Rescue me

14

“Ok beautiful, movie night or reading?” He asked, sitting next to you on the bed.

“Hmm…movie! Popcorn? Oh man, I left my movie mix at the apt.” I said, not even able to call that place home anymore.

“Movie mix?” Eddie asked. “Yup, popcorn, M&M’s, pretzels and plain chips.” 

“Well you’re in luck, I have all of that. Wanna show me how you do it?” he asked, standing up and reaching his hand for mine. I gladly took it, but brushed past him and skipped to the kitchen.

“ Ok, we need the ingredients and the biggest bowl you have.” I said, jumping up to sit on the counter. Once Eddie had set everything on the counter, I had him pop the popcorn while I added everything else together. 

Once the popcorn was added, I mixed it all up and handed the bowl to Eddie so I could hop off the counter. Once back in the bedroom and curled up in bed, Eddie with his back to the wall and me nestled between his legs, we watched a movie.

“Ok love, I was a bit wary of this ‘movie mix’, but I gotta say, it’s pretty fucking good.” Eddie said, shoving another handful into his mouth.

“Right? Josh hated it, said it was gross and was gonna make me fat.” I said, instantly sorry I brought him up again. “Sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up again.”

“Hey, don’t do that. It’s bound to happen. You dealt with that for way too long and it’ll take time to get around that. And this may sound egotistical, but it’s nice to hear I’m better than he was. Means I’m doing my job as a….I don’t even know what we are.”

“I don’t either yet. I know I want to be with you and only you. At the same time, I feel like you could do better and don’t want to hold you back. I know we talked about this already, but I can’t help it.” I said, turning around to face him. He moved the bowl to the end of the bed and took my hand in his, gently rubbing circles on the backs.

“I’ll always be here, wondering how the hell I managed to finally have you in my arms. If anyone’s not good enough for the other, it’s me. You’re fucking amazing baby, like you have no idea. I may have saved you, but you don’t realize you saved me too.” Eddie said, and I looked at him, confused tears forming in my eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Well, in the Upside Down. The bat attack. I swore to God that I’d make it out and finally tell you how I felt. I couldn’t die and let you keep thinking I hated you. When Dustin found me, I was actually ready to quit. Everything hurt so much, but he reminded me of what I’d said so I dragged myself back to the gate.” Eddie started, dropping his head to look at our hands, now linked together.

“Things got complicated when I actually died, and I pushed it off again. When I finally got better and got the nerve to say something, you were with him. I figured that was fate telling me I was right, I wasn’t good enough. So I kept up with the charade.”

“Eddie, I had no idea. Can I tell you a secret? No lie, I had a crush on you for the longest time.” I said, revealing the secret no one but Dustin and I knew. I never even told Robin and I told her everything.

“No way. No fucking way. Are you being serious right now?” Eddie asked. The glow on his face was beautiful, the way his eyes sparkled made my knees weak.

“Dead serious. When you fell through the gate, I was there. It was Dustin and I that got you to the lab. I made him swear to never say anything, because of how I thought you felt about me. I’d visit you everyday until you started waking up. Dustin kept me updated on your progress, but kept telling me that I should tell you how I felt, that maybe you felt the same. I laughed and told him that wasn’t possible, but I wanted to make sure you were gonna be ok.”

Eddie threw his head back and laughed hard, and I joined him not long after. His laughter was so infectious, one of the first things I fell for.

“Jesus baby, we were fucking oblivious. Dustin used to tell me the same thing and I laughed at him too. That boy normally can’t keep his mouth shut, but this time he does? I swear I’m gonna kick his ass.” Eddie said, coming down from his laughing fit but keeping the big smile. Jesus those dimples.

“Well, we have a chance to fix all of that now. Right?” I asked.

“Oh baby, you’re stuck with me. Whatever it takes, however long it takes, I’ll be here when you’re ready. Even if that means I’ll only ever be your friend, I’m ok with that too. We’ve got each other now, so none of that other shit matters anymore. You’re my girl, ok?” Eddie said, reaching up to cup my cheek, caressing my face softly with his thumb.

“Your girl, I like that.” I said, leaning into his touch and covering his hand with mine. I brought my other hand to the back of his neck, pulling him closer so I could kiss him. A kiss filled with passion and love, no urgency for anything else, a kiss to just feel each other.

We spent the next few hours just wrapped up in each other until I eventually fell asleep, wrapped in Eddie’s arms, which was quickly becoming my favorite spot.