hey! My comp and keyboard are driving me insane and i hope i got all the typos but it keeps coming unpaired / randomly deleting whole lines of text and I can't use my new one (my Christmas gift!) Until I have reliable WiFi to set it up. Sigh. Anyway, this is for all of you lovely, awesome, anonymous reviewers who made me sit down and work out all the kinks in this chapter. I'm sorry it's not longer but I'm about to break this keyboard over my leg :) cheers.
Edith walked for hours, glad that she had thought to layer herself in different pieces of clothing. The air was cold after hours without the sun, and the sand was sucking whatever warmth it could from her bare feet as she stormed home. The girl used her anger to propel herself forward, squashing whatever doubts that tried to rise in her, killing them quick before they had time to grow.
She had to leave. This town obviously wasn't big enough for the both of them, and Eddie knew it was the only move she could make. There was obviously no reasoning with him, and it wasn't like there was anything here for her anyway. She'd been kidding herself this whole time. Come sunrise she was headed towards the bus station.
The whole walk she was on high-alert. She jumped at any noise she heard, and she physically froze at the sound of what could have been an engine off in the distance, straining her ears and trying to decide if it was coming closer. He may have eaten enough weed to knock himself out, but Eddie knew he had meth in the house somewhere too.
There was an undeniable feeling of victory when she made it to the motel. After she had let herself in though, the sight of what he had done to the place made her heart sink. He had ripped the room apart. She checked for the envelope in the front drawer of her desk even though she knew it would be gone. Inside of it had been all the money she had managed to save from her shifts at the diner, and she hadn't hidden it well. Somehow, in the span of a few days, Mac had taken absolutely everything she needed to escape except her feet.
Eddie eyed the disheveled bed warily. She was exhausted. She didn't know what time it was without her phone, but based on the condition of the sky she guessed dawn couldn't be more than an hour off. The idea of sleep nagged at her. On the one hand, it would be wise to recharge and approach the situation clear headed, but the danger felt like a stab to her side. When he woke up this would be the first place he looked for her.
There wasn't anything to pack, and she didn't have anything to distract her with to stay awake. She sat on the bed even though she knew it was a bad idea. She had to wait for the bus station to open, but maybe she should go sit in the chair. It was less comfortable. She would probably be able to stay awake and wait for the sunrise if she went and sat at the desk by the window.
If only.
xXxXxXx
Eddie woke up to the sound of banging. In an instant she was fully awake, her heart zooming like an engine that's been revved too quickly. The banging intensified.
"Alright!" she snapped. It was out of her mouth before she could stop it, a completely involuntary response. She clamped her hand over her face and held her breath, waiting to see what the person on the other side of the door did next.
"Ed?"
"Jameson?"
The girl opened the door, in too much shock to be cautious. The man she found standing there looked just as surprised as she was, his mouth open but absent of words. They took in the sight of one another for a moment and then said, almost in unison - "what are you doing here?"
Edith answered first.
"I, I live here?"
Jameson rolled his eyes at that, folding his arms over his chest and settling his weight on one foot. He looked at her like she was an idiot, and she started to get mad. Even though he was much taller than her, Eddie felt above him. She had been in this shit hole town long before he had, and that had to count for something. Her very survival was her street cred.
"What?" she asked him, irritated now.
"I just didn't expect to find you here is all" he sighed, taking a step towards her. "i only volunteered to check here because i thought for sure you wouldn't be dumb enough to stick around."
When she realized he was advancing on her, she went to slam the door on him. His body was already moving to keep it open though, so all she did was bash it into his forearm. He groaned and shut his eyes against the pain.
"yup, lucky me" he grumbled to himself, forcing the door wide enough for him to fit through and then kicking it closed. "why can't you just do what yer told Eddie?"
"oh, like you?" she sneered, ducking him when he reached for her, moving sideways away from him. "don't fucking touch me"
The man held up his hands. Blocking the door but not getting any closer. He had short light hair and a sharp jawline. She had always thought he was cute in the past, but now she wished she had never met him.
"So what?" she asked, trying to calm her breathing, trying to slow her heart down. "what happens now, you're supposed to bring me back?"
"i fucking wish" he grumbled.
xXxXxXx
They stopped at the local drive-thru place on the way and Jameson ordered for her when she refused to answer him. She may have no choice but to go with him, as demonstrated when he pulled a small handgun on her, but that didn't mean she had to make it easy. She doubted he would actually shoot her, but he swore up and down that Mac had given him permission.
"no he didn't" she scoffed, stealing one of his cigarettes.
"yeah, he did" Jameson reiterated as they pulled away from the intercom. "said you were a fucking pain in the ass, which you are, and that i could shoot you in the foot if i needed to"
She made a face, indicating she still didn't believe him, and sat back in her seat. When they got to the window though, she recognized the girl working, and she practically leaned into Jamesons lap to get her attention.
"Candy" she hollered, trying to be heard from the passenger seat over Jameson's truck. "call the cops and tell them i've been kidnapped."
"here we go" Jameson muttered under his breath, obviously unsurprised by her antics. He angled his shoulder to try and block her.
"What'd you say Eddie?" Candy asked, moving her headset off her ears to better hear her. "call the cops?"
"don't call the cops Candy, she's just being dramatic" Jameson offered, reaching blindly behind him to try and cover Eddie's mouth.
"call 'em" Edith insisted, dodging Jamesons hands and locking her elbow against him to keep him back. "and if i turn up dead tell them i thought i was Mac"
Behind Candy, another worker nudged a paper bag into her hands. Candy gave it to Jameson but had her eyes on Eddie the whole time, her eyebrows pointed down in confusion. He paid and drove away, cursing his awful luck for having gotten stuck with the girl beside him.
"nice stunt" he growled at her, reaching into one of the greasy paper bags to pull a few fries free.
All jokes aside however, Eddie was getting kind of worried. She understood why Mac had come for her at the cave, his mentality like that of a dog not wanting to share a bone he'd laid claim to. This much effort was out of character for him though, and it made her nervous.
Beside her, Jameson was just as irritated. He was meant to make sure she didn't leave town before Mac could get his hands on her, but given how his boss had sounded during their last conversation, Jameson knew he was stuck with her for the better part of the day, maybe even all night. The thought of having to babysit this chick was enfuriating, and he hoped she would just sit on the couch and not try anything stupid.
They pulled up to his house and Eddie sighed.
"if i get lice because of this -"
"oh, fuck you"
He slammed his car door shut behind him and stormed up to the house, carrying the food with him. Eddie got out and looked around the barren wasteland that was Jamesons property. It was high noon now, and she knew if she ran and somehow managed to give this bozo the slip, she would likely die of dehydration out in the desert.
"Eddie c'mon!"
She groaned and trudged towards him, walking past him and into his house. It really wasn't even that bad inside, and Eddie was surprised to find that he had A/C. She flopped onto the couch and he sat in the chair closer to the door, eyeing her warily as he set the food down on the table between them.
"I'm not going to run. Stop looking at me like that" Eddie grumbled, accepting the food when he passed it to her and unwrapping the fried chicken sandwich. "it's too damn hot out"
Jameson remained skeptical. Eventually though, after a few beers and a couple bongs, he started to relax.
"So what the fuck changed?" he asked, passing her the bong he had just repacked and then handing her the lighter. "are you pregnant or something?"
Eddie choked on the hit she had just taken, coughing harshly and scalding her throat with hot smoke. Even though she was struggling to breathe, she still found the coordination to shake her head. That was something she had to refute immediately. If Mac thought she was carrying his spawn he was either going to toss her down the stairs or tie her to the bed and never let her out of his sight.
"no way" she said, still hacking as she passed the bong back to him. "fuck"
He looked at her sheepishly.
"its just weird that one minute he's telling you to get lost and the next i'm getting a phone call to go find you"
Edith shrugged her shoulders, still recovering from the scorch she had inflicted when she didn't expel the smoke from her lungs properly. Jameson, perhaps feeling guilty for having caused it, got to his feet and got her a beer.
"here" he said handing it to her. "since yer not pregnant, may as well get drunk with me"
xXxXxXx
By the time Mac got there, late that night, Edith was already falling asleep on the couch. He pulled up well after dark, but the sound of his truck was unmistakable as it crunched over the gravel. Eddie pushed herself up into a sitting position, wanting to face the man head on, but the sound of his horn let her know that he just expected her to come out. She didn't bother looking at Jameson for help. Instead she got to her feet and, having no belongings to gather, went towards the truck idling outside.
He hadn't killed his headlights or even switched them to accessory, so he blinded her as she stepped out into the night. She covered her face and tried to skirt the harsh beams, but the only relief was once she had walked past them and reached the passenger side door. She climbed in, her whole body tensing as she did, and pulled the creaky door shut behind her.
"clever" Mac said from beside her, his voice still thick with sleep. "real fucking clever Ed"
She rolled her eyes in the dark as he put the truck in reverse, wondering what was next. To her surprise though, he didn't drive her back to his house. Instead, he drove to the bar. For a second she couldn't believe it; all that and he was just going to drop her back off? Enraged, she reached for the handle, ready to jump out and race to her room. The plastic hung limp in her hand when she grasped it though, still broken from the day before.
"fuck you think yer going?" he spat, reaching over to grab her and haul her out the drivers side after him. "s'only a pit stop now c'mon"
He drug her with him up into the bar, yanking her to stand in front of him once they were under the lights. She brought her arm up to shield her face but quickly realized she didn't need to. It was late and the lights were dim. The only people in the bar were the regulars.
"See" Mac sneered from behind her, shaking her slightly as if for emphasis. "shes fuckin' fine, just like i said"
Edith opened her eyes, glancing around and wondering who he was talking to. From behind the bar, Walter chuckled and kept polishing the glass in his hands.
"terrific" he practically purred. "now you can go clean up the mess you made in her room"
Mac started to protest, but Walters face changed in an instant, hardening and yelling at his son in spanish. After that Mac didn't even try to argue, just grumbled to himself under his breath and shoved the girl forward. She stumbled slightly on her feet, drawing Walters attention to her lack of shoes, and the old man sighed. He motioned for her to sit at the bar and then set a glass of water in front of her.
"he do tha?" he asked, his words flowing easily like song lyrics. He brought his fingers up to dance near his temple, gesturing towards her injury.
Edith shook her head, smiling despite the pain it caused her. Mac was in trouble, and it thrilled her. For however long it took him to straighten her motel room up, she was safe under Walters protective glare. Mac wouldn't dare try anything in front of his father.
"no, that was Mikey"
"Mikey?"
Surely the old man had heard all this already. There wasn't much in this town that escaped him, especially not when it came to Mac and his friends; but if Walter was giving her the opportunity to tell her side of the story, then she was going to take it.
"Mikey got it in his head that i owed him something" Edith began, avoiding the more scandelous details. "and he didn't like it when i argued with him about it"
"ahh" Walter mused, stroking his impressive facial hair. "still doesn't explain my son though"
Eddie shrugged her shoulders, suddenly feeing insecure, but soon realized what the easy-talking man was getting at. He thought she was pregnant, just like Jameson had, and he was waiting for her to give something away. It made her mad, the thought of all these people getting together to discuss her, and because she was pissed, she did something stupid.
"i don't know" she said abdsentmindely, making sure to touch her stomach as if it were an involuntary act. "im not sure"
She could practically feel the shift between them. It was as if Walter raising his eyebrows was a butterfly beating its wings and causing a tsunami halfway across the world. The whole room was effected by it, and Eddie immediately realized her mistake. Of course they had all been watching her, and now they all had the same idea running through their heads. Before she had a chance to set the record straight though, Mac burst back into the bar.
"s'done" he sneered at his dad, stalking over to grab Eddie off her bar stool. "now lets go"
Mac kept hold of her all the way to the car, refusing to let go until she was secured in the passanger seat. She was too shell shocked to really put up much of a fight anyway though. She shouldn't have done that. Why had she done that?"
They didn't even make it half way back to Mac's house before he got a phone call. He answered it like normal, yelling into the receiver at whoever had dared disturb him, but after a moment he narrowed his eyes and dropped his voice.
"oh really" he said, turning to stare at her. "no i hadn't heard that"
Had her door had a working lever on it, she would have gladly jumped out to eat gravel at 50 miles an hour. As luck would have it though, she was trapped. Mac muttered something into the phone about handling it himself and then ended the call apruptly. Eddie could hear whoever had been on the other end yelling as Mac took it away from his ear and disconnected it.
"any particular reason the old man is calling ta scream at me fer knockin you up?"
"you're guess is as good as mine" she lied, staring out the window. "maybe it has to do with you suddenly giving a fuck"
"well?"
"well, what?"
"are you?"
Edith scoffed, putting her forehead in her hand and leaning on her elbow. She wasn't going to dignify that question with a response. If he wanted to be dodgey with his answers, then so could she.
"better not be" he grumbled to himself as he tore down the country road.
The girl stayed silent the rest of the car ride and that was fine with Mac. He doubted she was actually pregnant, but she had still created a fucking mess he was going to have to clean up with Walter. He had been trying to fix problems when he brought her to the bar, not make new ones. The only reason they had even stopped there was because his father had flipped out when he'd seen the state of her room, and had insisted Mac prove that he hadn't hurt her.
When they got back to his house he didn't bother waiting to see if the girl would come on her own accord. He drug her behind him up the front steps and then shoved her towards the kitchen.
"clean it up" he barked at her.
She stumbled for a moment on her feet but didn't fall. After she righted herself, she smirked at him and put her hand on her stomach.
"careful mac, wouldn't want to hurt the baby"
"knock it off with that shit!"
He took a thundering step towards her when she didn't make any moves to do what he'd told her and she quickly scampered away from him.
"pick up yer shit before i throw it away" he hollered after her. "and make me some fuckin' dinner"
xXxXxXx
Not having anywhere else to store them, Edith crammed all her clothes back into the garbage bags and left them by the door. He couldn't keep her here forever. She was counting on him to get sick of her like he had done before, and she wanted to be ready to leave at a moments notice.
"what're you making?" he asked her, refusing to let her out of his sight until he'd been fed.
Eddie was mumbling to herself as she slammed around the kitchen, clanging pots and pans loudly as she worked. At first she ignored him, pulling a stupid face and continuing her quiet rant, but even she knew that wouldn't work for long. Mac didn't like being ignored.
"i said what the fuck ar'ya making" he repeated, getting close enough to shove her back by her shoulders.
The delicate tether inside the girl snapped then, and when she recovered her balance she swung the pan she'd been holding at his temple. Lucky for Mac, he had been expecting the retaliation, having seen she was about to explode in the way she held her mouth. He ducked right before the cast iron hit its mark, having baited her on purpose. He was itching for a fight. He hit her hard in the stomach, making her instantly drop to her knees a cradle herself in both arms. He kicked the pan she had dropped away from her, then leaned back to smoke a cigarette while she recovered.
"well" she coughed, struggling to talk through the pain. "that certainly wont be good for the baby"
"ya don't fuckin' quit that an imma get ya pregnant just ta spite ya" he snapped.
"ew" Eddie grimaced, carefully getting to her feet. "im making spaghetti, chill out"
He left her alone after that and went to watch TV. He was glad to have her back, but the question everyone kept asking him was nagging on his mind. What did he care? Aggravated that he should have to explain himself to anyone, he tried to push the thought from his mind. What did it matter why he cared? All that mattered was that he got what he wanted. If that happened to be the enormous pain-in-the-ass currently occupying his kitchen, then nobody better challenge it, especially not her. Mac flipped idly through the channels while he waited, thinking about Walter and how he was going to convince him the Eddie wasn't pregnant. He wasn't paying for any kind of test beyond the cheap piece of plastic that you pissed on, that was going to have to be proof enough.
They were just about to eat when somebody knocked at the front door.
"goddammit" Mac growled, pointing to the seat Eddie had been about to plant herself into. "you, sit'own and don't fucking move"
Edith waited in her chair, wondering if Mac was going to get mad if she started eating without him. He probably had some kind of alpha male complex that insisted he be the first to do anything, so the girl flicked the prongs of her fork while she waited. She could hear Mac arguing with someone, his voice getting louder and louder as the conversation wore on. Finally, right when she was about to sneak a bite of her food, he called out to her.
"Eddie! C'mere"
She was grumbling to herself and shaking her head when she rounded the corner, hungry and irritated, wanting whoever was here to just fuck off already. Except when she saw who it was, the local deputy in his horrible beige uniform, she started to smile.
"Hello officer"
xXxXx
"Goddammit Greg, i already told you - she ain't pregnant she just said that"
"and i told you Mac, that i have a police report from Candy telling me that Edith here's got a fucked up face an sayin ya kidnapped her, and then i got you, manhandling her all over the bar and trashing her hotel room"
"yeah, i know but - wait, what was that about Candy?"
"an then i got Walter calling me -"
"repeat that part about Candy"
Both men had their hands on their hips now, arguing about the days events while Eddie stood back, holding her bowl of pasta and watching the drama unfold with wide eyes. She had gone back to get it once she realized it was about to be a show. Mac wasn't going to do anything to reprimand her while Greg was here either.
"does it look like shes afraid fer her life?" Mac asked, gesturing to the girl standing and eating just inside the hall. "shes fuckin' fine"
"Mac" Greg said, a graying cowboy with little time for bullshit. "you know i let a lot of shit slide with you an yer boys"
Mac nodded.
"but i cant have multiple people calling in about this, 'specially if people think shes carrying a little un' now"
"she aint" Mac grit out, staring hard at the girl and then directing his attention back to Greg.
The deputy sighed, abandoning his quest to reason with the man in front of him and instead turning his attention to Eddie.
"sure eats like she is"
"hey!" she protested, her complaint muffled by the food in her mouth.
Mac chuckled slightly at that, but quickly hardened his face again. This wasnt funny, this was annoying as hell. He had just gotten her back for fucks sake.
"Eddie" Greg said, smiling towards her. "if you wanna stay here thats none of my buisness, but im gonna offer you a ride home just the same"
Eddie beamed at the man with full cheeks, bending to set the bowl at her feet and then walking past Mac to get to the porch. He caught her arm as she went by, holding her in place, unwilling to let her cross the threshold.
"Mac" Greg warned him tiredly.
"this aint over" Mac hissed at the girl trapped in his grip. "better run while you still can"
"Mac!" Greg repeated, sharper this time. "let her go"
Mac smirked down at her and released her arm.
"s'about done with her anyway so go on an take her" he spat, getting ready to shut the door on the both of them. "get the fuck off my porch"
xXxXxXxXx