hard times// eddie + richie // IT

richie fights

ah, fuck. i hate being awake. i wake up, i eat, i take my meds, i go back to bed. for four days, that's what i've done. eddie has been by my side the entire time. god, he's an angel. sometimes, stan is here. he always looks sad and tired. one time, he got close enough to talk to me, and he reeked of whisky and smoke. gross.
i'm always in a bad mood when i wake up, so i never really have time to tell eddie how grateful i am for him being there. i don't know what he does while i sleep, but i hope he's somewhat entertained. today, i moan on the couch and eddie rushes over.
"it's time to eat, grumpy-pants," eddie teases. he helps me up, and walks me to the kitchen table. he makes me a bowl of cereal, and gives me some pills.
"i know these white pills are painkillers, but what are the blue ones for?" i ask eddie. eddie gulps.
"uh-t-they're for you're cute. disinfecting pills." he stammers. he's lying. so, i stand up on my own.
"i wanna see the bottle," i grumble. shock crosses eddie's face.
"n-no! i mean, why? they're just pills for your bruising." eddie snaps.
"hah! you said they were disinfecting pills!" i shout. eddie sighs.
"what are they?" i ask, venom dripping from my voice. eddie looks at the ground.
"they're sleeping pills. i've been putting them in your food." he tells me. i gasp.
"why the hell would you drug me!?" i yelled. tears welled in eddie's eyes.
"i-it's just, when you were awake, i couldn't get you to eat or sleep because you cried so much. i had to help you somehow." he said, quickly.
"i can't believe you!" i yelled. eddie clenched his fists.
"you think i'm this weak little thing that NEEDS to be fixed?! well guess what eddie? this is the REAL. WORLD. not everyone needs your help! i swear you're just like your mother!" i stopped yelling. i had just told eddie the worst possible thing he could've heard. i immediately regretted it. eddie's frail body shook all over. fat tears ran down his face. he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie. MY hoodie.
"fuck you, richie toizer," eddie growled. before i could even say anything, he ripped off the hoodie, ran into my room and grabbed his bag, and slammed the door behind him. i slowly hobbled towards the window. his bike was gone. eddie left me here, alone. the pill bottles still sitting in the counter. my hands shook. i was alone, and i could barely walk alone.
FUCK THIS.
my brain screamed.
who did he think he was? drugging me like that?
he didn't even ask me first! no wonder i've felt like shit lately. he's been drugging me!
i pour the blue pills down the drain and turn on the garbage disposal. i'm not getting drugged anymore. i heard the front door jiggle, and then creak open.
"eddie?" i call. stan peaks his head around the door. he looks surprised.
"oh, uh. hey richie," he says, awkwardly.
"what's up, stan?" i ask.
"is eddie around?" he replies. great. just who he was looking for. tears well up in my eyes. stan notices.
"are you okay?" he asks, and shuts the door behind him.
"no," i tell him,
"what happened?" he pulls up a chair and sits acriss from me.
"eddie and i had a fight," i say, bluntly. stan looks surprised.
"oh, what happened?" he crosses his arms and sits back.
"so, it turns out he was drugging me with sleeping pills because he thought i was too much to handle, or something like that. then i got mad at him and called him his mother." stan's eyes widen.
"he left, i'm guessing." stan sighs. i nod.
"you know he was drugging you because he hated seeing you cry, and the only way to get you to stop was to put you to sleep," stan tells me. i nod.
"yeah, well he could've at least told me." stan rolls his eyes.
"if eddie told you he was gonna drug you, you'd never allow it," stan says. then, he stands up.
"well, i'm gonna go find eddie, but do you have any messages that you'd like to pass on to the losers?" stan asks.
"actually, yes. there is." i tell him.
"tell beverly to bring me my usual from big poppa's diner. she'll know what it means." stan rubs his hands through his hair, clearly nervous.
"tell bill i need to talk to him ASAP." stan blinks, and then coughs, nervously.
"and tell eddie that i'm really sorry and that i miss him and i need to talk to him." stan breathes out, less nervous.
"is everything alright stan?" i ask him.
"no, but that's a story for later." he says, and then he ducks out the door.