PART 3 Hawkins little secret
Jim Hopper x reader
Warnings: AOB, swearing, torturing, enslavement, age gap, kidnapping, eventual smut, plus size reader, reader has chronic pain and mental health issues, bullying, nesting, set in the 80s, parental death, hurt/comfort, dependency, depression, depressive episode
Notes: No upside; instead, Hawkins' lab is a facility that tests alphas, omegas, and betas. Mainly omegas. Eleven is Joyce’s daughter. Just call her full name, El. XD
Previous part <-
After your breakdown, you manage a few things. You take your medication correctly, and you wash a few dishes sitting down because standing hurts. You find a way to do things that don’t make things seem so difficult despite the hole in your heart. You talked to whoever supervised the social workers and asked them to stop coming after you told them you don’t want her around because of her attitude, and they thankfully agreed. The chief hasn’t been back yet, probably busy working the case. You hope it isn’t another dead end and that they find a clue to your mother's whereabouts or to any of the missing persons. You call your work and explain what's been going on, and they're understanding, allowing you the month off, thankfully.
A Saturday afternoon rolls around. You’re watching some stupid comedy show your mother watched every Saturday, and find yourself smiling a little at certain parts. You still have the chief's jacket laid over you; you haven’t brought it back yet. You grimace and look at it. He probably needs it. You get up carefully, take some pain medication, the station isn’t too far from your house, and maybe you could ask a free police officer just to drive you home. You clean up somewhat, you managed to condition your hair and get it slightly unknotted till your arms hurt again, but it doesn’t look like a bird's nest in a hurricane. You grab the spare key and lock the house up. You stare at the car in the driveway, swallowing a bit before you shake your head and walk. It’s about a five-minute walk to the station, you survive, thankfully with little ankle pain and swollen knees, but that’s what pants are for, hiding said swollen knees. You go to the front desk, awkwardly holding Jim’s jacket, and realise how ridiculous it looks.
“How can I help you love?” The older woman smiles, and you return your gaze to her.
“Hi, uh, is Chief Jim Hopper around?” You ask, hoping it doesn’t sound too weird.
“Let me check”, she smiles and picks up a phone, asking for him.
“He’s in his office, follow me”, she says politely, and you thank her and follow. You see him hunched over his desk, hat to the side, dark circles under his eyes as he reads over a case file.
“Hopper?” The older lady knocks, and he looks annoyed, lifting his eyes before he spots you.
“This young lady asked for you,” she says, tensing slightly as if she was prepared for his annoyance.
“Yeah”, he sighs, runs a hand down his face and waves. The older lady nods and leaves, and you walk inside his office as he leans back and stretches. You freeze watching the action, his arms tensing, showing off muscle.
“What can I help you with?” He asks, and you snap out of your daze.
“Jacket”, you blurt, cursing your short-circuiting brain.
“I brought your jacket, you left it, at my place, last time” You clear your throat and hold it out. He stands up and thanks you, going to take it before you realise you haven’t washed it.
“Shit- wait!” You snatch it back, and he raises an eyebrow, hand hovering.
“Sorry- I haven’t washed it.” You go, embarrassed, and curse yourself some more.
“It’s fine”, he shrugs while you grimace and hand it back to him, nodding.
“Right”, you nod and lower your hand awkwardly after he takes it.
“That’s all, just your jacket”, you nod, avoiding looking at him at all costs.
“Alright”, he says, voice a little lower, and it sends a tingle up your spine and straight between your legs.
“Cool”, you say, getting ready to go.
“Wait”, he calls, and you freeze, oh god, he can’t smell you, can he? No course not, who gets aroused that quickly by a voice? Hah, that’s stupid….isn’t it?
“You walk here?” He asks, and you turn back to face him, and he’s frowning, looking at your legs as if he knows you’re in pain or something else.
“It’s only five minutes”, you gesture awkwardly outside.
“Alone?” He adds, his eyes narrowing.
“Yeah?” You add confused, unless your mum magically reappeared or you actually had some friends. He makes a frustrated noise, or disappointed, you can’t tell.
“You can’t walk around by yourself, especially not now, there are rules in place”, he says, and you feel small. You haven’t watched the news or read the paper, you haven’t heard of the rules.
“I haven’t seen or read the news”, you say quietly, and he sighs.
“Alright, look, there’s a curfew now, no one out past 7, always travel with someone and report anything suspicious, alright?” You nod, looking at the ground.
“Come on, I’ll drive you home”, he sighs, slipping his jacket, the one you returned, and his hat. He grabs his keys and moves by you, expecting you to follow. You do, quietly and awkwardly, climb into his truck and put your seatbelt on while looking anywhere but him.
“I ain’t upset with you”, he says, and you frown, looking to him. He sighs, eyes softening.
“I know you’re having a hard time and obviously avoid the news, just keep yourself updated, call a friend”, he says and starts the car and pulls out.
“Ok,” you mutter, looking out the window. How are you supposed to call a friend when you barely talk to anyone? Sure, you’ve met a few girls, gone to school with some, but they all grew up, had families, did adult things, while you got the shit end of the stick and got slowed down from going to independence to dependency in a couple of years, it feels like. You’ve always had the pain, but as a teen, it’s just ‘growing pains’ and as a woman, well, you’re not taken seriously when you complain about your pain to a doctor. It took years for someone to go This isn’t right and finally offer some medication. The drive back is quick. Hop pulls into your driveway and parks, turning off the car.
“You got someone to call?” He asks, and you tense.
“Yeah, sure”, you nod, grabbing the door handle. The lock clicks, though, and you frown, glancing back to the alpha.
“You’re not a good liar” You frown harder. Excuse him? Well, you are lying, but to call you out? Not cool.
“Here”, he sighs, grabs a pen, pulls out a small business card from his pocket, and scribbles something down before handing it to him.
“In case you need someone”, he says, and you stare at the number and his name, Jim, on the card.
“Thanks”, you say, and he nods, unlocking the door. You slide out and sigh, heading inside as Jim pulls out of the driveway. You lock your door and sit on the couch staring at the number. You order pizza for dinner. Honestly, your food is pretty shit at the moment, but now you can’t go to the shops, it’s too far to walk for you. You look at Hopper's business card on the fridge, then in your purse. You have a bit of money saved in the bank from work but it wasn’t enough. If you could access your mum's account, you might be able to get more food. You eye Jim’s number again before saying fuck it and grabbing it.
The line rings for a bit, and you feel the anxiety crawling into you till someone picks up.
“Chief hopper speaking”, he sounds so professional.
“Hi uh, Jim”, you blurt out before you say it’s you.
“Hey, what did you need?” He asks.
“Are you free? At the moment, I need help” You hate those words.
“I’m free, be down in a five”, he hangs up, and you blink in surprise that went easier and better than expected. You curse, though you’re in your pyjamas. You quickly get dressed, take some pain meds, brush your hair half-heartedly, and throw it up before grabbing your purse and your mum's purse and heading outside. Jim’s waiting in the driveway, and you wave awkwardly as he jumps out.
“Need a lift somewhere?” He nods to your purses.
“I need food, proper food”, you say, and he nods.
“But I need to access my mum's account, can I do that? I know all her details, but I know banks are funny,” you say.
“Don’t worry, I’ll pull the chief card. Just this once, though,” he says and hops back into his truck. You smile and join him. The drive to the bank is a little weird; you look out the window, watching a little bit of Hawkins go by, before you make it to the bank.
The teller looks at you, chewing gum, her glasses halfway down her nose.
“First and last name?” She says like she doesn’t want to be there. You glance at Jim, who nods a bit, and you tell your mum's first and last name. She chews louder and types it into the computer.
“Date of birth?” She eyes you again, and you say her date of birth. She frowns, looks you up and down, then shrugs.
“Alright, says here you’ve got $211.43, darling”, she says, continuing to chew. You nod, wanting to slam her mouth shut.
“Could I withdraw that, please?” She nods and hands you a form to fill out. You take it and fill it out before she opens the money drawer with a ding.
“Alright, 211.43 all for you”, she hands you the cash as she counts it.
“Thank you”, you put it into your purse.
“Have a nice day”, she chews, and you nod, leaving. You’re walking back to Jim’s truck when you slow down. Bills, you need to pay for bills, electricity, water, whatever the hell your mum pays for.
“Bills”, you mutter, and the alpha beside you stops when you do.
“What?” He asks, frowning.
“Bills the house bills, how am I supposed to pay for the house bills when I can’t work?! No money income besides mum's!” You say panicked.
“Hey, alright, easy,” you say, shaking your head, worried.
“Hey”, the alpha says a little more sternly, and you look at him.
“We’ll head by the real estate and have a chat with them, alright?” You nod shakily.
Jim drives you to the real estate office. You’re thankful he took time off to drive you around like a taxi, and you like being near him very much, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Chief of police, what can I do for you?” You enter the office and see an older gentleman in a fancy suit at a desk.
“Got something I need to speak with you about”, Hopper says, all professional and alpha mode.
“Come on through,” the man smiles, making you a little uneasy. A few other men and women sit at desks, typing or writing. You’re led into a fancy office, and the door shuts behind you.
“Sit down, folks”, the man smiles, and you sit. The leather seat that definitely costs more than your couch.
“What is our dilemma today?” He grins and leans back, hands lacing together.
“Here about a house on Copper Street number 23.” You nod when Jim glances at you for confirmation.
“Alright, let’s see here”, he types away on a computer.
“Ah, yes, owned by a Miss-“ he says your mother’s name and smiles, looking back to you and Jim.
“She’s gone missing”, Jim says bluntly.
“Oh, what a shame”, the man says, and you clench your jaw at how unbothered he sounds about it.
“I assume it’s the disappearance one’s, she isn’t coming back?” You bristle at his tone.
“Suppose I’ll have to put it back on the market soon,” he sighs, as if it’s an inconvenience.
“The hell you will, her daughter still lives there”, Jim gestured to with narrowed eyes.
“Ah! I see apologies,” the man chuckled, fake like.
“Well, shall we transfer all bills into her name then? She looks old enough,” he laughs at his own joke, and you see the alpha beside you tense and lean forward.
“What she needs is a break, a couple of months from rent max”, Jim says, and the man frowns.
“A couple of months? That’s hundreds of dollars!” He says he is offended.
“You can live without her; however, she cannot live without a house for the time being, till some form of income gets accepted by her”, Jim explains, and the man's jaw tightens.
“Unfortunately, that is not my problem. If she cannot pay, she cannot live there”, he says as he sets his hands down on the desk and leans forward.
“She just lost her mother, and you’re a hard enough bastard not to allow her to find her feet?” Jim leans forward, too, and you tense, feeling uncomfortable seeing the alpha and beta go eye to eye.
“Unfortunately, I cannot control company policy or… unfortunate events”, he sneers. You glare and stand up.
“You’re a heartless piece of shit and won’t get a damn cent out of me because all you care about is money while people are missing their families and don’t understand their circumstances!” You snap and storm out of his office, tears in your eyes. You lean against Jim’s truck, arms crossed, tears rolling down your face. Jim emerges even more pissed off than you, his jaw set, muscles bunched, and alpha ready to punch someone unconscious.
“I’m sorry”, he says, and you shake your head, wiping your eyes.
“I’ll find you somewhere, alright? Don’t panic,” he steps closer, and you nod. You feel yourself trembling and step closer to the alpha without thinking. He sighs softly before putting an arm around your shoulder and tugging you closer. You sigh and rest your forehead on his chest while he gives your shoulder a gentle pat before the moments are gone.
“You’ll be alright, promise,” he sighs.
