( eddie guzman. )

  rafael knew that there was a lot to catch up on. sure he was kept in the loop while he was locked up but only so much. his eye brows arched up when he nearly plowed right into eddie. a look of surprise was plastered on his face,“ holy shit eddie.” he was chuckling and shrugged,“ just got back a few days ago but uh, good to see you.” he already knew why eddie was likely there,“ how are things going for you? still all good?”

She listened intently to the way he spoke about friend the doctor, curiosity getting the best of her as he did. She’d only been back a year so her knowledge of Eddie’s personal life outside of her son was small, but it didn’t stop her from prying.

“And this friend…” she started softly, unsure of how delicate the situation was. “Is he like a friend or a friend?” The second that she said it time seemed to slow down and yet past all too quickly, leaving her to ramble as she explained her line of questioning. “Sorry that’s like, super nosy of me. You’ve just never asked to introduce him to anyone.”

Eddie smirked as Cree couldn’t help herself, he thought it was nice-- that they were finally bonding after all this time. “Maybe somewhere in the middle between friend and friend.” He glanced at her before shrugging. There wasn’t a label on him and Axel other than the fact that they were best friends. Even if their feelings never existed, Eddie would still want to introduce Charlie to him. He wanted the kid to know he had a lot of people in Charming looking out for him.

“I’m really bad at dating, so I’ll let you know how it turns out.” Eddie winced playfully. He wanted to be closer to Cree, as Eddie’s family was growing smaller he was beginning to lean on her a lot more now.

Samantha: It's nothing serious!!

Samantha: Just curious to know why you joined

Samantha: You know, the thing. It's not like you need the money ???

Eddie: You'd be surprised how much of it goes to the gang.

Eddie: plus my dad's got major medical bills but that's nothing, it's getting taken care of.

Samantha: Hey gorgeous

Samantha: I have a question but you don't have to answer it tbh

Samantha: I'm just curious

Eddie: Oh boy

“Mmm– no. Should I be? Probably. But Ace of Spades has had a deal with the Disciples since the day my grandfather opened it. We don’t just apply special privileges to random people for the hell of it, we want something back in return. The main thing being protection. You can’t be scared with the gang that runs this town acting as your security.”

“Now that is a toughie– can I choose people based off personality? Mona, Samantha, Axel, Creedence, and let’s go with Callum because I love my regulars at the casino.”

51:Has the last person you kissed ever seen you cry?

“Maybe once or twice–”

52:Do you still talk with the person you LAST kissed?

“Quite frequently, surprisingly.”

53:What was the last thing you ate?

“I had the most delicious carne asada burrito for lunch today, I’m telling you, best chefs in California are at my buffet.”

54:Did you get any compliments today?

“Someone told me they liked my black eye.”

55:Where are you going on your next vacation?

“Vacation? I don’t know the meaning of the word.”

56:Do you own anything from other countries?

“Cállate,” Axel admonished, reaching a hand up and poking at Eddie’s forehead with a crooked smirk. Despite how annoying Eddie could be and how worried he could make Axel, Eddie was still his best friend and he still cared deeply for Eddie. It didn’t matter how many gray hairs Eddie gave him—which, Axel was sure, was plenty—he’d always be there to help whenever he was needed. It was a curse. Axel didn’t know when to pull back, when to stop helping and take care of himself.

Perhaps in a contradictory fashion, Axel also had a habit of running away when he felt himself getting too close to people. He ran to L.A. for medical school, he ran to Seattle for residency, and he ran halfway across the world just to avoid the fallout from his father’s death. Eddie, however, had never made him feel like he needed to run. “I needed new plates anyway,” Axel said simply, rummaging around in his first aid kit for some ibuprofen, knocking a few pills into his palm before he offered them to Eddie. 

Axel was still quiet after Eddie spoke. He pursed his lips slightly, wanting to believe that he would wait at least more than one night, until he was fully healed, to go back in the ring, but Axel knew better. He looked away, putting everything back into the first aid kit. “I’m on call tomorrow night,” he said as an excuse. It was true, at least, and he was grateful that he didn’t have to lie.

“You didn’t need new plates, I needed to be way less drunk.” Eddie scoffed. The lengths in which Axel went to take care of Eddie astounded him sometimes. Eddie could turn his whole world upside down, and while Axel would still be upset, he’d still take care of Eddie. He didn’t know what he did to deserve this, but he knew he’d never stop showing Axel how grateful he was for all of it. 

Eddie’s brows raised as he took the pills, “I’m gonna need more water since you kinda ruined mine, jefe.” He pointed down his cigarette that Axel had dumped in the glass of water. He shrugged sheepishly as Axel took it away, “On call doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to go in.” Eddie tried with a smirk. He just wanted someone to spend time with. He’d felt so lonely when Axel was gone and when he came back, he was busy at the hospital and Eddie was finally getting a hang of things at the casino. All Eddie wanted was some down time with an old friend.

He scratched the back of his head once he got the glass of water, swallowing the ibuprofen quickly. “So my nephew’s been in town for about a year.” Eddie nodded. He wasn’t sure how long Creedence was going to stay, but now that she seemed to be here for the long run-- Eddie thought he’d tell Axel. “He’s Ricky’s kid, could you believe that? I uh.. I was going to see if I could take him out for some dinner and if you wanted to come...” He shook his head, “completely up to you-- you’re on call and all.”

she pouted at his words, “poor dude, out of a job,” mona sighed, shrugging slightly, “you should have me on board during the interviews, i can break ‘em in and if they win against me or even get close, then you can decide if you hire them,” she joked, grinning as she looked around once again, eyes landing on the ladies in question. she ticked her head to the side for a quick second, “i’ve played you out of more money than all of them combined and you still keep me around,” a mischievous smile came to her face, accompanied by a twinkle in her eye ”– some of them are pretty stingy with their bets … besides, it’s cute seeing them get competitive, and sort of scary.”

“yeah? next round of interviews, i’ll call you.” eddie was all for it. the people of charming were smart which was why he liked to pull dealers from out of town-- but the charming locals were far too savvy even for them. “because if i kicked you out, i’d start a turf war.” he mused, grinning at her briefly. he knew how delicate the rivalry between the wolves and the disciples were. if word got around that eddie kicked a wolf out, the casino would no longer become neutral territory for both gangs. “i’m lucky i’ve got the hospital on speed dial just in case someone’s got a heart attack.” he shook his head.

“To fellow business owners,” Sam said, smiling as their glasses clinked together. The only people who could really understand what owning a business that had criminal undertones were those who had the exact same thing going on, and though Sam never dug into it, she heard through the grapevine that there were illegal things going on in this casino as well, but who was she to judge? “Funny how you’re a shit gambler yet you own the best casino in the town, and I’m not one to fight myself unless I absolutely have to and yet I have a boxing gym,” she murmured. And an underground fight club I have to look after to ensure I keep getting money for my family, the same fight club you’re in, she couldn’t help thinking. “Funny how life works, huh?” Sam said with a chuckle before taking a sip from her glass. “You been keeping in shape? A nice little birdie might have told me you got something coming up in the ring soon,” she murmured in a low tone. 

“I know how shit my gamblers are. Wouldn’t wanna seem like the thing is rigged.” He smirked with a shake of his head. When he was a kid, his dad and grandpa had him scrubbing the Casino until you could see your reflection wherever you went. Eddie never had time to get into the gambling scene, he was either in the fighting ring at the gym or helping wash dishes at the casino up until a couple years ago. Things changed so fast, sometimes Eddie wished he could just go back to washing dishes. “Irony at his finest.” Eddie offered her a smile before shrugging. “I’ve got a few things lined up-- I’m running low on extra cash so I thought I’d get a few more rumbles in.”

He held her hand for a moment and in the small moment they shared together, Cree felt a twinge in her chest. It seemed like Eddie was the only who really knew her anymore, the only one who could share her fears with, anything that ailed her— but she hated feeling like his burden knowing he already carried so much in his shoulders. She finally set down her drink and raised a brow when he brought up Charlie meeting someone. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Eddie, she was just protective— and so she had to inquire.

“Who are they, I’m sure I wouldn’t have to ask if Charlie wants to go, he loves being with his tío.”

Eddie felt like he was losing all his family after the passings of Ricky and their grandfather. Eddie and his dad were feeling so lonely for a while up until news about Creedence and Charlie. Even just supporting them from afar or doing video calls before they came to Charming was nice. Everything that Eddie did was for his family, and Cree and Charlie took up just as much of his heart as anyone else Eddie was extremely close with.

“His name’s Axel-- he’s a surgeon at the hospital.” Eddie and Axel’s history was complicated... they were friends before Axel left and when Axel came back, Eddie just felt different. Whether that was good or bad, he’d soon find out. “He’s a great guy... super awesome with kids, I’ve seen him at the hospital. I was thinking we could take Charlie to a dinner and the park or something.” Eddie did want to spend more time with his nephew now that he was here.