falling for him<3 //steddie//

chapter 16: denial

Steve ~
As Eddie is driving to the hospital, I felt sick, preparing for the worst. We parked and ran inside. I saw my mom crying in the waiting room. I ran over to her and hugged her really tight. "Have they said anything yet?" I asked, while sitting down next to her. "N-not yet. I've been waiting for hours." I grabbed her hand. "What happened mom?" I ask, as I feel my knee start to bounce up and down.

"He missed our flight together so he took the next one. I was waiting at the Hawkins airport and then someone asked if I was waiting on plane 328. I nodded and they told me that the plane had crashed." She weakly answered. Eddie walked over and hugged my mom. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Harrington." He said, with sorrow. "T-thank you honey." She said while crying into his shoulder.

The doctor walked over to us. I looked at his face and knew it was bad. "I'm so sorry. We did everything we could." "NO!" My mom screamed, gripping my arm. I felt dizzy. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. I felt like everything around me was in slow motion. I could hear my heart racing. About an hour later, Eddie helped my mom into the car. I got in and looked out of the window to the hospital. This wasn't real. They're lying. Please tell me they're lying. "Steve, are you alright?" Eddie asked, not taking his eyes off of the road. I couldn't respond. I wanted to scream. To yell. But I couldn't.

Eddie parked and walked my mom inside. I stumbled to the couch and sat down next to her. "It's going to be okay mom." I say, feeling as if i'm out of breath. She rests her head on my shoulder. "I'm going to bed." She says, still sniffling. She walks up the stairs to her room and gently shuts her door. Eddie put a glass of water on the table in front of me and sat down. "Steve. Are you okay? You're allowed to cry, you know that right?" I knew that. I wanted to, but i couldn't. I couldn't say or do anything.

I stare at the rug beneath the table. "He let me pick that rug out." I say, holding back the floodgate of tears. Eddie pulled me into a hug. "I- I can't." I say starting to sob into his shoulder. "He can't be." I felt the hot tears run down my cheeks and neck. Eddie starts to stroke my hair, knowing it will calm me down. He holds me for a while and then I fall asleep.

Eddie ~
I carry Steve to his bed and tuck him in. He wakes up and says "Can you sleep in here tonight?" He asks, sleepily. "Of course I can, love." I lay down next to him and hold him in my arms until he falls asleep. I try to process what just happened. I can't imagine what Steve and his mom are going through. I finally fall asleep. I wake up and see that Steve is still asleep.

I quietly walk out of the room and walk downstairs. "Good morning Mrs. Harrington." I say, while starting a pot of coffee. "Good morning Eddie. Is Steven still asleep?" "Um, yes ma'am." "Oh okay well, Joyce called. The kids want to come by today. Do you think he would be okay with that?" "He would love that. I think it would really help him." "Thank you Eddie, for helping us." "Of course." I say as I hand her a mug of coffee.

She smiles and sits down at the table, writing something down. Steve walks downstairs and into the kitchen. He pours a cup of coffee and sits down next to his mom. I sit down too. "What are you doing mom?" He asks. "Stuff for his funeral." She replies. "Oh." He says. I grab his hand. "Are the kids coming?" He asked. "Oh honey, I don't know. I can ask Joyce and Karen later if they're coming to it." "Okay." He sighs. "So, graduation is coming up. What are you two going to do afterwards?" Steve's mom asked. "Oh we're not sure yet." I answer. "Yeah, if I don't get excepted into the college I'm waiting for, I think we're going to travel." Steve adds. "We are?" I ask. "Yeah? I thought you would want to play your guitar around the world?" I smile at him.

"I would love to." I reply. "Eddie, you play guitar?" Mrs. Harrington asks me. "Yes I do! I played a little for Steve a while back." The phone rings. Steve gets up and answers it. "Hello?" I hear someone speaking over the phone. "Oh, thank you." He hangs up the phone. "Well, I guess we're traveling." He says. "Oh honey I'm sorry." His mom replies. "You two can use the RV. I probably won't use it. Also, I talked to your principal. She said that both of you are excused from school for a week." I nod and so does Steve.

Me and Steve, seeing the world. It sounds incredible. My thoughts get interupted by a knock on the door. I walk over and open it. "Hey Eddie." Joyce says. "Hey." I reply. I let them in and go sit down next to Steve. "Hey Eliza, how are you?" Joyce asks Steve's mom as she walks over and hugs her. "I'm okay. Are you and the kids coming to the funeral?" She asked quietly. "Yes, if it's okay?" "Of course. He would have wanted you there." All the kids hug Steve and start talking to him.

"Hey Steve. We're here okay?"  Max says. "It's okay." Mike added. "Yeah, if you ever need to talk." Will said. "Thanks guys." He replies. "You alright Steve?" I ask because, he has tears in his eyes. He quickly rubs his eyes and looks up at me. "Yeah, I'm okay." He's upset. I could tell. I hope he's okay.

A/N: hey readers! thanks for reading! sorry for such a short chapter! much love♥️
words ~ 1023