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"He's been sitting there and crying for an hour now, we don't know what to do," Isabel said right when she saw Eddie entering the building. The whole staff was completely clueless about what happened to the boy. He seemed to be fine in the morning and then suddenly during the art classes he just left, sat down on his bed and started crying. They tried giving him some sedatives but he either spat them out and refused to open his mouth. It was not life-threatening so they didn't want to rush things and restrain him. Either way, they were so worried about Campbell. Everybody was.
"An hour?" Eddie asked with disbelief. Last time he checked on Campbell, he was rambling about his new idea for an intro for his show. Nothing seemed to be about to ruin his mood.
McKenna slowly opened the door to the boy's room. He was there, shaking from cry, sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. His headphones were laying in the corner of the room completely forgotten so Eddie picked them up gently and put on a shelf.
"Campbell, are you alright?" he asked quietly in order not to startle the boy. "I heard you've felt a bit sad."
The boy was just sitting next to him with his head down and tears falling down his cheeks, wetting his trousers. It looked like he was completely out of the reality. Yet, he didn't flinch when Eddie's hand rubbed his shoulder soothingly. The man knew how to point out his presence in the best and most calm way. After all, Campbell's behaviour could have quickly turned into a panic attack. Or something even worse. Eddie quickly scanned the room and fortunately didn't find any sharp or dangerous object that Campbell could use to hurt him or himself.
"Camp." Eddie moved closer to the boy and put a hand on his thigh so that it was visible for him. Fortunately, it got a reaction out of Campbell, who immediately turned and hugged Eddie so tight he was actually afraid he wouldn't be able to breathe. Campbell might have been thin but his strength was impressive. "Hey, there, there." McKenna helped the boy get on his lap and right as he did so, his hand started rubbing the boy's back.
The room was still filled with whimpers, sobs and sniffs and it didn't look like it was about to change. The boy was trembling so much that Eddie thought he would break into small pieces. Clearly, there was something very wrong but Eddie had no idea how to get the information out of Campbell. The only thing he could do now was to try to calm the boy down enough so he would be able to speak to him somehow. McKenna felt the back of his shirt being soaked with Bain's tears and it made him feel so sorry for the boy. He knew that Campbell had struggles with expressing his emotions and often isolate himself from everybody when he needed to cry or something like that. In fact, the only person who was able to be with the boy while he had a breakdown.
Suddenly, Eddie heard a mumble which came out from Campbell. It was muffled by the fabric of his shirt so he couldn't quite get what he had said.
"Could you repeat?" he said and didn't stop rubbing his back.
After a few sobs the boy finally said. "I want my dad."
These four words completely broke Eddie. He would have never guessed that the boy cared so much about having his father. But actually if he thought about it for longer, Campbell had never had a good father figure in his life. Every story from his childhood that involved his father ended with little Campbell being sad or completely unmotivated to do what he really wanted. Well, their last encounter in the asylum wasn't the nicest one as well. Yet, he still wanted him?
"We can call him if you want, Camp," Eddie suggested, even though he didn't want to see the man ever again.
Fortunately, Campbell shook his head. "N-no. I want a real dad. A dad who hugs you and helps you and is kind to you and cares about y-you." Another wave of sobs hit the boy and the trembling started again.
Eddie tried his absolute best to calm the boy down. He even started rocking him gently just to give him some comfort. It actually hurt him to see the boy so heartbroken. Now, it was clear to see that Campbell needed something that was so obvious to other people. He just wanted to feel love from his father.
"Hey, Camp, I know I'm not your real dad but..." Eddie started and the boy looked up at him with teary eyes. "I like hugging you. I try to help you whenever I can and I... Well, I care about you a lot." When he said it, the boy's eyes widened. He couldn't believe in what he'd just heard. "You're kinda my kid, Campbell," Eddie smiled soothingly.
"You're serious? You wouldn't mind having a freak for a s-"
"Hey, no talking bad about yourself. And yes, I would love to have such a smart, bright, kind and amazing son." Son! He said son! And he didn't mean anything negative. He actually meant all of this. It made Campbell so happy that he grinned and wrapped his arms tight around Eddie's neck, making it again hard to breathe but it was done with love.
"So... Can I call you...?" Eddie nodded. "Thank you! I love you so much, dad." The boy was grinning like a fool. The picture of him crying was just a sad memory now that was happily replaced with a new one.
"I love you too, son."