CHAPTER IV
Are You Going To Come Quietly Or Do I Have To Use Earplugs?
"Look Jane," Eddie hobbled miserably to the couch in the spacious living room and dropped himself with a heavy sigh, allowing the crutches to slide to the floor. "I don't need one."
Jane was behind the counter in the connecting kitchen, her chin propped up on her elbows, her eyes staring blankly into his lying face. She was twirling her engagement ring obliviously around her finger, chewing on her tongue.
"It's all bullshit. I don't buy into it." Eddie threw up his good hand in surrender - his other one slung in a cast, and deadweight against his chest - and turned away from Jane, staring blankly at the floor.
"You wanna to know what's bullshit?" Jane asked, pounding her elbows on the countertop to get his attention before continuing. "You. You're just too damn proud to admit that you need help. That's what's bullshit." Jane flipped her hair from her face angrily.
"Me?" Eddie quipped, his hand pivoting to face his chest. "I'm not the one who's going insane over some recurring nightmare and saying I should go to some tight-assed, egotistically absorbed bitch and spill my guts out." Eddie was about to rise, but thought against it.
"You know," Jane's hand tightened into a rigid grip in front of her as if she was holding a ball, but there was no ball. "The problem is that you're so wrapped up in yourself that you're cutting off everything else in the world."
"Case in point." Eddie gestured loosely with his fingers before rubbing his hand up and down his face in annoyance. He tried to make it appear as if he was just resting due to exhaustion, but it was really to hide from Jane's reactions.
Jane's jaw hung open as she tried to think something intelligent up, but she could find none, instead she surrendered. "Fine! If you want to wake up every morning screaming and welcoming yourself into a world of pain, go right he hell for it. Otherwise; I'm going for a walk."
"Good!" Eddie retorted, watching her as she stomped across the room and grabbed her coat from the coat rack near the door before flipping around to face him. "Fine!" She yelled back, slamming the door behind her.
Eddie sat there a moment, the sound of the rain slapping against the apartment windows filling the emptiness now engulfing the room. He sighed heavily before sinking to the side of the couch, resting his head on the armrest and closing his eyes.
*MOO*
"I just don't understand. Why is he so insensate?" Jane asked pitifully, shifting her salad indifferently around on her plate with her fork. She sat moping over her dinner that she had suddenly scheduled with Liz.
"It's obvious," Liz said, popping an olive into her mouth impolitely while she was talking. "He's a man. Men have to act tough." She shrugged her shoulders and looked back down to her plate, fishing out another olive from her salad.
"I know, it's just…" Jane tried, but gave up, shaking her head at the hopelessness of it.
"Look babe," Liz's hands snapped in execution. "He'll get over it. You'll break him down. Remember…" She began, and Jane automatically finished.
"Time wounds all heals." Jane smiled half-heartedly as Liz giggled, going back to her food.
"God. You never have enough olives when you need them." Liz tried keenly to change the subject, but Jane was use to it and she did not surrender.
Jane simply pushed her plate out of the way and dropped her head onto the table, sighing loudly.
The waiter came and gave them the check before leaving in a huff to clean up a mess someone had left on another table.
"Don't beat yourself up over it." Liz tried, gently placing her hand on her friend's tightly coiled shoulder, squeezing gently. "It's just repercussions, you know, like…like…" Liz tried to think fast.
Her eyes grew wide as an idea came to her and she pointed her finger at Jane, "like, when Ray broke up with you and you kept having those bouts of depression." Liz nodded as though she's just won Double Jeopardy, wiping her hands on her napkin.
"What?" Jane rose from the confinements of her arms in confusion. "That's nothing like this," Jane pouted, taking an apathetic sip from her water.
"Whatever," she waved her hand as if the idea would disappear behind her shoulder and got up and grabbed her damp coat, taking Jane by the wrist and helping her to her feet. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" Jane asked lazily, watching as Liz threw down some money on the table and grabbed her car keys before leading Jane away.
"I'm going to buy you a drink."
*MOO*
Eddie was sprawled lazily across the back of the couch, his head back and his good arm and leg stretched as far as they could. His eyes were shut and only the sound of the rain and his breathing filled his ears.
With a dispassionate sigh, Eddie sat up from his lolled position and bent down to reach for his crutch, cringing as a pain burst through his side, and he sat back up, easing the pain.
He sighed as he lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing a long, pink scar that ran diagonally across his belly, a yellow and purple bruise encasing it. He pushed gingerly at the soft tissue, taking a sharp breath at the spurt of pain.
He ran a hand through his hair, his breath speeding up as memories came back to him.
The headlights…
The brakes…
The sounds…
The smells…
The pain…
The people…
Crowding…
Standing…
Staring…
"No!" He pushed away their eyes from his mind, coming to grips with the fact he was sitting safely in his apartment living room, four stories above the street.
Slowly, he relaxed his breath and wiped the collected sweat from his forehead, blinking the horrid images from his head. Shaking his head at himself, he bent to retrieve his crutch, ignoring the pain.
He slowly pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, positioning his crutch comfortably beneath his arm as he hobbled across the room to the counter and positioned himself halfway onto one of the barstools.
He reached out and grabbed the phonebook, then pulled the phone into his reach and began flipping through the phonebook, scanning his finger down as her got to the right page and found what he was looking for.
Without a second thought, Eddie dialed in the number and waited until someone picked up, then he froze, lost in thought. The continual shriek of the disconnected line brought him back as he shook back to reality.
A cold sweat broke out across his body as he shook the absurdity of his thought from his mind and pressed redial.
"Hello? Yes, I'd like to make an appointment with a Dr. Summers."
Are You Going To Come Quietly Or Do I Have To Use Earplugs?
"Look Jane," Eddie hobbled miserably to the couch in the spacious living room and dropped himself with a heavy sigh, allowing the crutches to slide to the floor. "I don't need one."
Jane was behind the counter in the connecting kitchen, her chin propped up on her elbows, her eyes staring blankly into his lying face. She was twirling her engagement ring obliviously around her finger, chewing on her tongue.
"It's all bullshit. I don't buy into it." Eddie threw up his good hand in surrender - his other one slung in a cast, and deadweight against his chest - and turned away from Jane, staring blankly at the floor.
"You wanna to know what's bullshit?" Jane asked, pounding her elbows on the countertop to get his attention before continuing. "You. You're just too damn proud to admit that you need help. That's what's bullshit." Jane flipped her hair from her face angrily.
"Me?" Eddie quipped, his hand pivoting to face his chest. "I'm not the one who's going insane over some recurring nightmare and saying I should go to some tight-assed, egotistically absorbed bitch and spill my guts out." Eddie was about to rise, but thought against it.
"You know," Jane's hand tightened into a rigid grip in front of her as if she was holding a ball, but there was no ball. "The problem is that you're so wrapped up in yourself that you're cutting off everything else in the world."
"Case in point." Eddie gestured loosely with his fingers before rubbing his hand up and down his face in annoyance. He tried to make it appear as if he was just resting due to exhaustion, but it was really to hide from Jane's reactions.
Jane's jaw hung open as she tried to think something intelligent up, but she could find none, instead she surrendered. "Fine! If you want to wake up every morning screaming and welcoming yourself into a world of pain, go right he hell for it. Otherwise; I'm going for a walk."
"Good!" Eddie retorted, watching her as she stomped across the room and grabbed her coat from the coat rack near the door before flipping around to face him. "Fine!" She yelled back, slamming the door behind her.
Eddie sat there a moment, the sound of the rain slapping against the apartment windows filling the emptiness now engulfing the room. He sighed heavily before sinking to the side of the couch, resting his head on the armrest and closing his eyes.
*MOO*
"I just don't understand. Why is he so insensate?" Jane asked pitifully, shifting her salad indifferently around on her plate with her fork. She sat moping over her dinner that she had suddenly scheduled with Liz.
"It's obvious," Liz said, popping an olive into her mouth impolitely while she was talking. "He's a man. Men have to act tough." She shrugged her shoulders and looked back down to her plate, fishing out another olive from her salad.
"I know, it's just…" Jane tried, but gave up, shaking her head at the hopelessness of it.
"Look babe," Liz's hands snapped in execution. "He'll get over it. You'll break him down. Remember…" She began, and Jane automatically finished.
"Time wounds all heals." Jane smiled half-heartedly as Liz giggled, going back to her food.
"God. You never have enough olives when you need them." Liz tried keenly to change the subject, but Jane was use to it and she did not surrender.
Jane simply pushed her plate out of the way and dropped her head onto the table, sighing loudly.
The waiter came and gave them the check before leaving in a huff to clean up a mess someone had left on another table.
"Don't beat yourself up over it." Liz tried, gently placing her hand on her friend's tightly coiled shoulder, squeezing gently. "It's just repercussions, you know, like…like…" Liz tried to think fast.
Her eyes grew wide as an idea came to her and she pointed her finger at Jane, "like, when Ray broke up with you and you kept having those bouts of depression." Liz nodded as though she's just won Double Jeopardy, wiping her hands on her napkin.
"What?" Jane rose from the confinements of her arms in confusion. "That's nothing like this," Jane pouted, taking an apathetic sip from her water.
"Whatever," she waved her hand as if the idea would disappear behind her shoulder and got up and grabbed her damp coat, taking Jane by the wrist and helping her to her feet. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" Jane asked lazily, watching as Liz threw down some money on the table and grabbed her car keys before leading Jane away.
"I'm going to buy you a drink."
*MOO*
Eddie was sprawled lazily across the back of the couch, his head back and his good arm and leg stretched as far as they could. His eyes were shut and only the sound of the rain and his breathing filled his ears.
With a dispassionate sigh, Eddie sat up from his lolled position and bent down to reach for his crutch, cringing as a pain burst through his side, and he sat back up, easing the pain.
He sighed as he lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing a long, pink scar that ran diagonally across his belly, a yellow and purple bruise encasing it. He pushed gingerly at the soft tissue, taking a sharp breath at the spurt of pain.
He ran a hand through his hair, his breath speeding up as memories came back to him.
The headlights…
The brakes…
The sounds…
The smells…
The pain…
The people…
Crowding…
Standing…
Staring…
"No!" He pushed away their eyes from his mind, coming to grips with the fact he was sitting safely in his apartment living room, four stories above the street.
Slowly, he relaxed his breath and wiped the collected sweat from his forehead, blinking the horrid images from his head. Shaking his head at himself, he bent to retrieve his crutch, ignoring the pain.
He slowly pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, positioning his crutch comfortably beneath his arm as he hobbled across the room to the counter and positioned himself halfway onto one of the barstools.
He reached out and grabbed the phonebook, then pulled the phone into his reach and began flipping through the phonebook, scanning his finger down as her got to the right page and found what he was looking for.
Without a second thought, Eddie dialed in the number and waited until someone picked up, then he froze, lost in thought. The continual shriek of the disconnected line brought him back as he shook back to reality.
A cold sweat broke out across his body as he shook the absurdity of his thought from his mind and pressed redial.
"Hello? Yes, I'd like to make an appointment with a Dr. Summers."