LIVE FAST | REDDIE

- 03 | LIVE FAST

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"You've got to stop drinking those," Eddie warned his father. The man was chugging down an iced coffee like it was nothing. The warm days were coming to an end in Bangor, and autumn was approaching. It had been nearly a month since Eddie's dad's episode, and so far he had just been showing minor symptoms. He hadn't fainted again, but he had shown other signs of the disorder bothering him. Every once in a while he would wake up with pains in his chest. Other times, he would hardly move an inch and would suddenly be out of breath, or his heart would start racing for no reason. One time, he had nearly lost his balance just walking to the toilet.

The scariest part was that his father was hardly 45 years of age, which meant that if something were to go wrong, he would have hardly lived half of the lifetime he could have had. Eddie had read that in his book.

"Shut up, Eddie, I can drink coffee," the man scoffed. Eddie went silent, averting his eyes and looking out the window as they pulled in to Stan's driveway. The boy clambered in, and Frank lit up, immediately showing much more enthusiasm. Eddie frowned deeply.

"Dad, the caffeine could--" he tried again, but was cut off by his father yet again.

"What did I just say? I know what I can handle, kiddo. I've been drinking coffee for almost my entire life, okay?" Frank shrugged, pursing his lips. Eddie's cheeks went slightly red, and he just tried to settle down in his seat, though it was proving very difficult.

"Good morning," Stan greeted awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. Eddie lifted a hand in a feeble greeting, but his dad grabbed it and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. Eddie flushed, eyes widening as he glanced at the man, who was smiling against his skin with his eyes on the road.

"Good morning," Eddie said to Stan quietly, still watching his dad, though now it was with a soft smile. For once, he didn't mind having his hand held by his parent in front of his friends, not even as Mike came scrambling into the car a few minutes later. He smiled a bit wider at the feeling of his father's thumb rubbing circles on the back of his hand.

"This is it, boys!" His father crowed, coming to a stop in front of the school. Eddie squeezed his hand a little bit, and finally tugged it away as he got out of the car, giving the man one last fist bump through the window. He couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt as he eyed the coffee uncertainly again through the window, and it set off a prickle of nervous energy in his chest.

"Thanks, Dad!" He called, before turning and heading towards the front doors with his friends on his heels.

"He seems like he's in a bit of a better mood this morning. Any pains?" Mike asked curiously. Eddie shook his head, holding the door for them on the way in.

"Not that he mentioned, no. He's been okay for the past few days, but he's started drinking coffee again, and that isn't good for him." Eddie tugged at his shirt fretfully, staring at his feet as they walked. He was steered around the hallways so he didn't bump in to people, Stan on one side and Mike on the other as they made their way to homeroom.

"Ahh, my three favorites!" Mr. Epping greeted them as they walked through the door earlier than usual, having skipped their usual morning visit to Ms. Dunhill. "How are we this morning?" The man sat on his desk, looking through a pile of paper and wrinkling his nose in distaste at the grades he probably hadn't filled out.

"Okay," Stan answered honestly. "Not great, but okay." Eddie smiled sheepishly, but his thoughts were elsewhere. They usually were lately. He sighed softly, his gaze drifting towards the window as he came to a stop.