The morning seemed to creep up on him because next thing he knew, the bright rays were wakening him. After blinking several times, he rubbed his sore face and pushed his hair behind his ear. With a lick of his lips, of which tasted salty because of the tears shed last night, he struggled to get up, feeling the nauseous consequences from the past hours. After he could stand still and got his bearings, he grabbed the empty wine bottle and made his way back through the bushes and onto the trail.
The park was empty except for a few stray birds and squirrels. Eddie looked around for a nearby trashcan and after seeing one to his right, he began walking but stopped quickly after seeing a sleeping girl on the bench he'd just visited a few hours ago. She was sleeping in an upright position, as if she'd been waiting for something, or someone, and couldn't stay awake no longer. He was going to walk past her and throw the bottle away and be on his way but between the expression on her softened face and a beer bottle about to fall out of her hand, he felt like he couldn't leave her there all alone.
Just a wobbly few steps and he was at the bench, staring down at her more closely now. She blinked and twitched a few times, making him think she'd heard him approach. After she resumed her peaceful state, Eddie decided to reach down and grab the bottle out of her hand.
"What?"
Eddie jumped at the sound of her voice. She was blinking and before he knew it, she was staring at him too. She grinned to herself.
"What?" It was Eddie's turn to ask the question.
"You're Eddie Vedder."
shit, He immediately presumed it was one of the girls from last night.
"Yeah.." he replied reluctantly, looking down at the ground.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna freak out or scream or anything." She grinned again.
Eddie let out a relieved breath, sending a smirk her way as he stood up. "You waited this whole time?"
"Sure did. Hope you don't mind.. I can see how one would think this is creepy-" She lurched forward, clutching her stomach as she puked what little she had in her.
Eddie rushed forward, grabbing her hair with one hand and patting her back with the other. A few moments passed and she sat up again, wiping her mouth with her sleeve and grimacing.
"I'm so sorry. That was so disgusting.. oh god, i hope i didn't get any on you.." She looked up at him with red cheeks of embarrassment.
Eddie let out a small chuckle, "no, your good. In fact i feel like doing that myself." He grinned, trying to reassure her it was alright. She nodded slowly, and then looked down at the wine bottle in his hand.
"you drink that whole thing yourself?"
Eddie lifted it up and looked at it, suddenly realizing just how huge it really was. "yeah.. bad night." He explained. He swallowed, finally remembering why he was out here in the first place. His stomach felt like it lurched itself fifty feet inside of him. The sun had finally risen completely and he had to squint to be able to see the girl sitting below him. Eddie looked away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. The girl noticed this and got up to stand next to him.
"I'm sorry if I've kept you from somewhere.. I just wanted to say hello, and tell you how much I appreciate your music." She held out her hand, which Eddie took and shook, as he gave a weak smile.
"thank you." He nodded, and with that the lady had turned and started walking away. He stood there dumbfounded, feeling a hundred things at once. Mostly a renewed sense of heartbreak after remembering last night, and a bit of warmth at the recent compliment.
