Reddie Oneshots

reddie eating disorder fic part 11

⚠️trigger warning ⚠️
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⚠️rape⚠️

-

The heat inside of the car was almost unbearable, the late summer sun unpleasant and blistering against the gravel and the cars. Eddie had no recollection of where they were, but he could see miles and miles of trees from his place in the passenger's seat of his mother's car.

He looked into the side mirror watching as an older man stood by their gas pump, filling up their car while his mother was inside paying for it. Eddie sighed and shifted uncomfortably, thighs sticking to the seats in his mother's car. He had to wear shorts today, sitting in a balmy car for four hours with no air conditioning would've not have been compatible with denim jeans. Even now in shorts, Eddie is twitchy and uncomfortable.

Eddie sees his large mother push both of the gas station doors open, stepping out onto the street. She was wearing a blue dress that made her look rounder and her hair was sweaty, sticking to the sides of her face. Eddie could see the red tint on her cheeks despite being yards away.

She wobbles up to the man pumping their gas and pushes two dollars into his chest, then circles around to the driver's side where she huffs, lifting herself into the driver's seat. Eddie keeps his eyes forward, they've barely spoken this entire ride, only when she tells Eddie to go to the bathroom if he needs to at rest stops or asking if he's hungry. She really doesn't care, instead, she's looking for an excuse to stop and eat.

Sonia waits until the man taps the back of her car until she flips the keys, the engine rumbling to life. Eddie shifts once more, leaning himself against the door and pressing his head against the window, peering out to the gas station and the millions of trees as they eventually become blurs they're zooming past. His mother's radio buzzes in and out with the satalite that is tangled between trees, sometimes leaving them in silence for a couple of seconds.

But when the radio comes back on, Eddie hears Cyndi Lauper and wishes for the satalite to fade again. Ever since inevitably falling in love with Richie, mainstream pop-songs are becoming more and more dislikable. He hasn't listened to Chicago in ages. He wishes he could pop in his walkman, the one Richie gave him with his self-made playlist in, lean his seat back and listen to The Smiths or Prince. Something other than the terrible music playing on the radio right now.

His mother puts down the windows with a nervous look on her face, she never did that, scared of the germs that would come in and eat their skin off. However, with a broken air conditioner and 90-degree dry heat, she can't help herself.

The hot air turns into a cool breeze as they speed through swerving roads, the map on the dashboard rippling and shaking. It goes through Eddie's hair, feeling cold against the wet sweat against on his head. He can finally close his eyes and before he does he sees his mother smile faintly, a memory flashing through her, bringing her back. He's never seen her smile like this before, even though it's small, it's a real one. He wonders what it was, a road trip back home with Eddie's father sitting in the passenger's seat, maybe Eddie as a baby in the back. Was the snow falling? Were the leaves orange, brown, and yellow?

He has so many questions, and he imagines scenarios in his head. He figures it's better than asking her, as she would shut down instantly.

In every situation, he's there. His father, holding Eddie in his arms or turning around in his seat to squeeze Eddie's little feet. He can't make out what he looks like... but he's there. In these scenarios, he has a dad. It's good enough.

-x-

"Eddie bear..." He feels his mothers hand run over his small hand in his car seat, grinning at him like he's the most precious thing in the world. He can feel a soft baby blanket against his legs and light floods in from all of the windows. His father laughs somewhere outside of the car and people are happy. Happiness.