditions, mainly that she has to stay in hiding until Owens is completely sure she can live a normal life. But at least Cath and the others can visit. She knows Mike has already visited her a dozen times — the two of them are more than fond of each other, she has noticed...

     "Come in," says El, opening the door.

     Cath walks in past her, admiring the living room and kitchen now that it's been cleared after Will's exorcism. Eleven looks at her expectantly, eager to show off everything in the house. She starts pointing at various furniture — the TV, for instance, is where she and Hopper religiously tune into 'Miami Vice' every time it is on. Then she shows off the radio they communicate on when he's out, and the fridge filled with microwaveable meals (something Cath has never seen someone so fascinated by).

"This is my room," El finally says, opening the mint-green wooden door.

What Cath notices is an instant warmth to the place. The walls are like the rest of the rustic wooden cabin, but some accents are clearly her own. She is fascinated by the little details that tell what Eleven's interests and hobbies are, such as some of the stuffed toys nestled by her pillow, or the small stack of cassette tapes on her dresser. "Oh, El, it's so cosy..." Cath stops at her bedside table, tracing her fingers along the book's cover she just spotted. "Hey, 'Anne of Green Gables' — are you reading this?"

"Hop and I read it before bed, every night."

"I love this book," she says fondly, holding it gently in her hands now. "I've got a really old copy of my own. It used to belong to my mom when she was a kid, it has her name in the front."

"Your... mom?"

"Yeah."

A beat passes, Eleven sitting down on the edge of her bed. "My mama... I found her," she confesses.

"You did? That's amazing," Cath sits down next to her.

"I'd never met her before," El explains solemnly. "She's alive. But she's not there. The Bad Men... they changed her."

They both go quiet for a moment. Cath swallows thickly, her fingers connecting in her lap. Her thoughts turn to her own mother for a moment, always having felt a little lost to her. "My mom died before I could meet her," she tells her. "I guess you could say she's gone, too... but El, no matter what happens or what people tell you, you'll always have a piece of her with you."

"With me?"

"Yeah. You're her daughter, right? So already, you share some of her."

Cath carefully places 'Anne of Green Gables' in Eleven's lap, watching her fingers curl with longing around the spine. Perhaps this is something that they both share. She finds that a rather special thought, letting it sit with her in the comfortable silence that follows for a moment. But then on the desk, the title of a cassette catches her eye, and she hops up to her feet. "Oh, yes... The Beatles!"

     "Ringo," El points out on the cover.

     "Yeah, you remembered! Great drummer, and an even greater cat."

     "Hopper likes The Beatles."

     "Of course he does. If anyone doesn't, they're just... wrong. Do you like them?"

     Eleven thinks about it for a moment, then nods with a grin. She gives Cath the green light to give the music a spin. A few moments later, the catchy tune of 'I Saw Her Standing There' is bouncing off the walls of her room. Cath bounces on her heels a little at first, throwing in a bit of shimmy for good measure. Then El springs to her feet, jumping joyfully to the tune. Soon the two girls are dancing around the room together like the world depends on it, laughing and singing on-and-off to the words they know, shaking off all their worries for an afternoon...

━━━━━━

SATURDAY 24th NOVEMBER,
1984

     TONYA'S funeral is filled with faces Daphne doesn't know, which is unusual for Hawkins. She feels like an imposter in the sea of mourning McCarthys spilling out of the church pews. Even nearer the back, she can still see the coffin bursting with bouquets of pale white and pink flowers, and the giant framed photograph of Tonya in her dainty ballet dress.

     Between a couple of poem readings and a eulogy from Mrs. McCarthy, Felix gets the chance to talk. Daphne wasn't expecting it at all, but she pays extra close attention to every word of his speech, watching how he looks. He's tired — maybe lacking in sleep, or a lot of crying... a bit of both perhaps. But he manages to hold it together for his whole speech, which has everyone weeping in the aisles, including Daphne. She learns a lot of things she didn't know about Tonya from him:

Although she was a ballerina, her real dance passion was actually more contemporary, along the lines of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' moves. She wanted to go to Juilliard so badly. Tonya was as light as a feather, both in ballet lifts and personality. She was also unbelievably modest, brushing off the exquisite talent and kindness she possessed. But equally, Felix knew a version of her that was vivid and wild, filled with an excitement she hid from most people...

What was clearest of all in the eulogy, more than anything, was that Tonya may have been the love of Felix's life. Before she died, that might have bothered a heartbroken and hung-up Daphne. But they have all been through too much since then to still be left on that. She has learned long ago she and Felix were not meant to be romantically. If he and Tonya loved each other that much, she's just happy they found each other, even if for a short time.

All Daphne wants is her best friend back.

The sun comes out from behind the clouds during the burial. While the rest of the family look sullen as the coffin goes down, Daphne feels a bittersweet sense of levity. She has held this burden of truth for a whole year — only now can she and Tonya rest. You finally made it back, she tries to tell Tonya in the ground. I'm sorry it took us so long.

From the other side of the hole in the ground, Felix catches Daphne's gaze that has been lingering on him. Her heart jumps at first, trying to gauge how he feels about her. But instead he thins his lips into a weak smile, removing his hand from his pocket for a little wave. She returns it, staring at him hopefully. Once the burial is over, most of the family head back inside the church, but Felix nods over to a bench in the Roane Hill cemetery — Sit with me for a moment? his eyes seem to say. Daphne gladly obliges.

     Sat on the bench, a small gap of air between their shoulders, they let silence bloat between them at first. "The weather's good today," Felix finally murmurs. "They said it was gonna rain, so..."

     "Yeah. Pretty lucky."

     A beat passes.

     "I just wanted to say, I... I thought your reading was really beautiful," Daphne says. "I didn't know Tonya very well, but it felt like something she would have loved, you know?"

     "Thanks."

     She fiddles with her hands on her lap, her gut twisted with nerves. "... How're you feeling?"

     "It's weird, I actually feel better than I have in a long time," Felix confesses after a brief pause, staring out in front of him. "What drove me more insane was not knowing anything. Whether she was alive or dead, I just wanted to know, so I could move on with my life... and now I really know everything that happened."

     The tone of his voice leaves Daphne with a strange feeling. Felix slips his hand into the breast pocket of his black jacket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper that he unfolds. He hands it to her and she flattens it out in her hands — it's the newspaper announcement of Tonya's death, the headline 'SECOND LAB-RELATED DEATH SHOCKS HAWKINS' emblazoned above her black-and-white yearbook photo. Seeing it again released another wave of complex, messy feelings swarming inside her stomach.

     "After what you said, that day... I did a lot of thinking," he starts to explain slowly. "I remembered last year when she first went missing, and how you kept running off all the time. Then that doctor guy, Owens, told me some stuff. I also did my own research about Will and what happened to him. So, trust me whenI say my mom's never been so happy to see me in the library this much."

     Daphne laughs and crumples the newspaper clipping slightly in her hands. "How... how much did Owens tell you?"

     "He said the lab had been covering up Tonya's death, and that you were involved last year but weren't allowed to say anything. Apart from that, it was nothing new... but I think we both know it wasn't a chemical leak, right?"

     She freezes. What does he mean by that?

     Felix turns in his seat, his body facing her now as his caramel eyes begin to well up. "Listen, I get it if you can't tell the actual truth about how she died. It's just a hunch I have that there's more to it. And– and you know, that's not even the important part to me, not anymore. I just..." he pauses, his voice getting strangled. "I know how much you did to try and find Tonya. I know that now. And I wanted to say that I'm so, so sorry that it took me so long to say this to you: thank you... thank you—"

     It's all it takes for Daphne to burst into tears. She throws her arms around him, letting a year of pent-up sobs escape her as Felix embraces her back. They both hold each other and cry for what feels like hours, but is only minutes, the sun peeking out from behind the clouds with a golden lining. She cries so hard that she's left gasping for breath afterwards, hiccuping through the remainder of her sobs afterwards, while Felix helplessly wipes at his own eyes. It's like she has been split open, everything spilling out all at once.

     "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do..." she manages to get out. "Not telling you anything."

     This pushes Felix over the edge again, his face crumpling as he pulls her in for another hug. God, she missed this. She missed him so much. Now she thinks of it, they have not had a proper, deep chat like this since before they broke up. She may have hung around with Felix the last couple of years, but all that time they have been missing their core friendship. Only at this moment does it feel like it has returned properly. It's a new beginning.

     He squeezes her a little tighter and Daphne winces — she had totally forgotten about her arm in the sling for the last ten minutes. Felix suddenly remember too, and they break away with a laugh. "Putain de merde..." he whispers through a shaky laugh, sniffing. "Do you wanna hang out once this is over? I was thinking to myself, we haven't had a movie night in a while..."

     "I'd love nothing more," replies Daphne. She nudges his shoulder with her head, before turning it into resting it there. Her good arm links with his and they sigh, intertwined on the bench and watching the sun cast light over the mound of dirt above Tonya now. For a precious moment, they feel more peaceful than ever...

━━━━━━

A/N;

WELP this chapter was a bit of a rollercoaster 😭 a lot of closure happening in some places, including tonya finally getting the justice she deserves... bless her heart. also writing murray for the first time was very fun to do, el and cath just vibing together made my heart so happy!

also a little disclaimer: some loose ends you see here are intentional! from andrea and cath still being distanced, to amy's "secret" (have you guessed what it is yet?) these are both setting up plots for the next book set in season three. i'd also like to announce here that there will be two new POVs, belonging to andrea and amy! andrea in particular has more of a spotlight, so i'm excited to write her story and the more nuanced parts of her life and personality.

alright folks, if you thought this chapter was an emotional rollercoaster, just wait until the next one... it's in a heartwarming way but MY GOD i know it's going to wreck me at the same time to write it. so, look forward to that i guess? (a clue to prepare you guys: it's all about martha ❤️)

thank you for reading, and i'll see you in the next chapter!

— Imogen

[ Published: January 6th, 2023 ]