His Salvation [Eddie Munson]

Chapter Two

I've only said a few words to Eddie before tonight and now he's standing before me completely naked.

I avert my eyes and hand him a towel to cover up. He mutters a thank you and almost falls over trying to tie the towel around his waist.

"Come on, let's get you to your bed." I grab his arm and gently wrap it around my shoulder. I'm thankful he's scrawny because I don't think I could be much help at this moment.

I wrap my arm around his waist and just touching him sends a jolt through my body. His skin is surprisingly soft and he smells faintly of Old Spice. Of course, he uses Old Spice body wash. I look into his shower and it's confirmed, a bottle of 3 in 1 Old Spice sits open in his shower caddy. I almost giggle, but I stay focused on helping him to his bed.

He seemed to still have enough strength to get to the bed with a little help from me.

"I'm sorry you were put on babysitting duty." He mutters as he pulls the sheets over his body to cover up the loose towel around his waist.

"I don't mind." I stand awkwardly next to the bed.

Eddie brushes his wet hair from his face, "You got stuck with the freak."

"Oh, stop. You're not what everyone makes you out to be."

"You don't know me well enough then." He laughs. He pats the empty side of the bed and looks at me.

"Lie with me. I promise I won't bite." He smirks, but his eyes are soft.

"I don't know. I should let you rest. I can go lay on your couch in case you need me."

"Don't be silly, Madi. I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch." Eddie says.

There is a moment of silence as we look at each other and then he softly says, "You're safe with me. But If you want to go, then I understand."

My heart almost stops. I'm safe with him. I knew that, but hearing it was another thing. He looks like he could be mean and scary, but his eyes give him away. He's kind and caring, I can see that. So, why am I nervous?

My feet start moving before I even realize it. He's watching me as I crawl into his bed, moving a few random cassette tapes and a jean jacket out of my way. I don't pull the sheets over my body, it feels too intimate to share bed sheets with him. I mean, he's naked for christ's sake. I grab the red blanket on top of the comforter and wrap it around myself.

I lie back on the pillow and stare at the ceiling. I still feel his eyes on me and I shift under the weight of his stare. This is insane. I can't help but laugh, and I immediately cover my mouth out of embarrassment, but I hear him laugh a moment later. My body relaxes at the sound.

"This is crazy, right?" I turn my head in his direction and our eyes meet.

"Yeah, it is." and then we laugh again. He winces in pain and lets out a breath.

"Tell me about yourself, Madi. Help me keep my mind off the pain. " He slowly turns onto his side to face me and shifts his good arm under the pillow for extra head support.

"What do you want to know? There isn't much to know" I say.

"Anything and everything. I mean, I think I deserve to know a little about the girl laying in bed with me." He smiles. He lifts his hand to his ear in a gesture to tell me that he's listening and I cover my face. I let out a heavy sigh and look back up at the ceiling.

"I moved here a few months ago and I live with my Grandmother. She barely notices when I'm around, but it's okay. I like keeping to myself. I haven't made a lot of friends since I've been here. But at least I have Robin and now I know you." I shrug my shoulders.

"So, you're kind of an outcast?" I can tell he's just trying to connect with me and make me feel comfortable.

"Yeah." I nod and look at him. "like you." I scrunch my nose in a teasing manner.

"The term for outcasts is freaks" he sticks out his tongue and brings his free arm up to form a devil horn with his finger above his head. We both laugh.

"Well, at least I know I belong somewhere."

"You do belong." He smiles back at me. "But wait! You can't be considered a freak until you tell me what music you listen to."

I laugh and roll to my side to face him. "You'll kick me out if I tell you."

"Jesus! You're one of those girls that like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, aren't you?" He says.

"They are icons!" I yell over his laughter and roll my eyes.

"Sweetheart, that isn't real music." He shakes his head.

I shift back to face the ceiling and let out a groan. "Whatever, Eddie." I try to hold back my smile.

"I'll let that go for now, but I'll have to show you real music when I'm back to myself," Eddie says.

"Now, go on. Tell me more." He waves his hand.

I continue telling him about myself. I tell him about my hometown and how different life was for me when my parents were alive. I talk about my old friends and even about Milo, my family dog that passed away a couple of years ago. Now and then he would chime in, but mainly he would listen. I appreciated that.

He made it easy to open up and talk about things. I felt silly at first talking about myself, but he was genuinely interested in my life. I opened up more than I have in a long while because he is making me feel comfortable.

I was talking about an old family trip to the beach when I start hearing soft snoring. I look over and see Eddie fast asleep.

He looks peaceful. His mouth is slightly open and his eyes are moving as if he is dreaming. I hope he is dreaming of something nice. I shift to my side to face him.

I study his face and for a moment I feel wrong for watching him sleep, but I can't look away. His dark brown curls were starting to dry from his shower and they framed his face perfectly.

Behind the dark clothes, wild personality, and big hair—he was beautiful and kind. You wouldn't know it at first glance. For the few hours I've gotten to know him, I like him. I like Eddie Munson. And I don't know about romantically, even though he does give me butterflies, but I mean as a person. The Eddie behind the mask.

I didn't realize I fell asleep until I was suddenly woken up by screaming. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but no. It is Eddie.

Eddie is screaming!