THE TOWER ━ stranger things

28.

chapter twenty-eight — the unraveling

March 23rd, 1986

The room is freezing when Eddie wakes up. The haziness of slumber slowly rises like morning fog from his eyes when he realizes he's not at home – the sound of Irene's soft snores share as another reminder of his circumstance. He sits up and tries his best to relieve his stiff shoulders and aching neck; relaying a mantra of gratitude in the back of his mind as he looks over at her sleeping peacefully, her face squished against a pillow. She's too damn good for this world, he thinks as he slowly gets up. The clock on her nightstand reads 5:30 and he can only assume that his nerves are what have him awake at such an ungodly hour – that and he has to go to the bathroom.

The sun isn't out yet but you can tell it's getting ready to rise at the azure hue it holds (a color Irene introduced him to), far lighter than its midnight equivalent. Thankfully he doesn't have to foolishly stumble around the room but stops at her door to look back while he opens it as slowly and stealthily as he can. It creaks once but even that is enough to garner a minor heart attack; he knows her mom starts to get ready for work pretty early and doesn't want to get caught. Nevertheless, he makes it across the hall and into the bathroom where he quickly does his business.

As he finishes washing his hands there's a soft knock on the door that makes him freeze.

"Mija?" Her mothers voice cooed softly, "You okay?"

He doesn't know what to do or say; he's absolutely catatonic as she jiggles the door knob and knocks once more. He figures the fact that Irene doesn't typically wake up early (like at all) is the reason for her concern.

She sighed, "I know it's been...crazy, lately."

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut; this isn't his conversation to be had. It feels wrong...but somehow he can't help but also feel like it's something he needs to hear. "I don't know if you've seen the news yet but...jesus, everythings gone to hell. Eddie's in trouble, the town is gonna want answers, and I don't really know what to do. Callahan and Powell are too damn stubborn to see that none of this is as it seems and so I feel like I'm stuck. I feel like I'm the only one that's paying attention." There's a small pause and Eddie can hear her softly nudge, what he assumes is her forehead, against the door as another sigh leaves her lips.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't be putting this all on you this early in the morning but I don't know who else to talk to about it because no one will listen to me." There's another brief pause and a whisper so faint that if he wasn't listening so intently he wouldn't have caught it, "He couldn't have done this. It just doesn't make sense."

She takes another, even longer, pause and Eddie can feel himself holding his breath at the silence. She's holding his beating heart in her hands and is about to either absolutely crush it or mend every single tear that's ever been torn into it by their town. He leans forward, hovering near the door as he waits for anything to emerge from the quiet stillness.

And then suddenly, "I'm gonna make it right, I promise. Prove to all those people that I can do it – I can solve this case, the right way, and bring justice to everyone ever wronged by whatever is sickening this town. I promised Wayne I'd fight for his boy and I meant it. They're wrong about him, I know it, I can feel it. You just...if you happen to see him, tell him I'm gonna fix it I swear. Tell him his story doesn't end here. I won't let it." His breath hitched at the words and he instantly felt the prickle of pesky tears plaguing his eyes. A lump formed at the base of his throat and all he could do was cover his mouth so a sob won't escape from his lips.