𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 / 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔

ᴅᴏᴄᴇ

It's a small miracle, but Eddie's mother seems to have given up on trying to force him to do much of anything.

On Monday he does his chores around the house after school and she doesn't ask him to do anything else. He's not lazy, he'll do whatever she asks within reason, but it's strange that she doesn't even greet him home on Tuesday, or call him down to dinner, or pester him when he tells her he's going to be gone most of the day Saturday for the concert in Vermont. It's sort of... freeing, to be able to do whatever he wants. A little weird- but freeing.

"Maybe she's finally backing off," Mike tells him in fourth period when he shares his concerns with him. "Could be a good thing. Graduation seems far, but it's really not. She might be realizing that you don't plan to stick around."

Eddie really wants to believe him, but when he gets home on Wednesday, red-faced and in a whirl from Richie's constant jokes and flirting, his mom tells him to sit down at the kitchen table and get all his homework out. He's about to ask her why, shrugging his backpack off and settling down in his favorite spot, but then there's a knock on the front door and she hurries to get it, and when she pulls it open, Eddie's stomach drops in a sudden rush and his chest gets tight and feels constricted, and he feels so incredibly stupid for thinking for even a second that she had given up on trying to run his life for him.

Sam steps into his house, welcomed by his mother, lead through the entryway and ushered into the kitchen. He hears her fussing over his face- Eddie looks up at him, satisfied to see that his eye is dark and scabbed in certain spots, the bruise purple and blue and awful- but well deserved.

"Hello, Eddie."

Eddie ignores him, crossing his arms and turning away to face the wall; if he can't avoid his mom, he can at least ignore Sam. He doesn't have to be around him whether his mom likes it or not.

It's completely silent for a moment, then his mom says, "Eddie, why are you being so rude? Say hello to Sam."

Facing the wall, Eddie doesn't move, keeping his head turned away, clenching his jaw and chewing on the inside of his mouth. It's almost childish, but his mom just doesn't understand. She'll probably never understand. He's not going to bother telling her about what happened at the theater. There's just no point- she'll either ignore it, or try to turn it around on him.

"It's fine, Mrs. K," Sam says, simply, as if he's done nothing wrong. As though he didn't put his hands on Eddie in her house, or force himself on him at the movie theater, or even try to get him alone in front of his friends, just so he can say more dirty, disgusting things to him in the subtle way he does. "Senior year is really stressful. Makes you act like a completely different person."

"He's been a nightmare!"

Eddie keeps looking away from them, but he's surprised by his mom's words. Is he really that terrible? All he wants is to be left alone- is that too much to ask? He doesn't think so, but apparently he's a "spoiled, selfish child" (his mom tells Sam) and maybe he needs a "Responsible, strong example" (Sam tells her, clearly meaning himself), and it really shouldn't, but it hurts to hear her opinion, and for her to act like he isn't even there.

She leaves the kitchen and Sam sits down right next to him. "What are you struggling with?" Sam asks him, and Eddie can feel him staring, thinking things that he knows will make his stomach turn.

"I don't need help from you," Eddie sneers, scooting his chair away a few inches.

Sam sighs. "Eddie, we can make this easy." He reaches over Eddie and takes his backpack, unzipping it to remove his school things from the large pocket. Eddie watches him out of the corner of his eye. "Or, if you don't want to cooperate, we can sit here all day. And I'll stay for dinner. And, because your mom likes me so much, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we went up to your room once it gets too late to sit up down here."