Eddie paced back and forth on his side of the boathouse for several minutes, forced to bite the raw skin around his fingernails without a pack of cigarettes. He didn't address Sadie, knowing not much could be said without starting a fight. Or maybe there was, and he was just too nervous to think straight.
Retreating from her spot by the single window, Sadie sighed as she sat cross-legged on a plastic storage container. What the hell had she gotten herself into? And why did she feel the need to comfort Eddie despite the tense silence that fell over them in the absence of others? Hesitant words overpowered her annoyance with him—her sound not much louder than the gentle lap of lakewater outside. "We will figure this out," she said as the man paced. He didn't want to talk to her; it was apparent. But they were alone, and the silence was unsettling.
Eddie wore a mix of emotions—she couldn't decipher just one by looking at him in the dim lighting. "I… I don't know how, but the kids seem to grasp the whole cursed-world-under-Hawkins thing." Leaning against the wall, Sadie took a slow breath. Her eyes fell closed as she considered how unbelievable this was. Not only would Eddie rot in jail for his alleged crime, but now she was involved. They were all his accomplices.
"What you said earlier was unfair," the woman murmured. "I know you didn't kill Chrissy… You have too good of a heart to hurt anyone, Eddie." Sadie lifted her head from its resting place against the wall and shifted, reaching into her jean pockets for a pack of cigarettes and a cheap, white lighter.
Eddie was quiet as she rambled, making no attempt to acknowledge the soft voice that broke through the silence. He continued pacing, unable to stop himself from scoffing at her explanation. His feet stopped, leaving the man standing with his back to her. "I saw the way you looked at me, Sadie. For a minute, you really believed that I did it."
"Well, I didn't see whatever happened…" Sighing, Sadie slipped a cigarette from the pack and placed it between her lips. Shaky hands flicked the lighter to ignite the end, and she took a long drag to settle her nerves. "Want one?" she asked, offering Eddie the open pack. "Or maybe three?"
Part of him wanted her to be mad, but he fell quiet when she offered the cigarettes. Wordlessly, he took one and reached for the lighter with ringed fingers. The silvery metal glinted in what little moonlight peaked through the lone window.
Her eyes flickered to the hand that took the cigarette and lighter, searching for the tattoo they shared—a single line of red ink encompassing their right pinky fingers. Having been young and head over heels for her high school chemistry partner, a permanent display of their love seemed like a great idea. It had a strange way of haunting her now, especially when the search came up empty.
Eddie had kept it hidden beneath one of his rings since she left. Out of sight, out of mind. That didn't mean he didn't see hers, though. He averted his eyes when he took the lighter, using it to ignite his cigarette. Once lit, he straightened and took a long drag off the stick, holding the smoke in his lungs until they burned. "How's college?" He asked, a hardness to his voice that wasn't usually there.
She knew his question was a formality—a distraction as the nicotine permeated his system. Flicking ashes onto the boathouse floor, she leaned forward to rest elbows on her knees and scoffed, just as he had. "You want to talk about college?" Placing the thin cigarette between her lips a second time, she shook her head as she smoked. "No."
"Well, if you just want to sit in silence, that's fine too," he muttered. Eddie leaned against one of the wooden beams supporting the structure.
His bitter remarks left her wanting to tell Eddie to fuck off. Sadie wished she could just pack up her shit and leave—he didn't need a babysitter. Eddie had said so himself. But she swallowed her pride, knowing that leaving him there wasn't an option.
"College is not so good," the woman finally admitted. "I'm failing two of my classes this semester, and I have yet to tell my dad. He's going to love that." Sadie struggled to look at Eddie as she continued, knowing he didn't care. "Living in the city is just so expensive that I had to pick up another job on top of my apprenticeship. It's in a record store, so I guess it doesn't completely suck… It's just hard to complete all my assignments on time."
It may have been her father's desire for her to experience life outside Hawkins, but Eddie knew she was the one who ultimately decided to go. She chose to leave—both Hawkins and himself. And here she was again, complaining, trying to make him feel bad. She had no idea how their breakup had affected him.
"Bummer."
Sadie fell silent with defeat, knowing her woes didn't really matter. While it had ultimately been her decision to move, it hadn't felt like her dream. Her father wished for her success outside Hawkins… far away from her sweet Eddie's influence. When others asked, she had a habit of trying to convince herself that a college degree and life in the city were what she wanted. But here, being with him, she didn't have the strength to lie anymore.
What was the point?
She took one final drag from the cigarette, burning it down to the filter before angrily pressing the embers against the rusted wheelbarrow propped beside her. "Yeah... Given the circumstances, I don't think any of that shit matters." There were a thousand questions she wished to ask that didn't involve her problems, but not even small talk felt right. How was his band? School? How was Hellfire Club? But Sadie just stared at him, full lips eventually parting without permission to utter the most terrifying words.
"...I'm so sorry, Eddie." For Chrissy's death. For doubting his innocence, if even for a second. For leaving. For breaking up with him how she had. For all of it. Her words would never be enough, but the apology nonetheless slipped from her lips.
Eddie took far slower pulls from his cigarette, not finishing quite as quickly as she did. He shook his head with her apology. "Don't do that," he said. Dark brows were creased angrily beneath his bangs. "Don't come here—knowing all this shit is going on and apologize like you think it'll fix everything. Because it won't." He pushed off the wall, his gaze trained on her now. "I thought it was you and me against the world, Sadie. You promised me, and then you ditched, because what? You never even gave me a reason!" His head shook, and unconsciously, he flicked embers onto the wood floor. "What I said was unfair earlier, huh? Well, you and your bullshit apologies are unfair too." He was angry, sure. Hurt, most definitely. But Eddie hadn't moved on. Deep down, a part of him still wanted to forgive her and return to the way it was when things felt okay. Another piece of him knew she didn't deserve that.
"Are you serious?" Anger burned in her stomach. "I didn't come here knowing anything!" Sadie pushed herself from the storage container. "I came home on spring break to be with my family, Eddie. I haven't seen my brother since Christmas! We were picking out a movie, and I overheard Dustin bothering Steve about you. Then… Then Robin showed me the news, and I knew I had to help them. All I wanted was to make sure you were okay. I didn't come here to apologize. I sure as hell didn't know you and Chrissy Cunningham were being targeted by some undead creature."
"So now this is about Chrissy?" Eddie snapped. "Get over yourself, Sadie! The poor girl was buying drugs because obviously she was scared. Getting stalked by a monster doesn't exactly seem pleasant!"
"Get over myself?" The young woman crossed the expanse separating them, the toe of her Converse catching on that goddamn tarp. She didn't fall, but it fueled her anger nonetheless. "You know what? This isn't all my fault. We wouldn't even be in this situation if you had worked as hard in your classes as you did for D&D campaigns or your band! I wanted to leave Hawkins together, so don't you dare put this all on me."
"I tried, Sadie!" he yelled. "I'm sorry I'm such a fucking dumbass that I can't pass my classes. And I'm sorry that made you sad, but not everyone has shit handed to them in life." He hated this—fighting with her. But here they were, and every buried emotion he had since that phone call was bubbling up to the surface, finally having somewhere to go. "We could have worked through it if you had given me a chance. But I wasn't good enough, was I?"
Like a punch to her gut, his question almost brought Sadie to her knees. No matter how often she had rehearsed this conversation, tears suddenly blurred her vision. Once they dripped down her cheeks, she knew there was no going back.
"Not good enough for me? Eddie, that was never the reason…" she murmured. "For once, my life made sense with you in it. I was happy—so happy." Sadie swallowed the lump in her throat, but her sound was still unsteady as she continued. "I… I felt stuck between you and my family… I was scared. I was so scared to make a decision." Her tenseness had faded, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "So, instead of making one, I blocked everyone out. Every day I regret that I ran from the only thing that ever mattered in my shitty life in this shitty fucking cursed town." Sadie wiped at her left eye with the back of her hand and turned away, her head shaking softly.
Eddie approached her for the first time that night, his hand grabbing her wrist to keep her there. They weren't done with their conversation. But he regretted doing that because the look on her face made something twist in his stomach. Tears dripped from her lashes; he could tell even in the darkness.
"I ran, Eddie. I guess that's one thing we still have in common."
An icy silence fell over them, and he released his hold on her wrist. Turning away from him, Sadie grabbed her flashlight from one of the workbenches. She flicked it on, striding toward the boathouse door. "I need air," she muttered.
Eddie watched her go. He ran both hands through matted black hair, silent for a few seconds before he kicked the stupid boat. "Fuck!"
Deep brown eyes had begun to water when she spoke, and warm tears spilled over as stillness filled the space in her absence. He let them drip for a moment before wiping his face with the back of his hand. Eddie then took a long drag from his cigarette, burning it down to the filter. He should have gone after her, but the thought of leaving the boathouse was terrifying. Who knew what the fuck was lurking out there? Eddie couldn't bring himself to do it—not given the circumstances.
He just stared at the door for a few moments, and then his head fell in shame.
Sadie didn't go far. She strode around the boathouse perimeter, sinking to the nearest boulder where she pulled another cigarette from the pack and frantically ignited it. She smoked, the flashlight falling to the ground as her other hand swatted more tears from her cheeks.
Fucking Eddie Munson.
Pulling from the cigarette until her lungs burned, Sadie glanced at her wrist, where his touch still lingered. A warmth she had so desperately missed. Tears came harder as she sat there, and Sadie eventually pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the anguished sounds. They were equally unfair to each other—she knew that. Never once had she completely pushed the blame onto him. Sadie loved him; she had never stopped loving him. That was what made all of this hurt so damn much.
She went through two cigarettes in her lonesome, smoking while tears rolled down her cheeks. Eddie didn't come for her, and strangely, that hurt… despite Dustin's instructions for him to stay put.
Eventually, Sadie pushed herself from the boulder and headed back up the lawn to Rick's cabin. Inside, she poured herself a glass of water and busied herself with one kitchen drawer at a time, searching for anything useful—food, a weapon, maybe weed. Each wooden drawer came up relatively unhelpful, so she moved through the house, slowing only once she discovered Rick's collection of cassette tapes.
Sadie sank to her knees in his bedroom, fingering through one of the most random music collections. Duran, Duran. Pet Shop Boys. The Smiths. Def Leppard. Iron Maiden. WASP. Pink Floyd. Michael Jackson. Dio. KISS. Tears for Fears. Foreigner. Elton John. David Bowie. She laughed, pulling Madonna from the collection to inspect her debuted album further. Tossing it back into the pile, Sadie spotted an abandoned Walkman on the top shelf. She grabbed it, placing the headphones around her neck before fingers dove back in for some music.
The more time passed, the worse Eddie felt. While he wished he had his own pack of smokes, he had left them at the trailer, and Sadie was out… somewhere. He thought he could hear her crying at one point, but it fell quiet when he had finally psyched himself up to find her. The man's knee anxiously bounced as he waited for her to return, not having a flashlight of his own to wander around in the dark. Not that a flashlight mattered—whatever had killed Chrissy was unseen to the human eye.
Eventually, he returned to the boat, and laying back in his haven, Eddie stared at the ceiling. He should apologize. While he was hurt, he was no monster. And, no matter how much he wished to blame Sadie for all their problems, she was right in saying that was unfair.
He laid there thinking about it for nearly forty minutes before Sadie Lepley snuck back through the boathouse door with a new backpack and blanket folded neatly in her arms. She set her flashlight on the workbench, briefly glancing at Eddie as she slipped the bag from her shoulders. Surely, being tied up, Rick had no use for all these things.
"You haven't slept," Sadie said, straightening to meet Eddie's gaze. "I'll keep watch." She offered the blanket, which was probably more comforting than the stupid tarp.
He sat up, dark brows furrowing when she held out the blanket. Despite their fighting, she was still taking care of him. Eddie took it carefully, his lips pulling into a fine line that should have resembled a smile.
With the Walkman clipped to her hip, Sadie retreated to one of the boathouse's corners and began emptying cassette tapes from the pockets of loose denim jeans onto the storage container, which she sat cross-legged on again. She then pulled Joan Jett & the Blackhearts open, pushing the first side of the tape into the track. She was adjusting the headphones when Eddie's voice broke the silence.
"I'm sorry." He sounded far calmer than before. "I was an asshole… Thanks for doing all this." The words were awkward in his mouth, and he shifted uncomfortably in his spot. "I know you didn't have to come out and help me." He stared at his hands, fidgeting with the ring on his pinky, pulling it on and off and twisting it between glimpses of his skin's thin red line.
The woman nodded, unsure if she agreed or simply acknowledged his apology. She appreciated it nonetheless. "I was an asshole too…" Sadie told him, the headphones falling back to their original position around her neck. However temporary it was, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "You don't have to thank me, Eddie. You and me against the world, right?" Her fingers idled over the Walkman's buttons, and she was about to press play when his lips parted again.
"There wasn't anything going on with Chrissy and me, you know." He added, wishing she'd look at him. "She's—was dating Jason Carver. One of those douchebag basketball players. She only came over for drugs." Eddie rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure why he felt so compelled to clear the air.
"You don't have to explain yourself," she told him. Feeling guilty, she offered him a slight smirk to lighten the mood. "I just didn't know you were so interested in cheerleaders."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not into cheerleaders. The prissy, frilly thing isn't my type."
"Yeah, yeah…" Sadie leaned back against the boathouse wall, a laugh escaping her lips as the playful expression faded. "But like I said, you don't have to explain yourself. I have a boyfriend, anyway." Those few small words forced her heart into the depths of her stomach. Sadie swallowed, struggling to find the strength to continue. "... just another one of those things not going so well." Will was insufferable at times and downright dull in comparison to Eddie. Carla and her father had met him once, and, of course, they preferred his interests in sociology and law to metal bands, which infuriated her. Half the time, Sadie wondered if she was only using him to remedy her broken heart.
She had a boyfriend. It was unfair for him to expect anything less, knowing Sadie broke it off between them initially, but Eddie was still surprised. What they had felt was real and rare on so many levels. He didn't think she'd find something similar so quickly or even want to. "I, uh… I'm happy for you." He lied, trying his damndest to keep his voice neutral. "And I didn't—I wasn't telling you to try and get you back or anything. I just… didn't want you to be uncomfortable, I guess."
She said nothing. Molars clamped the soft flesh on the inside of her cheeks, knowing she damn well deserved to feel his pain.
Swallowing, Eddie pushed his ring back down the length of his pinky to hide their red thread. "I'm sorry it isn't going well, though. That sucks." He was quiet again after that, and fingers burrowed into the blanket to help him forget their permanent declaration of love.
Sadie's eyes fell to the ground between them, unable to meet his gaze. She thought about telling Eddie how little she cared for the guy—to reassure them both that there was still something there if he wanted there to be. But the woman restrained herself, knowing the continual pull at his heartstrings was wrong. Eddie had been through enough in the last 24 hours. "Why are you sorry?" she asked instead.
Eddie frowned a little and shrugged. Why was he sorry? He bit his lip a moment, tearing some skin off nervously—he had a nasty habit of it in stressful situations. "It just sucks to have something like that turn out shitty," he muttered. "I hope it works out for you."
A normal person would have thanked him, but Sadie didn't look up. She fiddled with the wires connecting the headphones to her borrowed Walkman. Did he really hope it worked out between her and Will? Because sitting there with him, Sadie wasn't even sure that was something she wanted.
In her silence, Eddie realized maybe that wasn't the right thing to say, but he wasn't exactly good with this kind of shit—not with her anyway. He rubbed the back of his neck and was about to settle back into his boat with the blanket when the young woman stirred. He raised a brow as she collected her tapes and pushed herself from the box. Sadie stepped toward the boat that Eddie had seemingly made his temporary home and offered him a small smile.
"Permission to come aboard?"
God, he loved her.
Eddie laughed softly, though he fought to keep his features neutral. And clearing his throat, the man scooted over to give her room to climb in. She tucked a fallen strand of short hair behind her left ear and came aboard, sinking into the space across from him. Careful fingers coaxed the bottom two corners of the blanket closer, and eyes flickering upwards, she offered Eddie Munson another smile.
"Stop thinking so hard and get some sleep…" Sadie urged as she pulled the headphones up. "I'll protect you, okay? I promise." Finally, she pressed play, and quiet music picked up wherever Rick had left off.
"Thank you," he told her, shifting to lay on his side. "Wake me up if it gets too late. I can take a shift too." He rested his head against his arm as soft music spilled from her headphones. It was too difficult to decipher what she was listening to, so he closed his eyes after a few minutes, his leg inadvertently pressed up against hers. A subtle touch that reassured him she was there. The anxiety of their present situation lingered, but knowing someone was with him helped. Gradually, his breathing started to even out, and his body visibly relaxed as he drifted into a deep sleep.
Sadie sank into her side of the boat as Eddie drifted off, her eyes alternating between the narrow window and door. Police and townsfolk aside, she didn't understand what she was protecting him from. The unknown chewed away at her nerves as she kept watch—the leg pressed against her own, the only thing keeping the woman grounded.
It just sucks to have something like that turn out shitty. I hope it works out for you.
Eddie's words were a broken record, replaying over and over and over until her stomach ached. For once, not even music could drown him out. She nibbled at her lips, wondering what her father was thinking—if he was awake or had accepted the fact that she was old enough to come and go as she pleased. Truthfully, she worried if Eddie Munson's name had already graced the news. All she needed was for her father to jump to conclusions and send a search out, assuming she was his next victim.
Her eyes eventually drooped, no matter how she rubbed at them or shifted in the boat. No matter the volume of her music. She even pinched at the delicate skin on her forearm, but her methods were of little use. Her body began to relax. And when the music stopped on the second side of The Cars album around 4 am, Sadie drifted off to sleep.
She startled awake some thirty minutes later, her chest heaving as she pushed upward to check unfamiliar surroundings. Darkness was lifting outside, but the boathouse remained still, the only sounds coming from morning birds and Eddie's steady breaths. Sadie shifted in the boat, moving onto her knees to wake him. "Eddie…" She reached out, placing a hand on his forearm and giving him a gentle squeeze. Her other hand coaxed the headphones from her ears to rest around her neck. A few dark strands of hair had tangled in the wire, but she ignored it. "Eddie, wake up... It's your turn to keep watch."
The man groaned softly, muttering something unintelligible with the first shake. Her touch pulled his subconscious back before anything else—back to a time when everything was normal. Back to the nights she would fall asleep beside him in bed or his arms during a boring movie at the drive-in theatre. The man almost reached over to pull her down to cuddle before she shook him a second time.
The bad memories came flooding back with her words, and Eddie jerked himself upright. His face uncomfortably close, Sadie couldn't help but gasp. She placed a hand on her mouth and laughed as Eddie rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Sorry." He stretched, his t-shirt lifting to reveal a bit of his stomach. Yawning, he tried again to shake the sleep from his senses. "I got it. You get some sleep, yeah? Do you know what time it is?"
A hand fell to her side slowly, unclipping the Walkman from the waistband of her jeans. She tossed the portable gadget in his direction, which he caught and placed in his lap. Dark eyes could not resist flickering to the raised hem of his Hellfire t-shirt as she sank back into her side of the boat. "It's 4:35," Sadie told him—thankful how early morning light still hid the slight flush of color in her cheeks. "Cigarettes are in the backpack."
Like Eddie, the woman turned and used an arm as her pillow. She drew in a slow breath, and sleep took her quickly.
Once she was asleep, Eddie helped himself to the cigarettes. Without waking her, he leaned over the side of the boat to retrieve the pack. Lighting one up, he watched her sleeping for a long moment. He studied her side's familiar rise and fall as she breathed, the corner of his lips twitching with a soft smile before he inevitably tore his gaze away, sighing softly. Pulling the headphones up over his ears, Eddie glanced warily around the rest of the boathouse and let the music pass the time.