INSTANT REPLAY | REDDIE

- 02 | INSTANT REPLAY

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Eddie was awake for a long time that night. He was afraid of what might happen if he closed his eyes. Afraid of what he might see. So he clutched the coffee he made once his mother fell asleep in trembling hands, staring intently at his phone screen in favor of having something to focus on rather than the memories that he wished he didn't have.

The first few times that his eyes started to flutter shut, Eddie woke himself up with a pinch. Then things got more complicated. He got so close to sleep that his mug started to slip out of his hands. Scalding hot coffee his his thigh and he jolted awake with a sharp hiss of pain, putting his mug off to the side and clutching his leg. On the bright side, he thought to himself rather bitterly, he was wide awake now. On the other hand, he was in immense pain and he had wasted most of his coffee.

He pulled off his pajama pants and pulled on his red shorts from when he was younger that miraculously still fit. They weren't anything he would ever wear out in public, of course; they were much too short for that. But he wore them to bed or to sleepovers, though he didn't attend those very often ever since his slip-up with Bev. He headed into the bathroom with his phone clutched very tightly in his hand as he put a cloth under cold running water and laid it across his thigh. He didn't think it would blister, but it hurt like a bitch and now he was gonna have to change his bedsheets.

His phone started vibrating, and he glanced down at the screen. It was almost two in the morning, and of course, Richie Tozier was requesting to FaceTime. Eddie put his earbuds in and accepted the FaceTime, flipping the camera so he could show Richie his new battle scar.

"Hey, Eddie. Why are you awa- Jesus, what happened?" The volume of Richie's voice caused Eddie to flinch, and he nearly dropped his phone. He fumbled with the volume and lowered it considerably, replacing the cloth on his leg and turning the camera back frontwards so Richie could see his face. God, he looked pale. He hoped it was just the lighting.

"Spilled coffee," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing up?" Richie snorted on the other end, and Eddie opened one eye to see him staring right back with a rather incredulous expression.

"I could ask you the same question." Eddie didn't reply. He stared blankly at the screen, trying to refocus himself. "My dad got home late from work. He was stomping around in the kitchen, and I woke up. I saw that you were liking posts on Instagram. Seriously, though. Coffee at two in the morning?"

"I'm not tired," Eddie bluffed, running a hand down the side of his face. What a lie that was. He could almost feel Richie's concern through the screen. It made his heart flutter a little. What he wouldn't give for this one to have as trashy of a mouth as the one in his dreams. Richie was the only reason he would consider falling asleep lately.

"Bullshit. You're exhausted, Eddie."

"Eds!" Eddie blurted out, too tired to care. There was a moment of silence before he heard Richie shifting on his bed, the springs in his mattress screaming underneath his weight. He could hear Richie's soft breathing, and he would be lying if it wasn't both the most soothing and the most comforting sound he had heard at night in a very long time.

"You hate that. I called you that name once in second grade, and you hated it." Richie's voice held confusion, but it also held something that sounded an awful lot like longing. "Your mom ruins you, Eddie. I've told you this before, and I'm gonna tell you again. You've yet to admit it, but I know she makes all of your decisions for you, even when she's not physically there." Eddie was silent for a long time while he thought about Richie's reaction. He was right, Eddie knew he was right. He always had known it. But it was hard to be your own person when someone like Sonia Kaspbrak was trying so hard to do it for you.