The Freaks - Eddie Munson

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Wheeler

The whole group gathered around the coffee table, assigning roles for the mission. Steve and Nancy were to go to Creel House in the Upside Down to kill Vecna, Lucas and Max were the distraction to lure Vecna out of his conscious state, and Eddie and Dustin were on demo bat duty, luring them away from Creel House. Robin, Erica and I were given the option of which group to join, given that as of now, the teams were even. Robin immediately elected to go with Nancy and Steve, while Erica chose to follow Max and Lucas to give signals.

"Are you gonna come with me?" Eddie asked from beside me, giving me a crooked smile. I smiled back, unsure of what my answer was. I looked over at Max, knowing that what she was about to do was probably the most dangerous of all of the feats we were trying to accomplish. I wanted desperately to go with her. But as Eddie took my hand and told Steve I was helping him and Henderson, I said nothing, Max still lingering in the back of my mind.

*

Nancy went over the plan 8 times. I counted. She told us 5 of those times not to mess it up. As we pulled up to the Creel house and Max and the Sinclairs began to pile out, my heart raced. I turned to Eddie, knowing my face was racked with worry.

"What's wrong??" He asked quietly, yet urgently. I shook my head.

"Ed, I can't go with you." He eyes widened.

"Why?" The hurt in his voice drove a knife through me.

"I have to go with her, I'm so sorry." I stood, not looking back until I felt someone take my hand. Eddie stopped me, taking my shoulders and giving me a small shake.

"You have to stay with me. I have to protect you, remember?" Steve came up behind Eddie, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey man, she said she wants to go with Max-"

"Stay out of this, Harrington." Eddie said, shrugging his shoulder so Steve would remove his hand. Eddie turned back to me.

"Its too dangerous in there."

"She can handle herself." Eddie turned sharply to Steve, facing him with dangerous eyes.

"I thought I told you to stay the fuck out of this."

"I know her better than you Munson." Steve snapped back, "She wants to go with Max for the same reasons you want her to go with you."

"You don't know her." Eddie laughed mockingly. "She never even loved you." I started yelling for them to stop when Steve shoved Eddie into the wall. Blood rushed to my face in anger and embarrassment as Eddie gripped Steve's shirt, pushing him until he hit the opposite wall, raising his fist for a punch. I risked everything stepping between them physically, pushing Eddie away.

"Eddie please." I begged him to look at me, to which he finally complied. "Lets talk. Alone." I took his hand and guided him outside around to the back of the trailer.

"Why the hell would you do that??" I yelled as he leaned up against the RV, out of breath.

"I'm sick of him acting like he knows what's best for you."

"And you do??" I asked. He glanced over at me, clearly embarrassed about what he did. What he said. "Listen to me." I took his hands, forcing him to look into my eyes. "I need to go with her." He shook his head slowly.

"You could die." He whispered. "Seriously, this Vecna guy is no joke."

"I know that. But it's better for me to die than her." His jaw dropped slightly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?? Wheeler, there are people here who need you." He swallowed, holding back what shocked me to be tears. "I need you." He whispered. I shook my head.

"I'll be fine. I'm just the backup in case it goes wrong." He sighed, shaking his head again.
"Please..." I didn't let him finish, pressing my lips to his. It wasn't as desperate as our last two kisses. The sad lingering felt like a goodbye. Our last kiss. I felt a tear on my cheek. Not mine. Eddie held my face tenderly as he deepened the kiss for a moment before breaking away.

"Promise you'll come back to me." He whispered.

"I'll try-"

"No. Promise it." I swallowed, and looking into Eddie's eyes, I lied.

"I promise."