Into Every Stranger Generation

Chapter 24

 "I brought snacks!" Robin called out to everyone, setting a couple of grocery bags on the counter. "We have Doritos, twinkies, Dr. Pepper, poptarts, Oreos, and I am going to get the oven going because I got pizza rolls." She turned on the oven and then reached in the bag, pulling out a bottle. "And, of course, no pizza roll is complete without ranch dressing to dip it in! I knew the vampire wouldn't have any real food and I think we are going to require sustenance when planning out how to enter hell itself and slay two evil demons. You know, brain fuel so we can really think out our strategy."

"Sounds more like it will rot our brains, if you ask me," Malcolm commented, wrinkling his nose at the options. "Is that stuff even food?"

"Of course it is, serious British man," Robin laughed. "It's the best that America has to offer. Have you even truly lived if you haven't tried a pizza roll?"

"I am fairly certain I can live a much longer life if I abstain from any of that toxic sludge."

"Suit yourself," Robin shrugged, opening the Doritos and popping one in her mouth before offering one to Ivy. "Mmm, artificial cheese dust is the best." She grinned at Malcolm who cringed and shook his head.

"Speaking of planning, where on Earth is Becca?" Malcolm questioned, looking over at Eddie. "I just assumed she was here with you."

"No," he mumbled softly, glancing over to Ivy and Robin. "She was here for a while last night but she left. Didn't she go back to the motel?"

"No," Ivy said, standing taller, little lines of concern appearing between her eyebrows. "Robin and I were in the room all night and we never saw her. I thought she was spending the night with you. Why did she leave?"

"Well, it...I mean..." Eddie began but he paused as he heard two voices approaching the house.

"Stop being such a baby," he heard Becca say, "you're absolutely fine."

"You are all over the place when you sleep," Steve grumbled. "It's like you're fighting monsters in your dreams. You kicked me right in my back three times and you punched me in the arm twice!"

"Maybe you deserved it," she replied with a laugh. "I'm sure you've done something at some point to warrant a good ass kicking."

Eddie felt as if he was going to be sick, the entire room tilting. She had spent the night with Steve? He knew what he had said, but he hadn't really expected her to run off and jump right on him like that. This was his fault. He's pushed her right into his arms. Shit. He had spent all night pacing, feeling ill, feeling like his world had just imploded, and she had moved right onto King Steve like he had meant nothing to her. Maybe he'd been right.

Wouldn't she be happier with Steve? He could take her to the movies or out for dinner. Her parents would probably love him. Parents had never loved Eddie and the fangs and bloodlust definitely wasn't going to change that. Steve could hold her hand and walk with her in public. No one was hunting him down. He wasn't a demon from the depths of hell. Isn't that what Eddie had wanted, for her to be happy? Yeah, of course he did, but he didn't want to see it and he certainly didn't want it with one of his best friends. He had thought him and Steve had bonded. He couldn't believe he would do that to him.

"Hey Eddie," Dustin called, pointing to the wall where Eddie had nailed a piece of wood to keep out the sun. "What happened to the wall?"

"Accident," he responded shortly.

"What kind of accident?" Dustin asked.

"I accidentally put my fist through the wall," Eddie grumbled, walking across the room and sitting in the recliner. Fuck, he wanted to get out of here. He wanted to be anywhere but here, but he couldn't even do that. He couldn't just go for a walk to clear his head because the sun would kill him. Eddie was trapped, trapped in this house, trapped in misery, trapped in hell. He had no control over anything in his life. The urge to hit something raged through him again.