The Break (An Eddie Munson Story)

Chapter 40: umop apisdn (+20K Views)

A/N: Ooooh boooooy, was this a difficult chapter to write. Not even content-wise. I had everything outlined but try as I might, I could not motivate myself to finish writing this instalment. I hope it was worth the wait. Thank you for the 20K. I apologise sincerely for the ridiculous time delay.

Content warning: Nightmares, abusive parents and descriptions of a panic attack.

*****

When he held out the keys to the truck, you knew things were bad. Never, in the history of your friendship and dating life combined, had Eddie ever let you drive his precious. It was his literal child, his baby. He loved it almost as much as he loved you. Maybe not quite as much as his prized guitar but that truck was definitely a close second. Looking at the prominent, dark circles under his eyes and the hollowed out expression, you knew that his was in no fit state to be behind the wheel.

Popping the lock, you watched with great concern, as he climbed into the passenger seat, dropping his lunchbox on the carpeted floor, before he pulled the hood of his sweater up and over his mass of curls and buried himself into the cozy material. Eddie rested his head against the window, eyes closed and already drifting off into another undoubtedly nightmare-filled state of unconsciousness.

The sound of footsteps in grass caught your attention and you turned to face your younng red-haired neighbour, plastering a fake smile upon your features. "Hey, morning!" you greeted her, although her eyes had already caught sight of Eddie's curled up form. "Ready for school?" you tried to sound enthusiastic but the tone was too flat. You too were tired but enough caffeine would rectify that issue for you. Eddie on the other hand...he would need an IV of coffee to keep him going, if he continued on his current trajectory.

"Is he okay?" she asked incredulously, eyeing the curled up form of the metal head with a cautioned expression.

"Yeah..." you say without much conviction, knowing full well that Eddie was far from fine. "yeah. Just, uh, didn't get enough sleep last night." that was an understatement of the year, you thought sourly to yourself. "Anyway, come on. We better get a move on, otherwise we'll be late." you said finitely, as you shepherded the young girl into the truck.

It was going to be a trying day for sure, you sighed, climbing into the driver's seat.

And you were correct, a trying day it was indeed for the metal head. Sleep deprived and overworked, Eddie drifted from class to class on autopilot. Disconnected from his reality, as he sat glassy-eyed, struggling to make sense of the lesson content he should have been making notes for. In the periods you shared, you attempted to pay attention and write down anything that he would need to know at a later date but during your lessons apart, he was alone and his pen remained in his bag and the page in his notebook, blank.

It was during the final few minutes of his class before lunch that it started. A quite drone, barely noticeable at first. Just an annoying buzz, like a wasp that had flown to close to him but try as he might, Eddie could not shake away the persistant sound. His odd behaviour caught the attention of some peers, namely Jason.

"What is the freak doing now?" he laughed, the sound like nails on a chalk board for Eddie.

The dismissal bell from lunch was even worse.

Out in the halls, amongst the throng of students, the heightened cacophony did nothing to help his current, panicked state. The din was disorientating, sending his mind into a nauseating spin, that left his world in a spiralled frenzy. Though he had not managed to consume any breakfast that morning, the brunet was sure that he was going to throw up right there and then.

Through his hazy stare, he spied upon the concerned features of a familiar face, their lips moving to say...something. His name? Eddie tried to guess but the phonetics sounded wrong, all mixed up and incoherant. "Eddie, are you okay?"