hard times// eddie + richie // IT

eddie the nurse

richie's eyes slowly fluttered.
once.
twice.
then, they slowly started to open.
for six hours i had waited, and i was worried richie wouldn't wake up. i was scared for his life. his giant, even without the glasses, brown eyes stared at me for a few seconds.
"eddie?" richie said, his voice was raspy and quiet. suddenly, the worry held in my bones poured out. a single tear at first, and then a flow.
"oh my god, richie i was so scared." i had to struggle to regain my breath.
"i just found you here and i didn't know what to do." i sobbed. i looked down at the ground through my tears. i should not be the one crying. but as usual, it was tiny eddie, the softie.
richie's fingertips brushed my face.
"don't worry about it kid, i'm alive." richie said, in the worst southern accent anyone could've mustered. then i realized, no one was here to take care of him.
"richie, when is your brother coming back home?" i asked.
"oh. h-he got a job up in West Harrington, working at a factory or something." richie replied.
"West Harrington is like an hour away!" i exclaimed.
"oh yeah, he's not here during the weeks, he comes on weekends." richie mumbled.
"where was he today?" i sound like my mother, asking forty trillion questions.
"oh. he doesn't like it when my parents are home, so if he sees them, he leaves." richie sounded so tired, and he paused before he said his parents. i wonder if they had something to do with this. i look down at richie. his white tank top is soaked through with blood, and now had holes in it from where i had cut it open for bandages.
"man, i look like shit." richie muttered.
"yeah." i agreed. richie pretended to be offended.
"no! you're supposed to tell me how hot i look!" richie jokes. i laughed. richie tried to laugh, but had to stop because it hurt too much.
"as much as i'd like to help you, i'm too small to carry you, and mike went home." i told richie.
"i can walk, you're just gonna have to prop me up." richie insisted. so, we walked, me under richie's arms, and him, trying to keep himself upright. i placed him on his bed carefully.
"i'm gonna have to check your bandages, okay?" i told richie. he blushed a deep shade of crimson.
"okie dokie." he joked. i carefully peeled the tank top off of his broad shoulders, and very sneakily checked over his body. richie was a muscular kid, which made him intimidating. i unwrapped each bandage and checked each cut. i re-wrapped everything. richie sat there, shirtless and broken. i needed to change his clothes.
"okay richie, i'm gonna have to change your clothes." i told him. richie blushed, AGAIN. do i make him nervous? i pulled a cotton shirt out of a dresser drawer. i helped him pull it over his head. our faces were just centimeters apart. honestly, i wouldn't mind if he kissed me. but why would he?
next, came the awkward part.
"c-can you change your underwear on your own?" i asked, praying he'd say that he could. richie blushed.
"yeah, nurse eddie, i can do that." richie said. so, i threw him a pair of boxers and turned around.
"you can turn around now eddie." richie laughed. i felt my face heat up like crazy. there was a broken boy, in his boxers, sitting on his bed, with the goofiest smile i had seen in a long time. maybe that's all i wanted in life. a goofy boy with a goofy smile.
"okay here's some sweatpants." i threw richie a pair of sweatpants. he flinched as he delicately pulled them over his long legs. richie yawned.
"i'm beat." richie said. i had already told my aunt i was staying with a sick friend until further notice. my mom would flip out, so thank god she's gone for the month. going on a mission trip was on her bucket list, and i finally convinced her to go. lost in thought, i didn't even realize richie had laid down in bed.
"eds?" richie's weak voice called.
"can you turn the light out?" richie asked. my frail boy, all curled up and sleepy. my heart melted.
"sure, richie. i'll be on the couch if you need anything, just call me, okay?" i wanted to make sure he was okay before going to sleep myself. richie smiled, and then closed his eyes. i turned out the light, and walked out the door.
from the hallway, i heard richie make the tiniest sob. i knew he was shaken, but i didn't know what to say. i laid down on the lumpy couch, and tried to close my eyes. for two hours, i tossed and turned, but only thought of richie. i wanted to be with him. then, i heard the tiniest voice call out to me.
"eddie?" richie called.
i tiptoed to riches' room, and there he was, messy haired and tear stained.

my broken boy.