Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing, falling asleep in the middle of the woods, but in the long haul, Eddie was absolutely content where he was. He sat with his back against the boulder, Lily's head resting on his lap. He was used to sleeping in uncomfortable spots, but with Lillian's warm body against him, this was far from uncomfortable.
This was paradise.
He wasn't much for expressing those softer emotions. He had every intention of showing her how much he really cared for her, he just hadn't thought of the right way yet. He thought about how he should take her out to eat a nice dinner somewhere, but he didn't really have any money. He blew it all on his NJ Warlock that he just had to have. He could do some side work - get enough money set aside to do something really nice for her. She deserved something like that.
After she dozed off next to him, Eddie just watched her. Goddamn, she was beautiful, in every way he could imagine. Lillian Ross had always been one of those girls that was highly sought after in school, but was out of everyone's league. Killer legs, though she hid them well. Hardly ever gave anyone the time of day. How the hell did she end up with a schmuck like him?
"I love you," he whispered into her hair, then kissed the top of her head. He doubted she heard him. Was it better that way? He felt invincible in this moment, that it almost didn't matter. The dragon had his treasure right here, and he was willing to die defending it.
He also must have dozed off at some point, because when he woke up, she wasn't there. It was still dark, and he thought maybe she just went somewhere private to pee or something. He stretched, wincing at the kink in his neck. Yeah, this was pretty stupid.
He looked around for a moment, but as time passed, he became more anxious that something might have happened to her. "Lily?" He called out her name, breaking the silence of the dusk. There was no response. Again, he kept searching, probably until color returned to the very crimson sky. The sun was starting to rise, giving a very vibrant warning to the sailors, it seemed. He knew these woods like the front and back of his metal tapes, and he still hadn't found her.
Did she leave him? Was it possible that maybe she heard his confession after all and ran to the hills?
Eddie hurried to where the car was parked, but what he discovered was much worse than what he expected. The car was still where they had left it.
"Shit... Shit!!!"
He ran back into the woods, back to the rock where they set up camp. Was she kidnapped? Mauled by a bear? Were there actually bears in these woods?
Fuck!
He started thinking the worst.
Eddie never said anything, because he didn't want to look like the guilty one, though the secret became harder to keep, especially when Lillian publicy came up missing. He should have said something to the cops, he just didn't want to become a suspect. Her disappearance hit him harder than a pickup truck.
Her dad, Mr. Ross, who he was just starting to like, immediately suspected him. The Munson family wasn't exactly known for being angels, after all, but Eddie was severely pissed off that he thought he'd ever do anything to hurt her.
Even Dustin and the other guys in Hellfire were surprised that he didn't know shit. He almost thought that they suspected him, too.
His silence remained, despite the pressure.
It was after that when he started spiraling downward. He got introduced to Reefer Rick, and the drugs helped numb the pain for a while. He was slowly starting to turn into his dad, and he thought about how much it sucked, but...he just didn't care enough anymore to be better.
After a few months, he was mostly back to chipper status. Mostly being the key word. Hellfire resumed without Lady Lillian, and Eddie pulled himself together to continue his role as the game master.
Eventually, the downward spiral started whirling out of control. He saw Chrissy Cunningham, a girl that was struggling with something within, and he just wanted to help. He had no intentions of scoring or anything like that. She was a pretty girl, most definitely, but she was very much committed to her boyfriend, and Eddie was pretty sure he was still trying to recover from his own loss.
Lily, whose body was still never found, was presumed dead well before this point, and just when he thought his life had already flipped upside down, it did a full one-eighty. Chrissy ended up mangled and dead in his trailer, and he had no idea how to prove that it wasn't him!
It was a relief when it turned out that Dustin and friends supported him, though they were throwing stories at him about some alternate dimension with a monster that was killing these people.
Most people would have shunned that possibility in a heartbeat, but being the DD dork that he was, Eddie was a little less skeptical, especially since he saw things that didn't make sense. Who could possibly explain Chrissy's death without thinking supernatural causes? The cops weren't going to buy that shit, so everyone was still out for his head, and Eddie the Banished was hiding away for as long as whatever god was in favor of him would let him.
Then, there was the first trip to the Upside Down. Everything he ever thought about the world around him was blown wide open. A parallel universe? Who would have thought?
The dungeon master in him was kind of excited about the idea of this place - fighting evil, kicking ass, but he had bitten off more than he could chew. He was in it for the long haul, and he understood that. Besides, he had to redeem himself for doing nothing beneficial for Chrissy's death. He should have called it in, rather than running away.
He did the same thing with his girlfriend. Nothing.
Finally, Eddie was sick of running away. He could have done so much more for the people in his life, and finally, as he was prepping deadly shields out of trash can lids with Dustin, he confided in his best friend.
"Hey, man. Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah."
"I know we haven't talked about her in a while."
"Who, Chrissy?" When Eddie shook his head, Dustin's face changed, and he immediately knew. With everything going on, Lillian wasn't mentioned much, but she was still regularly on his mind.
"They never found her body, Dustin." Just saying it out loud made his voice crack and his heart hurt. Ugh. He hated admitting he had a heart.
"What if, by some small chance, she's down there?"
"It's possible. I don't see how we can find out and beat Vecna all at once. This plan has got to be solid, and if we stray from it, dude, we're screwed."
Eddie sat in silence for a moment. They talked about a distraction for those flying bat things. Maybe, just maybe...
He grinned.
"Two birds with one stone, buddy. I think I have an idea."
