To Eddie Munson: My Knight in Shining Leather

Getting caught

You felt yourself gain consciousness, but refused to open your eyes. If you did, you had to face the world; a world where Eddie was trapped and there was nothing you could do. So you opted to stay in your daydream a little longer, where Eddie was curled around you and everything was fine. Blue-tinted sunlight illuminated all of the dust that flew through the air and tickled your nose. Your eyes finally opened after a hard sneeze, jolting you into full sensibility.

Eddie's room was bathed in the outside sun, and you judged by how much sunlight came through that it was around 8:00. A glance at Eddie's clock showed you were right, it was 8:03. You groaned and wiped your face with your hands, shoving off the pile of blankets and Eddie's clothes that you had acquired in your restless slumber. The first thing you noticed after the blood thumping in your ears left was the silence. Birds chirped in the distance, but that was the only sound. You groaned, stretching out your cramped muscles and bringing on another head rush.

You swung your legs over the side of the bed and stood slowly, making sure you had your equilibrium in check before bending over to rummage through your bag. After a moment of frustration, you dumped the entire contents on Eddie's bed. The pile of clothes was much easier to sort through once it was covering Eddie's blankets, mixing with the clothes you had surrounded yourself with last night. You pulled one of Eddie's shirts from the pile, matching it with a pair of your pants and underwear as well. While you dressed yourself, you thought of Eddie seeing the mess you made, and you could practically hear the exhausted sigh he would release before flopping directly onto the clothes, promising to take care of them later. The image made you smile to yourself, then quickly drop into a frown as you remembered the circumstances. You shook your head and fished for your toothbrush, but remembered Eddie already had one for you.

You walked swiftly to the bathroom, grabbing the door frame as you swung around to face the mirror. Your unruly hair stuck out from your head in matted knots; a result of your tossing and turning. You brushed them out with your fingers, promising to go find Eddie's brush if you had the time.

After brushing your teeth, you tugged on the right side of his medicine cabinet. After a couple of tries, it opened. Your bottle of perfume was still on the shelf, but in a different spot than you had placed it. That means Eddie had used it since that night. You smiled to yourself at the thought, then grabbed it. After misting yourself, you breathed in the warm vanilla scent that mixed with floral undertones. It was your favorite perfume, and it made you glad to know Eddie loved it just as much. Hopefully it would be a nice surprise when he saw you.

Your moment of glamor had to be over, unfortunately. It was time to bring your attention back to the mission at hand. You wrapped your hair in a ponytail and put your shoes on before considering jumping out Eddie's window again, risking landing a lot less gracefully than you had the night before since there was nothing on the other side to break your fall. Instead, you opted to unlock the front door and exit that way. After getting outside safely, Eddie's voice replayed in your mind, telling you to slam it or it wouldn't lock. After a moment of hesitation, you shut the door softly. Just in case, you thought. You looked around to examine your surroundings before taking off through the woods.

Maybe it was because you'd walked this way so many times already, or maybe it was because you had been so lost in thought, but this journey through the trees felt a lot quicker than the last one. You stumbled infrequently, and landmarks started to become familiar. You hoped this didn't become a habit. After you emerged, you were surprised to see a whole convoy of police cars and news vans accompanied by neighbors and other concerned citizens. Panic immediately coursed through your body, and you hid behind a nearby tree just in time for the chief to hush the crowd and allow a reporter to start talking.

"Nothing to see, just step back a little." He ushered the crowd away from the caution tape, and then your attention was drawn to the reporter as she stepped up to take his statement. "As many of you know, the Roane County line received a call a little after midnight last night reporting a homicide out here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake, about ten yards from the house you see behind me-" He pointed to Rick's house, and you took the opportunity to look around. Your eyes locked with headlights that belonged to a familiar station wagon, and immediately you skimmed along the tree line looking for Nancy. Chief Powell continued: "It was there we found the victim, an 18 year old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney."