The Freaks - Eddie Munson

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Wheeler

It took a good 15 minutes of convincing to get Steve to go back home. I assured him Eddie would stay in his own trailer, and that I needed to stay with Max. The next morning my side was killing me.

I looked down at my shirt and saw that my gash had opened back up overnight. I'd bled through my shirt onto Max's sheets.

"Shit, shit, shit." I threw the covers away and rushed to my feet, running to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, not bothering to lock it and took my shirt off, observing my gash in the mirror. A hiss escaped me when I touched it lightly, the blood running down to my hip and staining my pants. I bit my lip before grabbing a handful of toilet paper and pressing it to the gash. I let out a gasp involuntarily, pain shooting through my abdomen.

I heard the front door open and close, chatter coming from the living room.

"Are they seriously still asleep?" I heard Dustin say.

"No idea." I held my breath. Eddie. "Wake them up, I've gotta take a piss." I had 3 seconds. I threw the toilet paper into the open toilet and reached for my shirt, turning it right side out. I heard the door open, and I turned my back as Eddie came in.

"Oh shit, sorry-" he broke off, and I looked over at his reflection in the mirror, his smile fading. "Are you okay Wheeler?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I rushed to put my shirt back on to cover not just my gash, but my bra as well. Once it was on, I turned to him with a smile before walking past him towards the door, which he'd closed behind him. I felt his hand wrap around my arm, his rings cold against my skin. Stopping in my tracks, I looked up at him. His eyes were on the toilet. I'd forgotten to close it.

"You're bleeding." he said quietly, turning to me. He let go of my arm, turning me towards him and looking down at my blood stained shirt. His eyebrows furrowed, looking up at me with hooded eyes.

"Let me see."

"No-" I broke off, realizing how blunt my answer was. "It's fine. I'm fine." I shrugged. He looked down at the stain once more, his face scrunched up like he was in pain.

"Take your shirt off."

Oh...

His demanding tone made my stomach tighten. If we were in different circumstances and he'd told me to take my shirt off-

"Just do it, Wheeler." I tried to break eye contact with him as best I could while removing my shirt. I blushed at the fact I was in nothing but my shorts and a bra, but he didn't seem to care. He reached up to touch my gash and I recoiled, knowing how bad it hurt. He took a sharp breath in.

"Sit up on the counter, I'll clean it." I rolled my eyes.

"No, you don't need to."

"Jesus, just do it." he opened the cabinet over the toilet and pulled out a first aid kit.

"How the hell did you know that was up there?" I asked as I climbed up onto the counter.

"Believe it or not I don't own one of these." he explained as he opened it up, taking out a few materials, "Like a year ago I needed one and so I knocked on the neighbors door-" he gestured to the direction of the front door, "and borrowed the Mayfield's first aid kit. I use it like every week."

"You get into fights?" I asked in a small voice as he unwrapped a disinfectant wipe. He swallowed before nodding, looking up at me slowly. His eyes were beautiful. He broke the eye contact and wiped around my gash, wiping away the blood without hurting me.

"Are you okay?" he whispered as he worked. I nodded, hard enough for him to see without looking up. He pulled out the hydrogen peroxide, unscrewing the lid.

"No. No, no, no, no absolutely not." he glanced up at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You'll be fine." he gave a reassuring smile. I didn't have time to answer before he poured it onto the wound, and I let out an involuntary scream. His hand flew to my thigh and he gripped it tight, rubbing my leg with his thumb. His fingers dug into my skin, his rings making their mark. I'd be damned if I didn't love it. He looked up at me, his hand reaching up to my face.

"Take a deep breath, Wheeler." His hand gripped the back of my neck as he knelt down, his face at the level of my gash. He bandaged it up, his hands moving slowly across my stomach. Once he was done, he looked up at me slowly, his hand still on my thigh.

"Thank you." I whispered, giving him a smile. He offered his hand to me, which I accepted, and he helped me down from the counter. I stumbled into him and he caught me, his hands on my arms. My hands flew to his chest as I looked up, regaining my balance.

"Sorry." I laughed. He smiled down at me, holding me close to him.

"Don't sweat it, Wheeler." a smirk appeared on his lips, his hands gripping my waist tightly. I couldn't stop looking at his lips. His eyes. His lips. My mind went back to last night. How close we'd been. 

My breath hitched as he reached up and played with my bra strap. His fingers glided up and down the strap, his eyes locked on his own fingers.

"So are you gonna tell me what happened?"

Shit.

Well played, Munson. A taste of my own medicine.

"Is that really any of your business?" I whispered, my eyes still locked on his face. His eyes moved from his fingers, which had stopped playing with my bra, to my face. The remnant of his smirk faded.

"Who hurt you?" he asked, his voice deep. I shook my head.

"No one. It was an accident."

"You're telling me you did this yourself?" his eyebrows raised, and his hand lowered to my waist. I backed away, leaning against the counter.

"I was pushed, okay?" I shrugged. "Jason pushed me, and-"

"Jason." I looked up at Eddie, his eyes dark. "Crissy's Jason?"

"He didn't mean to."

"Why the hell would he do that?" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes, Wheeler."

"Don't be so nosy."

"Don't be so damn stubborn."

There was a pause. I took a deep breath as I reached for my shirt.

"He was jealous. Of you." he let out a chuckle.

"Jason Carver jealous of the freak??"

"He saw us talking at the video store. When we met. He confronted me and uh..." I gestured to my side, not finishing my sentence.

"I'll kill him." my head snapped up to see his stern look. There was silence before he smiled and shrugged. "If you want." I let out a laugh, which he matched.

"We should probably join Dustin and Max." I said. He nodded.

"And Steve." Eddie added.

"Steve is here?" Eddie nodded, giving me a knowing look. He knew if we walked out together, Steve would assume the worst.

"Is this some kind of game to you?" I asked in a serious tone. His smile fell.

"No. I just like messing with Harrington. I'm not trying to sign a death warrant." my face was hot. And for the first time in a while, I was angry.

"You might as well have." I grabbed the first aid kit from the counter and shoved it into his chest. "You can use that when Steve is finished with you." and with that I stormed out of the bathroom alone, slamming the door behind me.