Eddie Baby

Chapter 11

The ride to Reefer Rick's house was quiet, and it was Uber awkward. Eddie didn't say a single word to me on the way there, and I didn't say a single word to him. When Eddie pulled into the driveway, he killed the engine and stepped out. I didn't expect him to come to the passenger side and open the door for me, but he did. Eddie held out his hand; I initially hesitated to grab it, but I did. It was like this electric current spreading through my hand all over my body. I'm not sure he noticed, but I was feeling flushed. My whole body felt like it was going to melt at his touch.

"Thank you," I said as Eddie helped me out of his van. My feet touched the ground, and it seemed there was more dirt than grass at Rick's house. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Not as run down as people say it is. There was a garage right next to the house, I'm not exactly sure what is in there, and maybe I'll never know. I'll just leave that to my imagination. And the things I'm thinking aren't that great. I don't personally know Rick; most just know him as a drug dealer, but who knows, he could be a murderer. And he hides bodies in the garage?

"When we get in there, try not to touch anything. Okay?" Eddie's voice snapped me out of my head. I looked up at him; he didn't seem interested in being here with me.

"Okay. But can I ask why?" It's kind of a weird thing to say. Was there stuff in here like pot plants? Or maybe instruments of his torture would be in there. Holy shit, is Eddie his apprentice? Was he here to kill me? I stopped dead in my tracks. Eddie was already at the steps when he turned to look at me.

"Jesus, I'm not going to kill you." It's like he read my mind. That didn't help me much, and I stayed right where I was. "(Y/n) If I was going to kill you...." Eddie slowly walked towards me, "I wouldn't do it out here." He was only a few inches from my face. As scared as I was at this particular moment, he looked sexy as hell. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it far into the woods, where no one could hear you scream." He looked menacing. I could feel his breath on my face; he looked me deep into my eyes. Then he slowly turned back away towards the door.

"Now, let's go," Eddie said as he opened the door. How the hell did he get in there?

"He doesn't lock his door?" I asked. Eddie looked at me, looking annoyed with my question.

"He does, I was here a few nights ago, and I just forgot to lock the door." Then he walked right inside, not looking back to make sure I was following him.

"Do you come here often?" I asked; this time, he looked back and didn't look amused. It hit me that it sounded like I was coming onto him.

"All the time, actually, just to get away for a bit," Eddie answered, but he wasn't making eye contact with me. He went on to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Want one?" He asked as he opened up his beer. I shook my head, and he continued to chug down his beer. Before I got to talk again, he grabbed another beer and went back out into the living room.

"Alright, so this is how it's going to go, I'm going to get my D&D stuff from the van, and you just sit down over there, and I'll be right back." I didn't get a chance to say anything because he was already out the door to his van. I walked over to the chair that was sitting closest to the coffee table. Once I got to the chair, I saw Eddie standing by me.

"You ready?" He asked as he put everything onto the coffee table.

"Yeah." I nodded, and I gave him a small smile.

"Just pay attention, and hopefully, you'll be able to get the concept of it. And once you do, then you'll be ready to play with anyone. You can always start your own campaign with friends of yours." It's obvious that Eddie didn't know me. He actually thought I had friends. I guess I could consider Dustin, Mike, and Lucas as friends. But they're part of the Hellfire Club, and I'm not.

"Yeah, sure, okay." I hope I'll figure it out. I doubt it, though.

Eddie got everything set up; he laid out the board and took out all the different types of dice and character sheets. "Okay, let's figure out a character for you." Eddie sat down across from me, "once you figure out, then we can start." He made a steeple hand gesture. He seemed confident, not taking anyone's bullshit.

"Um... What are the choices of characters I have?" Eddie leaned forward to answer my question.

"You can be a human, or maybe an elf, dwarf, gnome. Just choose one and give it a name."

I didn't overthink it, "okay, I'll be a human. I'll call myself (y/n)." There was no point in picking a random name, was there? Might as well not make it too complicated.

"Really?" He leaned back into his chair. "No, pick something else. How about we make you... A halfling."

"What the heck is that?" I have no idea what he's talking about. Clearly.

"They're half human and half like a hobbit or something, you know. They're not tall, but they're very intelligent."

"Okay? So I'm a halfling. What about my name? Why can't I just use my actual name?" It would just be easier, but he wouldn't let me. Eddie is the expert, so obviously, he knows better.

"Oh, how about Kathil The Vicious? Now that sounds super badass, doesn't it?" Eddie had a huge smile on his face, "now for class, you should be a fighter." Eddie was getting excited about setting up my character. I let him take complete control over the character because he knows more about the game, and I have to admit, my character does sound badass, even if my character is short.

Once we picked out the character, Eddie went over all the rules and how the dice work. It was actually quite interesting to learn how to play this game. There is a slight problem that Eddie pointed out, "This game requires more than just two people, and I am the DM which means Dungeon Master." I thought about it and asked if we could get Dustin and Lucas to come over and play.

"Let's not bother them right now. Look, we'll come back tomorrow, and then we'll try getting them to come over." It was a little disappointing that we couldn't play with just the two of us, I mean, it probably could be possible, but he's right. Playing with a team would probably be a lot more fun.

"Might as well take you home." Eddie got up from his chair, leaving everything on the table. We head out the door back to his van. I look back over to the garage, and my imagination starts to run wild again. Eddie looks over at me and over to the garage.

"He's got a motorboat in there. Rick likes to fish, and sometimes he'll just sit out there in the water to get away from the 'real world.' At least that's what he tells me." Eddie walks over to the garage and opens it up. I walk in after him, and see a bunch of fishing supplies sitting around, and in the middle of the garage was the motor boat, but there was a tarp on top of it.

"That's a relief." I laugh.

"You thought he was a murderer or something?"

"Actually, yes," I admitted. I didn't want to come here in the first place, and just being here for just a little while made me realize just because a guy they call Reefer Rick lives here doesn't mean it's all bad. It was a lovely little house, simple.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing too. I met him years ago, but I've gotten to know Rick over the years, and I consider him a good friend of mine." Eddie walked out of the garage and back over to the van. I opened the passenger side and got in.