Mike, Stan, Bill, and Ben left to go to Mike's farm to find tools to remove the chain. They all assumed that Sonia had the key, since Eddie refused to say anything. They all knew of the key was in arms reach, Eddie have been free and at Bill's house hours earlier.
Bev and Richie volunteered to stay. The group had overheard them talking and knew they could relate to Eddie the most and probably offer him the most comfort.
"Have you eaten today, Eddie?" Bev asked softly. After seeing how he wolfed down his food the day before, she figured he may not be allowed to eat filling foods, if he was allowed to eat at all.
Eddie didn't respond, his eyes still fixed on his knees. His tears were gone; his expression made him look like he was in shock.
"You can just nod or shake your head," Richie said. He was sitting next to Eddie, not touching him. He wanted to find a way to push all of Eddie's fears and pains away, to make him forget about the terrible life he had lived, but it was impossible.
Eddie just needed time.
In response to Bev's question, Eddie shook his head.
Bev smiled sadly and started to look through Eddie's fridge, scoffing at the selection. "Jesus Christ, she's seriously feeding you this shit?" Bev asked, pulling out a jar labeled "weight loss paste."
Eddie shook his head again, pointing toward the fridge at the jar next to what Bev had pulled out.
She scoffed again. "She's making you eat anchovies? Disgusting," Bev said, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Don't worry, Eds. As soon as we have that thing off of you we'll get some real food," Richie said, allowing his hand to ghost over Eddie's. He wasn't going to touch him unless he wanted to be touched, so he allowed the idea of the comfort to sit there.
To Richie's surprise, Eddie turned his hand and moved it so his palm was touching Richie's. Then, he took it a step further and scooted closer to Richie, laying his head on his shoulder.
In Eddie's mind, if he was going to trust Richie to free him from the chain, he was going to put all of his trust in him. Eddie knew his head wasn't in the right place, so he decided it would be okay, just for the time they were in the mansion.
Richie pulled his hand away and wrapped his arm around Eddie. "Is this okay?"
Eddie nodded, but still didn't speak.
"Eddie, you need to tell me. You're good at hiding your emotions, so I can't tell if you actually want me to touch you or not," Richie said, pulling his arm away.
Eddie looked at him sadly. He didn't want to speak, but he really wanted Richie's comfort. Eddie groaned quietly to himself in irritation. He didn't know what he was supposed to do.
"Please hold me," he said after ten minutes of silence, hoping that Richie wouldn't be mad at him for being made to wait.
However, Richie looked at him and smiled, putting his arm around Eddie's shoulders again. He could tell Eddie was still scared and embarrassed, as his body was still tense and he was shaking slightly.
Bev sat at the kitchen table, watching the interaction between the two. Her heart ached seeing how terrified Eddie was of them, but she could tell he was trying to trust them. He wanted to, it was just the treatment and sick mind tricks that were used on him that made him hold back.
"Eddie?" Bev asked softly after he had closed his eyes, trying to relax into Richie's hold.
He opened his eyes again, looking at her nervously.
