eddie had no idea when he would be leaving the hospital. he watched everyday as richie recovered from his skateboarding accident, moving more and jumping around. richie was leaving soon, sooner than eddie thought and eddie had no choice other than staying.
eddie had been in the hospital for a week. after he was welcomed into richies group, they continued coming everyday. eddie was filled with laughter and joy, but it was all cut short when the nurse spoke the simple words, "richie, you get to go home tomorrow!"
eddie's heart sank. hie heart sank because no one was coming to tell him those words.
the group cheered in excitement, already planning on where they would meet for their dailey game of tag or hide and seek. eddie watched them, jealousy growing inside of him. this wasn't any different from watching them from inside his house. eddie would never truly be apart of something all because of one thing, sonia kaspbrak. as much as he hated her, she would always be his mother—sadly. his saddening thoughts were interrupted by richie,
"hey ed's! ya hear that? i'm going homeee!" richie said gently shaking eddie in excitement but calmed himself as he noticed the young boys look on his face.
richie left it alone but he made a mental note to confront eddie about once everyone else left. the little time richie has known eddie he had already felt some sort of attatchment to him, he felt the need to protect the young boy. he could tell no one has truly been there for eddie, hell, he could tell his mom stuck in in here just to ignore him. sonia had not visited since the day she dropped him off and richie noticed that completely.
the group stayed for hours after hearing the news, in all honesty richie wished they could leave only so he could speak to eddie in private. soon richie's wish came true as beverley said, "hey guys it's getting late, we should go and let them get some sleep" followed by multiple 'yeah's' from the group.
after the group left richie turned his attention to eddie, "so ed's, what's up?" he stared at the eddie truly worried about him.
"what do you mean?" eddie said fiddling his thumbs.
"are you ok?" richie said as he sat on his bed.
"y-yes." eddies response was quick, but his voice did crack slightly, you could see the tears in his eyes.
"ed's,-" richie hugged eddie tight. he could feel his shoulder become wet from the many tears falling from eddies face. his chest tightened, he was holding back tears as well— he hated seeing eddie like this.
"what's wrong eddie," richie said as he continued to hug the boy.
"i-i-it's just, i'm not leaving this place anytime soon. i don't want to be alone richie," eddie responded still crying as he held richie tight, he had no idea when he would see him again.
"i'll visit you all the time ed's until you get out, i'll even sleep here if you want," richie spoke softly trying to comfort the sobbing boy.
eddie was truly heartbroken, he was terrified of being alone. at least in his home his mother would check on him every 10 minutes, in the hospital it felt as if they check on them every 10 hours.
in the midst of all the crying, sonia barged into the room and saw the scene, her young son hugging another boy after admitting he likes boys, she lost it.
"WHAT THE HELL!" she walked over and pushed richie off of eddie.
"MA, STOP! WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" eddie shouted at his mother, he never shouted at his mother.
sonia stared in shock at eddie and she did it again, she hit him. richie's heart dropped, but that didn't stop the blood flowing through him at a quick rate.
"Fuck you." richie said cold in harsh, sending a silence through the room.
"excuse me??" sonia responded, taken aback at the young mans language.
"i said, fuck. you." richie repeated, he had always dealt with abusive adults—richie was as damaged as eddie, he knows exactly how eddie feels.
sonia ignored the young boy cursing at her, "cmon eddie, we're going home." she said as she held a tight grip on his arm, one that would most definitely leave a bruise.
she ignored his cries and so did the rest of the staff at the hospital. everyone watched as if it was normal for a young boy to be shouting for help with a red print on the side of his face. no one cared, except richie.
richie stood numb in anger. as much as he wanted to help eddie he couldn't. he couldn't move to save his own life, he regretted it with every inch of his body. richie broke into pieces when he looked outside the hospital window seeing eddie still being dragged by sonia and shoved into a car.
richie spent his last night in the hospital alone, no one to talk to, and no one to admire.
eddie got his wish, his wish to be let out of the hospital. but he knew he was going to a place worse than the hospital, he was going home. he knew sonia would barricade his door, make him shower with steaming hot water to kill the germs from richie, and eat small meals. what he feared the most was what he didn't know, he didn't know when the next strike will be on his cheeks, he didn't know the next time he would be able to step foot outside even accompanied by his mother, and most importantly, he didn't know when the next time he would be able to see richie.
on the drive back sonia continued to scream at eddie, he ignored every word. all he could think about was richie. of course sonia cut off his thought, as she usually did, by grabbing his chin and facing him towards her.
"you look at me while i'm talking to you!" sonia shouted in a stern tone.
eddie felt little, he couldn't defend himself. not against the women who was twice his size and wouldn't hesitate to lay a hand on him.
"y-yes ma'am," eddie responded with a look of fear in his eyes. he no longer loved his mother, he fears her. she was the monster under his bed.
once they arrived home everything eddie had predicted happened. he ended his day in a room that was locked with at least 5 different locks. he stared at the ceiling, not crying anymore—he no longer had energy to cry.
he could only think of richie as he stared at the night sky. little did he know, richie was staring at the same sky, thinking of eddie.
they both knew that they would see each other again, no matter what it took.
