Over the next few days, Double D seemed tired, bothered. He no longer spoke up in class, keeping to his own work. Eddy saw an assignment handed back to the smart boy with an unthinkable C- written in red ink on the top. Double D didn't even take a look at it, shoving it into his backpack, then he rubbed his tired eyes. The teacher leaned down and asked if everything was alright. Double D shrugged, but he said no more, and the teacher walked back to her desk, looking worried.
And then the inconceivable happened. At first, Ed and Eddy thought it might have been a fluke. They searched both of the boy's bathrooms, the cafeteria, the gym, and even the principal's office. It was only when they sat in their first class, and the teacher called Double D's name that it finally hit them. Their best friend, the one with the perfect attendance record, was not at school today. They went through the first half of the day in a daze, unsure of what to think of his absence. By lunchtime, all of the cul-de-sac kids knew something was up, and they all joined the two Eds at their table.
"Where's Double D-Ed-boy?" Rolf asked, setting his tray down.
Eddy didn't like questions that he didn't know the answers to, so he snapped. "How should I know?" he demanded. "Sockhead's been acting really weird."
"Ever since the strangers showed up!" Ed exclaimed, taking a huge bite of baked chicken.
Kevin sipped his milk, rubbing his chin. "I think I saw them. A man and a woman, right?"
Eddy nodded, glaring at the table. "Yeah. They said they brought cookies for him, and instead of takin' 'em, he said something like, 'You can't bribe me with that. I'll never forgive you.'"
"Forgive them?" Nazz asked in surprise. "Forgive them for what? What did they do to him?"
"He would not talk about it, Nazz!" Ed lamented. "But he never reads comic books, so we know he is upset."
"Comic books?" Sarah snorted. "Double D doesn't seem like the kind of person to read comic books."
"Exactly, Sarah," Eddy said. "Right after he said that thing about the bribes, he voluntarily said he wanted to read comic books. That means he doesn't want to talk about it. Or even think about it."
"Where could he be?" Jimmy asked, huddling up to Sarah with unease in his eyes.
"I don't know," Eddy admitted. He glanced up. "Maybe the library? If he's not just sick." It was obvious that he hoped that Double D was just sick.
"Double D never gets sick," Nazz said.
"Then it must be at the building of books!" Rolf exclaimed.
"Then you two dorks better go to the library and find out what's botherin' him," Kevin said simply.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. All too soon, Ed and Eddy walked with great trepidation up to the oak doors of the town library. They paused outside for a moment then pulled the heavy door open. Immediately, cool air greeted them, and the smell of books washed over them. They tiptoed through the shelves, peeking down each row. There were plenty of grownups, a lot of high schoolers, and a few kids they recognized from their school. But there was no Double D.
Just when they were about to give up, they saw their friend. He sat at a study desk, a huge book in front of him. He was bent low over the pages, his fingers tracing the lines as he read. From the side view they had of him, they could tell he was paler than usual. One hand idly rubbed his head through his hat, touching the marks that Ed and Eddy weren't allowed to ask him about. That only increased their worry. Double D tended to avoid touching his head most of the time, so as to not draw attention to the hat he never took off in front of anybody.
Ed and Eddy approached slowly, tentatively. Was their friend going to give them that look of fire again? Did they dare to ask him what was going on? Eddy analyzed the situation then asked what he hoped was a safe question.
"Whatcha readin' there, Double D?" he asked.
Eddy didn't really care, but it was the safest question he could think of. Still, Edd's reaction was abrupt, startling both Ed and Eddy. He jumped, sitting bolt upright. In one swift movement, he slammed the book closed, his tired eyes moving over to his friends with fright in their depths. The librarian shushed him, then he did a doubletake when he saw who had made the noise. Double D blushed, glancing down at his hands.
"Hello, Eddy," Double D whispered. "How are you? How was school?"
"Lonely, without you," Ed said softly; even he knew to be quiet in a library.
"Oh," Edd waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I had a headache this morning and Mother called the school to tell them I wouldn't be in today. She let me come to the library provided my headache disappeared, and it did."
Eddy frowned. "C'mon Sockhead, you think I'm gonna buy that lame excuse?"
Double D looked offended, and his expression darkened. "For your information, I did have a headache, Eddy." The blush came back, and he reached up to rub his head again. "I've been having them quite frequently lately if you must know. This morning was particularly abhorrent."
"Is that why you haven't been feeling well?" Eddy demanded, his voice rising slightly as his agitation grew. "It has nothing to do with that Mary and Dennis?"
"I…I didn't say that," Double D muttered. He suddenly realized that he was touching his hat, and he snatched his hand down.
"So it does?" Eddy asked.
Double D grimaced. "Eddy, I really don't want to talk about this."
"I don't care. We're all worried about you," Eddy said.
The admission alone would have normally softened Double D's demeanor, but he just couldn't breach the subject, not even with his best friends. It was too painful to think of, to remember those dark days. A memory of blinding fluorescent lights flashed before his eyes, and he had to force his hands not to go to his head again as a phantom pain spiked through him. So much blood…
Edd clenched his jaw as he turned away. "No, Eddy."
"Double D—"
Double D snapped again. He shoved his chair back so that it clattered to the floor as he stood up. "No, Eddy!" Double D shouted, that same fire in his eyes.
Every head turned in their direction, and most of the usual patrons couldn't stop their jaws from dropping. All of them knew how fastidious, how proper the hatted boy was, and they couldn't believe it. Even the librarian gaped for a moment before standing up and hurrying over.
"Eddward!" he gasped. "What's going on? What's happening?"
Double D was trembling from head to foot, and he leaned down and snatched up a brown paper sack. "I'm leaving right now, Mr. Hathaway," Edd said curtly, then turned and hurried for the door.
After a frozen, slack-jawed moment, Ed and Eddy ducked their heads and followed after their friend, leaving the librarian staring suspiciously after them. Eddy was angry. They weren't the bad guys in this situation. Not even close! They were trying to get their friend to talk about those two strangers. They're the bad guys, Eddy thought viciously. Double D wouldn't act like this unless they were.
They caught up to Double D, who was walking quickly as if to escape them. Ed and Eddy came up beside him and kept pace. It was Ed that broke the silence this time.
"What's in the sack, Double D?"
"A sandwich from Mother, Edd replied shortly. "I skipped lunch. I didn't want to eat it."
"Can I have it?" the tall Ed asked eagerly.
Double D stopped so abruptly that they were several steps ahead of him before they registered that he was no longer with them. They backtracked, watching warily as he opened the sack and pulled out the aforementioned sandwich. He peeled the plastic wrap off, placed it back in the sack, and wadded it up, throwing the bag into the trashcan he'd stopped beside. He then handed it over to Ed. There was still a tense expression on his face as he spoke.
"Here you are, Ed. Ham and cheese with a single leaf of lettuce."
Ed brightened, snatching the sandwich and grinning. "Oh boy! Oh boy!"
The boy had it gone in a few bites. Eddy watched with some measure of fascination and disgust, and when they looked around for their friend, they found themselves alone again. Double D was far ahead of them, and by the time they caught up to him, he was walking down into their cul-de-sac. They caught up to him as Kevin skidded to a stop in front of Double D on his bike. He tilted his hat up and leaned back.
"Move, Kevin," Double D said, a growl in his voice.
Kevin blinked in surprise as the other kids hurried over. He turned to Eddy. "So Dorky, did ya get it outta him?"
Eddy glowered. "Nah. All he had was some lame excuse about getting headaches."
Double D flushed in anger. "I did have a headache this morning!" he spat. The other kids blinked at him; he so rarely got angry that it was genuinely shocking to see.
"Geez, calm down, Double D," Nazz said warily.
Before the boy could respond, a bright voice called out from the direction of his house.
"Eddward!"
Immediately, all the color left Double D's cheeks, and he reached up with both hands and gripped his head, a soft groan leaving his trembling lips. His face twisted in pain, and suddenly the 'lame excuse' of having a headache wasn't so lame. Tears bloomed in his eyes, and he was obviously fighting to keep them from falling.
The woman who had called his name walked over with the man. Kevin recognized both of them, and he leaned back, wondering if he should take off. Nazz reached out to comfort Double D, but she hesitated as they approached. Jimmy cowered behind Sarah, and Rolf stood straight, frozen in place as his eyes scanned the tall grownups as they stopped beside them.
"We need to talk, Eddward," the woman said, the smile not reaching her eyes.
They smelled terrible, like that horrible stuff their parents sometimes drank, and their eyes were glazed but bright. The children gazed with wide eyes at them. Double D's watering eyes looked around at each of them, then he took a deep breath and stood up. Blinking away the tears, he turned and spoke with cold detachment.
"Auntie Mary, go away."
"Come on, little scientist," the man said fondly, but there was an edge that they didn't like in his voice. "We need to talk."
Double D stared at the man with icy anger. "No, Uncle Dennis. Go away."
"It'll only take a few minutes," Mary said, crossing her arms.
Double D stood straight. "No. There's nothing you can do to convince me to forgive you. I haven't gone to the police, and that's as good as you're going to get, but if you don't leave me alone, I will go to the police and tell them the whole story."
The two adults' smiles disappeared, and they glared at Edd. Dennis leaned down.
"They'd never believe you, boy."
"Oh, wouldn't they? My hospital records might convince them otherwise."
"You're lying," Mary said, unease in her voice. "You wouldn't go to them."
Double D laughed, a bitter, biting noise. "Are you sure?" he asked, a smirk hovering around his mouth. The kids watched fearfully at the power struggle that unfolded before their eyes.
"You're a coward," Dennis snarled. "You haven't gone yet, and you won't. We got to talk to your 'parents' and we need to talk about things with you."
The way the man said 'parents' troubled the cul-de-sac kids. He said it in a way that they could hear the quotation marks. What was that supposed to mean? It was obviously significant, but they couldn't connect the dots.
"No," Double D replied. "I told my lawyer that I wanted to be as far away from you people as possible. I still have her number. If you don't leave, I'll call her. You're violating the restraining order. Now go away."
That was too much for Dennis. He grabbed Double D's hat, and the boy snatched at the bottom edges to keep it on. He was physically lifted into the air, and he clutched at the black cloth in his fingers, praying it didn't come off.
"Don't even think about it," he growled. "You've caused us enough trouble. First we lose that money, now you're threatening us? I don't think so. You're still a kid, Eddward, no matter how big your vocabulary is. Unless you want more of that," he poked the front of Double D's head. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut. You owe us, brat. Now, your precious 'mommy' and 'daddy' left you some chores to do. I suggest you go do them, like the goody-two-shoes imp you are!"
He released Double D, who crashed to the ground, still clutching his hat. His knees slid against the unforgiving asphalt, and he grimaced as his ankle collapsed beneath his weight. Dennis and Mary snickered, and they turned and stormed off. None of the kids moved until they were gone. Then Double D sat back and rubbed his bleeding knees with one hand as he adjusted his hat with the other. Nazz was the first to come forward, helping Double D to stand on shaky legs. The boy was crying now, the tears carving a wet path down his flushed cheeks. He looked devastated, and he turned away to hide his pain as he rubbed his head where Dennis had poked him.
"What was that about?" Nazz asked, brushing his clothes off.
Double D shook his head, wiping at his cheeks. "Nothing you need to worry about," he said, his voice wavering.
"C'mon Double D," Eddy said, decidedly subdued. "That was… weird."
Double D continued to rub his head as he shook it again. "You'll treat me differently," he whispered.
"Why would we do that?" Nazz asked.
Double D went quiet, then he lowered his hand and wrung both of them together, spreading the blood over his palms. "Just leave it alone. Please?"
"No, dude. We want to help," Nazz said gently. "Just tell us."
"No," Double D said, sniffling. "I'm not going to tell you. It's too much. But…" He paused then turned to stare earnestly at them. "If you know what's good for you, keep away from my aunt and uncle. They're more dangerous than you think. I've got to go home. I've got chores to do."
And Double D turned, limping on a twisted ankle as he headed for his front door. He took out his key, unlocked the door, and went in without looking back. The cul-de-sac kids stood still for a moment, staring after him. Then Sarah spoke in a small voice.
"What was that police stuff about?"
"Yeah, and why would somebody his age need a lawyer?" Kevin asked, his expression pinching in confusion.
Rolf shook his head, turning to look after the adults, who were far gone by now. "This son of a shepherd is confused." He crossed his arms, glaring at the empty sidewalk. "Double D-Ed-boy is not the kind to associate with such filth as those adults are. They smell of alcohol, and it is no party that we are at right now."
"They're nothing like his parents," Nazz said thoughtfully. "Maybe they're distantly related?"
"But an aunt or uncle is a sibling of one of the parents," Jimmy put in.
"Who cares?" Eddy spat, his face pale with fright. "He ain't tellin' us, and I wanna know why."
Those grownups reminded him of his older brother. They did smell like beer, coupled with those awful cigarettes. Eddy knew what his brother was like when he drank, and he was afraid for Double D. Whatever those adults were, it was dangerous. They couldn't stay out of it. Not if Double D was involved already. He didn't care how threatening they were. Nobody threatened his friends. Not even a grownup.