As soon as Richie left to give Eddie privacy, he went downstairs and greeted the other losers. They were all over the place, cooking and making sure they had blankets to try to comfort Eddie when he finally got out of the bath.
"What are you doing down here, Tozier?" Bev asked, eyes narrowed at Richie.
"He's in the bath, Miss Marsh. Wouldn't want to disturb the frightened fellow," Richie said with a light laugh, throwing his arm over Bev's shoulder.
"You should be with him, Rich. He's terrified and needs comfort. What if he slips or something?" Ben asked, obviously concerned for Eddie.
"You don't stand in bathtubs, Benny Boy," Richie said with an eye roll.
"Still," Stan jumped in, putting his arm on Richie's shoulder. "You should be with him."
Richie scoffed. "He's naked and vulnerable, guys. I don't want him to freak out more than he already has. The poor kid could use a damn break."
"Just g-go make sure h-he's okay," Bill said, carrying a large bowl of some kind of batter.
"Fine," Richie said, annoyed. "When he panics because I walked in on him naked it's on you fuckers!"
A chorus of "whatever" and "shut up Richie" followed him up the stairs as he came to the bathroom door. He knocked on it gently.
"Eds? You okay?" he asked, only to receive no response. "I know you're not down to talk Eds, but I need to make sure you're okay."
No answer.
"Eddie!" Richie said, knocking on the door again. "If you don't answer I'm walking in!"
Eddie didn't answer, so Richie walked inside, worried about how Eddie would react. His worries were gone, replaced by panic when he saw the small boy in the tub, completely submerged in water.
"Eds!" Richie screamed, diving toward the tub and pulling him out of the water. He felt for a pulse in panic, and could feel one, but it was weak.
"GUYS GET UP HERE!" Richie screamed, knowing that Bill and Ben both knew CPR.
He wrapped Eddie's lower half in a towel to spare him the shame of being seen naked once he woke up.
If he woke up.
Richie pushed the thought from his head as his friends stormed into the bathroom. They took one look at the situation and didn't need an explanation.
Ben immediately began rescue breathing and trying to force the water out of Eddie. Within seconds Eddie was breathing again.
He sat up and coughed, water coming up all over his chest and Richie, who was sitting right in front of him. Once he realized what had happen, he began to panic and try to get away, forgetting about all of his injuries.
Richie ignored his panicking, trying to get him as far away from the tub as possible. He quickly scooped him up and ran to Bill's room, sitting Eddie on the bed before closing the door behind him.
"What the fuck were you thinking?! Did you pass out or do it on purpose?!" Richie yelled, so worried that he was angry.
Eddie started crying, then coughing, more water coming up as he puked all over himself.
Richie sighed and grabbed an extra towel that he had left in the room, wiping Eddie's chest down and cleaning him free of the vomit. It was mainly just water, so it was easy to clean.
From there, Richie grabbed a sweatshirt and a pair of sweats from his stash in Bill's closet. He handed them to Eddie and turned around so he could change.
"I'm sorry," Eddie said weakly, making Richie turn around.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Richie asked, still angry but trying to stay calm.
Eddie nodded, sniffling and coughing every few seconds.
Richie sat down next to him, leaning against the headboard of Bill's bed. There was about eight inches of space between him and Eddie.
"Why would you do that?" Richie asked in a soft voice, trying not to startle Eddie.
Eddie didn't speak for a few minutes, so Richie figured he had resorted back to silence. He stood to go downstairs and help the other losers, guessing Eddie wanted space, when Eddie spoke up from the bed.
"I'm not happy," he said in a scratchy voice.
Richie turned around, sitting back down at the end of the bed.
Eddie sighed and continued. "I'm not treated like a person. I can't talk or learn or do anything. When my mom..." Eddie gestured toward his ankle, not wanting to say what his mother did out loud, "when she did it, I don't know, part of me snapped. Being chained to a bed stole whatever humanity I had left. I really hate my life Richie. I know you want to help me, but after my mom comes home, it'll just go back to how it's always been."
He was crying involuntarily, the tears simply dripping down his cheeks against his will. He could see Richie was on the verge of tears too, and Eddie hated it. He hated that he had made Richie cry.
"You're not going back there," Richie said, a determined look on his face.
"What?" Eddie asked, overwhelmed and confused.
"What your mom is doing is illegal, Eds. I'm tired of seeing you hurt. I don't care if I've only known you for two days. I really fucking care about you and I don't want you hurt, okay?"
"You can't help me," Eddie said quietly. "She's crazy and she does whatever she wants. You can't protect me... you can't protect me f-from her." His voice was breaking as he started to cry again.
Richie couldn't stand to see it, but he refused to leave. Instead, he crawled up next to Eddie, ignoring the doubts in his mind, and held him close.
Eddie sobbed into his chest, tired from the whole day and everything that had happened. He heard voices and more weight on the bed, turning to see the rest of the losers.
They all sat and looked at him in fear, but it wasn't terror. It was concern. They were genuinely worried about him and actually wanted to protect him.
