Complete Chaos

028

Julia had woken up early to make four dozen of cookies.

Two were chocolate chip cookies. One dozen was lemon, and the last one was sugar cookies.

She hoped it was enough for the staff on each floor of the hospital. She cleaned the kitchen counter that was covered in flour. The last dozen were in the oven.

She waited for them to cool down and placed them inside a small cardboard box.

While she was making the cookies, every so often, she would check on the door waiting for Steve to come in.

He didn't arrive home last night, and in the morning, the bed was still empty.

She didn't know where he was or if he was alive. She truly hoped he was alive because she wouldn't know what to do if something happened to him.

Julia took a deep breath, trying to calm down her nerves; it wasn't good for the baby to stress herself.

She didn't know who to call either way. No one was going to believe her if she told the police that evil Russians were in Hawkins. Then they would ask questions as to how she knows.

Hopper wasn't in his office; he was the only police she knew would believe her.

She tried calling Kim, wanting to ask her if she had maybe seen Steve, but she didn't answer her home phone.

She didn't want to involve the rest of the kids or worry their parents by calling their home phones.

Julia felt alone. She stared at the home phone, waiting for Steve to call her and tell her that he was alive.

She waited for anyone to call her, but the phone never rang.

◦ ◦ ◦

With the four cardboard boxes, Julia went to the hospital.

A person with blonde hair and a blue tie opened the door for her. "Thank you."

The man looked at her with a creepy smile, droplets of sweat sliding down his forehead.

She continued walking to the receptionist's desk. Once she was a few feet away, she looked over her shoulder as the man was getting inside the elevator.

The doors were closing, but he was still staring at her making her feel uncomfortable.

She looked back in the front and set a box of cookies on the large desk.

"Hello," she greeted, forcing a smile. "You must be Julia," the receptionist with large square glasses said. "That's me."

"You came in just in time. I'm starving," the woman behind the desk said. "Let me give you a visiting pass," she added, typing something into the computer.

After the encounter with the man, Julia felt odd. She felt as if someone was watching her.

She flinched when she heard the phone ring. The woman picked up the phone and started talking. With one hand, she handed Julia the pass that had 'visitor' written on it. With the other hand, she was holding a cookie. The phone was between her neck and her ear.

Julia got the three boxes and left as the woman continued her call. Julia pressed the button with an arrow pointing up next to the elevator. It made a soft ding sound, a second later, the door opened.

She walked in, as the doors were closing, the front doors of the hospital opened.

Nancy and Jonathan went in first, with the kids following behind them. Noticing that the lady was distracted by the phone. The whole group walked past her, but they didn't get far.