Chrissy&Eddie

Chapter 7: Cunningham's Curse

Chrissy had been on her way home when she had another episode. The day had been more bearable than most, likely because of the newfound friendship, or perhaps acquaintanceship, with Robin Buckley. The girl was like a breath of fresh air, a different perspective of the world, and Chrissy revelled in it.

It had been easier than she thought it might be to hide from her cheer friends, so Chrissy only hoped it had not been a one off. As luck would have it, none of them had noticed her when she crept into the back of Mrs Click's class and sat among the band kids, none of whom paid any attention her existence. But Chrissy thought this infinitely better than spending the lesson with Amy whispering in her ear nineteen to the dozen. She began to offer them shy smiles, and they warmed to her.

She had wondered what Jason might say at first to her lack of presence at the cheer table, but those concerns had long gone with Robin's encouragement and firm dislike of the boy. With her friends, Jason, and Eddie Munson with his tricks out of the picture, Chrissy felt at peace for the first time in a while.

She wandered along the road in the dusk that this mild evening had become, passing the little Hawkins houses and yellowing lawns. Everything seemed strangely calm, almost unsettling, but Chrissy didn't pick up on it as she strolled. Her mind was on what Robin had told her earlier.

"...such a douchebag, how did he ever make friends..."

The more Chrissy thought about what Robin had said, the more she realised it was true—that Jason was awful. Except she had never realised how he treated others because of the way he loved her. Now that she cast her mind back, Chrissy thought about the way he would laugh at the back of class with his arm slung around her chair, making fun of the rest of the class. She had been so blind before, now the only person she deemed worthy of Jason-treatment was that boy.

That Eddie Munson.

She had tried not to think of him and his trickery, but every time she became distracted the images would cluster in her mind. The rotting feet riddled with burst veins, an infestation of spiders in a grandfather clock, or the sound of her mother morphing into some great beast. Chrissy wasn't one to point fingers, but she was desperate for something to blame. Something to prove that she want just going mad. And so Eddie Munson had become her scapegoat, with his cursed trailer and his beer and drugs. Chrissy wanted nothing to do with the boy.

She walked onwards, noticing for the first time that day a chill about the air. It didn't seem unusual for the season, but certainly unusual for the day, having been warmer than most and almost sunny. The trees held a rustle that blurred into a shallow hiss, making Chrissy feel slightly on edge, but she was nearly home now and it was hers alone until nine when her mother got back from the mall. There was nothing to worry about.

But once again Chrissy felt that familiar sink in her chest as all her organs fell to her feet. Her head felt very light as her breath fluttered in and out of her mouth like a tiny moth.

The sky was greyer than before now and held about it a tinge of blue that cast down long shadowy smudges on the ground. It was all like a long episode of déjà vu; the sky, the breeze, the foggy feeling in her head, the sense of utter dread Chrissy felt. And then it came.

"Chrissy, dear?"

She shut her eyes as tight as they went. "It's not you, mom."

"Oh Chrissy, when will you learn." It was happening quicker than it had ever before, as if whatever was tormenting her had become tired of the teasing. It reminded her of a hunting cat. The voice already began to crackle and draw in closer to her until it consumed her mind once more.

A discordance of clanging rang out and something sounded as though it was ripping out of the trees near the edge of the road. Chrissy wedged a sliver of a gap between her fingers to look out, catching sight of a clock tearing through the bark. Chunks of the tree fell through as it tore itself out like some sort of primal creature, striking the hour over... and over... and over.

Chrissy was beyond terrified, there was an air of finality about this episode. Everything was just a little bit more real, more intense, as though this would be the one to take her. She squashed up into nothing, wrapping her arms around her legs until her hands became numb and her fingers began to constrict and colour a deep purple.

Yet while Chrissy waited for the voice again, it seemed she was waiting in vain. It didn't arrive.

Instead, another voice did. A horribly familiar voice that cut through the chilling thing that evening had become and drew it all to a sudden close.

Author's Note

Guys... so sorry this took a million years and it was so bloody short but i'm afraid this is all you're getting

Now that i don't need revise when i'm writing it's lost it's spice but i'm getting back into it i promise so bear with

This is defo tmi but i had a wagamamas today (bae) and there was red onion on the vegatsu and red onion goes straight through me if yk what i mean...</3 so if the last of half of this gives an impression of intense pain it's because i have been holding it in for hours

I hope learning that doesn't change your perception of me xx