Chapter 62
After sharing a beautiful moment out in Double Dee's yard, Ed and May had decided it was finally time to return to the party as a couple. Ed opened the sliding glass door and allowed May to enter before him. The couple walked through the kitchen holding hands as the loud music played over the stereo system, and eventually found themselves back in the living room. The new couple took a seat on the couch and began conversing.
"I wonder where my sisters are?" asked May, "I can't wait to tell them the good news!"
"Oh boy!" yelled Ed, "I can't wait to tell Eddy and Double Dee either. They will be so proud!"
"I guess we'll just have to hold out for a little longer!" said May as she smiled into Ed's eyes.
As the new couple conversed happily on Double Dee's couch, Eddy and Lee were sharing laughs in the den. Eddy was currently telling the story of how he first discovered Double Dee's relationship on Valentines Night, including the infamous "Maryanne" that Double Dee had used as a cover up.
"Maryanne huh?" said Lee with a grin on her face.
"Yeah," said Eddy as he took a small sip of his soda, "I don't know where he got that from, but he had us fooled at first."
"I know where he got it from," said Lee as she glared over at Eddy with a grin.
"Oh yeah," said Eddy with a sly grin himself as he placed his soda down on the coffee table. He leaned backwards towards the armrest, resting his left arm on the top of the couch, "Let's hear it."
"It's just Marie's full name changed up a little bit," said Lee.
Double Dee had come up with the name "Maryanne" as a slightly modified transposition of Annemarie. In just a few seconds, Lee's clever mind was able to make the connection.
"Her full name?" asked Eddy.
"Yeah," said Lee, "Just take me and my sister's names and put an Anna in front of them, and you have our full names."
"Really?" asked Eddy, "Annalee, Annamarie, and Annamae."
"Marie's is a little different," said Lee, "She's the oddball out of us. She is just Anne. For some reason, her name just doesn't sound right with that extra syllable."
Lee took a sip of her soda and placed the cup on the coffee table.
"Any way, think about it," said Lee as she looked towards Eddy, leaning toward him slightly, "Annemarie, Maryanne. See the connection yet?"
Eddy thought for a second before smiling and sharing a chuckle with Lee at that realization. The teenagers sat in silence for a few moments before Lee chimed in with a question.
"So while we're on the topic," said Lee, "Ya got a middle name."
Eddy froze at Lee's question. He hated his middle name with a passion, and had tried his hardest to keep it to himself. He was extremely surprised that Lee had not discovered it yet, as she was usually on top of things like that.
After bouncing ideas around in his head, Eddy realized that he really had nothing to lose by revealing his middle name. He decided that it was best to tell Lee, although he was extremely embarrassed while doing so.
"I do," said Eddy.
Lee looked towards Eddy, cocking her head as if waiting for an answer.
"Well," said Lee, "Are ya gonna tell me what it is?"
Eddy stared at Lee for a few more seconds, after which he looked away from her towards his feet. He planted both of his feet on the floor and folded his hands on his lap.
"Skipper," whispered Eddy. His word was barely audible.
"What was that?" asked Lee as she leaned towards Eddy in an attempt to hear him.
"Skipper," said Eddy, slightly louder but still mumbling.
"Geez Louise," said Lee, "If it's that bad that you have to mumble it you don't have to tell me."
"It's Skipper okay!" yelled Eddy as he looked over towards Lee. Eddy resumed looking back towards his feet as Lee grinned and chuckled slightly.
"Skipper huh?" said Lee as she snickered.
"Yeah, Skipper" said an embarrassed Eddy.
Lee laughed rather heavily as she continued staring at Eddy.
"Yeah, go ahead laugh," said Eddy, "I would be laughing too. I hate my stupid middle name!"
Lee calmed down slightly.
"Oh come on shrimp, lighten up," said Lee, "And besides it's not that bad."
Lee took a sip of her soda before continuing.
"It's kinda funny," said Lee, "My grand pop used to take us fishing out on the ocean when we were little, and his nickname for me on the boat was 'Little Skipper.'"
Lee chuckled for a few seconds, after which Eddy returned to looking her in the eyes.
"Really," said Eddy, "What did ya skip around the boat all the time or something?"
"No, you idiot," said Lee, "Skipper is a nickname for the captain of a ship!"
"Well excuse me Einstein!" said Eddy
There was a pause after which Eddy decided to reciprocate Lee's question.
"You got a middle name?" asked Eddy, after which he sipped his soda.
"Yep," said Lee, "It's Grace."
"Annalee Grace Kanker," said Eddy, "It's got a ring to it. At least you got a normal middle name."
The couple shared laughs with each other after which there was yet another moment of silence. Eddy decided to finally ask a question he had been dying to know the answer to.
"So," said Eddy as he looked at Lee, "What exactly made you want to try to break Double Dee and Marie up when you first heard about them? I would have thought that you and May would have loved the fact that Marie finally hooked up with him."
Lee paused as she looked towards her feet, after which she leaned backwards on the couch and crossed her legs.
"Well," said Lee, "I have to admit, I might have got a little jealous of Marie too."
Eddy's eyes widened.
"See," said Lee, "All throughout my life, I never felt beautiful or girlish, especially after I cut my hair and stopped caring about my appearance. When I found out that Marie was with Double Dee, it was like she had everything that I really wanted. She found someone that thought she was beautiful, and really loved her for who she was. I guess I was jealous because deep down inside, I would die to have a guy truely notice me."
Lee turned towards Eddy, looking directly into his eyes with a saddened expression on her face. As Eddy gazed back into her glistening blue eyes, he began to feel as if he was falling into a trance.
"I notice you Lee," said Eddy in a dream-like voice as he leaned towards Lee, "And I think you look awesome tonight."
Eddy smiled into Lee's gorgeous face. Lee blushed as she looked into Eddy's eyes and smiled herself.
"Thanks Eddy," said Lee calmly as she twirled her red curls, "I think you look handsome tonight too."
Eddy blushed himself as he stared into Lee's eyes for a few more seconds. It didn't take long for the teenagers to realize what was happening and break themselves out of their trance. Eddy and Lee suddenly turned away from each other, looking towards the opposite wall while blushing heavily.
The couple spent the next few minutes recovering from their awkward moment. Both teenagers were in denial of the emotional feelings they were slowly but surely developing for each other. After a few minutes of silence, Lee decided it was time for her to ask a question of her own.
"So little man," asked Lee, "I'm just curious. What exactly made ya become the lying, cheating, backstabbing, manipulating con-artist you were before last summer?"
Eddy took a sip of his soda.
"It's a long story," said Eddy.
"Well, let's hear it!" said Lee as she smiled at Eddy and folded her hands on her thighs.
Eddy had never discussed the underlying reasons for his antisocial behavior with anyone except for his best friends; and even though he trusted Ed and Double Dee fully and viewed them as brothers, he could never bring himself to reveal all of the details of his turbulent childhood.
Eddy looked deeply into Lee's eyes. Her face was not adorned with the usual sly grin he had been accustomed to seeing; it was replaced by a delicate smile. As Eddy looked into Lee's sparkling blue eyes, he saw something that he never saw before, compassion. Something about Lee's eyes told him that he could trust her with all of his heart, and that she was a helpful and caring person deep down inside. This combined with the motherly instincts he had witnessed from Lee while consoling Marie during the breakup cemented his trust. Eddy decided that it was finally time to get many of his demons off of his chest.
"It's funny," said Eddy, "You would think that having an older brother would be the greatest thing in the world. I always imagined a big brother as someone I could look up to, someone who I wanted to be just like, and someone who would be able to help me whenever I had a problem."
Eddy paused.
"In reality, having an older brother was my worst nightmare."
Eddy took a sip of his soda as Lee watched him intently, curious to hear more of Eddy's story.
"You were there last summer at his trailer in the amusement park," said Eddy as he looked into Lee's eyes, "Do you remember when he grabbed me and start twisting my ankles, trying to make me say uncle?"
"Yeah," said Lee, "You don't know how pissed I was when he started slamming your head against the side of his door. May and Marie had to hold me back with everything they had. I was gonna walk over and kick him right in the balls for doin that to ya!"
Eddy shared a small giggle with Lee, who realized that she was letting her anger get the best of her as she relived that situation. After a moment, the laughter died down and seriousness returned at which point Eddy continued his story.
"That was one of his favorite things to do with me when my parents weren't home." said Eddy, "He is 12 years older than me, so he was already in his teens by the time I was 4 years old. While my parents would go out, enjoying themselves for the night, I was stuck home with him as my babysitter."
Eddy paused and looked into Lee's eyes.
"And if you thought his version of 'uncle' was bad," said Eddy, "You don't even want to know some of the other things he did to me."
Lee looked into Eddy's eyes and for the first time saw what appeared to be helplessness. The proud, confident, joking Eddy that she had been accustomed to had vanished, replaced by a serious, emotional counterpart.
"I can remember it like the back of my hand," said Eddy, "I was five years old. I was sitting in the living room watching cartoons when I heard my mom walk into Matt's room to remind him that they were going out of town for the whole weekend for my aunt's wedding up in Connecticut."
Eddy turned to Lee with watery eyes.
"When I heard that, I was so scared." said Eddy, "I was going to have to survive a whole weekend of ankle twists, submission holds and other forms of torture. I didn't know if I could do it. I can remember yelling to my mom, begging for her not to go and to stay home with me."
Eddy caught his breath.
"Matt was very manipulative," said Eddy, "He was really good at making it look like my pleas were caused by me missing my mom when she was gone. It worked out for him every single time."
Eddy looked up at Lee.
"Before I knew it, I was watching my dad's car pull out of the driveway from the window."
Eddy took a sip of his soda and wiped his eyes.
"I don't remember much of what happened next," said Eddy, "But I do remember Matt getting on the phone and calling a bunch of his friends over to the house to party. Before I knew it, he threw me in my room and told me not to come out for the rest of the night."
Eddy paused.
"After a while, I had to go to the bathroom real bad." said Eddy, "Even though he told me not to leave the room, I couldn't hold it any longer. I opened the door to my room and began walking down the hallway to the bathroom."
Eddy turned away from Lee, attempting to hide tears that were forming. After he was sure he regained his composure, he turned back towards the red headed girl.
"Just as I was about to make it to the bathroom, he caught me." said Eddy, "I can remember the exact words that he said to me while he grabbed my arm."
"Yo pipsqueak, I thought I told ya not to leave that room for the rest of the night!"
"I tried to tell him that I was just using the bathroom, but he wouldn't have it," said Eddy, "He pulled me real close to his face. As he spoke, I smelled what I now know is the smell of alcohol on his breath. He told me that he 'has just the punishment for little boys that don't want to listen to their big brothers.' The next thing I knew, he picked me up over his shoulder, and started carrying me to the door. He asked one of his friends to follow us outside. When we got outside, I watched his friend click a button on his key ring to open his trunk."
Eddy swallowed, while holding back tears.
"He picked me up by my shoulders and told me that it was time for me to learn my lesson." said Eddy, "He threw me into the trunk, and started laughing with his friend. I tried to jump out, but he just pushed me back in every time. Eventually, he closed the trunk, and I was locked away in that small space for the rest of the night."
"Eddy," said Lee softly as she placed her hand over her mouth.
"I was so scared," said Eddy, "It was horrible, all's I could do was yell as loud as I could, hoping that someone could hear me. I can remember yelling for my mom while pounding on the door to the trunk. I felt so helpless. On top of that, I wound up wetting myself, because I never was able to use the bathroom."
Lee was surprised that Eddy trusted her enough to tell her as much as he did. Even though she did not want to overstep her boundaries, she decided to pursue the topic.
"How long was it before he let you out?" asked Lee in a gentle voice as she moved closer to Eddy on the couch.
"I don't know," said Eddy, "But it felt like forever."
Eddy paused and looked into Lee's eyes.
"That was the worst thing that he ever did to me," said Eddy, "It continued all the way up until I was 7, when my parent kicked him out. Apparently, the idiot wound up getting arrested for dealing drugs, and my parents were pissed. He was forced to live with one of his friends until he could find a house or something for himself. The son of a bitch was lucky cause when he went to court the judge made him an offer. He had two choices, find a steady job, or face prison time. He also had to do a certain amount of community service no matter which path he took. He took the obvious route, and got the job running the rides at "Mondo A Go-Go".
"I guess that felt like a big relief when he moved out," said Lee as she touched her hand to Eddy's shoulder. Eddy looked down towards his feet with a melancholy stare.
At this point tears were streaming down Eddy's face. As much as he tried to hide them, his efforts were futile. Lee moved even closer to Eddy on the couch and put her hand on his shoulder, after which she leaned down into his face.
"It was all I knew," said Eddy, "Even though my brother was a freakin asshole, for some reason I still looked up to him and used him as my main role model. He was a lying cheapskate, and constantly stole money from other kids, including me and my friends. I guess that's where I got the idea that I could scam kids out of their money."
Eddy paused.
"After seeing how great of friends I really did have that day we went to the amusement park, I finally realized that Matt was not my hero in life. In fact, he is everything that I don't want to be."
Eddy sat silent, with tears streaming down his eyes slowly. Lee leaned down into his face with a concerned expression.
"Are you okay Eddy?" asked Lee.
"Yeah," said Eddy, "I'm fine."
As Lee and Eddy sat in silence, Lee thought about all of the things that Eddy had just told her. She couldn't believe that the proud and relatively emotionless Eddy McGee had just poured his heart out to her of all people.
After sitting in silence for around fifteen minutes, Eddy regained his composure and decided to pose a question of his own in a playful manner.
"So," said Eddy with a smile, "What's your story, what made you become that diabolical, conniving bitch that you have been since I met you."
Lee chuckled with Eddy at his statement, after which she donned a serious facial expression.
"Well, Eddy" said Lee as she looked down, "I guess we ain't so different after all."
"What do you mean Lee?," asked Eddy.
Lee looked into Eddy's face with watery eyes.
"My mom and dad broke up when I was 5 years old." said Lee, "They were really in love with each other and were going to get married, but things didn't quite work out. After they broke up, my mom lived by herself with us for awhile in an apartment."
Lee paused and looked into Eddy's eyes.
"Around the same time my mom's cousin Dennis got kicked out of his apartment due to not paying the rent ." said Lee, "He had a gambling problem, and lost all of his money. My mom allowed him to stay with us until he could get back on his feet. My mom worked as a caterer, and the parties she worked on would often be at night, during which time we were either left my Dad or Dennis to watch us."
Lee paused briefly.
"He was not only a gambler, but a horrible drunk," said Lee, "He would finish a case of beer in one night, and in doing so, transform into the meanest son-of-a-bitch on two feet. My dad often worked Friday nights, so I would be treated to the glorious sights and sounds of an angry alcoholic on an almost weekly basis."
Lee's eyes began to water. As she found herself beginning to choke on her words, she gazed over towards Eddy's brown eyes, which were staring back at her with concern. No one in the word knew about her deepest darkest secret except for her family. Eddy had obviously trusted her enough to pour his heart out to her; she knew that she could trust Eddy enough to do the same.
"It wasn't just words," said Lee, "His rationale for doing it varied, but the way he did it didn't. There was no rhyme or reason, sometime he'd say I deserved it because the world 'didn't need another stupid little whore in it'...sometimes he would say its because I spilled cereal earlier in the day. Sometime's he had no reason at all other than to hurt me."
At this point, Lee was fighting tears. As she continued telling her story, the tears she was fighting managed to escape. They drizzled down her face, smearing her black eyeliner once again. Eddy watched helplessly as his former arch nemesis released emotions that had been bottled up inside her for several years.
"He would twist my ears until they bled, knowing that my long curls would cover up the tracks…" said Lee struggling to finish, "He would hit me with his hands, his belt, or whatever else he could get his hands on, making sure he hit me where nobody would be able to see it."
At this point, tears were flowing down Lee's face profusely.
"He kept saying, 'little bitch' over and over again with each hit," said Lee, "He just wouldn't stop."
Lee was choking on her words. She couldn't bring herself to finish speaking of her first moment of abuse. She regained her composure and continued.
"Ithappened every Friday night until I was ten years old," said Lee while sobbing, "He said that if I didn't take the beating, or if I told anyone about it he was going to start getting Marie and May."
Lee paused.
"I couldn't let that happen to them. I just couldn't, I had to protect them!" said Lee, "So I took it. I took it every other night for five long years."
Lee could no longer control her emotions and broke down. She buried her face in her hands as she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, sobbing rather loudly.
"Lee?" asked Eddy in a gentle voice as he moved closer to her.
"I was a normal little girl!" yelled Lee angrily as she pulled her face away from her hands, "He took me and turned me into a no class, man-hating, dirty fucking whore!"
Lee pounded her knees with her fists after which she covered her eyes with her hands once again. Eddy had previously thought that nothing was worse than being beat; within fifteen minutes, he was proven wrong.
"He made me hate life Eddy!" said Lee as she looked into Eddy's eyes in tears, "Ever since then, I've been going around chasing boys giving them quickies like a low down scum bag. And now I'm nothing but a used up piece of trash. What kind of guy is ever gonna want me? Look at me I'm dirty trailer park scum!"
Lee buried her face in her hands once again and began sobbing loudly. Eddy was completely heartbroken seeing Lee releasing her emotions out to him. He had never stopped to think that Lee had had such a horrible experience during her childhood. He had always just assumed that she was a girl with an evil heart bent on making everybody's lives around her miserable.
"Lee," said Eddy as he moved closer to her, "It's okay,"
Lee continued sobbing into her hands. Eddy was shy when it came to comforting anyone with emotional problems, but he knew what he had to do. He shifted over towards Lee until he was directly next to her, at which point he placed his arm around her shoulder.
Lee wasted no time and turned towards Eddy, burying her face into his chest. Eddy felt the moisture from Lee's tears permeating his shirt and knew that her black eyeliner would surely stain it. Eddy simply did not care and wrapped his arms around Lee, comforting the very girl that he once looked upon as an arch enemy.
Eddy held Lee in his arms for around five minutes, after which she calmed down slightly. Eddy himself was quite saddened by Lee's story and felt extremely sorry for the mental trauma she had to endure.
"I guess now you just think of me as a slut after what I told you," said Lee as she sobbed slightly.
Eddy looked down into Lee's eyes.
"Lee, you didn't ask for any of that to happen to you." said Eddy as he ran his fingers through Lee's red curls without even realizing it, "I can't blame ya for any of that shit. He was the low down scumbag not you."
Lee smiled up at Eddy, after which she leaned her head on his shoulder. The two teenagers sat in silence with smiles on their faces for around fifteen minutes, after which Eddy spoke.
"Listen," said Eddy, "Some crazy stuff happened tonight, but what I really liked seeing this side of you Lee. The real you seems like a really sweet girl, I just wished you would have showed me her earlier."
Lee smiled up into Eddy's eyes, with small residual tears falling from hers. Eddy, although not realizing what he was doing, began moving his face towards Lee's
"Yeah," said Lee, "It's been a crazy night, but I have to say that it was nice seeing the sweet, soft side of my little shrimp too."
Lee took notice that Eddy's face was moving towards her and angling to the right. Lee responded by slowly moving her face up towards Eddy's while angling hers to the right.
"As much as I hate to admit it," said Eddy still in a dreamlike voice, "I kinda like you."
At this point Eddy's lips were mere millimeters away from Lee's.
"As much as I hate to admit it," said Lee, "I kinda like you too."
At the conclusion of that statement, Lee bridged the gap between her and Eddy's lips. Eddy and Lee found themselves locked in a gentle passionate kiss on the couch in Double Dee's den. Lee wrapped her arms around Eddy's neck, as Eddy placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him. Although neither Eddy nor Lee had expected this moment to ever occur, both teenagers felt like a million bucks as they became lost in the passionate kiss they were sharing.