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Chapter 15

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Henry breathed in and out shaking, angry breaths as he held Eddie against the wall with a hard hand over the boy's lips. Wide, dark eyes stared back at him as Eddie shivered and wheezed very painful-sounding breaths.

Henry's breaths almost sounded as bad as Eddie's, but the two boys were out of breath for two very different reasons. Henry was furious, pissed off at Patrick for taking what was supposed to be a kind of funny joke in a really dark, really sick direction. Henry couldn't have claimed that he himself wasn't capable of some pretty twisted, harsh, cruel things... But raping a thirteen year old boy? Even Henry wouldn't stoop that low.

The boy's labored breathing was from something else entirely. Eddie was completely terrified, traumatized, hurt, probably having an asthma attack.

Hopefully Patrick hadn't actually succeeded in raping the kid. How the hell could Henry know? It didn't seem like he'd actually done it. It looked like he almost had - like he was ten seconds away from doing it... But how the hell could Henry know what Patrick did before he got there? Maybe he'd been in the basement for a long time. Maybe he was repeating something he'd already done earlier...

Henry didn't even know Patrick was at his house, and certainly didn't know how long he'd been here. The other boy had gone home hours ago. He must have snuck back after Henry and his dad went to bed... He had probably been planning this all day - ever since the weird thing with the gun. Henry should have known to be more careful after that. He knew Patrick got some kind of really sick, twisted thrill out of it.

Exhaling tiredly, Henry moved his hand off of Eddie's mouth, mostly so he could maybe breathe better, but also so he could talk - as long as he didn't scream. Henry needed answers. He wanted to know what actually happened. For some reason he needed to know that he had gotten here in time to stop Patrick from doing what he was clearly doing... He wanted to know that Patrick hadn't actually done it.

Eddie squeezed his tear-filled eyes closed as Henry grabbed onto his upper-arms to steady him. His breaths were still shaky and quick, completely panicked. It reminded Henry of a four year old having a complete emotional meltdown. It kind of made him mad... He wanted to slap the kid and tell him to fucking grow up and get over it...

But then, Patrick had just had him pinned to the wall, trying to sexually assault him - maybe he even already did. Eddie was tiny, weak, scared of everything around him. He had a pretty damn good reason to be scared of Patrick, to feel terrified and overwhelmed right now. But Patrick was gone. All that was over and done. He was going to be fine now.

"You're okay." Henry frowned. "Stop whining... Did he hurt you?"

"I d-" Eddie gasped, breathing in a shaky, wheezing breath and shrinking down. "Can't br-" He cut himself off with more pained coughing as he moved his hands up toward his throat. Tears rolled down the boy's cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled and exhaled short, gravely breaths.

"Calm down." Henry stared, squeezing his hands tighter around Eddie's arms and shaking him slightly. "Stop fucking crying. Take a god damned breath and stop freaking out. He's gone. You don't have to fucking panic anymore. Just calm down and breathe. I'm trying to fucking talk to you."

Eddie shook his head and let out another choking whimper as more tears streamed down his cheeks.

"He's gone. You're fuckin' fine. Just breathe and stop being a baby." Henry stared. What was so hard about that?

"I-" Eddie choked, closing his eyes and shaking his head again as his labored breaths seemed to be preventing him from speaking. "K-keep him away..." He managed between shaking gasps. "Please... Keep h-him away fr-from me..." His tiny voice trembled so much Henry could barely even hear or understand him.

"I am. He's gone..." Henry glared down at the kid. "What'd he do though?"

Eddie shook his head and choked out another breathless sob.

"Did he rape you?" Henry asked rather bluntly. It wasn't like he was going to be able to do anything about it if he did... He didn't know why it mattered to him. He was already mad at Patrick anyway, and Eddie was just some dumb, weak little runt. He didn't care what happened to this kid...

Eddie wheezed in a shaking breath as he shook his head and stumbled back slightly. He seemed pretty disoriented at the moment. His eyes were slightly unfocused and his breaths were not getting any more even. Henry wasn't even sure if he could take that little head-shake as an answer. Eddie seemed so out of it, so distracted by his own self and his current inability to breathe.

Henry narrowed his eyes and frowned as he stared down at the boy. Eddie looked so fucking scared - in a way that was for some reason more sad than funny. Henry didn't understand how the hell he felt bad about this right now, but he did.

Why did he care what Patrick did? He hated this kid. He wanted to hurt him. That's why he brought him here... He wanted to embarrass, humiliate, and hurt this little prick. If Patrick raped him, then... that's what Henry wanted, right? He saw Eddie this morning, looking sweet and innocent and protected, and he wanted to make him suffer. So why did he feel so bad? Why was he worried about what Patrick did or didn't do? He didn't like Eddie at all. He'd thought about what it would be like if he had a brother like Eddie - someone to look after, to mentor, to protect... But Eddie wasn't his brother. He was just some dumb worthless kid.

"I c- I can't..." Eddie squeezed his eyes shut as he stumbled back against the wall, pressing his bound hands up against this chest and wheezing painfully. "I can't breathe..." He whimpered.

Henry frowned. "I can see that... You gonna be alright though?" He asked. He couldn't have this kid dying here in his dad's basement... Especially not now. If Patrick did do anything to him, the police might be able to tell - and he was in Henry's basement. Not Patrick's. They cops would see that the kid had been raped and would blame Henry for it. Everyone would think Henry was a creep child-rapist.

"I don't kn-" Eddie coughed. He wheezed another shaking, weak breath, squeezing his eyes shut again. The boy's shoulders shook as he choked out breathless sobs. "I ca-" He cut himself off with another pained half-breath.

"You've gotta try, kid..." Henry shook his head and shrugged. "I can't do it for you... Stop crying. You're fucking yourself all up. Get your inhaler out... That's what it's for, right?" He furrowed his brow. Why wasn't Eddie just doing this without Henry having to explain it. Eddie knew how to use his inhaler. He saw this dumb little runt using his inhaler all the time. He was so god damned overly dependent on it - probably using it when he didn't even need to 90% of the time.

Eddie choked out a shaking sob and let himself sink down to the floor as he shook his head. "I can't breathe." He said again, fumbling toward the dumb little fanny pack he always wore. It was kind of a miracle the thing was still there around his waist after all this. Patrick must not have minded that it was there.

Henry rolled his eyes as he noticed Eddie having quite a bit of trouble managing to grab the zipper of his fanny pack. The poor kid's hands were shaking so badly he couldn't even manage to grip it, and his breaths were only becoming more and more difficult, more and more shaky. He was probably going to actually pass out if he didn't figure this out soon. Henry didn't want the kid dying down here - not on his watch.

With another exhale, Henry slapped Eddie's hands away and pulled the zipper open himself, grabbing the inhaler out and moving it up toward Eddie's face. "Here." He offered, pressing the mouth-piece up against the boy's lips.

"No!" Eddie gasped, turning his face to the side and choking out a tiny sob as he reached up toward the inhaler with trembling hands.

"You're gonna fucking die, dumbass." Henry growled, grabbing toward Eddie's face and shoving the inhaler toward his lips again.

"No! Please!" Eddie sobbed, shaking his head and pushing the inhaler away.

"Fine, dumbfuck. Go ahead and fucking die." Henry stood up, throwing the inhaler roughly at Eddie's chest. It bounced off and hit the floor, then Eddie grabbed desperately for it.

Henry felt his own breaths growing faster as he glared down at the kid fumbling with the inhaler, dropping it and choking out a defeated sob before grabbing at it again. Henry was trying to help him... but Eddie was being a little bitch and wouldn't let him. It kind of made Henry want to stomp down on the inhaler and destroy it. Maybe break Eddie's dumb little fingers while he was at it.

With shaking hands, Eddie brought the inhaler back up toward his mouth. The boy leaned his head slightly back as he continued gasping short, wheezing breaths and let his hand fall back down into his lap before even taking a puff of the medicine. His eyelids fluttered and he choked another shaking sob. "I can't..." He gasped. "H-help me..."

Henry shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I was trying to help you." He breathed, still trying to keep his rage from bubbling up. He kind of wanted to punch this kid and shove the inhaler down his fucking throat... But that would be taking things too far.

"C-cant br-breathe..." Eddie wheezed, feeling with his hands in his lap, where he'd let the inhaler fall.

"Let me help you then, dumbass." Henry growled, snatching the inhaler and shoving it into Eddie's mouth. "That's what I was trying to do. Ready?"

Eddie let out a tiny, choked noise and nodded his head as he squeezed his eyes shut. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks.

Henry pressed down the inhaler's trigger and watched and listened as Eddie inhaled the medicine, coughing lightly as he immediately turned his head to face away as he reached his trembling fingers up to grab the object.

"Please..." Eddie rasped, choking out more shaking sobs.

"Please what?" Henry let go of the inhaler and shoved Eddie's shoulder. "You fucking okay now?" He glared.

Eddie breathed in a few slow, shaky breaths and allowed himself one more puff from the inhaler before putting it back into the fanny pack, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. He continued breathing in and out slowly, each breath trembling a little less than the last.

"So... Did Patrick do it or not?" Henry stared.

Eddie opened his eyes, blinking tiredly up at Henry, but remaining silent. After a moment, his lip started to shake as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Did he?" Henry swallowed.

Still not answering, Eddie brought his hands up to his mouth as his tears started to spill over. Without another word, he began to choke out pained, frantic sobs.

Henry exhaled, grabbing Eddie's upper arm and pulling him slightly out of his defensive ball, forcing the boy to look at him. "Did he do it?" He asked again. "I'm fucking serious. Tell me."

"H-he didn't..." Eddie cried, shaking his head as he drew his knees up to his chest.

Henry frowned as he stared down at the kid. Patrick didn't do it... So why was Eddie sobbing like this?

"What's wrong with you then?" Henry stared.

Eddie suddenly stared back, sniffing back a sob, but honestly looking a lot more mad than scared or sad now. He shook his head as he stared angrily up at Henry. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He whispered.

Henry couldn't help but to smile as he let out a small laugh. "He didn't fucking rape you... So shut up and get over it."

"He tried to, you fucking asshole!" Eddie's voice shook like someone who had a really bad cough. "You've both been beating me up, pulling my pants down, choking me... threatening to kill me, threatening to f-" He cut himself off with a shaking sob, followed by a trembling whisper. "Th-threatening to fu-fucking rape me..." He finally broke down completely, pulling his legs back up against his chest again and sobbing painful, heartbroken sobs.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Henry watched the kid with a frown. He wanted to think this was funny. He wanted to feel like he'd accomplished what he wanted - this kid was completely terrified. He and Patrick hurt him, like they wanted to. They embarrassed him, scared the fuck out of him. It was funny. It's what they did all the time to younger, smaller, weaker kids. He was getting the reaction he wanted - fear, anger, crying, fighting back in a way that was embarrassing for the kid and not for him... This is exactly what he wanted - so why wasn't it funny? Why did he feel like a complete piece of shit?

"I w-" Eddie cut himself off with a shaky, tearful breath. "I want to- to go home..." He sobbed. "Please let me go home!" He whimpered. "I'm sc-scared..." He cried, hiding his face with his hands and shrinking down into a smaller ball than he had already curled into. "Y-you win, okay? I suck. I'm a worthless, weak little piece of nothing... Y-you guys win... Will you just stop? Please!?"

Henry grimaced as he stared down at the kid. What if Henry did have a little brother - one who was tiny and weak and vulnerable like this? Henry wondered if he could love someone like that - if he would even like his brother if he had one. Would he protect his little brother, or would he resent him? Allow people like Patrick and Henry's dad to hurt him?

Henry never cared about anyone but himself. He kind of felt like he didn't have space to. He was too busy making sure his own self was okay. How could be protect someone else when he couldn't even keep his dad from beating the shit out of him every day? How could Henry afford to care if some kid got abused when he couldn't even keep himself safe?

Maybe that's when this stopped being funny for him though - when he started reminding himself of everyone who ever hurt him in his life. When Patrick did too... Henry looked down at Eddie and saw himself - himself from a very long time ago, but still himself. Henry beat Eddie, threatened him, made him feel weak... just like Henry's father did to Henry. Patrick grabbed Eddie and tried to assault him just like Henry's dad's friend had done to Henry all those years ago.

When that happened - when his dad's friend grabbed him like that, threatened to hurt him if he told, demanded more... Henry was scared. He felt weak and somehow responsible, like being so small and defenseless was the reason it happened - like he should have done something to protect himself before the man ever got a chance to even try anything.

Just like Eddie now, Henry hadn't merely shrugged it off and moved on. He cried afterwards. His dad seemed angry about it - more at his friend than at Henry, but still seemed sort of mad at his son too. He remembered his dad telling him to stop crying... to not talk about this to anyone, ever... Like somehow it was Henry's fault that it happened - that he should be ashamed by it. Henry was still bothered by the whole thing, and it wasn't even as violent as what Patrick had just done. Of course Eddie was upset.

Maybe if his dad had been more supportive, if he hadn't made Henry feel like he was partially to blame... if he had been loving instead of angry, if he hadn't taken out his anger and frustration on his son for years, Henry wouldn't be like this today. Maybe Henry would have had the potential to be kind and caring if he just hadn't been born into this. He was like Eddie once - young, innocent, small... No one protected him. No one showed him any mercy. No one was kind or understanding. No one seemed to feel bad about any of it.

"You're fine..." Henry spoke, his voice low and uncertain as he frowned down at the shaking, sobbing boy.

"I'm not..." Eddie whimpered. "I'm not fine... I'm scared. I wanna g-go home."

Henry licked his lips as he squatted down in front of the boy.

Eddie shook his head and shrunk back. "Please don't do anything else..." He whispered, his lower lip trembling and his eyes shining with tears. "Don't hurt me anymore. Don't let Patrick near me again... Please... I just want to go home."

"Get up." Henry ordered, grabbing the boy's upper-arms and dragging him to his feet.

"Why?" Eddie breathed. He was visibly shaking, obviously still very scared.

Henry shook his head in frustration with himself, Patrick, Eddie, and this whole damn situation. He had to put an end to this before things got further out of his control.

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