Chapter Eight
When Roy left, Ed actually felt disappointed for some reason or another. Hormones, he assumed again. He'd better get used to said enzymes, anyway, since they'd be wreaking havoc on his emotions for the next half a year. He listened to the door click shut behind his superior officer, tiredly spinning the white pill bottle on the coffee table in front of himself. He let his thoughts wander freely. Time slowly began to tick by.
"Who is it?" he quietly asked himself, desperate to know who the father of his child was. "There's gotta be a way to know…."
There was one way. The only way he could think of, and probably the only lead he'd get. Those teenagers. Those kids who'd brought him to the hospital; they might have seen something suspicious. He had to go back to the highway and see if they were there, because he sure as hell didn't know where any of them lived. As he decided on this, he recognized the familiar clinking of metal and knew that Al had stepped into the room.
"You seem to be on better terms with the Colonel." He said.
"Roy's just trying to help," Ed replied, "He must feel bad for me or something."
"He made you smile. That's a good thing." Ed silently shrugged, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. Al continued talking, "But it's getting late now, brother, and I think you should consider getting some rest soon."
"Yeah, there's just one thing I wanna take care of really quick."
"Which would be?"
"I'm just going to check somewhere for someone."
"Where?"
"Nowhere." Ed stubbornly answered, knowing that if he told Al that he was about to search through a highway the answer would be a definite no. He wasn't in the mood to have an argument. Before his younger brother could protest, the seventeen year old left, slamming the door shut behind himself.
It was about a ten minute drive from his house to the highway. He parked his car a few streets down so nothing looked too suspicious, then he got out and walked down the gravel road towards the auto impound. It was huge, and the majority of the windows were cracked or broken. Cars were all over the place, and it was obviously not a good place to be in, but it was the only way to actually get under the highway.
He made his way through the large parking lot, and then noticed the somewhat familiar building. It was abandoned, empty for the night. He found the side of the large building, finding the side of it. In between the building itself and the fence beside it was a long, narrow, incredibly grassy path. He'd have to follow that. Ignoring the fact that he found this place to be disgusting, he slowly began to make his way through it.
The auto impound was a lot bigger than he thought it was, and it took him quite a while to get to the end. Once he was there, he began to hear that loud roar of cars travelling overhead, and he followed a concrete trail of what used to be a bike path. Along that road, he could see the highway. Nobody was there. Of all nights, tonight it had to be empty.
The blonde sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He couldn't wait all night for someone to show up. He should already be home, and it wasn't that simple to begin with. He knew he couldn't keep doing things like this. Not with a baby on the way. He was back at square one.