Distant Closure.

The Young Host

Eddie tapped away on his laptop, occasionally looking at his bedroom door. Breakfast was made for two this morning, and it only made him remember the days he made it for two every day. Occasionally for four if Venom convinced him to make something small for Sonny and Cher. It took everything in his power not to break down into tears while making two simple plates of eggs and bacon. As much as he tried to forget, he never could.
With the laptop on his lap, he spun on his office chair. His radio played songs so quietly that he could hear the bed creak in the other room when Charlie woke up. He had minutes to get back into the right mindset to be a caretaker. Especially for a young girl like her.
The door slowly opened and Charlie poked her head out of the room, assessing where she was and who was there with her. The night before, Eddie had lent her some things to wear to bed so she didn't have the lingering smell of blood on her.
"Good morning, Charlie. Feeling any better?" Eddie half-closed his laptop to look at her. He wanted to make sure she felt heard, that was one way to hopefully help the girl, and get her to a proper home, not his dingy apartment. Charlie nodded, she still showed clear discomfort. Her eyes wandered, like she was listening to something.
"Breakfast is on the table, there are snacks in the cupboard. Please help yourself. We can talk about this situation we're in after, alright kiddo?" Eddie's voice had a calming sound. Thankfully the research he had done the night before on how to be a father worked. The girl nodded again and walked over to the kitchen.
"Phenylalanine. What has that in it?" Charlie spoke up after she sat down. This piqued Eddie's attention. He looked up again and towards her.
"Why do you need phenylalanine?" He questioned. He fully closed his laptop and put it down. He walked over to the table and sat down across from her. Charlie bit her tongue.
"The last few days have been hard, I think I'm schizophrenic, and I'm hungry all the time." She confessed, speaking quickly then poking at her food.
"Chocolate, and technically the human brain, are common supplies of phenylalanine." He paused. "Charlie, are you hearing something or someone in your head asking for constant food?" Eddie's comment was straightforward, and Charlie's eyes widened.
"Maybe." Charlie stuttered on the one word, and got more worried when Eddie frowned.
"I need you to be honest with me, or I can't help you. Please, kiddo." His frown softened. And finally Charlie nodded. "It made me eat a rat." She shivered, and blurred memories hit Eddie like a sharpened blade.
"If you want help getting rid of this, you'll need to come with me to San Fran. Do you want help?" Against all the hurt, Eddie spoke soothingly, like a comforting parent. He pushed down memoirs of things his Symbiote had said to him
"I want help."

-

"Yeah, thanks Anne. See you and Dan in about an hour and a half. Bring chocolate." He looked at Charlie who was sitting on the seat next to him on the plane. She asked for the window seat, and Eddie made sure she got it. "And maybe a few beers." He added with his voice lowered.
He ended the call and buckled his seatbelt. He turned on aeroplane mode on his phone and put it back in his pockets. He was about to put in his earbuds and listen to an audiobook before he heard Charlie say something.
"Stop talking to me." She whispered. Any normal person would assume she was talking to them, but Eddie knew that she wasn't normal as of now. Charlie was speaking to a Symbiote. Or at least he assumed she was. She had the traits that Eddie had when he hosted Venom. The constant hunger, the speaking to himself, the shaking and the fever. She didn't show any signs of a fever, but she did have the rest of the traits. Eddie made a mental note to speak to Dan about this, although he didn't have much knowledge on how Symbiotes work, he was a doctor.
The rest of the flight, Eddie listened to Charlie speaking with the Symbiote. A part of him wished that it was Venom, and he was just gaining energy before he returned to him. Another part wished she was just a schizophrenic teenager in need of serious medical help.
"He's nice to me, that's rude." She hissed to herself. The way she spoke to the Symbiote showed she was slowly warming up to him, she wasn't shaking or screaming when she heard the voice.
He looked at her as she looked out the window. Eddie thought of his first full conversation with Venom. He didn't count all the other interactions as conversations. What he did count as a conversation was when the two were torn apart via high frequencies of sound. Eddie accused Venom of killing him, even if in a way he was. It was one sided but it was the first time he actually recognised that he was speaking to something.
"Eddie?" Charlie spoke up. He blinked a few times before coming out of his thoughts.
"What's up Kiddo?" He sat up properly again.
"Chocolate? I'm hungry again." She smiled a little bit. Seems she was warming up to Eddie as well. Eddie opened his bag and took out a chocolate bar for her. He handed it to her and smiled.
"Thanks da- Mr. Brock- Eddie- Sorry-." She flinched. Eddie's smile died slowly. No matter how much she covered it up, out of instinct Charlie was going to call him dad. And it brought him back to the same memory from the night before.
"Eat up, Kid. If what's going on with you is what I think it is, you'll need the food." He nodded to her slightly. She ate it quickly and shoved the wrapper into her pockets.
When the plane landed, he caught himself swearing as he had forgotten to speak to Dan about his situation, and about Charlie. And the possible Symbiote.
"Who's the girl? Eddie, did you take someone's child with you?!" Anne looked between Eddie and Charlie with a stern look on her face. Eddie put his hands up in defense. "I didn't kidnap someone. Where is Dan?" He lowered his hands. He felt Charlie somewhat hide behind Eddie. It was a semi-new environment and she seemed incredibly uncomfortable.
"He's waiting in the car. You didn't answer my question, who is the girl?" Anne crossed her arms and looked at Eddie.
"This is Charlie. She was abandoned and I don't have time to explain all this. But I'm around ninety percent sure she has a parasite." He whispered parasite, but it was a louder whisper so that Anne could still hear him.
"A parasite? A par- Oh no. No that's not possible. They were wiped out after.. What happened." Anne's expression went from stern to concerned. She looked at Charlie with pity, and she only further hid behind Eddie.
"I can explain this when we get to my apartment." He almost finished talking before he spoke up again. "Did anyone get tater tots? I'm starving."