wanted - Eddie Munson

forest hills

TW: mentions of alcoholism 

January 29th, 1986

Christmas had come and gone. I'd flown back up for the holiday, not expecting Max to tell me that Neil had left and that our mother couldn't afford to keep the house. Shortly after Max had broken the news we got into an argument. I told her I would be moving back early then, to help pay the bills. My sister hated this, of course. Yelling at me and pointing her little finger in my face.

"You made a promise to stay in California for a year! A whole year, not just a few months!"

"It is my decision, Max! I can't just go back and pretend like I don't know my family is struggling!"

"That's exactly what you can do! It's not that bad, we'll be fine!"

"I'm staying, end of the story, Maxine!"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, or maybe it was that I used her full first name. Either way, she stormed off and slammed her bedroom door. For the next few days, as my mother and I were trying to find a cheaper place to live, Max wouldn't even look at me. She'd sit directly in front of me and avoid eye contact like it was the plague.

We'd finally found a place. In Forest Hills trailer park, coincidentally enough. When I'd tried to tell Max she just nodded her head and I'd had enough of ignoring me. Urging and pushing her to talk to me, and she finally did. She broke down, telling me that she didn't want me to give up the happy life I had in California just to take care of her and our mother. It brought tears to my eyes seeing her so upset that I was moving back here, where she had assumed I didn't want to be.

"Max, listen to me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

She didn't believe me, of course, but we were talking. It seemed like a light clicked on in her head a second later.

"Wait, Forest Hills? As in, Forest Hills?"

I chuckled and nodded before telling her that the one trailer available was right across from Eddie. She rolled her eyes and groaned dramatically.

"You've got some serious shit luck, B."

Her statement caused us both to laugh before she asked if I'd talk to him. I haven't talked to him or seen him since the night we kissed right before I left. He ignored every call from me so when I called on his birthday I decided it'd be the last time. I wasn't going to keep pushing and trying for something that he clearly didn't want.

Although, I do owe him a bit of gratitude. He'd made good on his promise. He had been watching out for Max and helping my mother in any way he could. Max made a dramatic half sigh half groan when explaining, saying it was almost annoying how much he was around trying to help.

"I swear, B, it's like he's using us to fill the hole!"

Of course, I looked at her with skeptical and confused eyes, breaking in between laughs to ask, "What hole?!"

"You know, the one you left when you left."

My laughter dwindled to small chuckles and she noticed, moving on to tell me that every time Jackie was in town she stopped by.

Weeks went by short as we packed everything, and soon we had moved into our new home. It was a dingy orange-red color with two bedrooms. The inside looked similar to Eddie's, only our had a more rustic wood brown interior and his was off-white and blue.

I'd applied at started working at the local bookstore a week after deciding that I'd stay in Hawkins. I was just about to leave for work when I happened to walk outside at just the wrong time. I stopped in my tracks, my hands holding my keys were frozen in place as we locked eyes.