Chapter Text
"Why can't I stay home with mama?" Eddie asks. His head is bumping against the window of his dad's truck as they make their way down a dirt road. He doesn't know where they're going, but Daddy's going to work, and he told Eddie he'd be staying with some friends until the job was done.
" Last thing I need is her fillin' yer head with her ideas . She don't know how to be a wife, let alone a mother. You'll be just fine here." That doesn't sound right… Eddie likes spending time with Mama when she's awake. She lets him watch any show he wants, eat any snacks he wants, and she doesn't even yell at him. How was that the wrong way to be a mother..? The car comes to a stop in front of a house. It's bigger than theirs, Eddie notices.
"Are there other kids here?" Eddie asks, spotting a bike by the porch. His dad doesn't answer, instead gesturing for him to get out. Eddie hesitates before unbuckling and hopping out of the truck. He stands by the door, waiting for his dad to get out, too, but that doesn't happen. Instead, the front door to the house opens, and a man hurries out towards the truck, nearly colliding with Eddie. He stops just in time, though, glancing down at Eddie.
"Edward?" He asks. Eddie makes a face. Nobody called him that except his grandma.
" Eddie ." He corrects. The man just shrugs and rolls his eyes, patting Eddie on his shaved head before pushing him aside to walk past him and taking his spot in the passenger seat. The truck door slams shut, and before Eddie even knows what's happening, the truck is peeling out, and Eddie's left alone in an unfamiliar yard. He's angry. Why couldn't he just stay home with Mama? He doesn't care if daddy thinks she's a good mom or not. He squeezes his eyes shut, feeling hot tears roll down his cheeks. He's glad suddenly that his dad is gone because if he saw Eddie crying, he'd probably smack him right upside the head.
" Oh , sweetheart," a woman's voice comes from the house, unfamiliar. He tries to scrub the evidence of his crying from his face quickly before looking over to see who's talking. The woman he sees reminds him a little of Mama, same tired face, same brown hair, and same skinny body. Mama's hair is darker than this lady's, though, and more curly. Mama also looks more confused. The lady in front of him has a toddler in her arms, who she sets down on the porch to come towards Eddie. She kneels in front of him to look him in the face. "Hey, it's okay to cry. Why don't you come inside? We'll make some lunch, okay, honey? It's Eddie, right?" Her voice is soothing and kind. Mama and Daddy never sound that nice when they talk to him, and it almost makes him start to cry again. Instead, he just nods. "It's good to meet you, Eddie. My name is Joyce." She points to the porch. "That's Will, and my other son Jonathan is inside. He's only a little younger than you." She gives him a reassuring smile, making Eddie feel a little better. She reaches a hand out to him, and he takes it, letting her lead him inside. She scoops up the toddler, Will, on the way in. A dog comes up to sniff him when he enters the house, and Eddie reaches down to pet it. He's never had a pet before. "Why don't you go on into the living room with Will? That's where Jonathan is. I'll make you all some lunch." She deposits Will back on the floor, who immediately latches on to Eddie's hand, giving him a big smile. Eddie is… a little weirded out, honestly. He only ever saw other kids at school, and they were all the same age as him. Never this much smaller.
"Go see Jon!" Will's little hand points towards what must be the living room.
"Uh- okay." He lets the small child drag him along, the dog trailing behind him. Upon entering the room, he's immediately met with a bright flash in his eyes. "Ow, hey!" He pulls his hand away from Will, rubbing his eyes before glaring in the direction of the light. He sees a boy a little younger than him, holding a toy camera in his hands.
"Who're you? What are you doing here?" The boy asks. Eddie doesn't respond right away, a little confused.
"I'm Eddie. You're… Jonathan? And I dunno, my dad just dropped me off." Jonathan nods, pulling the camera up again. This time, he closes his eyes in advance, just listening as Jonathan asks him more questions.
"How old are you? Did you bring any cool toys? Why don't you have any hair?"
"Jesus Christ, you ask too many questions." Eddie huffs, waking to the couch and sitting.
"I'm documentating," Jonathan explains. "Like a magazine or a newspaper?"
"It's called docu menting , not documentating." Eddie corrects before puffing out his chest. "But I'm gonna be a rockstar someday in loads of magazines, so it's good practice. Okay. Uh… I'm eight, I don't have any toys, and my dad says I'm not allowed to have hair because Mama forgets to brush it."
"Oh, I'm six." Jonathan shares before frowning. "Those answers aren't very fun. Why don't you have any toys?" Jonathan asks. Eddie just shrugs.
"Daddy says I'm too old for toys now. Hey, if you're only six, that means you have to listen to me, you know. 'Cause I'm bigger than you." Eddie grins. Jonathan laughs and shakes his head.
"Nuh-uh! I only have to listen to my mom and my dad, not you." He protests.
"Oh yeah? Gimme your camera." Eddie demands. He holds his hand out for it, still grinning. Jonathan moves to hand it over before yanking his hand back.
"Hey! No, you can't trick me! Nice try." Both boys laugh, and their laughter makes Will laugh, too.
"Boys, lunch!" Joyce calls. Jonathan puts the camera on the table, taking Will's hand and pulling him along to another room. Eddie just watches them. Was he invited too..?
"C'mon, Eddie, it's lunchtime." Jonathan looks at him. Well, that answers that. He hurries to follow, stepping into the dining room behind the other two boys. Jonathan climbs into a chair while Joyce helps Will into one too. Eddie stares wide-eyed at the table. It looks like there's real food on the table, sandwiches, some chips, and some carrots. The food is on glass plates, too. Everything at Eddie's house is either on paper or just straight out of the package it came in.
"You can sit down, honey, here." Joyce pulls a chair out and gives Eddie a gentle smile. Eddie flushes in embarrassment, hearing his father's voice chastising him for staring and being rude in his head. Pointing out that his house is different is probably also rude.
"Yeah. I know that." He says, coming to sit in the chair and refusing to make eye contact with any of them. "Uh. Thank you, ma'am. For lunch."
"Oh, you don't have to call me ma'am, Eddie, and you're very welcome," Joyce says to him, squeezing his shoulder before sitting with the boys. Eddie feels warm. Joyce is so nice . She feels like a real mom. Eddie loves his mom, and she's nice, too, but she doesn't usually cook for him, and if she does, she doesn't stay to eat with him… she likes to sleep too much. And she definitely never calls him honey or sweetheart or anything… thinking too hard about it makes Eddie sad, though, so he tries to stop thinking, and instead, he eats his sandwich. It's good. It has lettuce and tomatoes on it, which Eddie isn't used to. It's definitely better than whatever he would've fed himself at home, which would probably be a microwaved hot dog or something similar. He feels tears start to well as he eats, but he forces them back, focusing on eating and half-listening to Jonathan and Joyce plan out their day.
"How about the library?" Joyce suggests, and Eddie perks up.
"Library? Can we?" He asks, eyes wide. Eddie hasn't had any books to read since Summer break started a few weeks ago. Just Mama's magazines and those are boring.
"Of course we can." She says, and once they all finish their food, they get ready to go, and then they're off.
The library is so much bigger than the one at the school, it's incredible. It has several different floors and more books than Eddie thinks he could read in his whole life. He immediately b-lines it to the fantasy section, losing himself in the shelves. Finally, he settles on a book. It looks magical, with a dragon on the cover and a map inside. The Hobbit. He's excited to read it.
Joyce helps him set up a library card, and they're headed back home too soon. Well, the Byers' home, but it definitely feels more like a home than the Munson residence. Eddie curls himself up on a chair while Joyce, Will, and Jonathan sit on the couch with the books they got. He lets the sound of Joyce's voice reading to the others fade into background noise as he loses himself in the world of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and wizards. It's amazing.
Eddie doesn't know how long he spends reading, but Joyce interrupts him for dinner. He marks his page and goes to the table. There's chicken, mashed potatoes, and peas. Eddie thinks it's better than anything he's ever eaten.
"What's your book?" Jonathan asks him.
"Oh, 's called th' Hobbit!" Eddie says through a mouthful of potatoes.
"Swallow first, Eddie," Joyce reminds him. Eddie does.
"Sorry. The Hobbit. It's about this guy called Bilbo, he's a Hobbit! They're little, and they live in the ground and like to eat. And he goes on an adventure. It's really cool." He grins at Jonathan.
"Can you read me some? I'm not good at chapter books yet." Jonathan asks.
"Oh, I've never read to someone before… I can try!" Jonathan smiles at him.
"Thanks, Eddie." They finish eating and settle onto the couch. Will and Jonathan sit on either side of Eddie, the way Joyce was sitting with them earlier. The dog comes to sit by their feet. He starts to read from the beginning.
" In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit…." Reading out loud is easier than Eddie thought it would be. Jonathan is listening closely, leaning on Eddie's shoulder, and Will quickly falls asleep, curled up against Eddie's other side. It's nice. It makes him feel important, having attention on him.
Too soon, headlights come shining through the window, and Eddie feels his stomach twist, recognizing the sound of his dad's engine. The energy in the room is immediately tense, and Eddie feels like he might cry again. He doesn't want to go home. The door of the truck slams, and Eddie flinches. Joyce comes into the room, scooping Will up from the couch and giving Eddie a sympathetic smile. "Hey, kiddo. Ready to go?" She asks, and he shakes his head.
"Can Eddie stay?" Jonathan asks.
"Can I?" Eddie looks between Jonathan and Joyce, eyes wide. Joyce just sighs.
"That's not a good idea, boys. But you're welcome here again, okay? I'll talk to your parents about it."
"...Daddy doesn't like me to have fun. He'll say no." Eddie frowns.
"I'll talk to your mom, then, okay?" She reaches the arm not holding Will out to him, wrapping him in a half hug. He hugs back and then hugs Jonathan. The front door opens, and he can hear his dad talking to Jonathan's dad. There's a laugh, and then Mr. Munson walks into the room. He looks at the boys hugging on the couch, and he shifts into a dark expression that Eddie recognizes from his own father's face.
"Cut that fairy shit out now." Jonathan pulls away from the hug with Eddie immediately, mumbling a 'sorry .'"Edward, your father is waiting for you. Go on." Eddie nods and hurries out, waving goodbye and clutching his book to his chest. He meets his dad at the door, and before they've even shut it behind him, he can hear the sounds of arguing coming from the living room. Maybe that was why Joyce said he shouldn't stay… he's angry. She doesn't deserve to be yelled at. He tries to push it down as he climbs into the truck. It's not like he can do anything anyway… all he can do is stare at the house out the window, watching it get smaller as they drive away.