𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡.

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 | 𝐞 & 𝐫

R

The boys were almost at their destination in Camden, Maine. The ride hadn't been too long, as time had only elapsed an hour and forty minutes, but it felt like an eternity for Richie. This day had been entirely too much for Richie, despite it only being 5 PM.

On his phone, Richie had found a quaint cabin that was able to be rented for a couple of days. The surrounding area was beautiful - there was a woodland atmosphere with plenty of tall trees and green grass. However, it was on more of the... vintage side, so he knew that Eddie wouldn't take to it as well as Richie would. His solution? He wasn't going to tell Eddie. Yes, a bad move, but it worked for him in the moment.

"We're here. Close your eyes." Richie said to Eddie, who was looking down at his phone, as they arrived at the small cabin. Richie pulled the key out of the lock cylinder with a swift twist, sliding the keys into his pocket with a jingling noise. He heard Eddie softly sigh, and watched to verify that his eyes were closed. Richie smiled a bit, getting out the car door and walking to the other side to open the door for Eddie. As he opened the door, Eddie clumsily got out, almost tripping on a small branch outside of the car door. Richie chuckled at his clumsiness, and he could just feel Eddie rolling his eyes internally, despite them being closed. "Can I look now?" Eddie said, regaining his stability. "Yeah." Richie said, nervous to see Eddie's reaction. Eddie uncovered his eyes with his hands.

E

Eddie looked, absorbing the reality of the situation. The area had a golden tint resting upon it from the setting sun, illuminating the crystal waters in the sizable lake behind the cabin, making the subtle waves appear as broken shards of glass. Eddie looked down, noticing he was standing on mid-length, forest green grass that came up just to his ankles. The grass felt slightly damp with water left on it, perhaps from the moist environment. The cabin itself was rustic, to say the least, but seemed to be in a decent shape. The build was a refined wooden material, and the door had a dark green trim, slightly chipped near the bottom. In the front of the cabin was a brilliant array of flowers of many colors, which's vibrant hue was shown all the more because of the orange and yellow sun rays shining upon it. A refreshing gust of wind hit Eddie, cooling him off from the ever blazing sun.

"What do you think?" Richie said to the boy, sounding apprehensive, as if he knew how Eddie was going to react. 'Don't get pissed, don't get pissed, don't get pissed'. Eddie repeated to himself mentally as a mantra. "It's... a cabin." He said, pointing out the obvious as to not instigate anything. "Yeah." Richie said, wincing, waiting for it to all come crashing down. He took a deep breath. "What are we going to do with... a cabin?" The boy said in a tranquil tone, trying to keep his cool. "Come on, don't be so cynical." Richie said, trying to find a common good in the situation as he closed the door behind him. "I'm sure it'll be fine." Eddie sighed again, not sure if the boy was right in his hypothesis. "Yeah. I guess." He said, with a drop in his tone.

R

Richie tried not to concern himself with the situation too much, as Eddie had a proclivity to overreact or under react quite often. He opened the back doors of his third-rate car. He got out Eddie's things for him, trying to ease his anxieties by being overly amiable and doing extra favors for him.

Richie honestly liked the cabin and the scene, despite the rustic value of it. Richie was used to not having the best, and Eddie clearly hadn't been accustomed to that in a while. He knew it would be good for him, though. Away from all of the business and chaos of a populated area.

Usually, Richie felt like he heard everything. Every minor noise, no matter how big or small. He felt this constant buzzing or a constant, never ending pitch in his head that only seemed to be eased when he was high, or when he was around certain things. Not only did Eddie calm the noise for him, this new, tranquil environment would hopefully help as well. He just wanted the noise gone.

E

As Eddie collected his things, he tried to come to terms with the situation at hand. He was beginning to regret it a bit. Until he turned and saw Richie. He wouldn't make everything better, but just a glimpse of him seemed to calm the tides of Eddie's stress and anxieties. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was enraptured by Richie. He loved as his stupid, lame jokes, no matter how extreme they got. He loved his gentle yet passionate laugh. He melted when he looked into his dark eyes. They were like ink, writing out exactly what he was thinking. They say eyes are the key to the soul. Eddie thought about that phrase, previously always thinking it was bullshit. Before Richie, that is.

After retrieving everything from the seat and the trunk, they walked onto the landing of the cabin. The wood made a harsh creaking noise from the obvious age of it. Eddie didn't have a good feeling about it, mostly thinking about all of the germs that could be, well, everywhere. Eddie squinted as Richie opened the door with the spare key, which was hidden quite incautiously under one of the many flower pots resting in front of the cabin, that shined rather brightly while in the sun. With a bit of a struggle, Richie opened the door.

When Eddie stepped inside of the vintage appearing house, he got a whiff of a familiar scent. He didn't know what it was, but he'd certainly smelt it before. The scent sent an uneasy sensation to the pits of his stomach. The inside of the house was primarily made up of wooden elements as well. There was a large fireplace against the forward facing wall, with figurines and a humble, floral garland upon the oaky mantle. There was a lofty bookshelf with four shelves attached. Many books were on it with a light film of dust, with a faded coloration as a response to age. Four books faced the front upon each shelf, the titles being War and Peace by Tolstoy, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, and lastly, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. 'Perfect light reading.' Eddie sarcastically mused to himself.

There was a small kitchen with light washed mahogany wood cabinets that had rusted, bronzed handles. In the center of the kitchen area was a half sized table with two lightly tinted (also wooden) seats on either side. The floorboards of the entire cabins creaked with each step, echoing through the open space. Surrounding the ceilings atop the inverted ceilings were large windows that let through beaming amounts of light, seeming to be the primary source of light in the otherwise dim house. In the center of the ceiling was a noticeably opulent wooden lantern appearing light, garnished with a colorful, floral embellished pattern surrounding it, which was in great contrast to the modest and homely exterior of the rest of the home.

R

Richie had been hoping for a shitty, cliche moment having there only be one bed in the home, but he was mistaken when he turned the corner past the kitchen to see two open-doored rooms with a bed in each. Damn it. He noticed an odd aroma lingering in the house. It didn't smell particularly unpleasant, but it sure made him feel so. It smelt as if guilt and sin had a scent. He got a disgusted feeling surrounding himself for no reason in particular all of a sudden, and furrowed his eyebrows, trying to identify the source of the smell and the feeling. Before he could continue to ascertain the smell, he was interrupted by Eddie, who was carrying his stuff into one of the rooms.

"I'm gonna have the room closest to the bathroom, okay?" He asked him, snapping him out of his mental investigation. "Yeah, okay." Richie said, taking his stuff and doing the same. After walking into the room, which had a wooden bed frame, a neatly made bed with a dark crimson tinted comforter and a gray rug on the ground, the floorboards made a high pitched creaking noise. Richie sighed, realizing that the obnoxious noise would take some getting used to. He sat in the bed for a second to test the comfort, glancing over to the nightstand behind him with a gray colored lampshade and a dimly lit lamp, which's brightness was dimming. A book was on top of it: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. He felt a tinge of more uninvited guilt strike him. Seeing the book felt almost like a warning. Richie left the room, feeling paranoid.

E

Eddie changed the sheets on top of his bed until his own ones that he'd brought himself. He folded the ones previously on top of his bed onto the shelf in the tiny closet. While changing the sheets, Eddie looked at his nightstand. Aside from a lamp, there was a book placed beside it. Before he could get a good look at it, he was met face to face with Richie. "Do you wanna go outside?" The boy asked him in a slightly aggressive tone. "Uh... Alright." Eddie said, squinting a bit.