The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

1

(I recommend playing "Fade to Black" by Metallica for this one!"... just fits the vibe we got going on :)

It's been 3 weeks and 14 hours since you've been asleep. And all I can do is sit here and throw this damn ball at my ceiling over and over again. Smoke joint after joint. Drink beer after beer. Sleep hour after hour. Take shower after shower just to feel normalcy. No one tries to talk to me- well, I shouldn't say that. They try but I don't. Dustin, Lucas, and Mike try to play D&D with me and every time I surprisingly decline. It wouldn't distract me. It was in my past. It was before things went to utter hell.

I don't even talk to my uncle. I refused to tell him everything that happened and ever since he's been in and out of the trailer either completely sober and burnt or out drunk and wallowing. I guess you could say this wasn't the exact ideal lifestyle to be proud of- to live. I mean, Hawkins was still split into huge chunks and only a select few devoted citizens chose to sit here while they waited to get the funds to rebuild a city that wasn't worth rebuilding. All of that effort just to rebuild something they'd get killed by.

I sit up, and catch the ball. I roll it to my side, and cover my face with my hands. I feel the rock necklace hit against my knuckles. I look down at it and sigh. I haven't taken it off since she put it on. Same knot, same everything. I shower, eat, and sleep with it. It was all I had left of her at the moment.

The way she looked at me giving me the rock. She had a hidden excitement behind her eyes in which she always tried to hide from me. But I always caught her smiling in secrecy; she was-is, dammit- the type to not express her authentic self to someone unless she felt she should. She lives in denial. She is the type of girl you could call out and she would come back with the cleverest remark. Maybe that's why I never liked her much at first. Why I judged her so much behind my expressions. I was used to the stereotypical high school sweetheart who flirted her way into your life just to get knocked up, pregnant, and on welfare. She was a book with hundreds of locks and passwords in it that you had to break through in order to access her emotions.

That night- the night before what happened was that night. I got Clary Gregerson to play tag, sing, and dance with me. I got the most stubborn red head in the world to finally let go of her insecurities and conflicting emotion. That night was the happiest night of my life. The way we tumbled on top of one another, the way she looked into my eyes while the moon showcased her sparkling blue-grey eyes and her small, cupid-shaped lips. The way her long messy hair felt as it draped over me every time I held her. The way she smelled of sweat and dirt, but her hair also smelled of a mild rose. I tried not to be a fool, but I was sure acting like one.

I find the strength to get up and slip on my black boots. I refused to wear another Hellfire shirt again for a while. So instead I wore my jean jacket with a black t-shirt underneath with my same black, ripped jeans. The only pair I really owned to be honest. I quickly walk through the trailer, avoiding the mess and the memories.

The sky was clear. It was dark. The stars were shining bright and the moon was at its peak to full. Sometimes I'd like to just sit outside and smoke a joint, watching for the Orion constellation. Or, in her case, The Munson. I replay her exact words in my head, almost exactly hearing her voice. I remember that was the first time she ever truly felt comfortable with me even if she was nervous and unsure of how to engage in conversation with me.

I walk to my rusted van, and pat the top of it. She's been faithful but through a lot.

"You ready to go for the daily spin?" I hop into the van, open the visor, and catch the key. I turn it over until she roars and smoke spurts out of the hood. I pat the steering wheel, and reverse out of the trailer park to see Clary. Whenever I visit Clary everyone is there with Max. On occasion I would see Steve, Dustin, Nancy, or Robin in the room with Clary but other than that not really. Probably because when I walked in, they all left me alone to talk with her. Sometimes I would find the stupidest stuff to talk about, like metal bands. Or sometimes I'd bring my baby and put on a small show for her. I'd play the song we danced to. Or even a song from the Metallica album that came out in 83', Kill Em' All, which she said was her favorite. She had also mentioned to me one time about liking "Nothing Else Matters." I hope she at least heard me from in there.

I pull up to the hospital and park towards the front. The hospital and Hawkins High right now was crowded with sick and injured people. People needing shelter, food, warmth, and cleanliness because their house, family, or both were destroyed when the "earthquake" hit. On occasion I would still get slanders and accusations. The news already reported my story, some people still living in denial. Oh no, not the perfect Jason Carver! Suck it.

I walk through the sliders and the doctor who usually works the same shift every night nods at me to go into her room.

"Room 2, room 2.." I say to myself with my hands in my pockets. I look to the right and see the machine still beeping. Her nose was occupied with small, clear oxygen tubes and her arms laid peacefully at her side, penetrated by an IV to keep her alive and hydrated. Her slim figure swam in the hospital gown they put her in. Her hair was braided and it looked clean. My lucky guess was that Robin must have done it; she blamed herself for the way Clary turned out. But in all reality, no one knew this shit was coming.

"Heya Sparky," I take a seat that was already facing her bed. I look at the machine as it beeps in a rhythm and makes the same shapes over and over again. "It's me." I sigh and pinch my nose with my fingers. It's never gotten easier being here. And the nightmares never ceded. Almost 90% of the time I would stay the night right here in this chair, just waiting for a miracle to happen. The doctors say there was a 25% chance she would wake up. But I knew she had some sort of voodoo going on in that brain of hers. She was a firecracker.

"I know you're probably tired of me talking your ear off. I don't even know if you can hear me." I put my hands on my knees. "I just want you back. We want you back. There's so many people you have yet to meet that I just met. Eleven, Hopper, Murray, Joyce, Argyle, Johnathan, Will.. Argyle is my favorite though. He always likes to try and blaze it up with me." I laugh to myself. "I just wish you were here to see.. this mess." I grab her frail hand. "I'm a free man now. I know I've told you this, but imagine all the things we can do. I know he was your cousin- but I also know you're going to not care as much when I re-tell you all of this." I let go of her hand. "Max still is not good. She's in what you are. A coma. All thanks to your lovely cousin.. and Vecna of course."

I look at the wilted flowers beside her head sitting on the hospital desk.

"I wish you could see these flowers before they die- are they flowers? I don't know. I picked them from a field. They aren't the best. I'm sure most of it is leaves and grass and weeds, but- why would weeds be colorful? I don't know. You don't strike me as the flower type either anyways." I lean back and see the light start to flicker. I stand up, tilting my head.

"Hey, I think you have a light out, Nurse." I yell out the door. Something I noticed about Clary was that she was always uneasy in the dark. She always needed a fire. Or a light. Or even just the night sky. She never sat in the dark. I never mentioned it, but it was a pattern I began to pick up on.

I roll my eyes. No one works here apparently. "I'll be right back, Clary. Don't go anywhere," I joke. I just hoped she could hear me. Sometimes I just want to make a remark that would piss her off enough so she could wake up and slap me across the face.

I walk down the hall and flag down a nurse who is organizing things in a cupboard. "Hey, I thought I'd tell you that room two's light is going out." The nurse nods and she grabs a light bulb from her cart.

We walk back to the room, and what I see is beyond me.

My mouth drops.

"Eddie?"