eastside

chapter twenty eight

Being arrested was nothing new for Eddie.. Him and his friends back in San Diego weren't the most innocent, breaking into old abandoned buildings in the city just for the view, surfing where they weren't supposed to be, hot boxing in the car, sneaking backstage at shows..

That was long ago, though and there was obviously more serious matters at hand than petty crimes..

It wasn't exactly anything new, but yet being arrested in front of Piper? Watching her cry hysterically from the back of the car as they drove him away over something she begged.. No.. pleaded for him not to do?

That was something he'd never be able to forget.

He knew he should've felt more guilt for what he did but the only thing he could really feel was regret. Regret that he had to go against her wishes but what was he supposed to do? Let it slide? Like he did the first time Dave grabbed her? Letting it go led to this very exact moment..

Hell, he should've put a stop to it before. Back to the first time Dave disappeared off with one of those young girls under his arm. Although now it made Eddie wonder if he slipped something into their drinks to make them so cooperative.

If he were brave enough to attack Piper in a bar.. A public place.. There was no telling what he'd do.. Especially behind closed doors.. No telling how many other victims he had, either.

Physically, Eddie didn't have it in him to fight anymore. His purple, cracked hands were caked with dried blood, his nose was on fire, his wrists throbbed, he felt like shit warmed over... But that wasn't the worst part.

Mentally, there were no words to describe the anguish that was tormenting him. All he wanted to do was hold Piper.. Protect her just as he did from the creep. He was supposed to keep her safe like he promised, but he failed. If he had just been there sooner, checked on her sooner like his gut told him to.. He could've stopped it. But then again, it was probably a good thing he didn't catch Dave in the act because one of them would've left in the back of the coroners van.

So now here Eddie was, waiting patiently in a holding cell with a few other guys who looked so eager to be sharing the space. They looked basically how the movies showed, the 'tough guys' who were always in and out of jail like the building had a revolving door.

He didn't care about them though. There was nothing they could do that would hurt him any worse than how he already felt.

Matter of fact, he'd welcome it.

After he was booked in for disorderly conduct and fighting.. Fingerprints taken, mugshot photographed, breathalyzer blew into.. He was told he'd have to 'wait out the alcohol' even though he had never felt more sober in his life.

Waiting was the last thing he wanted to do. It just gave him more time to think. More time for his brain to go crazy. About Piper. About Dave. How he lied to his face, pretended nothing happened. How he played it off.

But mainly, Eddie couldn't stop thinking about how he complained that Piper were on the phone for so long when in reality, Dave was.. Well.. He still wasn't exactly sure of what he did.. Although he wasn't certain he wanted to know the specifics.

It made him absolutely sick to think about but he would let Piper talk, scream, cry, hit.. Help her with anything she needed, if and when she was ready to..

That was if she'd even let him.

For two hours, he sat on a cold metal bench, his eyes closed and his head bouncing off the cement wall in some sort of self torture, which seemed to keep the other guests at bay, until he heard his name being called. He didn't open his eyes at first, thinking maybe the head trauma was making him hear things until he heard the sure sound of keys jingling and then the door sliding open.