Into the Fire: An Eddie Munson x Reader Story

Chapter Forty-Three: Nights in White Satin

Description: You have your first meeting with Murray Bauman, which ends up being a bit of a mixed experience. You're haunted by a very vivid nightmare of a future that could have been, leaving you and Eddie rather shaken about the ongoing legal process you're forced to participate in. But despite all the inner turmoil, you do your best to still find some happiness through this difficult time...

Warnings: swearing, light smut, nightmares, crying, sexual assault/coercion, domestic violence, drug use, suicidal thoughts, vomit, angst/anxiety

Chapter Forty-Three: Nights in White Satin

"Where the hell is he?" You ask in annoyance, pacing back and forth across the living room carpet. You're biting the cuticle on your thumb, anxiously waiting for Murray Bauman to show up to your house. It's the Wednesday after Eddie's birthday, and you've been on edge about this meeting all week. It's been distracting you at work, and you've been getting very little sleep the last couple days. Mass amounts of coffee and sugary snacks have been getting you through the day, stress eating definitely runs in the family.

You've got everyone in your corner gathered inside your house today. Mom, Dustin, Eddie, Robin, Steve, Nancy, and Jamie and Mr. Biggs from the theater. Harriet and the others are holding down the fort today, allowing you the time to prepare for the trial. They're really only here in regards to the trial involving Tommy, they don't know anything about the situation between Jason and Chrissy and how you and Eddie got tangled up within it. But Murray mentioned on the phone that you needed to gather the witnesses who would be in your favor, who know of your character and what you may have told them about Tommy and his father harassing you.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, sugarpuff. Why don't you sit down?" Mom pipes up, as everyone has been watching you pace for a good forty-five minutes.

"No. I'm good." You reply mindlessly, biting down harder on your thumb. You pull a piece of skin off of it with your teeth, causing the layer beneath to sting and bleed. "Fuck." You mutter, sucking on the fresh wound to relieve it.

"Sweetheart, you've gotta relax a little. The trials don't start for a month or two, it's not like you're going on the stand tomorrow." Eddie says, standing up from his seat to go to you. He puts himself in your way, placing his hands gently on your shoulders. You sigh loudly at him stopping you, dropping your hand away from your mouth.

"I know that, Eddie. But I can't help feeling like once it all starts, it's going to be an absolute shitshow." Eddie's about to dissuade your concerns, but you shake your head to stop him. "Both Jason and the Hagans can afford good lawyers. They're gonna tear us and Chrissy to pieces. They'll make it seem like we're lying, or we were 'asking for it'. And I'm terrified of having to deal with that in a room full of people. I'm terrified that I'll say one wrong thing and blow it." You sigh again, bringing your other thumb between your teeth now.

"Baby, you can't assume that it's all gonna go wrong, because then it definitely will. I'm sure Murray will show us all how to answer the questions and not screw it up. 'Kay?" Eddie speaks calmly to you, but his words provide little comfort. You're still catastrophizing inside your head, picturing the absolute worst case scenario. He's about to open his mouth to speak again, when the doorbell rings.

You leave Eddie's hold and go for the door. You open it to reveal a tall man with dark curly hair balding at the top, and a thick beard covering the lower half of his face. He's got silver aviator frames with brown-tinted lenses perched on his nose, and he's dressed in a tweed suit that fits a tad too large on his frame. He's holding a weather-beaten briefcase, and your nose crinkles at the bath of old cologne and strong aftershave he's drenched himself in.