𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 | Eddie Munson

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɴɪɴᴇ

Kenna wakes up with her hand in Eddie's. She is confused for a moment, still taking in her surroundings. The realization of him being in her bed has her frozen. This is new. She has never slept with a guy before, not even Billy. He always left before she ever fell asleep.

Her eyes haven't moved from his hand. His hand, oh god! His knuckles are bruised. Kenna's eyes shoot up to check Eddie's face.

No...

His beautiful face is covered in black and blue. Kenna closes her eyes as she feels the guilt wash over her. He should have never been involved. This is all her fault. She feels like shit that she even made this deal which led to Eddie getting hurt. She can handle it if it's just her, but this is too much.

Eddie groans softly and Kenna opens her eyes to look at him. His mouth is still slightly open, his eyes closed and his curls are pooled around the pillow. Even covered in bruises he's still so beautiful.

She feels his hand twitch in hers and watches his eyes flutter. He's still asleep so Kenna takes the opportunity to admire him. There is something so vulnerable about watching someone sleep. They are defenseless and unable to manipulate how they look to others.

He's snoring softly. He looks cute when he sleeps, and it makes her wonder if she does too. Did Eddie watch her like she was watching him? She can't remember when she fell asleep last night, but it had to be before he did.

Kenna bites her lip as the memories from last night started coming back to her. She stares at Eddie's lips and touches her own, remembering what he felt like. What he tasted like. She has the urge to kiss him again, but her thoughts are crushed by the feeling of guilt and self-hatred. It's always the fucking guilt and hatred. These feelings have Kenna on a tight leash, always reminding her that she's delusional.

This isn't real. No one can care for you like this. It's all an illusion.

Why would he want you? You are damaged goods. You are nothing.

You don't deserve him. You don't deserve to be happy.

She has been told those things her whole life, long before Billy. There is something about the fact that her own parents didn't want her that set those feelings in stone. She doesn't know all the details of how she ended up in foster care, but when she was nine years old she opened a folder that had her name on it while she was waiting in an office to be placed in a new home. Her eyes skimmed a lot of details in her folder, but she will never forget the sentence that grabbed her attention. "Female Infant found inside a box and left in a dumpster off Caper and Main street." When you have been treated like trash your whole life it's hard to believe you are more than that.

Kenna slowly removes her hand from Eddie's, feeling unworthy of his touch. The absence of his hand leaves her feeling even worse. It's overwhelming and exhausting trying to deal with conflicting emotions.

Eddie groans again and slowly starts moving. "Fuck." He's in pain, a lot of pain.

Kenna sits up, looking down at him. She wants to help him, but she doesn't know what to do. Eddie opens his eyes, blinking away sleep. He looks up and meets Kenna's stare.

"Hi." He gives her a soft smile, wincing as he shifts onto his back.

"How can I help you?" Kenna asks.

Eddie looks around the room before he answers. "Maybe some more pain meds?" He rubs his head, taking a breath.

Kenna jumps out of bed in answer and walks quickly to the bathroom. The meds are on top of the medicine box that's stored in the closet. Kenna grabs two pills and shoves the bottle back into the box. On her way back to the bedroom she notices the time, six forty-three am. Shit! Melissa will be home from her shift any minute.