CL: Chapter 2

Quite a few minutes ago, from where the last chapter ended, we zoomed in on a busy sports bar in the downtown area of Peach Creek. It's here where we could see Eddy and Double D sitting at a booth with their orders in the non-smoking section of the place, though it did not help too much that the smell of alcohol came from the other patrons around them. The two had gone out to eat to celebrate Eddy's eighteenth birthday a week early, much to Double D's dismay that Eddy decided to pick this place to eat on a busy weekend. Though Double D decided to not complain too much about the sports bar; the food was great, the place looked good enough for him to not be picky about cleanliness (at least for the non-smoking section of the sports bar), and he was happy that Eddy was happy.

Despite the place being very busy, the other people at the sports bar were not as loud as a crowd like them usually were (for the most part), only cheering or yelling when something good or bad was happening in the college game they were watching, which was on the many TVs around the place. The college football game that was on was the Georgia Bulldogs vs. the Auburn Tigers. While they were not the biggest sports fans, Double D and Eddy were passively paying attention to the game only because they had an acquaintance of theirs playing for the Bulldogs as a running back.

"Looks like Kevin's team is doing well in this game," Double D stated before biting into the BLT sandwich he ordered, he was almost finished with it.

"Yeah, seems like it! Good for him," Eddy replied. He had already finished eating the burger he ordered and was working on finishing his side order of fries, which he was almost done with, "Didn't Nazz get accepted at the same college?"

"I believe so," Double D stated, "She said she was taking some standard classes there for now before deciding what kind of profession to aim for later."

"That makes a lot of sense. Those two have always been kind of a thing," Eddy laughed, "Not that surprised they'd stick together, even in college."

"… Speaking of things to aim for," Double D started to say, "Did the manager of that bakery shop ever contact you? Your mother told me you applied to be a full-time baker for them."

Eddy seemed surprised by his question for a second before flashing a big smile, "Yeah, they did! She told me to come by there for an interview on the first of next month! The manager said she's gonna test my skills before making the call if I get the job or not."

Double D made a very big smile, "That's wonderful! I hope everything goes well for you!"

Eddy took a sip of his coke before grabbing his last French fry, "Well, what about you, Mr. Engine Man? You got any part-time jobs you're looking for?"

Double D rolled his eyes, "Eddy, my major is engineering, NOT Mr. Engine Man—"

"I know, I was making a joke!"

"… Anyway, to answer your question, I was thinking about asking Mother to help me apply for a part-time job at the hospital, potentially as a nurse in training. At least when I'm not swamped with schoolwork," Double D replied before taking the final bite of his BLT.

"Huh… I didn't think about that," Eddy stated with surprise, "I'd thought you would avoid that kind of job because of all the germs and stuff. You've always been a real stickler for staying clean."

"I do indeed prioritize staying clean and sterile as much as I can; both for myself and my surroundings…" Double D started to say after swallowing the final bit of his sandwich, "But I want to help out others when they need it the most, even if it means coming into contact with anything dangerous; part-time nurse or not."

Double D glanced away from Eddy, "It's… very fortunate that you did not see the aftermath I saw that day with your brother. It's the main reason I'm going to ask Mother if I can train to be a part-time nurse… I don't want anyone to go through what you suffered."

After he rested his arm on the table, Double D felt Eddy grab his left hand from the other side of the booth, "I guess it makes sense, putting others' before yourself. You've always been that way, Sockhead," Eddy stated to him, "I kinda wish I learned that a long time ago. Thank god things are better!"

Double D stared at his partner before making a warm smile.

Suddenly, the moment was interrupted by a noise from Double D's phone. It was the custom text tone that Double D had set for Ed; the sound itself was a laser being fired from a space ray that went 'pew, pew!'. Double D had custom text tones for his other friends and family while keeping his main ringtone as a heavy vibrate.

Double D picked up his phone to unlock the screen, reading Ed's message as he did, "What's he want now?" Eddy asked.

Double D could only stare at the message, "I think Ed needs to work on how to type a text message properly. It's very hard to read."

Eddy rolled his eyes as he facepalmed, "Well, what does the message say anyway, translator?"

"Hold on a moment…" Double D shushed, trying to process the text Ed sent him. A few seconds passed before Double D figured it out, "Apparently, something has come up there, and Mother might call me about it. He knew we were busy, but we needed to know she would call us. Oh, and he says hello to you as well, Eddy."

Eddy arched an eyebrow, "What kind of thing are we talking about here?"

"I have no idea… He did not elaborate," Double D muttered before looking at the empty plates in front of them, "At least we've paid for our food and finished eating it. We should head back to my house and see what's going on."

"Right," Eddy replied with a nod of his head.

After leaving a tip, the two young adults got up from the booth they were at to walk back to Eddy's car. Once they were in the parking lot and outside Eddy's car, Double D's phone began to vibrate; it was his mother who was calling, just like Ed said she would.

"Hello, Mother? Ed texted me a moment ago about something. What's the matter?" Double D asked with worry.

"B-Bri — I-I… S-She…"

Double D paused at his mother's words; she sounded extremely panicked about something, only picking up on her trying to say someone's name on the other line with a low mutter, "… Mother?"

That was when he noticed she had hung up. Double D looked back at his phone before looking over at Eddy with worry, "I'm not sure what's going on, but we should hurry back."

About fifteen minutes passed by since Ed called Double D's mom, who was now almost back home from her job. The young woman named Bridget was currently sitting in one of the chairs in the living room, she had already changed into a spare set of clothes she had brought with her because her other clothes were soaked from the rain. She had a blanket covering her from the cold she got since the bus stop that she arrived at was sort of a long distance away. She also had a mug of hot tea in her hands, taking a few sips of it occasionally, just to help her feel better.

Ed and Sophie were sitting on the couch to continue watching the movie from earlier, with Clover sleeping on her dog bed near the window once more. Sophie had finished her glass of chocolate milk earlier before it became warm from sitting out for too long.

Ed looked over to Bridget, who was still shivering a little. He began to wonder if what she said was true, that she was related to Double D. Why did he never mention her before? Not even Wendy has ever brought her up…

Clover's ears perked up once again as everyone heard a car drive into the driveway and the garage. It seemed Wendy had finally arrived home from work. Clover got up from her bed to walk over to the front door to greet whoever came home.

Wendy soon walked into the house; she looked to be in a panicked rush as she looked around before seeing Bridget sitting in one of the living room chairs nearby. Wendy could feel herself begin to tear up as she quickly went over to Bridget's side.

"Are you, umm… Are you Mrs. Johnson?" Bridget asked the woman, sitting down the mug of tea she had on the coffee table.

"Yes, I am!" Wendy replied to her. She hugged Bridget tightly, crying her eyes out, "You're alive! Oh, my sweet girl! I-I thought you were dead…! Oh my god, h-how…"

Wendy felt Bridget hug her back, trying to comfort her, "Please don't cry… I'm back home now."

Wendy separates from Bridget as she takes out the letter she had with her, "I learned about you from this apology letter that my, umm… the woman who raises me wrote for you… She told me that you are my real mom."

Bridget began to explain the story she told Ed and Sophie, about what she learned in the letter, where she found it, and how she got here. She also told her about the man who kidnapped her, gesturing to the bandages on her arms, "He began taking his anger out on me after his wife died… So, when I found this letter and learned the truth, I ran away from him."

Wendy listened to her every word, taking in the information she said before beginning to sob again after she finished, "I'm so sorry! When you went missing that day, Eddward was also hurt from something that happened; he was with you but could not remember what happened because—"

Suddenly everyone inside the living room could hear a car parked in the driveway; Double D had come home with Eddy. Sophie got up from where she was sitting to go to the front door alongside Clover, opening the door to greet them, "Welcome home!" she said to them with a smile before they stepped inside.

"Hey there, Lil' Sophie," Eddy greeted as the two Eds came inside.

Double D turned to his mother, who he could see was crying. That was when he noticed the woman sitting close to his mother. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him; he could see that the woman looked like him a little and was his age…

Eddy also noticed the woman with his mom before glancing over to Double D, who had a look of stunned disbelief, "… Uh, what's going on?"

Double D began to walk over to his mother and the woman next to her, "Mother, is this…?"

Wendy looked up at her son, trying to regain her composure, "Yes, it's Bridget…!"

Double D made a gasp as he turned to Bridget, a few tears were starting to form on the brim of his eyes. He went over and hugged his sister tightly from where she sat, "I-I can't believe this!" Double D cried.

Eddy was very confused about what was going on as he tried to approach them, "Hey! What the heck—?!"

He felt Ed's hand on his shoulder, "Shh! It's a reunion. Do not disturb!"

Double D soon let Bridget out of his hug, trying his best to regain his composure, "I'm sorry, Eddy," he started to say as he turned to his partner, "I know you're confused about all this. I-I can explain who she is… She's my twin sister."

Eddy stood there in silence, staring at them before his partner's statement hit him like a truck, "Are you serious?!" Eddy asked in disbelief. A lot of questions started to go through his mind all at once from the news, "Why did you not ever tell us?! Where the heck was she—?!"

Bridget made a loud sneeze that interrupted Eddy's questions, covering her mouth and nose as she did, "Bless you!" Both Double D and Sophie said to her.

"I'm so sorry…" Bridget stated, sniffling from her runny nose, "I think I'm getting a cold."

"Here, let me help you find some cold medicine," Wendy said as she and Bridget got up from where they were sitting to walk into the kitchen, leaving behind the three Eds, Sophie, and Clover.

Ed, Eddy, and Sophie all turned to Double D, waiting for him to say anything about what was going on. Eddy began to tap his foot in impatience to his partner as he folded his arms in annoyance, "Well…?"

"… I-I know," Double D sighed as he sat down in the chair Bridget was sitting in before, "I never told you any of this because I… I-I thought she was dead," he closed his eyes, "Bridget went missing when my family and I were celebrating our fifth birthday. We were at a park in the town I was born in…" his face began to scrunch in pain, "I don't exactly remember what happened that day, but I remember a man took both of us away from the party when my parents were not looking. I managed to get away from him, but I don't remember how."

Double D raised his hand over the part of his forehead that was covered by his beanie, "When my parents found me, I was hurt very badly, and Bridget was taken away by then. The police tried to find the man who took my sister…" he glanced to the floor in shame, "But they never could find her. They eventually had to stop looking, labeling Bridget as deceased instead of missing…"

Double D felt himself being pulled into one of Ed's bear hugs, "Aww, Double D!" Ed cried to him, "That's so sad!"

He then felt Sophie hug him around his legs; trying to comfort Double D while Ed was lifting him in his bear hug because of their height difference, "It's gonna be okay!"

Eddy stood there before making an exasperated sigh. He walked over to his partner once Ed and Sophie let him out of their hug, "Listen, I get that it hurts to talk about, but you shouldn't have kept this to yourself for so long. We gotta know about this kind of stuff!"

"I-I understand, but…"

"No buts about it, Sockhead!" Eddy stated to him in a reassuring tone of voice, "You should know to trust us by now! Heck, we're getting hitched next year, remember? You really can't keep secrets like that to yourself!"

Double D looked to Eddy before making a smile, "You're right."

Double D turned to Ed, "Thank you for texting me that something important was going on," Double D stated.

"It's not a problem, Double D!" Ed replied.

Eddy turned to Sophie, who was sitting down on the couch with Zip in hand and Clover close by her feet, 'Never a quiet moment here, huh.'

"I think I'll contact my folks and let them know I'm staying the night," Eddy stated to Double D as he took out his cell phone, "I'll explain what's going on to them because I'm sure they'll want to meet your sister tomorrow."

Double D looked a little surprised before nodding his head to his partner, "Alright."

Double D glanced toward the kitchen, seeing that his mother and Bridget were taking out some cold medicine for her to take. He had so many questions buzzing around his head, but he knew a lot of these questions would be answered as soon as everyone could sit down and talk. He wanted to hear what she had been doing this whole time and how she even knew to come here to find them…

Author's Note (May 11th, 2024): Oh hey. There's not much to say here right now.