our last summer. (e.m)

six: the incident in the woods.

eddie hears it too.
the moment the sound hits his ears,
he practically throws my hand away from his.
i open my mouth in hopes a question will form itself,
but nothing comes.
i only seek to have our peace back.
"well, well...eddie munson alone with a girl? and all this time, i thought women ran the other way from you, freak."
the boy appears now,
wearing a slick grin and surrounded by two of his other friends.
they wear the same letterman jacket the boy i met in the store a day prior wore.
despite graduating this past year,
they still wear their high school pride.
eddie laughs without humor;
there's an edge in his eye i've never seen before.
"fuck off, jason."
he boldly tells this intruder.
i bite my cheek to keep from bubbling over with laughter,
both from the strangeness of this situation and from eddie's harsh words.
i'd never considered what he might look like when he's angry.
if i weren't caught in such an awkward position,
i might find time to admire him for this as well.
"what'd you say, freak?"
the boy charges towards eddie,
but he sits still in his seat as though nothing is wrong.
at this futile reaction of eddie's,
jason turns his attention to me.
i narrow my eyes at him in hopes of gaining some upper hand;
if his eye might twitch,
if his lip might quiver,
i'll find a weak spot.
but i am left defenseless.
"aren't you too pretty to be out here with him?"
eddie turns his head away from the words,
much like he is embarrassed.
i feel my heart sink a little to know this is the kind of torture he's endured while i've been away.
i turn back to jason and say,
"you're repulsive."
he laughs at this and moves closer like my disgust is an invite.
i shrink away from him.
"i am?"
"i would rather saw my own arm off than be with someone who still wears their high school letterman jacket."
i shove him away while i continue,
"you've graduated, douchebag. move on!"
jason smooths a hand down his jaw then chuckles.
"right...and you're probably whoring yourself out for this mutant."
the insinuation that eddie and i have ever done more than embrace one another makes my chest heavy with shame.
"and you're probably bent over backwards for your boyfriend over there,"
i spit,
pointing to his friends that linger behind him.
it was a low blow and i know it.
but my tongue was quicker than my racing mind could keep up with.
but don't worry.
i'll pay for my rashness soon.
jason goes red with anger at what i've implied and lunges towards me.
he grabs a fistful of my hair and i prepare myself for the strike,
until his act of aggression is interrupted.
eddie winds his fist back and allows it to connect with jason's face,
hard.
i can hear the colliding of bone on bone and it makes me wince.
but i'd be lying if i said it didn't bring me some sort of sick satisfaction to watch this asshole be pummeled into the dirt.
by eddie munson,
nonetheless.
"don't you ever lay another hand on her, asshole,"
eddie says,
inches away from jason's face.
jason's cheek blooms with crimson in the beginning process of a bruise,
but the fury in his eyes can not be mistaken.
we are outnumbered and overpowered by these three boys,
so i waste no time kicking jason while he's down,
quite literally.
i hike my foot back and kick jason in his ribs.
that's for torrenting my eddie when i wasn't around.
i've earned us just barely a few seconds to escape.
i grab eddie's hand into mine and make a run for it.
the boys run behind us in hopes of being able to catch us and exact their revenge,
whether it be because of eddie's punch or my insult,
but don't they know?
eddie and i practically lived in these woods.
every trail is still the same,
even a decade later.
i remember every twist and turn,
every thick tree,
every stranded bush,
much like i remember the back of my own hand.
eddie seems to fall into the memory of it as well,
because we're losing them with each new step taken.
then eventually,
the silence settles around us,
aside from the sounds of our own ragged breathing.
when i'm sure it's safe,
i let out a lungful of laughter.
it's so painful to my already sore diaphragm,
but it feels so good rising out from my throat that was dried out from dread.
i place my hands on my knees and exhale one more giggle.
it's then i notice eddie isn't laughing with me.
for the first time,
i am alone in my overwhelming laughter.
"hey...are you okay?"
i ask him now,
bringing his bruising knuckles into my own hand.
i'm only granted a few seconds to examine it,
because he rips his hand away from mine and says,
"jesus christ, y/n...just leave it alone."
i go to say something more,
but decide against it.
eddie begins walking out of the woods to where we'll find sanctuary in downtown hawkins,
and i follow.
i'm silent until my confusion festers into ire.
"i don't know why you're mad at me."
"i'm not mad at you."
is all he says,
but he never stops to look at me.
he doesn't turn around either,
he just keeps walking.
"sure seems like it."
he doesn't reply because he knows i'm fishing for an argument.
but at least that would be better than this painful silence.
"i told you, y/n, things have changed."
"i know they have."
he shakes his head.
"no, you don't."
i don't ask what he means because i don't want to know.
am i meant to be ashamed of the fact that i find solace in our childhood?
before it was stolen from us?
fine,
if it's something so shameful,
tear it from my memory and rip it to shreds.
burn it to ashes and let them float with the wind.
i'll pretend i don't care anymore.
"i didn't ask you to punch him. don't make it my fault."
now,
he stops walking to turn to me.
it seems i've hit a nerve.
his expression is something unrecognizable;
fire lights his eyes.
"you didn't have to ask me. i would do it all over again if it meant you were safe. i would let them beat me senseless if it meant you were safe."
he swallows the remainder of his adrenaline;
i watch it collect in his adam's apple and disappear.
"...but i don't think you'll ever be safe around me."
i feel my breathing quicken at what it is he's suggesting.
i've only just gotten here and he's ready to throw the towel in?
after an entire decade apart?
what happened to our perfect evening?
my head throbs.
"you don't get to make that decision for me."
"yes, i do. you've always needed someone to make your hard decisions for you. so, here it is, y/n. you can't be around me anymore."
eddie goes to walk away,
but i bring him back by the firm tug of his wrist.
"don't you insult me! for ten years, i've waited to see you again. to-to be your friend. you don't get to discard me because of some steroid addicted assholes. when are you going to get it into your thick skull? i'm choosing you! i will always choose you."
his eyes soften at my exclamation.
my heart slams in my chest,
threatening to break the cage in which it resides in,
but i don't take my eyes off of eddie.
i need him to understand that i will always love him.
i have dedicated ten years of my life for this very moment.
and to have it ruined?
you'll have to pry it from my dead hands.
"choosing me is the stupidest thing you could do,
y/n."
"good thing i'm not known for my smarts then."
eddie can't help himself.
he laughs at my words and the anger between us has dissipated.
he smooths a hand down his jaw then says,
"you know they won't stop looking for us, right? we embarrassed them. and they'll die before we get away with it."
i shrug my shoulders then link my arm in with eddie's.
"i'm not worried. you've got a mean hook."
i rest my aching head to his shoulder as we venture home.
i tell eddie to come inside and let me fix his hand,
but he declines,
saying it's not that bad.
so i let him go.
then when i'm in my bed,
freshly showered and rid of todays events,
i feel the relief settle into my bones.
i know now that eddie is home safe.

a phone call wakes me in the midst of the night.
i hurry to answer before the ringing wakes my father as well.
"hello?"
i mumble through the sleep etched into my voice.
"did i wake you?"
i sit up straighter at the voice.
it's eddie,
calling me at two a.m.
i rub the tiredness out of my eyes and reply,
"it's fine. what's up?"
"i'm sorry for getting angry with you earlier. it wasn't right."
i sit back against my headboard and smile gently.
"it's okay, eddie. we were both worn thin."
"...yeah. still, i need you to know i'd never let anything happen to you. and-and i'd never hurt you."
where this is coming from?
i have no idea.
i toy with the idea of eddie drunk-dialing me,
but his speech is much too clear for that.
so maybe it's the nighttime blues;
when you head to sleep and think about all the wrong you've done today.
i grant him peace by saying,
"i know you wouldn't. which is why i love you so much. you're the best friend i'll ever have. the incident in the woods was rough, okay? get some rest. you deserve it."
"alright, alright,"
he says in between laughter.
"and y/n?"
"yeah?"
"i'll always choose you, too."
goodnights are exchanged after this with bright smiles and relieving affection.
my dreams are sweeter than they've ever been before.