History Must Repeat Itself

Chapter 31

          Reefer Rick's property was prettier in the day. I could spot Lovers Lake through the trees. I'd visited the lake, but I knew of its reputation. Robin and Dustin grabbed the bags of groceries from the trunk. I grabbed my switchblade and put it in my back pocket as I got out of the car. Standing up, I met Steve's surprised gaze. The look that passed between us was a confirmation that we were mentally prepared to go down to the boathouse.

"Guys, knock on the door before you open it. Don't scare him," I called to Dustin and Robin as they led the group. Of course they didn't listen and Eddie exclaimed "Jesus!" from inside the boat house.

"Delivery service," Dustin announced, leaning in the doorway. I closed the door behind me. Dustin and Robin handed Eddie the bags.

"We got good food, some healthy food, some time wasters, and some hygiene stuff," Dustin explained, "you can guess which purchases were Jess's idea."

Eddie chuckled, reaching into the bag and taking out the apple. "My girl always knows how to take care of me."

With my arms crossed, I rolled my eyes. "Eat up and drink some water in there. We'll update you in a minute. Did you get any sleep last night?"

Eddie plopped down on a crate. "Yes ma'am. That boat is like a five star hotel."

I barely looked at the creaky old boat, instead choosing to watch Eddie eat. I knew it was for my benefit that Eddie went for the apple first. He tossed the core into the lake, before reaching for the box of Honeycombs and a bottle of Yoohoo.

"Who grabbed that?" I asked with a smirk, resting on a dirty wooden counter. Max turned to Steve, a smirk on his face too.

"What? Yoohoo is great."

I shut my eyes, barely shaking my head. Eddie shoved dry cereal in his mouth with no complaint. I was glad he was getting something in his body.

"So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?" Dustin asked. Steve's head dropped towards me, rolling his eyes dramatically. Dustin was horrible at delivering information.

"Bad news first. Always," Eddie said, nodding.

"All right. Bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you," Dustin explained, "also, they're, uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy."

The colour left Eddie's face.

"Like, 100% kind of convinced," Max added.

"And the good news?" Eddie asked. He was hoping for really good news.

"Your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you."

"Hunt the freak, right?" The wavering in Eddie's voice triggered tears to build in my eyes. I looked at the roof, doing my best to keep the tears back.

"Exactly."

"Shit," Eddie mumbled.

"So, before that happens, we find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence," Dustin stated with all the confidence he could muster.

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?"

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it."

The optimistic tone made me smile. I still felt the need to wrap Eddie up in my arms, put him in my pocket. But mostly I wanted to take him and run away. They hadn't charged him with anything and really, they couldn't prove anything.

"Listen, Eddie. I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this before," Robin said, "I mean, they have a... a few times, and... and I have once."