Breathe ⭐️ Reddie

07

As soon as Richie fell asleep, Eddie climbed into the seat next to Mike, his face still red.

"You're awfully red, Eddie," Bev said innocently, turning around from her place in the front seat.

"Yeah, it's really hot in here. What do you expect?" Eddie grumbled, defensively pulling his knees to his chest.

Mike and Bev both laughed while Stan rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Eddie. We're your best friends! Are you really gonna hide the little crush you have on the hostage?" Mike asked.

Eddie glared at him and crossed his arms. "I do not have a crush on him. He's fucking annoying and he tried to run away. Why would I have a crush on him?"

No one responded, but there was clear acknowledgment of Eddie's attentiveness to Richie. They all knew that if Eddie really didn't care about him, he would've let Stan shoot him. Even Eddie knew it, despite his refusal to admit it.

"I'm fucking exhausted. How much further out are we?" Eddie asked, changing the subject.

"Four hours. I'll wake you up in an hour so you can be awake when the hostage does. How many pain killers did you give him?" Mike turned to Eddie, who laid down across the seats.

"He'll be up in an hour and a half or so."

With that, Eddie shut his eyes and allowed himself to drift off, finally able to relax.

•••
Eddie's rest didn't last long. He slept for a short period of time before a shrill ring woke him up.

Sitting upright and rubbing the sleep from him eyes, Eddie realized that Stan's burner phone was ringing.

"Who is it?" Eddie asked, realizing that this was most likely really bad. They were supposed to call when the deal was secured and they had the money.

"I don't know. Answer it, Eddie," Stan responded, trying to keep his voice steady. He really didn't want to talk to whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Eddie asked nervously, after he had picked up the phone and answered.

"H-h-hey, Eddie. It's Bill. Y-you never c-called to tell us th-that the job wa-was done," Bill's voice came through, giving Eddie a sense of relief. If his friend was calling and not someone in charge, they might not be pissed off yet.

"Yeah, uh, we meant to call, but couldn't really."

"D-did something h-ha-happen?"

"I can't really explain it over the phone. We're about three hours away, I'll explain it all when we get back."

"I wa-was afraid you'd s-say that."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Ru-rumor h-has it that th-the job was co-compromised. Was it?"

"Sort of... I promise I'll explain everything when I get back."

A groggy voice sounded from the back of the van and Eddie's heart dropped when he realized Richie had woken up.

"Eddie?" Richie said loudly in an exhausted voice, loud enough that it could be heard over the phone.

"Wh-who was th-that?" Bill asked, sounding more and more suspicious.

"Sorry Bill, gotta go. We're... losing.... service... see you.... in... three hours."

Eddie shut the phone and threw it into the front of the van.