Terry heads out a little after noon the next day. Not to head home, of course, but to make a quick stop to pick up some last minute supplies. Stores are not likely to stay open long for Christmas Eve, so he'll want to get this out of the way sooner rather than later. Not to mention, he'd also rather not deal with questions from Mike about why he's buying groceries when he's supposedly low on cash. It's not like he's getting much, though — just enough for Edd. He's sure as shit not bringing the kid back to the cul-de-sac with him (especially not after that night), so he'll need to make sure he has everything he needs to spend the day alone and cooped up in the bathroom. He sticks with foods that can be prepared without heat and don't require refrigeration. Cereal — his folks had some Chunky Puffs in the pantry back home, meaning Eddy liked them, so he imagines it's probably the same with Edd — potato chips and some already popped popcorn in a bag. Just some snacks Edd can indulge in while he's gone. It'll be his own little Christmas feast. Just goes to show how fuckin' generous I am. He also adds a few more cans of chicken soup to the purchase — just to make sure he has enough — and grabs a small case of bottled water.
Before heading home, he stops off at the sex shop and peruses their selection of magazines. If there's one thing Eddy always clambered for, it was his collection of porn. So this'll be enough of a gift for the brat. He picks out a couple that would be most titillating to the little twerp and asks the cashier to give him a brown paper bag for him to keep them in. Like hell he's gonna bother wrapping these. Hell, he's not even gonna give them to Eddy while their parents are in the room. He's already putting up with his old man being an asshole, he's not gonna let him bitch and moan about giving his brother porn…again. And, to save face, he decides to just give Eddy the jawbreaker he was going to give to Edd. After all, Edd refused it and it might assuage his parents a little.
When he returns to the trailer, he sneaks the groceries inside and leaves them on the kitchen table. No sense in giving them to Edd now. He'll take care of that tomorrow. In the meantime, though, he does go to check in on him, grabbing a couple of towels from the closet on the way. As he walks in, he notices that the water Edd's made a habit of sitting in to keep warm is gone, leaving the boy shivering in the empty tub instead. He grimaces a bit.
"Y'know," Terry snarls as he closes the door and locks it behind him, "you'd start to actually feel better if you'd stop bein' so damn stubborn."
Edd doesn't respond, keeping his head bowed. Rolling his eyes, Terry storms over to him. As he leans forward, reaching for the scrawny, quivering arm, Edd finally glances at him. Eyes wide, he tries to scramble away to avoid being grabbed again. But, of course, he doesn't make it far before Terry manages to catch him and hoist him out of the tub.
"Let go of me!" Edd snaps, struggling to pull his arm away as he beats his tiny fists against Terry's chest and arms, "Take your hands off of me!"
With something between a grimace and a wince, Terry smacks Edd sharply to make him cease his struggling for a moment. When he's distracted enough, Terry throws one of the towels over him, rubbing his arms up and down to both dry him off and warm him up. Edd tries to jerk away once or twice, but, as his chilled skin begins to soak in the warmth, he reluctantly gives in. He bows his head, whimpering and whining in a pitiful attempt to keep fighting back despite his body leaning into Terry's chest.
"That's better," Terry coos smugly, "Now, I'm gonna go make you a nice bowl o' soup. And while I do that, you're gonna dry off with these. Got it?"
He hears Edd huff in disgust, but he gives a tentative nod. The temptation of warmth and hot food seems to be enough to make him cooperate at least a little. Gently pushing Edd off of him, Terry shoves the other towel into his hands before leaving the room again.
Back to the kitchen, he procures one of the cans of soup and a pot to cook it in. After setting everything up on the stove, he sits down at the table to wait for it to start boiling. It's a small victory, getting Edd to take the towels, but it's a start. At least he won't be cold anymore. And hey, now that things have calmed down a bit…maybe he can try getting something else out of him?
When the meal is ready, he pours a bowl and takes it to the bathroom, stopping at his bedroom real quick to grab his robe. By the time Terry returns to the bathroom, Edd is looking himself over dejectedly in the mirror and has wrapped one of the towels around his waist and is holding it tightly closed around himself while the other is draped over his shoulders. As Terry walks in, he pulls himself away from the sink, his eyes locked on the bowl. After locking the door behind him, however, Terry hands Edd the robe.
"Put this on," he commands gently, "Then you can eat."
Edd's shoulders slump a bit as he obliges begrudgingly, the towel falling unhindered to the floor. Once he has the oversized robe around his shoulders, he's handed the bowl. Terry doesn't protest as he then scurries over to the corner of the bathroom — putting as much space between them as possible. Rather than follow, Terry takes a seat near the door, leaning against it and making his message clear without a single word; you ain't gettin' out again.
He watches Edd eat for a while. Every now and then, he has to pause and sneeze, maybe throw in a cough as it suddenly rips from him. And, after blowing his nose with the toilet paper, he returns to his meal. He's just now noticing that his cute little button nose is red; rubbed raw from using the toilet paper so much over the past few days. It's both adorable and sad as fuck at the same time.
In this moment of calm, he decides to try talking.
"Why didn't you scream?" he asks, watching the boy carefully.
Holding the spoon just above the bowl, Edd pauses. His eyes shift around bit before he brings the spoon to his lips, ignoring the question.
"That night you tried to leave me," Terry elaborates through his teeth, "Why didn't you scream?"
Swallowing, Edd sets the spoon down into the bowl and then the bowl on the floor, glaring down at it.
"Because I wanted to get as far away from you as possible," he spits back, glancing at him for a moment with a hateful look, "I knew that if I made too much noise, you would've found me. Besides…" He sighs, idly stirring the broth as he rests his chin in his hand, "no one was around to hear me anyway. So I intended to get as far away as I could…"
No one was around…? He must not have noticed the other trailers. Or maybe he didn't think anyone was in them? And the chloroform kept him out long enough that he wouldn't have heard his coworkers coming to investigate. Eyes narrowing, Terry sits up a little straighter. He doesn't want to be too invasive. Sure, Edd's giving him plenty of answers, but he's gotta be careful with what he asks. Hmm…There is one thing that's been bothering him…
"Why'd you take my underwear?"
A dark pink blush spreads across Edd's face.
"Y-You've not given me much of anything to wear since you brought me here…" he mumbles, his shoulders hunched, "You said it was almost Christmas…so I anticipated it would be cold. I needed to put something on to cover my…" He stammers a bit. "T-To protect myself against the cold."
"Why just the underwear, then?" Terry nearly scoffs, "Why not socks or somethin' for your little feet?"
"All of your clothing is far too big for me," Edd retorts with confidence and a bit of a snarl, "I couldn't risk tripping over my own feet because your socks would slip off. And besides, I just needed to wear the bare minimum before going outside."
So letting him blow off a little steam will get his little gums a-flappin', eh? Alright. And, of course, his little germaphobic ass couldn't have taken the unwashed boxers from the floor. Had to go rooting through his drawers for a fresh pair. That was probably mistake number one. Well, that or not putting the cuffs on him…Hmm…
"Why not try putting the cuffs on me?" he asks.
Glaring at him, Edd explains; "I feared the risk of waking you in the process. The struggle to pull myself out from beneath your oversized carcass was a difficult enough feat to manage without waking you. I wasn't about to risk my luck with anything more." Turning away again, he picks up his spoon. "As long as I could get out, I believed I could find help before you came after me."
"So if you were trying so damn hard to run," Terry asks, his brow cocked in suspicion, "and were so focused on running to try stopping me, then why did you stop to break into the food trailer?"
Edd's shoulders fall; "Because I was beginning to feel too cold to run. Therefore, when I managed to get far enough away that I lost you among the other stands and…a-and rides, I ran to the nearest…doors in my proximity. Anywh—"
He's interrupted by a violent sneeze and drops the spoon into the bowl with a groan. Taking a few breaths, he continues.
"Anywhere that might have had some sort of insulation," he continues, grabbing more toilet paper and blowing his nose, "I entered the first one that would open and I decided that the best course of action would be to wait until the cold in my body faded and start running again when I knew you weren't around." He grits his teeth. "Obviously I didn't get that far…"
Terry's lip curls into a sneer; "Damn right, you didn't."
Edd begins to shrink in on himself, his body shaking a bit. He's bundled up in the robe, so he can't be cold…
"Why are you doing this to me?" he asks, his fingers curling into a fist around the used tissue, "What did I do to you to make you take me from my home? My family? My friends?"
Terry scoffs, leaning back against the wall again. This again? Fine. If it keeps Edd talking, he'll indulge this bullshit.
"Don't give me that, Princess," he retorts, "I saved you from that shitty home and those shitty parents and those shitty friends."
Shoving the bowl aside, Edd bolts to his feet. Even in anger, it seems he's averse to purposefully making a mess (particularly in a place he's likely going to be stuck in for a while).
"Do not talk about them like that!" he snaps, "I had a wonderful home, and loving parents, and the best friends anyone could ever ask for!"
"Bullshit," Terry grumbles, rolling his eyes.
"Stop that!" Edd cries, tears in his eyes that he refuses to acknowledge, "You know nothing about my life! You know nothing about me!"
He's halted from his tirade by a coughing fit that causes his entire body to convulse. During this time, Terry debates for a moment whether or not he should stand. It'd be hella intimidating. Make Edd think he's going to be beaten again for the things he's saying. But, ultimately, he decides against it, instead staring back at Edd with a knowing, yet threatening look.
"I know more than you think, sweetheart," he replies calmly, wracking his brain for every little tidbit Eddy's shared with him over the past year and a half, "I know you're smart. You get straight A's and have won every spelling bee for the past…what was it? Six? Seven years? Eh, let's just say 'since you could start bein' in them'. I know you can play an impossible-lookin' instrument that you fuckin' hate, but you play it anyway and do it perfectly when your shitty friends ask you to and maybe when your parents tell you to."
Edd looks surprised, faltering a bit and fidgeting with the sleeves of the robe. Damn right he's uncomfortable with this. Terry fights back the smirk as he continues.
"But with all your smarts and all your talents…" he lists, "I know you got no confidence in yourself at all. You gotta study night n' day cuz you don't believe you're worth anything without your intelligence. That's what they all make you think, isn't it? That you're worthless unless you're smart. That's why those friends of yours kept you around, ain't it? Cuz they could use you for whatever stupid shit they were getting into."
Edd tries to glare at him, but his words — whether he believes them or not — are beginning to hurt him. He's finally striking the right nerve.
"And I know that your parents only had you cuz they wanted a little slave to do all the shit they outright refused to," Terry nearly snarls, leaning forward a bit, "I know that they didn't give enough of a shit about you to even come home to eat with you. Hell, I bet they never came home for Christmas, either. Or even your birthday. They encouraged you just enough so you wouldn't notice their neglect, but they don't really care. They were just puttin' on an act to make you think they gave half a shit when you would succeed at anything. And, hey, it's easier to brag about a little prodigy than to bitch about your burden, right? So they'd demand perfection at school to keep up appearances."
Okay, that one stung. Edd's starting to back down a little, kneeling back down on the floor. His shaking hand rises to his face, inching around his hairline where his hair naturally parts around his scar.
"What's the matter, Princess?" Terry asks smugly, "Does it hurt that much to hear the truth?"
"Stop it…" Edd whimpers, bringing his other hand up so he can cover both his ears.
"I told you, I know more than you think."
Edd doesn't answer that as he clutches his head, bowing further as he starts to weep softly to himself. Mumbling mostly incoherent words and throwing in timid claims that it's not true. Terry watches him carefully. It's a little hard to see him like this. Dammit, he's supposed to be giving him the comfort those selfish assholes never did. But he's got to learn to accept this. Only then will he be able to distance himself from them and turn to Terry for the love and affection they denied him.
"You really think I'm wrong?" he asks after a moment.
Edd glances up at him through his tears, his brow furrowing in a pitiful attempt to glare. He nods.
"I-I know you are!" he whimpers, wiping his tears away on the sleeve of the robe, "M-Mother and Father loved me dearly! I know they did!"
"Really?" Terry smirks a bit, "Then answer me this, Princess; when's the last time they ever said they loved you?" Edd starts to answer, so Terry adds, "Aside from the bullshit chore lists they'd leave you — those little sticky notes full of shit they're too lazy or too busy to do themselves? I mean when's the last time you heard them say it?"
Edd falters again.
"When's the last time they stayed home with you when you were sick?" Terry presses, "When's the last time they joined you for dinner? When's the last time they bothered to show any interest in your life at all?"
Bowing his head, Edd doesn't answer, thinking carefully. Pleased, Terry sits back with a satisfied smirk.
"Face it, sweetheart," he purrs, "They don't love you. No one does." His twisted smirk grows wider. "'Cept me."
Raising his head again, Edd instantly goes back to glaring at him.
"Now there's no doubt at all that you're lying," he nearly growls.
Terry arches his brow at him, daring him to elaborate. And, of course, he does.
"You don't care about me in the slightest," he spits, "The way you've treated me…You don't do those things to someone you 'love'." He holds his head and hides his face with his hands. "You keep saying that word and forcing me to use it, yet you have no understanding of its meaning."
Terry's incensed but a moment before he shoots the boy a knowing smirk.
"Want me to prove it?"
Edd scoffs, turning away and crossing his arms; "If you're referring to those wretched carnal acts that you so relish forcing upon me, then my answer is an emphatic 'no'. There's no affection in those…" He shudders in disgust. "activities. Just your incessant need to indulge in your own depravity through sexual release. It would prove nothing."
He wants to let himself get mad at that — the fuck does he know?! — but he manages to keep his cool. Instead, he forces a laugh.
"Don't act like you don't fuckin' love every second of it," he snickers, "I know all the best ways to touch you to make you feel so damn good."
With a huff, Edd glares over his shoulder.
"The way my body reacts to stimuli is no indication of my own enjoyment," he retorts, "I detest every wretched moment that your filthy hands are upon me."
"Bullshit," Terry laughs, "I make you see heaven."
Hunching his shoulders, Edd turns away again.
"Is that all you've come here to do?" he grumbles, "To poison an already distasteful conversation with your vulgarities?"
"Course not," Terry shrugs back, "I'm here to make sure you eat. This 'thrilling' conversation is just a bonus."
Edd groans a bit, setting the bowl of soup behind him, closer to Terry: "In that case, you can kindly take your leave. Conversing with you has made me lose my appetite."
"Well then, I'll just get nice and comfy," Terry counters, drawing Edd to glance at him again, "Cuz I ain't leavin' till you finish your dinner."
With a huff, Edd snatches the bowl up again and begins slurping down his soup with a grimace and a glare, forsaking any semblance of manners. When he lowers the bowl again, it's empty (save for perhaps a few stubborn drops) and he shoves it along the floor towards Terry. Shrugging, Terry rises to his feet and grabs the bowl and the discarded spoon as well.
"Good boy," he sneers.
Choosing to leave it at that, he carries the tableware out of the bathroom, leaving the towels on the floor. At least he ate. At least he'll be warm. Maybe he won't get worse…
After dropping the dishes off in the sink, he decides to step out for a smoke and pulls on his shoes and coat. Oh shit, but first…Grabbing his keys from the table, he steps out into the cold night and heads straight for his van. Hopping in, he starts it up quickly and exits through the open fence to park just on the outside of it. Might make disappearing for the day a little easier?
At least the snow isn't very deep as he returns to his trailer to enjoy his cigarette. He gazes around, feeling a sense of calm begin to creep up on him. As unsettling as the silence of the empty park can feel, it's oddly soothing as well. Or perhaps it's just a nice break from the thick tension inside his trailer? Either way, the cigarette provides him a nice distraction and the silence sets just the right mood to calm him.
Footsteps approach on his left, drawing his attention to where Mike is walking towards him. Taking a quick puff, he begins with as pleasant a greeting as he can muster.
"What brings you out here?" he asks, flicking his ashes away.
Mike holds up his own cigarette and lighter and stands beside him.
"Thought I'd get some fresh air n' have a smoke."
"Any reason you're over here, though?"
With a shrug, Mike pulls a cigarette from it's pack.
"Figured I'd get in some friendly conversation," he suggests.
Something about his tone sounds a little off…Terry takes a long drag off his cigarette, exhaling the smoke slowly.
"Alright…" he shrugs, glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes, "Got any plans for tomorrow?"
"Fuck no," Mike replies, as he struggles to click the lighter for a moment, "No family to go visit or who'll come visit me. Just gonna take the day off."
"Oh yeah?" Terry shoots him a smirk, "That mean you won't need me for anything tomorrow?"
"No, why?" Mike turns to him, "You got plans or somethin'?"
"Not really. But that's the point. I wanna do a whole lot of jack shit tomorrow, not a bunch of bullshit around the park."
Mike shrugs; "I can get behind that. You can consider it my Christmas gift."
Terry rolls his eyes; "Oh, so generous…"
Furrowing his brow, Mike nods towards a spot near Terry's trailer.
"You move your van?"
"Hmm?" Terry follows his gaze, caught off guard for a moment before the question catches up with him, "Oh…yeah, I did. I don't like keepin' it in the park all the time. Left it outside the fence."
"Isn't it more convenient to keep it near the trailer?"
"Yeah, but where the fuck else do I need to be?"
Mike looks to accept that with a shrug, returning his attention to his cigarette. Yeah, it's a lie, but his boss doesn't need to know he'll be out of town for the day. As far as he's concerned, Terry will be spending his day tomorrow either getting drunk or sleeping off a hangover he'll give himself tonight. It's not like he ever bothers him over the holidays anyway.
It'll be fine.
They lapse into a comfortable silence. Well, comfortable for Mike, maybe. Terry, however, soon finds himself fidgeting uncomfortably. Sure, he's feeling confident about his van plan, but there's something else that's coming to mind. Over the past few days, Mike hasn't brought up the events of 'that night'. No more questions, no more comments. Terry's sure he didn't forget. It's not exactly something you just forget happened. But then…why the silence? Brow cocked, he chances a glance in his direction, opening his mouth to speak.
Before he can, Mike interrupts the silence himself; "So, I've been thinking some about what happened the other night…You heard anything new about it?"
Terry feels a sudden chill race down his spine. Playing it off, he smirks a bit.
"Yeah right," he scoffs, "You're the one runnin' shit around here. I stay in my goddamn trailer unless I need to do something. But you ain't said shit about it since that night. How hard you actually been thinkin' about it? Did you end up finding somethin'?"
"No," Mike scratches his chin, looking thoughtful, "Not gonna lie, I ain't heard anything since then. As far as I can tell, he never came back. Nothing's been missing — so I know you ain't stealing shit either — and there's no signs of anyone fucking with the rides."
"So, what?" Terry asks, "It was just a fluke?"
"Probably, but…that's not really what's been buggin' me about it," he pauses to take a long drag, enjoying the flavor for a moment, "There's a lot about that night that's weird as hell."
"Like what?"
"Aside from the way you've been acting lately…?"
"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Terry snaps back, "I ain't been actin' any different than usual."
"Guess not," Mike mumbles, a grin breaking on his face, "It's totally normal for you to run around in the snow wearing a bathrobe n' no shoes."
"Hey, I told ya, it was extenuating circumstances," Terry retorts defensively, "It was not my first choice, y'know?"
"I sure as shit hope not," Mike snickers.
Terry rolls his eyes, taking an irritable puff off his cigarette as Mike laughs at his expense.
"So you're just exaggerating, then?" he asks with a grimace, "About shit from that night bein' weird?"
"Oh no, there's more," Mike retorts, his laughter slowly subsiding, "That's just the most prominent."
"What else, then?"
"There's more of that weird behavior of yours…" Mike notes, "Why do you care so much?"
Terry shrugs; "You're the one who wanted to make conversation."
"I did say that, didn't I?" Mike huffs a bit, shifting on his feet, "Alright, if you must know, it was mostly little things. Like the footprints I found the next morning."
"What about 'em?"
"Well, I didn't see 'em anywhere around the perimeter of the park," Mike explains, "Hell, it looked like they started somewhere in the middle. With all your running around to catch the kid who made 'em, it was kinda hard to tell where they started or ended, but I didn't even find 'em very far outside the main area of the park."
"Huh…Alright, I'll give ya that…" Terry mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck, "That's pretty weird…"
He pauses, wracking his brain for any excuse that might sound plausible.
"Was there a lot of snow on the ground around the rides?" he asks, squinting a bit as he feigns his search for a lost memory, "I know sometimes it can get real thin on the ground in those places."
Mike furrows his brow, looking lost in thought. After a moment, he grimaces.
"Shit, man, I don't remember…" he shakes his head, "I don't think so. It might've been pretty thin."
"Well, maybe he snuck in around some of the bigger rides? Like the Mondo coaster or the Log Jam?"
Mike hums thoughtfully; "Yeah…I guess those rides mostly gather snow on top, not the ground."
He seems to be buying it. After letting him think about that for a second, Terry suddenly snaps his fingers, as though he'd just thought of something.
"What about the food trailers?"
Mike turns to him with a suspicious look; "What about them?"
"Can't they put out a lot of heat?" he suggests, "And we got that big ass group of 'em near the Log Jam — that'd sure as shit melt the snow around them, wouldn't it?"
Mike starts nodding, a look of realization creeping across his face.
"Yeah," he agrees, "we don't keep those trailers warm, but the fridges put out a shit ton of heat when they're grouped altogether like that."
"So, maybe he got in around there?" Terry shrugs, "I did find him skulking around one of the food trailers, after all."
Mike hums again, seeming to ponder this as he takes absentminded puffs on his cigarette. After a minute, he sighs.
"Eh, that's all well and good," he grumbles, carding his fingers through his greasy hair, "But it doesn't really matter now. I barely remember half of that shit. Besides," he slips his free hand into his pocket, "it's been almost a week; even if I wanted to speculate, it's not like it matters. Those footprints are long gone."
"So…what?" Terry scoffs, "A kid breaks into your park and you ain't even gonna do dick about it? You sure didn't have a problem giving me shit about what happened."
"That's cuz you're an asshole who was acting weird and later admitted to tryin' to steal my shit," Mike retorts, "But even that don't mean much. I mean, fuck, I got a couple of fuckin' convicts on the payroll as is."
"Isn't 'the boss' supposed to crack down on that shit?"
"Listen, fucker," Mike scoffs, "As long as the business doesn't get fucked over and I keep makin' money, I could give a shit. What do I care if some little shit sneaks in? Especially when he got caught and didn't break or steal anything?"
"Guess that's a decent point…" Terry nods, "But then, why bring it up at all?"
"I was just curious," Mike replies with a shrug, "I hadn't heard shit, but you're the one who dealt with it that night. I was just wonderin' if you'd heard anything since."
He doesn't seem to be expecting a response from Terry as he takes one last, long drag from his cigarette.
"Anyway," he grumbles, flicking the cigarette butt away, "All that aside, if I really wanted to take legal action based on all that, I woulda done it already. Hell, I woulda done it the first day. But at this point, any evidence I had is fucked, so why waste the time?"
Rubbing the smoldering cigarette into the snow, he turns away.
"Anyway, Merry Christmas, I guess," he mumbles, "Enjoy your day off."
Terry watches him leave, a feeling of paranoia creeping up his spine. Mike does seem disinterested in the subject, but something about their conversation still has him a little unnerved. Flicking away his own cigarette, he retreats inside.
I think I'll leave a little earlier than expected tomorrow…