CHAPTER TWO
THE MOVE

The house that Miranda and Paul Carlisle found in the paper was bigger than their house back in Bloomingdale. For one, it had a second story and a wrap-around porch. There was a good sized front yard and the woods for a backyard. Miranda was excited about the woods since she's been wanting to plant a huge herb garden. Paul was just excited about the large garage. He's always wanted to have an auto shop in his own garage for his own cars.

There was a big mirror in the living room. Jess didn't know why her parents put a mirror there. No one was going to use the fancy living room, they would all go to the TV room. But Jess looked at it and smiled a sarcastic smile, looking at her reflection. Her smile could pass for a 'I'm so happy I moved away from the only town I've ever known to a new one for my Senior year' smile.

For Jess, she hated the house. It was huge. Way too big. She was used to growing up in small spaces. Her house back in Bloomingdale was five times smaller than this house and before that, she used to live in an apartment. The house was so big that she may need months just to see all of the rooms in detail.

Okay, that was an exaggeration, but the house was still pretty big. The worst part was that there was a screen on her window. She couldn't even climb out of it if she wanted. The roof was available from her room, but she couldn't get past the screen. Damn her parents for being smart.

Her room was relatively small, though. Thank God, Jess thought to herself. If she had a large room, she wouldn't be able to function. Besides, smaller rooms don't get as cold and they heat up faster.

Her family spent the whole Thursday moving in. It was all boxes, a sofa here, a table there, sleeping in sleeping bags in the rooms. Over the long weekend, Jess unpacked her room. If she didn't do it right away, she would be living out of her boxes. That's just the type of person she was. If she needed to get something done, she had to do it right then and there, otherwise she'd forget or just not care and be lazy about it.

She had an old, white, rot-iron bed frame with pastel-yellow comforters and nice, cream pillows. She also had a colorful, oval, wooden rug by her bed and a light blue, wooden nightstand that held a white ceramic lamp. There was a light green alarm clock from the sixties on her nightstand, ticking away.

She also had a faded, white wooden dresser and her drawers were filled with her clothes. On top was her turntable and a crate next to it filled with pop and rock records. There was a desk on the opposite wall of the dresser, on the same wall of her bed. It was a light, grey-blue desk with fancy knobs and handles. There was a white ceramic lamp on that too and a vase with child's breath flowers in it.

It took her two full days to set up her room, but it was worth it. She walked over from her door to the opposite wall which was adjacent to her bed and to her window, opening it. It slid up and the fresh air of Hawkins, Indiana floated through and into Jess's bedroom. She smiled. She loved the warm, fresh air and the light, warm feeling of her room. This, Jess could run with.

-

Summer ended rather abruptly. It was a matter of time before school started in September. The new school, Hawkins High School, accepted her last semester transcript from her homeschooling so she could attend her Senior year at the right time.

Jess packed her backpack an empty, thin binder since she hasn't had any classes yet and her pencil pouch. She pocketed a few ones for lunch. Her backpack was thin and a cloth-like material, like a potato sack. It was colorful like the rainbow, but it wasn't a rainbow pattern. It was more like Californian hippie or a surfer type style of a backpack. She didn't mind it though, it kept everything together and it was light on her back. She didn't know why everyone always had heavy backpacks.

Miranda drove Jess to school. Jess was fine in cars since she didn't really remember that night. Just as long as Miranda didn't go too fast, Jess was fine. Nobody would suspect that she was traumatized from a car crash.

Miranda pulled up to the school a bit further away, mindful of Jess's self-esteem. Miranda looked at her daughter who peered out of the window and to the bustling school. The middle school and high school were connected, so it seemed like there were thousands of people there.

"You ready?" Miranda asked her daughter, rubbing her arm. Jess looked back at her mom and nodded, hugging her.

"Thanks, Mom," Jess smiled. Miranda smiled back.

"Just get through the day, yeah?" Miranda modded at Jess as she stepped out of the car.

"Yeah," Jess grinned, loving that her mom got her uneasiness. "See you after school."

"Bye," Miranda bid adieu and drove off. Jess started to walk hesitantly to the school. Girls were walking in tight, little groups or off in pairs. Guys sauntered around in groups as well, seemingly more carelessly. Jess was the only person walking alone, besides the kids on bikes or skateboards.

It felt weird to Jess, being the odd one out. Sure, she's been that before, but she went through great lengths at her old school to make sure she didn't feel that way again. It was a horrible feeling, that's for sure.

Every step felt a lifetime long. There were some glances casted her way, but Jess felt as if everyone was staring at her, judging her, caring about what she was wearing, how she was walking, what she was doing with her hands.

Jess walked into the school, tentatively making her way to the main office. She got her schedule and her locker with its combination. She also got a list of books she needed to get from the library.

She was in front of her locker, looking at its number, 271, and back to the little slip of paper which told her the number of hers: 271. She rotated the dial lock on the locker according to her paper. She was too busy with this to recognize the presence beside her.

"You must be new," a voice sounded beside her. Jess opened her locker and looked at the person. He was her age with a light brown bowl cut, dirty converse and a bland attire. He didn't look unfriendly but he looked a bit socially off.

"Yeah," Jess smiled at him as she set her binder in the locker. "I'm Jess."

"Jonathan," he said, sticking his hand out for a shake. Jess took it firmly and shook it.

"Do you know where I can find the library, Jonathan?" Jess quirked an eyebrow teasingly. He smiled a bit, taking his hand out of his pant pocket to point behind him.

"Right down the hall. I can take you if you want," Jonathan offered. Jess nodded and smiled.

"Thanks," Jess started walking in the direction Jonathan pointed to. Jonathan followed her, opening the door for her. After she found her books, she stored them in her locker except for her Statistics book for her first period. Jonathan walked her to her first period, promised to find her after class and said goodbye.

When Jess sat down, people were already in the classroom, conversing, asking the teacher questions or just sitting down. When she sat down, she slid her backpack off of her shoulders. She immediately felt eyes on her and a shiver went down her spine. She turned her head a bit to the side to see who was eyeing her. She caught sight of a boy her age with cropped hair and an icy blue stare.

Jess turned back to the front of the classroom when the bell rang.

"Hello, my name is Mrs. Kameyer and this is Statistics One. If you are not supposed to be in this class, please leave now," the teacher said as she narrowed her dark brown eyes at the boy who was looking at Jess. "Mr. Wright."

"Sorry to disappoint, but this class is unfortunately on my schedule," the Wright kid said in a nonchalant voice. Jess took this as an opportunity to look at him. He was a good-looking guy. Hot, even. She snapped herself out of it.

The teacher huffed. "Unfortunately," she mocked under her breath. "Well, Ms... um..." Mrs. Kameyer looked at her roster, "Carlisle can help you throughout the semester with notes that you miss whilst horsing around back there."

"Hi," Jess waved shyly at the boy. He looked at her with a smirk and shrugged.

"Whatever," the boy said. Jess's face twisted into a frown, but she quickly recovered by remembering that it didn't matter if he returned her niceties or not.

Mrs. Kameyer gave a lecture then passed a piece of paper to everyone. It was a worksheet to complete for classwork points. The rest that you didn't finish was homework.

"You may work individually or in pairs," Mrs. Kameyer offered the class. Jess released a sigh since she didn't want to work with anyone else. Once everyone was working, except the Wright kid, Mrs. Kameyer started walking around the classroom to make sure everyone was on task.

She walked right over to Jess who was working diligently.

"Hey, Jess," Mrs. Kameyer said sweetly. Jess lifted her head and gave the teacher a small smile.

"Hi," Jess responded.

"Why don't you and Taylor work together? I know you would be an immense help," Mrs. Kameyer said when she caught Taylor's attention. He just grumbled and rolled his eyes.

Jess turned her body towards him and gave him another small smile. He returned it slightly with his own snarky version.

"Look, I don't like this anymore that you do, so stop acting like a dick. Just because you don't want a good grade doesn't mean you can deprive me of one," Jess finally snapped. Taylor just looked at her with slightly wide eyes. "Now, problem number three..."

"I didn't get the first two," Taylor chirped. Jess stopped her talking to huff out an aggravated sigh and dramatically roll her eyes.

"Here, just copy," Jess flung her paper to Taylor. He smirked a bit as he snatched it, scribbling the notes down.

"You have nice handwriting," Taylor commented as he continued to write. Jess looked at his face to see any sign of bluff. There wasn't.

"Yours looks like chicken scratch," Jess bit back and she turned away. Taylor stopped writing and looked at her.

"Are you mad that I didn't return your hello?" Taylor asked. "Is that why you're being so salty?"

Jess didn't respond. Taylor chuckled dryly at this. "Look, I don't like greetings, is that such a bad thing?"

"It's kinda weird," Jess crossed her arms. They stopped talking after that. Taylor had an annoying smirk on his face the rest of the class. He wouldn't stop looking at Jess. When she made eye contact, he would wink at her. She would give him a disgusted shake of her head and turn back to the front.

The bell rang and Jess had never jumped up from her seat and walked so quickly to the door in her life. Jonathan just got to her classroom when she stepped out.

"Hey- " Jonathan started to greet her, but Jess just grabbed his arm and started walking with him in the direction he just came. "Jess, what's wrong?"

"That guy," Jess looked at Taylor who was the last one out of the classroom, walking slowly to the other side of the hall to greet some of his delinquent friends. "Who is he?"

"Who?" Jonathan strained his neck to see over the kids swarming the hallway.

"Taylor Wright," Jess whispered. There was no point in whispering since the hall was very loud.

"Him?" Jonathan looked back at Jess then back to Taylor. Jess nodded quickly, not wanting Taylor to catch them talking about him.

"Yeah, what do you know about him?" Jess asked. Jonathan frowned and shrugged.

"Not much," Jonathan said, oblivious to Jess's manic state.

"He's strange," Jess commented. Jonathan started to chuckle.

"If you think he's strange, you should meet my family," Jonathan joked. Jess returned his smile.

"If they're anything like you, I'm sure they're not that bad," Jess said.

"My mother's an anxious, overprotective, single mother and my brother came back from the dead last year," Jonathan deadpanned.

"Oh," Jess was caught off-guard. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jonathan sighed. "We got enough pity last year."

"How come it wasn't in the news?" Jess asked. "I lived in a town a few over."

"Nobody really cares about a missing boy from Hawkins," Jonathan said. "Nobody here did, so nobody from the outside did either."

Jess didn't say anything. The conversation turned into something dark and serious, not what she was expecting. Jonathan looked normal. A little bit off but normal. She would never think something like that happened to him, let alone in a little town like Hawkins.

"Anyways," Jonathan cleared his throat. "If you want more information on Taylor Wright, I know somebody."

"Sure," Jess nodded. She didn't really care about information about Taylor, but maybe it would be good to get to know a few more people before lunch.

Jonathan led her to the lockers by hers. A girl her age was there with another boy. His hair was tall and he had a cool-kid vibe to him. The girl, on the other hand, had an anxious feel to her. She dressed very blandly and did little to promote a nonchalant look.

"N-Nancy," Jonathan stuttered horribly to get the girl's attention. Jess looked at him and watched the way that he looked at Nancy. The Nancy girl looked at him and immediately a smile spread on her face.

"Jonathan," Nancy said in a soft tone. "I haven't seen you all today, where were you?"

"Oh, um," Jonathan pointed to me. "I was showing a new girl around. Nancy, this is Jess. Jess, this is Nancy and her boyfriend Steve."

"Hey," Jess greeted.

"Hi," Nancy responded.

"Hey, how're you doin'? Nance, we gotta go, I have basketball after this," Steve said quickly, not waiting for Jess to respond.

"Steve, please," Nancy shook her head. "Sorry about him, he's a meathead."

"Hey!" Steve looked shocked.

"Anyways, what's up?" Nancy asked. Steve scoffed when she didn't say anything else to him.

"Do you know anything about Taylor Wright?" Jonathan asked.

"Um... no- " Nancy started, but was cut off by Steve.

"Woah, Taylor Wright?" Steve repeated. Jess nodded. "Yeah, no, stay away from him. He's bad news."

"How? My teacher assigned me as his tutor in Stats," Jess asked. Steve sucked in a breath.

"Ooh, that sucks," Steve shook his head.

"Steve," Nancy scolded. "Look, Jess, just be careful. He's not a good guy, I have had many run-ins with him in the past and trust me, he's not the nicest person ever."

"Yeah, I kinda got that this morning," Jess sighed. Nancy gave her a pitied frown. "Anyways, it was nice meeting you guys."

"Yeah, of course. And, if you need anything- anything at all," Nancy smiled bright. "Please, just ask."

"I will, thanks Nancy," Jess nodded her goodbye. "Bye, Steve."

Steve gave her a tight smile. Jess turned back to Jonathan and made plans to meet him for lunch.

-

Lunch rolled around and Jess was walking out of the kitchen and to the cafeteria. As she was walking, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face whoever tapped her to see Taylor.

"Oh, it's you," Jess made a sour face and turned back, looking for Jonathan.

"Wait, wait, wait," Taylor said quickly yet calmly. Jess quirked a brow while watching him.

"Hey, so, I was thinking that maybe sometime you'd wanna go out?" Taylor gave her a knowing smirk. Jess inwardly groaned. The first day and already she'll be dubbed the school slut. Jess rolled her eyes.

"No," Jess turned back and started walking towards Jonathan on the other side of the large cafeteria. She felt a large hand grab her arm tightly.

"I don't think you understand," Taylor said through his teeth. Jess's breath quickened at this, looking at his hand where his fingers were digging into her flesh. "You don't really have a choice."

"Yes I do," Jess tried to yank her arm away as best as she could without her tray toppling.

"You don't," Taylor snickered, making Jess stop squirming and fear visible in her eyes. Something about his sinister look made Jess feel so small. She felt as if her only response to him was 'yes'.

"Fine," Jess said quietly as she looked down.

"Good," Taylor smirked again. "Now, gimme your address."

Jess's head immediately popped up at this. "Don't you want my number first?"

"Nuh uh," Taylor shook his head as he stuck a toothpick into his mouth. "Address."

"I don't know, Taylor. I don't really feel comfortable-" Jess stammered.

"Listen, either you do or you don't," Taylor said calmly. The way that he worded it made Jess shiver. She should probably give him her address.

"Fine," she bit back. She walked swiftly over to Jonathan's table. He smiled at her, but his smile dropped when he saw Taylor trailing along behind her.

"Something wrong?" Jonathan asked Jess lowly, but made sure Taylor could hear too. Taylor only gave him a glare and Jess just stared at him.

"No, nothing," Jess responded. She set her tray down forcefully, alerting Jonathan that something was definitely wrong. Jess pulled a pen and paper out of her backpack and ripped a little piece off, writing something down on it furiously. She tipped the front piece of the paper up so that Jonathan couldn't see what she was writing. She quickly swiped it away and gave it to Taylor. He looked at it and smirked.

"I'll see you later," Taylor said.

"What- what does he mean by that?" Jonathan asked Jess as Taylor grinned wider and walked away. "Jess?"

"Nothing," Jess shook her head as she sat down across from Jonathan. "Just tutoring."

"Be careful," Jonathan warned her again. Jess rolled her eyes.

"I know," Jess sighed. "I've got everything under control."

"Here's my number if anything happens, okay?" Jonathan gave her a piece of paper. Jess grabbed it and folded it into her jacket pocket.

"Thanks."

"Hey guys," a blonde girl slid into the seat next to Jonathan. Both Jess and Jonathan looked at the blonde in apprehension.

"Hi?" Jess quirked a brow.

"D-do I... um, know you?" Jonathan stuttered. The blonde looked at both of them. She then let out a ditzy laugh and twirled a strand of gold hair between her fingers sarcastically.

"Sorry! I didn't even introduce myself. See, in my head, we had this whole conversation where you had a puppy," the girl pointed at Jess. Jess made a satisfied yet concerned face at this. Who was this girl?

"Anyways, I'm Delilah," Delilah introduced herself. "I'm a senior."

Delilah smiled at them widely. She threw her hands up in the air and pumped her fists, "Yay, senior year!"

"Yeah," Jess chuckled a bit. "I'm Jess. I'm new and also a senior."

"Nice to meet you Jessica," Delilah said as she squirmed in her seat a bit. She then turned to Jonathan and stared at him intently. "Your name starts with a 'J' too."

"Uh- yeah. I'm Jonathan," Jonathan laughed a bit.

"It's good to finally meet your acquaintance," Delilah dipped her head a bit. "You may not know me, but I see you around a lot. I work at the arcade and I see you drop your brother off there often. Will, right?"

"Yeah, that's him," Jonathan nodded as he went back to his lunch. Delilah watched him eat.

"You're scared," Delilah observed. Jonathan looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm scared of a lot of things. Snakes, spiders, inter dimensional demons..."

"No..." Delilah rested her head on her dainty wrist that was adorned with woven bracelets. "Of your family. They fell apart once and you're afraid that's gonna happen again-"

Jonathan stood up quickly and left, leaving his tray there, but he had no intention of coming back. Jess watched him leave with a worried expression, but Delilah had a far off look. Jess looked back at her.

"Okay, look, I don't know if you know this, but you can't just talk about someone's family like that. Especially to someone you barely know," Jess scolded the aloof blonde. Delilah didn't look taken aback from Jess's outburst.

"But that's the thing, Jessica-" Delilah started.

"Please don't call me Jessica-" Jess squeezed her eyes shut in annoyance.

"- I knew Jonathan from another life. Our souls are bound from our past rencontre," Delilah said calmly.

"Your past what?" Jess looked flabbergasted as she continued to speak to Delilah.

Delilah rolled her eyes and she swung her legs over the bench of the cafeteria table, getting up. "I like you, Jessica, I really do. I think we will be great friends. I'll see you around."

With that, she left. Jess was left at the table and she sighed. She crossed her arms over the plastic wooden table and rested her head on her arms, getting some shut-eye after the eventful lunch.

-

I've got nothing under control, Jess thought as she chewed on the inside of her lip. Taylor stood on her front porch, waiting for her patiently. She walked home since her parents were probably out finding work. Before her dad could start his garage, he'll need money, therefore a job. Her mother, on the other hand, was a secretary. She would probably find work just fine.

"What are you doing here?" Jess asked as she went up the steps to her home. She took her key out to put it through the lock.

"Just here visiting you," Taylor said in a low voice. Jess didn't say anything. For some reason, his voice made her realize that this was a very bad idea.

As soon as she slid the key inside the lock, Taylor pressed close to her back side. Jess whipped around quickly, pushing him off.

"Woah," Jess chuckled a bit to relieve the tension. "This- this is way too close. Got it?"

"Oh come on," Taylor leaned his arm against the door, trapping Jess. "Don't be such a prude."

Jess visibly gulped. "I'm not a prude."

Taylor looked at Jess up and down. "Oh really?"

"Stop it," Jess turned around and unlocked the door.

"I'm just sayin'," Taylor smirked at the picture in front of him. "There's a lot that you could do with that."

"I swear to god," Jess opened to the door. "Stop it or else no studying."

"You think that's why I'm here?" Taylor laughed as she wandered around the foyer.

"Well... yeah? Mrs. Kameyer did assign us to be partners," Jess said.

"God you're so oblivious," Taylor ran a hand down his face. Jess didn't say anything, she just fiddled with her keychain as she stood awkwardly in front of him. Taylor looked at her for a while.

"Where's your room?" Taylor demanded. She didn't respond right away. She was afraid that if she told him, Jess would give up the one thing that makes her feel safe. She doesn't want her room to be tainted with Taylor's presence.

But as he stepped closer to her, Jess realized that she didn't really have a choice. He would find her room no matter what.

"I'll show you," Jess said quietly, walking up the stairs. She hated that Taylor was right behind her, but she willed herself to keep going. He didn't do anything that Jess could call the cops on yet.

When they got to the landing, she opened her door and set her backpack carefully on the ground near her desk. Jess watched Taylor carefully as he walked around her room, examining everything that was in there.

It was like this for a while before he looked at Jess and started to walk over to the desk.

"What are you doing?" Jess asked him as he started to open the desk drawers. He didn't answer her at first as he opened the window.

He kicked out the screen and Jess let out a small scream. "Taylor! What the hell?!"

"Shut up," Taylor growled as he took the pens and pencils out of the drawer. He took her pepper spray, her letter opener, the stapler and anything with a sharp end. He took it all and threw it out the window.

"Taylor, no!" Jess ran to the window to see if she could retrieve anything that fell onto the roof. His big hands grabbed Jess's shoulder and pulled her back, ramming her back onto the bed frame.

Jess cried out in pain and felt tears prickle her eyes. He shoved her up further on the bed and tried to grab her wrists. Jess moved them around so that he'd have a hard time trying to pin her down.

"Stop!"

Jess made the quick decision to thrust her palm up and hit his nose once he ignored her. His head snapped back and he held his nose in his hand, blood rushing down his hands and arms.

"You little bitch," Taylor heaved. Jess crawled off of the bed and towards the door but he caught her ankle and she hit the floorboards with a loud thud and a groan.

He yanked her towards him and grabbed her and stood her up. He tried his best to pin Jess's arms down but she squirmed around in his grasp.

Jess was crying profusely, asking him to stop over and over again. She had no idea what he was trying to do. Was he trying to hurt her? Kill her?

She knew she shouldn't have given her address. She knew she shouldn't have had him in the house. She should've turned around and ran to the police station. She should've done a lot of things to get her out of this mess.

"Please! Taylor, Taylor, stop!" Jess cried. All of a sudden, a fist met her face and she fell limp in Taylor's arms for a minute. He laid her down on the bed and started to approach again, like a predator about to attack their prey.

Jess regained her consciousness and saw Taylor approaching at a quick pace.

It was her life or his.

She bent her legs then kicked them out and hit his chest. His body flew back and he crashed against the window pane up top. He fell down the roof and continued to drop onto the ground below.

Jess didn't want to get up. She didn't want to approach the window to see the horror she had committed.

She tentatively walked towards her window and peered down. Taylor laid still on the grassy ground with all of her desk items sprawled around his body.

"Oh fuck," Jess groaned when she realized where Taylor had landed. It was right in the middle of Miranda's garden. "Mom's gonna kill me."

The severity of the situation suddenly struck her. She ran away from the window and down the stairs where the house phone was located. She reached into her jacket pocket and unfolded the piece of paper Jonathan gave her earlier.

Her fingers trembled horribly as she dialed the number. She waited for what seemed like a century as the line dialed. There could very well be a dead guy on her grass.

"Hello?" The voice of a woman answered.

"Hello, is Jonathan Byers there?" Jess tried to keep calm as she asked the question.

"Yes, he is in his room," the woman said. "I'm his mother, Joyce. Let me see if I can get him to get out."

"Thank you, Mrs. Byers," Jess said, tapping her fingers on the wall next to the receiver.

"Hello?" Jonathan asked after a moment.

"J-Jonathan, I need you here now. Something happened..." Jess said, almost about to burst into tears.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked in a concerned voice.

"Just get Delilah and I'll tell you both here," Jess said, hanging up abruptly. She bit her lip as she looked at Taylor's limp hand from the living room peering out to the backyard.

She turned so that she didn't have to see that, catching her reflection in the living room mirror. She looked like she got scraped up as she was dragged down to hell.

Her lip was busted open and she had a mean bruised eye. But other than, she looked okay. It was hard to see the good parts through the veil of blood.

After a while, her friends showed up.

"Holy fuck," Delilah gaped at the body on the grass. Jess watched her reaction with concern.

"The Wicked Witch of the West is dead!" Delilah exclaimed as she started skipping around Taylor's body.

"Delilah!" Jess started to yell. "Stop, this is serious."

"Look, you did a good thing," Delilah said.

"No, she didn't!" Jonathan spoke for the first time.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jess groaned.

"Is he even dead?" Delilah asked. Jess shrugged, honestly not knowing.

Delilah took this as an opportunity to kick Taylor's body.

"Delilah!" Jess scolded her for the fifth time today. "Look, I only called you here because I'd thought that if anyone you'd be the one to know what to do in a situation like this."

"Good call," Delilah said. "Is he dead, though?"

Jess bent down and gingerly pressed two fingers against Taylor's neck. The small thump that met her fingers instantly calmed her.

"He's still alive," Jess breathed.

"So bury him alive," Delilah shrugged.

"Should I?" Jess turned to Jonathan.

"I can't believe you just asked me that," Jonathan said. "The only thing you should do right now is to call the police."

"But I could be charged with manslaughter!" Jess groaned.

"Involuntary manslaughter," Jonathan corrected. "But if you don't call this in soon, then it will be manslaughter."

"Fine," Jess stomped into the house to phone the police.

The Chief of Police, Hopper, arrived at her house no later than five minutes. Jess carefully explained to Hopper the situation and what had happened.

"Uh huh," Hopper mumbled. Jess couldn't tell if he was paying attention or not since he had on sunglasses and she couldn't see his eyes. "What's all this crap around him?"

"He was throwing my stuff out of the window before it had happened," Jess explained.

"Okay," Hopper said. An ambulance arrived then and the paramedics milled around the trio and the Chief to put Taylor on the gurney.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jess asked. Her voice was laced with both concern for herself and Taylor. Hopper caught onto this and looked at her.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. He hoped this had calmed her, but it seemed to do the opposite. "I'll do everything I can to make sure you never see court."

"Thank you," Jess said gratefully. It was good to know that the Chief of Police believes you.

-

[EDITED]