deena watches him for a long moment. really watches him. the pacing, the frustration, the bleeding thumb, the way he keeps latching onto the wrong part of the conversation like a dog with a shoe. for weeks she's imagined this moment differently. imagined confessions, excuses, lies. imagined catching him in something. but standing here now, listening to him spiral about jonathan byers instead of whatever is standing behind barb in that photograph, she arrives at a conclusion she doesn't particularly enjoy.
or at least as much of it as he has.
the realization settles uneasily beneath her ribs. not because it clears him, but because it doesn't. it simply leaves them both standing in the same place : confused, frustrated, staring at a puzzle neither of them can solve.
❛ okay. ❜ the word comes quieter this time. not soft. just tired.
green eyes drift toward the photograph still trapped between his fingers before lifting back toward him.
❛ i believe you. ❜ the admission feels strange leaving her mouth. almost foreign.
❛ honestly, if you knew something, i think you would've accidentally blurted it out twenty minutes ago. probably while yelling. ❜ the corner of her mouth twitches despite herself. only briefly. her attention returns to the photograph. barb sitting by the pool. the shape standing behind her. the one thing that keeps dragging her back every time she tries to sleep.
❛ so let's stop talking about jonathan for a second. ❜ she steps closer, tapping a finger against the photograph.
❛ look at it. really look at it. does any part of that seem familiar to you? the height, the build, anything. because right now i'm stuck between two possibilities. either that's somebody you know, which means we're looking at a person. or it isn't. ❜ her jaw tightens slightly.
❛ and if it isn't, i think that's a whole lot worse. ❜ wind drifts through the parking lot. somewhere nearby a car passes. life continuing around them while barb remains frozen forever inside a photograph. deena folds her arms loosely across her chest. she didn't like that thought or the way it kept slipping around the inside of her brain.
❛ because here's the thing, harrington. if jonathan managed to wander around your property all night taking pictures without anybody noticing, then i don't actually know how useful it is asking who was at your party. ❜ there's no real bite behind it now. just dry observation.
❛ apparently attendance was being monitored by the honor system. ❜ her eyes flick toward him.
❛ seriously. you didn't know byers was there. if somebody else was lurking around, why are you so sure they weren't? friend of a friend? somebody tommy invited? somebody carol knew? somebody who'd been there before? ❜ the questions pile up because that's all she has anymore. questions.
❛ i'm not trying to be an asshole. i'm trying to figure out why somebody was standing behind barb. ❜ a pause. ❛ and more importantly, whether they were there for her. ❜
the thought lingers between them. ugly. uncomfortable. because if they weren't there for barb, then who were they there for? her gaze drifts toward the ground for a moment before lifting again.
❛ has nancy said anything? ❜ the question comes suddenly.
❛ anything weird. anything she remembers. anything she's noticed since barb disappeared. because unless she's developed a sudden passion for minding her own business, i have a hard time believing she's completely dropped this. ❜ and then another thought surfaces. one she's been chewing on longer than she'd care to admit.
❛ and what happened with tommy and carol? ❜ her head tilts slightly. ❛ because you guys used to move around like some kind of weird blonde cult. now every time i see you in the same hallway somebody looks seconds away from throwing a punch. ❜ the joke lands lightly, but the question remains.
❛ i'm just wondering if something changed after that night. because right now i'm looking for patterns anywhere i can find them. ❜ the photograph shifts in her hand when he gives it back. her thumb brushes over barb's frozen smile.
❛ i'm gonna talk to byers. ❜ matter-of-fact. already decided. ❛ because whether he's a creep or not, he's the one person who's actually handed me something. ❜ green eyes lift toward steve again. steady. measuring.
❛ but if i'm being honest? i'm starting to think barb and will byers might be connected. ❜
it sounds ridiculous spoken aloud. completely insane. which unfortunately means she can't stop thinking about it.
❛ two people disappear. same town. same week. no witnesses. no answers. no bodies. ❜ a small shrug follows.
❛ either hawkins has the worst luck in america, or we're all asking the wrong questions. ❜ for the first time since this conversation started, she isn't looking at him like a suspect. she's looking at him like somebody who was there. somebody who might actually help.
❛ so if you're done planning jonathan byers' murder, i'd really appreciate a second set of eyes. ❜ the corner of her mouth lifts faintly.
❛ help me figure this out & .... i'll show you the rest of the roll. ❜ her expression remains frustratingly neutral. ❛ consider it a professional courtesy. ❜ a beat.
❛ also, if i'm being honest, watching your blood pressure spike every time jonathan byers gets mentioned has become one of my favorite hobbies. ❜