She'd lied to Jason, of course. That was getting to be more and more of a theme in their relationship these days, long before the headaches and the visions had started.
"I have this massive headache and I'm just not feeling it tonight. You go and have fun," she'd assured him. He'd accepted this without question, too pumped on the adrenaline high of victory to be concerned with her immediate whereabouts, and after planting a slightly askew kiss on the side of her mouth, had driven off with the rest of the team, still whooping in triumph.
It wasn't as if he'd noticed anything else amiss with her lately, either; but that was testament to how practiced Chrissy had become at hiding the truth. When he picked her up in the morning to drive her to school, she made sure she was smiling, freshly gargled with Listerine in the event she'd had to evacuate breakfast, eye drops administered to conceal the redness from crying, hair brushed and makeup painstakingly applied to cover her exhaustion. He rarely asked how her evening was, so she never had to explain how her mother took the mashed potatoes off the table at dinner, saying any more of these and the squad won't be able to lift you, Chrissy. Or the banging on her bedroom door afterward, the hollering. "You barely touched your dinner. I know you're hiding food in there. Let me in, Chrissy, you can't hide from me!"
At this point, she was as used to concealing this aspect of her life as she was to enduring it. It was simply the way of the Cunningham household.
But that was why the visions were so frightening. They came to her in the only place she was supposed to be safe: Hawkins High. They came in the middle of Spanish class; they came when she was supposed to be getting in formation for cheer practice; they came in the bathroom stall on her way out of Ms. Kelley's office. And now, they'd come to her out in the woods behind the school, too...at least, until she'd run into Eddie, and then they'd stopped, for a little while.
He was leaning against the passenger side door of his van, grinding out a spent cigarette under his heel, as she approached him in the parking lot, glancing furtively around to make sure the basketball crowd had fully dissipated. His face brightened when he saw her. "Your chariot awaits," he intoned, opening the door with a flourish and a little bow. "Oh, shit, just a second." He swept an empty can of Mountain Dew and several crumpled fast-food wrappers off the seat and onto the floor.
"It's kind of high up," he added, proffering his arm. "Need a boost?"
She didn't really, being nimble enough to make up for her diminutive stature, but she found she couldn't refuse him. Gripping his arm, she could feel the wiry muscles through the leather sleeve of his jacket. "Oop, there you go," he said affably as she vaulted herself into the bucket seat, and she felt heat suddenly flood her cheeks. There was something about Eddie, being gentlemanly in a way that was still so...Eddie, with all his rings and tattoos and the sneering devil on his shirt. Just a few hours ago, she wouldn't have imagined him capable of it. Jason certainly would never have believed he was capable of it. She could hear her boyfriend's phantom warning clear as day: "He's going to try something with you, something bad."
Of course, had Jason physically been present to see them together, he'd been more likely to have a stroke on the spot.
"How far away do you live?" she asked, snapping the seatbelt into place and hoping that it stayed put. She'd seen before how his van rumbled into the school parking lot, usually stopping mere inches short of someone else's bumper, or someone in general.
The radio blasted to life as Eddie turned the keys in the ignition, and he looked quickly over at her before turning it down just enough to be able to speak without yelling. "Uh, a little ways away from here. Forest Hills."
The trailer park. That made sense.
"I'm not sure how long you'll have to stay there, after you take the Special K," Eddie said as he shifted gears, "but...I won't be able to take you home right away, because you're just not going to be very mentally, uh...available? I just want to make sure that's okay with you."
