Chapter Text
The sound of a loud crash startled Eddie out of his sleep. It was 4:23am. It sounded like something had fallen and broken into a million pieces onto the floor, and as if pots and pans had simultaneously been thrown at the wall. Grabbing the baseball bat next to his bed, Eddie headed out of his room to investigate. Is someone in the kitchen? He walked down the hallway carefully, looking around to see if anything was out of place. Looks fine. He examined the dining room from afar, attempting to make as little noise as possible in case there was an intruder. Nothing looks out of place. As Eddie entered the kitchen, he expected to find a mess or at least something broken; maybe even a busted window. What the hell? Everything looked exactly as he had left it last night. Was it a dream? Eddie wasn’t sure anymore if what he heard was real as he checked the kitchen window and the back door. They were both still locked. Weird. So, no intruders. Since the sound didn’t seem to come from the kitchen like he thought, Eddie walked through the rest of the house, checking everything just in case. Nothing was out of place in the living room, or the bathroom, or Christopher’s empty room. Maybe it was at the neighbor’s house.
Dismissing the event from his mind, Eddie went back to sleep. By the time his alarm rang a few hours later, he had forgotten about the noise. It all came back to him when he saw the baseball bat on the bed, so he decided to check the kitchen again, now that the sun was up. He walked in expecting to find that he overlooked something in his half-asleep state a few hours earlier. But everything looked normal. Must have been a dream then. Weird.
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Another loud crash. 4:23am. Again, nothing looked out of place, and all the doors and windows were still locked.
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Another loud crash. 4:23am. Nothing. What the hell?
Eddie was beginning to wonder if someone was playing a cruel prank on him. Are they using a speaker or something? Where the fuck is the noise coming from? He didn’t understand how the noise could be so loud with nothing ever being out of place. The noise coming from a speaker is the only explanation that made sense, but he had no idea who could be behind it or where they would even hide a speaker in his house. Over the last couple of months, there had been a few issues in the neighborhood with some rowdy kids, but Eddie had a hard time convincing himself that they were setting up a prank at 4am every day.
This time, Eddie didn’t bother going back to sleep. Usually, by the time he started to doze off, after tossing and turning for hours, his alarm would sound. So, he prepared himself a cup of coffee instead and sat on his couch to play some video games. It didn’t take long for him to rest his head on the back of the couch and fall asleep, despite the caffeine.
Eddie hazily opened his eyes and shielded them from the bright sun rays that were now illuminating his living room. How long was I asleep? He checked his phone to see that it was already 9am. Damn. I guess I was tired. He was relieved to see the time; not because he had the day off but because the later he woke up the less hours he had to fill. Without Chris around, a day off meant he had no plans for the day. One thing that had been keeping Eddie busy was grocery shopping. He had stopped buying things in bulk after Chris left and had started buying enough for the week instead. Since going to the grocery store kept him busy, that’s what he would do today.
Eddie felt silly getting fully dressed just to go to the store, but, lately, that was one of the few times when he wasn’t wearing sweats or pajamas or a uniform. He picked out a pair of jeans and a navy blue long sleeve dress shirt for the day. Simple. As he put his arms through the sleeves, he heard a clattering of the buttons on his floor. What the fuck. All the buttons from his shirt had fallen off as if the thread had disintegrated or had been cut. I don’t think this is an old shirt. Maybe it is. Eddie cleaned up the buttons and opted for a T-shirt. No buttons, no problems.
Standing in the bathroom, Eddie examined himself in the mirror. He would have to comb his hair back today with some gel as it had gotten a bit long. I need a haircut. Regular activities felt much harder lately so, he hadn’t gotten around to it. Eddie placed the comb he had just used onto the bathroom counter and stared at his reflection letting out a sharp exhale. This is the moment he dreaded when it was time to leave his house. He felt like he had to put on a smile and pretend that everything was okay. He knew he didn’t have to, but it felt easier. Partly because he didn’t want people to keep asking him how he was doing with Chris gone. Another part of it was that he liked the escape it brought him; he liked being okay for their sake because for a moment he would believe he was actually okay. Alright, let’s do this. Without any movement on his part, the comb slipped off the counter and slid across the bathroom floor. As Eddie bent down to pick it up, his jeans split right down the middle at the back seam exposing his briefs. You gotta be fucking kidding me. Again, everything felt harder lately.
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Another loud crash. 4:23am. Eddie debated whether he should even bother checking the house this time. Nothing was ever wrong. 4:25am. 4:33am. Eddie watched the minutes change as if the clock would tell him what he should do. 4:40am. What if this time something is actually broken, or someone is actually breaking in? 4:42am. He reluctantly grabbed his bat and made his way around the house checking the usual places. Again, nothing was out of place or broken, and all the doors and windows were still locked. I’m literally going insane.
Eddie has never had an issue with waking up early, but these early mornings had him feeling exhausted. For whatever reason, being jolted awake by a random noise seemed to cancel out any rest he had gotten during the night. He stood in the doorway to his bedroom contemplating if it was worth it to try and sleep for a few hours. Although, all he wanted to do was grab a beer from his fridge and sit on his couch. It’s definitely too early for a beer but, who cares?
Sipping on his beer, Eddie flipped through the different categories of shows and movies that were being recommended pausing when he got to the Continue Watching section. The first selection was the next episode of the telenovela he had been watching with Chris. They had gotten to the part where the secrets were starting to be revealed to the female lead which meant the next episode would be the big reveal. He hadn’t been able to continue watching after Chris left. At first, it was because he thought Chris would be back quickly. Then, he thought it would be a great place for them to start catching up with some quality time when Chris came back. Then, he had avoided this streaming platform altogether because it was heartbreaking to see the telenovela featured and know that he still had no idea when Chris would be home. Today, however, he was too exhausted to feel heartbroken; he just needed familiarity. So, he pressed “Play.”
After watching a couple of episodes, Eddie noticed that he had set the bottle down on some papers instead of a coaster. Fuck. Not thinking, Eddie pulled the papers before grabbing the bottle and they ripped where they had absorbed the condensation. Fuck. These were important papers; life changing papers. His mother had mailed them for him to sign so that Chris could attend school in Texas. Eddie had been avoiding looking at them for days and now that they were ripped, he would avoid them again today. He felt like acknowledging their existence made it more real that Chris did not want to come back. Chris hadn’t said that to him though; he hadn’t said much of anything to Eddie in months.
As Eddie walked over to the kitchen, he stopped to examine his new dining room set. The table and the chairs were hand crafted. The table was carved in whole out of a tree. It had a beautiful design on its sides and its legs. Eddie hadn’t noticed before that the phrase carpe diem was carved into one of the legs of the table. Doesn’t that mean seize the day? Ironic that I’m the one who bought this. He set the bottle down on the table to take a closer look at the designs and as he pulled his hand away from the bottle, he accidentally hit a mason jar full of pens that he had placed on the table the day before. Although the pens dispersed everywhere on the dining room floor, he had managed to catch the jar. Nice save. Unfortunately, as he took a step back from the table, he stepped on one of the pens and slipped. Eddie fell onto his back with his feet in the air and the jar flying out of his hands, tumbling across the floor. Ugh. Eddie winced as he listened to the jar roll away from him, waiting to hear it shatter, but the sound never came. It didn’t break! Thank god!
Just when he thought he was in the clear, Eddie felt as if time slowed down. From where he still laid, he could hear that the vase on the entryway credenza was rolling on its base trying to balance itself and stay upright. My fall must have shaken the credenza. Fuck! Eddie knew that it was seconds away from falling and crashing to the floor. I need to save it! With his life still in slow motion, Eddie rolled and rolled until he was directly in front of the credenza so that he could catch the vase when it fell. The second he put his hands out, the vase fell off the credenza into them. Nice.
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Another loud crash. 4:23am. Nothing.
This time Eddie opted to go for a run rather than try to sleep. He didn’t plan on going very far, he just felt like he needed some fresh air. He still hadn’t figured out where the noise was coming from. As he ran, he tried to think of different scenarios that would make a sound like the one that was waking him up, but he came up with nothing. None of the scenarios explained how nothing was ever broken. The only explanation he came up with was that maybe he was having a reoccurring nightmare and couldn’t differentiate between the dream and reality when he woke up. Why is it always waking me up at 4:23?
As Eddie turned around to run back home, the soles of his sneakers partially detached. What the fuck? These are only a few weeks old! The soles looked like the glue holding them together had disintegrated. Eddie had never had that happen with any of his other sneakers, even the ones he had kept wearing way longer than he should have. He resignedly walked back home, soles flapping with every step, practicing what he was going to tell the store clerk who convinced him to buy these. I knew I should’ve bought a new pair of the ones I always get. New isn’t always better!!
Despite everything, the walk back home was nice. There was a nice breeze that gently brushed his face and cooled the sweat on his body. The neighborhood seemed so peaceful at this time. The only sound was the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind; well, apart from his soles flapping. It had been a long time since Eddie went for a walk. He usually only left his house in his car or to go on a run. Running helped him clear his mind most of the time, but made it hard to take in the view and appreciate the peacefulness. He could see the dawn breaking through the trees with its soft orange glow touching the leaves. Wow. Even though he woke up to a loud crash again, Eddie felt like today would be a good day.
Plus, Buck was coming over to hang out.
About an hour before lunch time, Buck showed up immediately going into a rant as he walked through the door. He stopped in his tracks and said, “Whoa! New furniture?” as he pointed to Eddie’s new dining set.
“Yes! Do you like it?” Eddie responded excitedly.
“It looks nice! It’s...different.” Buck responded slowly.
“You hate it.” Eddie said sighing.
Walking over to the table Buck said, “Noooo I just...wasn’t expecting to see...such intricate woodwork in your dining room that’s all! Where did you get it?”
“I got it at this estate sale. They were giving these things away practically for free! I got a bunch of things! I wasn’t even looking for anything I was just driving by,” Eddie said guiding Buck toward the living room, showing him an antique looking bust. “This statue is the first thing I saw.”
“Oh!” Buck said unable to contain his surprise.
“I know! What do you see when you look at the face?” Eddie said placing a hand on top of the head.
“Constipation?” Buck said laughing.
“Maybe a little!” Eddie laughed before continuing, “I think he looks like he’s on the verge of figuring something out. Putting the pieces together but he doesn’t see the whole picture yet.”
“Yeah...I guess I could see that.” Buck said hesitantly.
“I’d been wanting to get some more art for the place, so I figured getting it for cheap was the perfect opportunity! I also got these weird looking candle holders, but they look fancy!” Eddie motioned for Buck to follow him to the kitchen. There, Eddie showed Buck this silver serving platter he bought as well. As Eddie explained that the platter had apparently been passed down to the eldest of each generation, it slipped from his hands and fell onto his foot. Eddie cried out as the corner of the platter met the center of his big toe. He didn’t realize how heavy the platter was until the weight was concentrated on such a small area of his foot.
“Eddie! You okay?” Buck chuckled as he grabbed the platter and set it back onto the table.
“Yeah,” Eddie whimpered. “Fuck, that hurts,” he said sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his foot up on another chair to elevate it.
As Buck grabbed him an icepack from the freezer, Eddie started thinking out loud, “You know I have been having the weirdest couple of weeks. I think the lack of sleep is getting to me.”
“You’re not sleeping?” Buck asked, sounding concerned. He handed Eddie the icepack and sat down across from him.
“Thanks. I can fall asleep no problem. But, most nights I go to bed, and I wake up at 4:23 after hearing this loud crash. And when I get up and check, nothing!” Eddie answered.
“A loud crash? Like glass breaking?” Buck said skeptically.
“Eh kinda. It’s more like a combination of sounds. Like multiple things breaking at once. I think it’s just a reoccurring nightmare to be honest.” Eddie said examining his toe.
“And you hear this at 4:23 in the morning?” Buck said.
“Yep, exactly at that time.” Eddie said. Buck pulled out his phone, seemingly researching something. Eddie didn’t question it because it wasn’t the first time Buck zoned out to look something up on his phone. He’s probably looking up the causes of insomnia.
A few minutes later, Buck looked up and asked, “Do you know about angel numbers?” Okay, so maybe not.
“Angel what? Numbers?” Eddie said.
“Yeah like 11:11 or 4:44!” Buck explained.
“To make a wish? Come on, you don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?” Eddie said, chuckling.
“Numbers have meaning! It’s a thing! If you keep waking up at 4:23 then obviously the universe is trying to tell you something!” Buck said.
“By waking me up in the middle of the night?” Eddie said.
“The universe works in mysterious ways Eddie!” Buck singsonged.
“Okay, so what is this important message?” Eddie said. He wasn’t one to believe in these things. What could a number say to me? He believed that the world we lived in was very logical and tangible. The universe was not going around playing a game of Clue with people every day. He believed that people saw and heard what they wanted to and called it a message from the universe. But they most likely already knew what they were supposed to do and they just needed some outside encouragement. If these things were real, what message would the universe send me? Maybe that I need to be patient, and keep giving Chris space to decide to come home.
“It says here that you have to find a balance between work, leisure and rest. That you may have to put some hard work into a new project or important life change and that the effort you put in will be worth your while and you’ll find long term success and personal fulfillment.” Buck read out loud. Huh…it’s obviously just a coincidence. Over the last couple of weeks, Eddie had been seriously considering moving back to Texas. With each day that went by, Chris was growing taller, making new memories that didn’t involve Eddie, and showing no signs that he wanted to come back to L.A.. Reading the school transfer papers made Eddie realize that this situation was becoming way more permanent than he had envisioned. If Eddie wanted things to change drastically, he felt he would have to do something drastic. Is the universe saying that I should go through with it? Well, the universe isn’t saying anything. Obviously, I’m just looking for validation before I go through with it. He hadn’t spoken to anyone about it, not even Buck, and he wasn’t ready to do that yet.
“So, the universe wants me to rest by waking me up at four in the morning...I don’t know Buck...seems a little suspect to me.” Eddie said, hoping that his face hadn’t shown he was hiding something. I rest. I have fun. Well, not lately, but that’s not a big deal. Fun isn’t a priority right now.
“Well rest is more than just sleeping. Sleeping is rest for your body. What are you doing for your miiinndd?” Buck said.
“My mind? My mind is rested! I’m just struggling a bit right now. That’s all.” Eddie said.
“What do you mean?” Buck said, sounding concerned again. Why did I keep talking? He’s not going to let it go. Ever since Buck had found him breaking down in his room a few years ago, Eddie had been wary of sharing certain things; he didn’t want Buck to worry he was going back to that place. The same look Buck had back then, is the same look he was giving Eddie now. A look like he needed to take on whatever it was and try to fix it. I should’ve never said that. How’s he gonna take it when I tell him I’m moving? Probably not well.
“It’s no big deal! I got these new shoes, and the soles came off on my run this morning. Not exactly related to any mental unrest.” Eddie said pointing to the pair of sneakers he had placed near the back door.
“Oh…and other things have happened?” Buck said, relaxing his shoulders and leaning back in the seat.
“My pants ripped the other day! I keep falling. My shirt lost all its buttons right as I put it on. I dropped the platter on my toe right now. It’s like my coordination or balance is off or something.” Eddie said.
As Eddie recounted his many misfortunes, Buck was on his phone again typing, scrolling and reading. “Interesting…” Buck said.
“What?” Eddie said.
“Youuu” Buck said swirling his pointer finger at Eddie, “have some kind of curse! Or jinx! I don’t know what the difference is but these things you’re saying are not random!”
“Not this again” Eddie said rolling his eyes.
“Whether you believe it or not, it can still happen to you!” Buck said shrugging.
“I’m fine! Look!” Eddie said, standing up to show Buck that his toe was better, and that he could stand on his foot normally again. Since Buck didn’t seem convinced, Eddie decided to take a few steps around the kitchen to prove his point. As he stepped forward, he immediately slipped on some water that had dripped onto the floor from the icepack. Eddie reached for the table in a panic to keep himself from falling. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough. Before he knew it his forehead had hit the floor, and he was sprawled out. Ouch. Fuck.
Buck erupted in laughter instantly. Eddie didn’t need to look up to know that Buck had put his whole body into that laugh. This is so embarrassing. Even as he helped Eddie to his feet, Buck couldn’t stop laughing. No way I’m cursed! Shit’s not real!
“You sure you’re not jinxed and/or cursed?” Buck barely got the words out because he was laughing so much. Eddie stood there suppressing a smile and fixing his clothes. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw Buck laugh this much. It was nice, even if it was at his expense.
“I’m not cursed! Everything that happened has a logical explanation! I wasn’t paying attention, and I slipped on the water from the icepack…that YOU got me.” Eddie said, motioning toward Buck.
“Oh, so it’s my fault?” Buck joked, crossing his arms. I’m definitely going to miss this when I leave.
Suddenly, Buck’s phone sounded, and he immediately reached for it. Eddie couldn’t read the emotion on Buck’s face because it was changing the more he read whatever was on his phone. What the hell is he reading?
“Okay! So!” Buck blurted out. His face was now filled with excitement; his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised. “Earlier I posted what had been happening to you on this forum where people post about curses, and someone answered my post and said that they can help you! His name is Dean W., and he said that he’s dealt with something like this before and he knows how to get rid of it. How cool is that? We just have to send him your address!”
“Hold on hold on I’m not...YOU’RE...not giving a stranger on the internet my address! Buck, there’s nothing to get rid of because I’m not cursed.” Eddie said, putting his hands on his hips. How does he even know where to go to find this on the internet?
With an exasperated sigh, Buck said, “Fine! If you’re not cursed, then what’s the harm? We can just get confirmation! Let’s meet him somewhere public first and see if he’s-”
“A serial killer?” Eddie said.
“He’s not…He might…whatever! You can fight, and I can...well I’m big and it’ll be two against one. Please! This would be so cool!” Buck pleaded. This isn’t how I thought today would go. Worst case scenario, this guy ends up being a psycho and we have to fight for our lives and call 9-1-1.
After contemplating for a few moments, Eddie said, “Okay!” throwing his hands up in defeat. “What’s the worst that could happen?”