Steve slowly pulled into a parking space near the main entrance of the hospital. He sat in his car quietly for a few minutes, debating on whether or not he wanted to go inside. The events of last night were still replaying in his mind as he stared down at the steering wheel. Why was he here? Steve questioned himself again as he caught sight of the bag sitting next to him. He smiled softly, thinking about how happy it would make Eddie if he brought him his belongings. He grabbed it and stepped out of the car.
When he entered the hospital, it was completely silent; nobody was walking around, nobody was talking, there was no music playing, the sound of a baby crying couldn't even be heard. The main area was nothing like the emergency room. It was quiet, clean, and seemed even more uninviting. The whole place smelled of bleach and artificial citrus. Steve hated it.
He looked around cautiously before spotting a woman at a check-in desk. She seemed to be occupied with paperwork, her fingers quickly flipping through a large stack of files. Steve slowly walked towards her. She briefly glanced at him when he stood in front of her, a look of expectation on her face.
"Hi... I'm here to see Eddie Munson," Steve said in a somewhat hushed tone. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, pulling on it to comfort himself in the awkward situation. Everyone hated Eddie, so if Steve was caught visiting him, he would be second on the list of 'Most Wanted People in Hawkins'. He'd become the second town freak.
The woman looked back to her computer, typing something in and clicking with her mouse a few times. "Are you a family member?" She asked, not bothering to look back at Steve. She couldn't care who he was seeing or what his relation was to the patient, but rules were rules, and she had to ask.
"No, I'm not," Steve replied, a little worried she wouldn't let him through. "I'm not sure he really has any family. But, I was the one who brought him in, if that's worth anything." He looked at her with a desperate, pleading look.
She squinted to look at some text on the computer. "Well, you're right. The only present family member listed is his uncle, who's already been contacted. He hasn't visited yet, though." She glanced back up at Steve. Seeing the look on his face, she couldn't help but feel pity for him. Usually, only family members and approved friends could visit, but Steve looked so desperate to see Eddie. "You can go through. He's on the second floor. When you get off the elevator, turn right. He's in the last room on the left."
Steve gave the woman a wide smile. "Thank you," he said in a rushed voice before walking off to find the elevators. Even as he walked around, he didn't see anybody else. After he got off the elevator and walked through the hallway, he only saw a few patients and some visitors in rooms.
When Steve got to Eddie's room, he found himself unable to move again. He stood still in the doorway, the backpack of things for Eddie slung over his shoulder. In the room, Eddie was still unconscious.
The guilt weighing down on Steve was beginning to be too much. He knew that if he came alone he wouldn't be able to stay together. He felt his mind drifting again, drifting back to that night. Eddie dying was playing in his mind yet again.
He slowly walked inside, sitting down in a chair next to Eddie's bed. Bright rays of sun shone through the windows of the hospital room, perfectly lighting up Eddie's features, allowing Steve to see him more clearly. Steve looked at Eddie curiously, taking note of everything he saw- the white and blue hospital gown that covered his body, his curly hair that was sprawled out on the pillow, his gently closed, unmoving eyes. Eddie looked so peaceful, almost too peaceful.
Steve looked beside the bed, where Eddie's clothes, still wet with blood, were neatly folded and set out. On top of them, in a resealable biohazard bag, were Eddie's rings, his guitar pick necklace, and some random items from his pockets. They, too, were covered in blood, which was now mostly dried.
His eyes glanced to Eddie's arm, looking at the IVs in his wrists, the things that were keeping him alive for the time being. He felt his eyes begin to water, the guilt finally settling in. Warm, wet tears dripped onto the floor as Steve rested his face in his hands, quietly sobbing. He had expected Eddie to be awake by the time he came back. But he wasn't, and it was all Steve's fault. Everything that had gone wrong with the plan was his fault. Eddie almost dying was his fault.
He looked back up at Eddie, his eyes glazed over with tears and his face moist. "I told you not to be a hero," he sobbed, wiping his eyes. He sniffled, leaning back in the chair and running his hands through his extremely messy hair, trying to push the thoughts from his mind. He tried to bury everything, just like he always did.
Steve caught sight of the backpack he'd brought with him, now discarded and forgotten on the floor next to him. He picked it up, opening it slowly and rummaging through it. He didn't know what he was looking for until he'd found it, picking something up from the bottom of the bag and pulling it out. 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. Steve smiled as he looked down at it, his fingers running over the very worn spine of the book. As he opened it and studied the contents, he noticed a name written on the inside of the front cover. 'Eddie Munson', it read, written very poorly. Steve assumed it was written there when Eddie was younger, since the 's' in Munson was written backwards.
Steve wasn't a particularly great reader; he was slow and it took him much longer to read a book than it took others. But, he wanted Eddie to have something that he loved while he was stuck like this. And, since Eddie was unable to read in his state, Steve thought maybe he could read to him.
He opened to the first page. "Prologue," he read aloud. "One: Concerning Hobbits. This book is largely concerned with Hobbits, and from its pages a reader may discover much of their character and a little of their history. Further information will also be found in..."
While he wasn't able to cover much of the story in the few hours he was at the hospital, he tried to make it sound as interesting as possible. Steve's reading voice was very monotone and he often stumbled over words and had to sound some of them out at times, but he tried his best to give each character an accent and a different tone of voice. During songs, he even tried to softly sing to Eddie, a smile plastered on his face the whole time.
He would never admit it to anybody, but he actually enjoyed the contents of the book. He found the plot to be interesting, and it reminded him a lot of Dustin. The book made him think of Eddie, too. Reading it gave him a warm feeling, a sense of happiness.
Around noon, Steve had to stop reading, since, unfortunately, he still had to go to work. He only got through chapter one, but Steve was proud of getting that far in the two hours he had spent at the hospital. In case Eddie woke up, Steve left the bag of stuff for him sitting neatly in a chair beside his bed.
YOU ARE READING
Lost in Admiration | Steddie
Romansa"Hey," Eddie said, a little upset. He was too dazed in the moment to recognize the person sitting next to him. "Steve," he mumbled when his eyes were able to focus, looking at Steve with a softened look, surprise written on his face. "Hey, Eddie,"...
