Eddie & Chrissy: What Could Have Been

Chapter Four: Denial

"Hey!" A shout came from offshore. "What the hell is this!?" Chrissy perked her head up. Eddie jumped up so fast that he nearly tipped the boat.

"Oh, hi Jason!" Chrissy called out with a wave.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Eddie frantically grabbed the paddles and paddled the boat towards Jason and his buddies. Chrissy was nervous to see Jason, Andy, and Patrick standing there, but she was hiding it with a smile.

The boat pushed up on the shore and Jason yanked Eddie out of it immediately,

"Who the hell do you think you are Munson? You think that you can take advantage of my girl?" Jason had Eddie by his collar.

"Hey man, nothing happened," Eddie brushed off his vest and took a step back.

"Chris, what are you doing hanging out with this loser? Did he force you to come with him?" He demanded that she tell him.

"It's not like that okay," Eddie stepped towards Jason but Andy shoved him back.

"Oh yeah then what's it like, freak?" Jason was now in Eddie's face, but Eddie wasn't backing down. He had dealt with bullies like Jason his whole life.

"Stop!" Chrissy yelled and squeezed her way in between the two of them. She pushed with all of her might to break them apart. "Just stop," she said calmly while raising a hand to each of them. "I asked him to hang out," Chrissy said with her head down but her eyes looking up at Jason. He stepped back to look at her.

"What? Chris, come on, why are you lying for him!?" Jason aggressively pointed at Eddie.

"Hey! Don't yell at her," Eddie barked as he stepped toward Jason.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Jason then took a step towards Eddie.

"Jason! I asked him to hang out with me, because...because I felt bad for him," Chrissy professed timidly.

Eddie was shocked. "What?" he looked at Chrissy, bewildered, and turned his body in her direction. Chrissy couldn't look at him.

"He doesn't have many friends, so I was just being nice," she muttered.

"Wow!" Eddie threw his head back and spun around with his hands on his head.

"Chrissy, you're too nice, you have to be careful. Who knows what this freak could have done to you?", Jason replied while eyeing Eddie. Chrissy could feel Eddie's eyes on her and for the first time, it didn't feel good.

    "Stay away from her," Jason pointed at Eddie with his eyes narrowed.

"Sure, you got it," Eddie surrendered with his hands in the air and walked towards the van. Chrissy watched him walk away and felt so disappointed in herself. Eddie sped off, music blaring, without even glancing in Chrissy's direction. She was ashamed. Everything that she had confessed to Eddie the other night was true.. Why had she just treated him how everyone else treats him? Chrissy knew she had to fix this, she just had to figure out how.

    "Let's get out of here," Jason grabbed Chrissy's hand and made way towards his Jeep. Andy and Patrick argued in the backseat about basketball as Chrissy stared out the window, regretting what had just happened. Jason put his hand on her knee, she scooted away from him, closer to the car door. She could tell that Jason was suspicious, but she didn't care. She couldn't stop thinking about Eddie and how she hurt him. He was the one person in her life right now that felt she could be completely honest with.

Jason pulled up to Chrissy's house and he walked her to the front door. She went to grab the door knob but Jason grabbed her wrist. "Chrissy, I know something is up. You've been acting, weird," he looked at her seriously. "Weird," she thought to herself, there's that word again. His grip on her wrist was distracting. She glared at Jason and he quickly let go. "Listen, all I'm trying to say is that you can talk to me."

"I know," she replied. Though she didn't really feel like she could tell Jason about anything. He wouldn't understand.

"Okay well, I'll see you at school tomorrow," Jason smirked and kissed her on the cheek. He began to walk away and stopped abruptly and raised his index finger, "Oh, and if that freak ever bothers you again, he's going to pay for it." Chrissy shut the front door behind her, slid down to the ground and began to cry.

    Eddie was furious. Furious that he had fallen for Chrissy's trick. Because that's what it was right? A trick to make Jason jealous. How could he be so naive? Eddie promised himself right then and there that he wouldn't ever let this happen again. He let his guard down and he was taken advantage of. The whole reason for keeping his guard up in the first place was to avoid this exact situation. Stronger than any hurt he felt though, was disappointment. Eddie really thought that Chrissy was opening up to him. Was it all a lie?

Eddie barely remembered the drive home. All he could think about was how stupid he had been. It's not like him to put so much trust in someone so quickly after getting to know them, but there was something about Chrissy. It infuriated him that he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Eddie swung open the front door and walked into the bathroom to start a hot shower. In the meantime, he lit up a joint that he had rolled earlier that morning. His "after school special," as he would call it. As Eddie inhaled the smoke, he tried to release his demons with every exhale. He wished that he would have been wrong about everything and that people like Jason didn't exist. Eddie took off his shirt and took a good long look at himself in the mirror. "Why would someone like Chrissy ever be interested in someone like me?" he thought. He hopped in the shower and let the water hit his face and soak his hair. He wondered if Chrissy was thinking about him too, if she felt any remorse about how she treated him.  He couldn't help but to hold onto a little hope that the way she acted at the lake was just a show for Jason.

Chrissy laid in her bed staring at the ceiling and hating herself for how she treated Eddie in that moment. She tossed and turned trying to fall asleep, but she couldn't. Whenever she was unable to fall asleep, she would usually call Jason. He had his own phone line in his bedroom and was always up late. But this time she had no desire to do so. She hated that she was having these overwhelming feelings for Eddie while she was still with Jason. Jason was being a jerk, but he didn't deserve to be lied to. She made a decision right then and there. She picked up the phone and called Jason. He picked up on the first ring, as he always did.

"Hey babe, can't sleep?"

"Hey, Jason, yeah I..."

Jason cut her off, "Listen, I didn't mean to upset you today, I just had a bad day and seeing you with that Munson kid only made it worse."

"Jason, I can't do this anymore," she blurted out.

"Can't do what anymore? Us?" he questioned her.

"...yes." Chrissy hesitated. She felt a pit at the bottom of her stomach and clutched it.

"Listen Chris, I can fix this. I promise, I won't do it again." he pleaded with her.

"It's not that," she replied.

"Then what is it!? Is it Munson, did he say something to you?" Jason raised his voice.

"Yes, I mean no!" Chrissy stood up out of bed. She didn't even realize that she had said what she said.

"Yes?! I'm going to kill him. I swear, I.." Jason said with disdain.

"Jason!" She yelled, then checked the hallway to make sure she didn't wake anyone. "Please" she said softly, clutching the phone with both hands. "I just need time to think."

"Think about what!? It's senior year and we just won the championship. Imagine how that's going to look. What's everyone going to think?"

She stared into the void and then it hit her. "I don't care!" she said.

"You don't care? Chrissy, we have a reputation to uphold," Jason said sternly. 

"I don't care anymore Jason! I'm sick of pretending to be someone I'm not! I'm done!...I'm done." She sat back down onto the bed in relief.

"You know what, fine. I'll let you sleep on it. I know you Chrissy, you're going to wake up tomorrow and regret all of this."

"I won't," she hung up the phone. Chrissy wiped a single tear from her cheek and got back into bed. The nightmares came back that night.