Bloody Noses & Crack'd Crowns

Chapter 43

I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY. All credit goes to TheWeaverofWorlds on ao3

At the end of the month, Arlene moved her little family out to the house at Castle Rock. While much of the money was tied up in the legal system, which was currently investigating where all of Robert Gray's income had come from and where it was being held, she had been able to access Eddie's trust. Despite money being tight and Eddie's own insistence that she use it to help with the move, she had put her foot down and told him that that money was for college. Eddie had cried when she told him, whether from frustration or gratitude she had yet to figure out, but he hadn't been able to change her mind.

The house at Castle Rock was like a dream. Ben's additions and Maggie's touch of décor made the place the cleanest and prettiest house Eddie had ever lived in. They were fifteen minutes from Derry, but there was always the bus system. Not to mention Ben was well on his way to getting his driver's license; Eddie not far behind. Driving Arlene's beat up car around the Savers' parking lot had initially given Eddie some anxiety, but he found that he loved the feeling of the engine beneath him. The burgeoning sense of freedom was heady and unlike anything he had ever known. He couldn't wait until he could take off on his own, navigating the back roads between the Rock and Derry free as the wind.

Life was easier now. The weight that had resided so long in Eddie's chest had gone with Robert Gray's sentencing of two life sentences without parole in a maximum security prison far upstate. There was a lot of uncertainties still left ahead of him, but with his therapist's help he began to face them with curiosity and excitement instead of fear.

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Eddie spent a lot of time in Derry, not just for school, but also because he was working with Max Holmes on his testimony against Bradley Donovan. The trial was set for the beginning of March. The ADA told Eddie that if Bradley had never said anything to him he would probably have never been charged, not for lack of guilt, but because there was nothing substantially tying him to the abuse. By talking to Eddie he had hanged himself.

But Eddie went to Derry for other reasons too, happier reasons. He spent days on end at the Cottage with Mike, looking through farmers' magazines, imagining the livestock and crops that would be grown at the new farm. Mike asked for his input, despite Eddie knowing nothing about farming, but Eddie knew it was because he trusted him. Or on other days he went with Bill and Georgie to the library, combing through the stacks in search of the next bedtime story. They had finished The Lord of the Rings, and were searching for something else. Once a helpful young librarian suggested Ender's Game, and they were hooked. In fact all the little kids were too, and there were many days spent at the Toziers' playing Ender and friends. Most days the big kids were willing to play along. But Eddie's favorite days were those spent with Richie.

A few days before Bradley's trial, Richie took Eddie out on a "proper" first date, just like he promised. He drove out to Castle Rock to pick Eddie up. The sky was already turning a velvety hue of indigo as the sun began to set.

"Where are you boys off to?" Eddie could hear Arlene from upstairs as he gathered his things.

"It's a surprise," Richie said.

Whatever came next was lost as Eddie took the stairs two at a time.

Arlene sighed, she remembered how it felt to be in love for the first time. That rush of emotion, so volatile and fragile all at once. "Alright, just be back by his curfew. 11 pm, Mister."

This last bit was addressed to Eddie, who had just entered the front room. He nodded. Arlene was a strict mom, but unlike Robert who used his position of power against his charges, Eddie knew Arlene did so to protect them. The curfew was just one of her ways of saying she was worried about them, and was looking out for them. While most kids would hate a curfew, Eddie found he didn't mind.