Anatomy • Eddie's daughter

A Box with Memories

5

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"We talk around it,
All for nothing"
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Last night was hell for Jo.

Literal Hell.

Every time she would fall asleep and then the same nightmare would make cause her to shoot up in panic.

And after the second time, around 2:25, she decided to call it a night and move to the couch in the living room.

But all she could think about was the nightmare.

She sat down on the couch, with a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders and body. She repositioned herself so that her body was propped up on the arm and the remote was easily accessible in her left hand. She turned the TV down to 8, where she could barely hear it and her father wouldn't wake up from it, and she scrolled through the channels mindless as her mind surfed the nightmare.

She's had nightmares before, especially right after her father would leave for his tours, but Shannon or her grandparents were always around to comfort her. This time she only had Eddie, who already was drowning.

She finally came across an old episode of Gilmore Girls, a show she's never watched but it looked interesting enough.

——————

Eddie lay in bed, staring at the wall, racking his mind of anything that would pop up but it was mostly thoughts of Jo and Chris.

He turned on his back, shutting his eyes and trying to give his mind a break, but as soon as he felt himself slipping under, Jo awoke from another nightmare, making the remote fall off the couch and crash on the hardwood floor.

Causing Eddie to open his eyes and turn on his protective mode.

His dad mode.

Jo scrambled out of the cover, to retrieve the remote that could've just woke the whole neighborhood.

Eddie grabbed the bat behind his door and tiptoed out the bedroom door, first peeking in on Chris, and then making his way to Josie's door.

Right when he got to the door, a mumble of words pulled his attention back to the living room.

"Oh, you stupid piece of shit," Jo muttered as she picked up the remote that was now in two different pieces.

As she attempted to put the two back together, her father crept closer, negligent to the fact that it was his daughter sitting on the couch.

After Eddie got real close to the couch another mumble made him stop and stare at the young girl.

"Why is this impossible?" She finally clicks the two back together earning a little dance from her.

Once her father realizes who's sitting on the couch he slowly brings the bat down from his shoulder and walks around the couch.

Josie's eyes are focused on the TV so she doesn't even realize that her father is standing less than 4 feet away from her, but as soon as he flicks on the lamp, she squeals and throws the remote at his chest causing him to groan and stare at the girl with a blank stare.

"Ouch."

Jo throws her hand over her mouth and the other one over her chest.

"What the hell are you doing?" Eddie asks his daughter who looks like she just had a heart attack.