His Salvation [Eddie Munson]

Chapter Six

The car was silent as we pulled down Eddie's street. I catch a glimpse of Steve's eyes in the rearview mirror, but I casually look out the window.

Dustin shifts forward in the passenger seat "His van is here."

I slid into the middle seat to look through the front windshield and I see his van. He has to be home. My knee starts bouncing in anticipation as Steve slowly pulls up next to Eddie's van. I jump out before Steve puts the car in park.

I notice the tire marks behind the van. It looks as if he was speeding and slammed on the breaks.

Dustin is already knocking on Eddie's trailer door. I walk up, standing beside Steve on the steps. I can't help but hold my breath.

"Eddie!" Dustin shouts while knocking.

"He's probably fine and just overslept," Steve reassures us.

I shake my head with my arms crossed, "Yeah, but something isn't right. I can feel it."

Steve looks over at me "what do you mean?"

Dustin walks around us and peers into the window.

"I think he's having a hard time with all that went down," I mutter. I think back to the look in his eyes the night he returned from The Upside Down.

"We all dealt with some shit, but we are holding it together." Steve rubs the back of his neck while looking around.

"Haven't you guys been dealing with this for much longer than Eddie?" I point out.

Steve stops for a moment and I can see him digest my words.

Dustin pushes past us on the stairs and lifts the doormat, revealing a key. He holds it up to us "This is the best place he could hide it?" He scoffs while shaking his head.

"Wait a minute! We can't just open his door and walk in." Steve's brows furrowed as he looks between Dustin and me.

I throw my hands up in defense, "Don't look at me. Dustin grabbed the key."

"Oh, come on. This isn't the time to draw the line on what's right and wrong." Dustin rolls his eyes and shoves the key into the door and turns the knob.

Dustin slowly walks in, looking around "Eddie! Eddie, it's Dustin."

Steve groans and walks in after Dustin. I follow behind closely. It's dark and I faintly hear music. The kitchen countertops are littered with empty beer bottles, an open loaf of bread, and dirty dishes.

"Eddie, are you here? We just want to make sure you're okay." Dustin says as he approaches Eddie's bedroom door. It's cracked and not one ounce of light is peeking through. His boombox is on and faintly playing music.

I stand behind Dustin and Steve as they slowly push the bedroom door open. The smell of weed and cigarettes hit me and almost knocked me off balance.

"Holy shit." Dustin and Steve mutter at the same time.

"Is he okay?" My patience is running thin and I want to push past them to see for myself.

"Eddie?" Dustin repeats as he walks to the bed.

My eyes adjust to the dark as I walk into Eddie's room behind Steve. I see Eddie lying on his stomach, hair sprawled across the mattress and his arm dangling off the bed. I almost trip over an empty can of beer as I inch closer to the bedside.

"Eddie, it's Dustin." He starts to shake Eddie.

Eddie groans and slowly lifts his head. He reaches out and swats Dustin away.