for @corrodedcoffinfest day 13 prompt 'atari'
rated t | 963 words | no cw | tags: chrissy lives, canon divergence, jeff is a good friend, open ending
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He knows he’s lucky. Luckier than most, even.
His parents have good jobs and they never really struggle the way some of his friends do. Frankie’s dad lost his job a couple years ago and they still haven’t really recovered from that, even with his new job giving him a steady paycheck. Eddie’s uncle works his ass off and still barely makes ends meet in their trailer. Gareth’s mom is the only one doing okay, and she had to lose a husband for the bills to be paid.
He gets new clothes before every school year, and he always has his favorite food and drinks in the kitchen. He was able to take actual guitar lessons and get a brand new guitar as a gift a couple years ago. His little sisters got a swingset for their birthday, one of those ones you buy in the store and they come build for you.
And now he has the new Atari 2600 Jr. He wanted the original Atari 2600, but his dad’s friend who does international business managed to snag this for him in Europe for cheaper. He won’t complain.
He plans on spending his entire spring break playing on it. He already planned on Gareth and Frankie joining him. None of them can reach Eddie.
It’s weird. It’s not that they’re all attached at the hip, but Eddie doesn’t have that many friends. If he’s not at school, selling, or with them, he’s home.
Jeff decides to stop by. He gets the car this week because his older sister is at dance camp and his parents needed him to have it in case there was an emergency. Currently, the only emergency is not knowing where the hell Eddie is.
When he gets to the trailer park, he’s told to turn around. Cops have everything blocked off, but he can see that most of them are circling the Munson trailer. There’s yellow tape and Wayne’s truck, but no Eddie to be seen.
What if something happened to Wayne? He doesn’t see Eddie’s van, so maybe he doesn’t know. Or maybe he’s at the hospital.
He drives straight to Gareth’s and bangs on the door.
“What?” Gareth opens it, bag of chips in one hand, pajamas still on. He’s not even trying to look like he had plans for the day, which kind of pisses Jeff off. Sure, they don’t have school and Gareth doesn’t have a job, but he could at least get dressed.
“Eddie’s in trouble. Or Wayne is. But we gotta find him,” Jeff shoves him into his house. “Get dressed and put on some deodorant. You stink.”
“You stink,” Gareth rolls his eyes. “Maybe Eddie’s just sleeping in his van or something.”
“Dude. The cops are involved. And it must be bad because they aren’t letting anyone into the trailer park at all.”
Gareth goes pale. “Did you see him?”
“No. We need to find him. He wasn’t there,” Jeff explains. “Something’s wrong.”
Frankie ends up finding him first. They split up, which is probably not smart in this situation, but they need to cover more ground.
He hides in Jeff’s house for hours. No one knows he’s there and he begs them not to tell anyone. Frankie goes home because it would be suspicious for him to be hanging out and not playing the new Atari. He takes Gareth with him.
“What the hell is going on?” Jeff whispers when he’s sure his parents have gone to bed.
“I have to get out of here, man,” his eyes water as he curls up in Jeff’s closet. “I’ll go in an hour or so, when more people are asleep.”
“Tell me what’s going on!”
Eddie shakes his head. “Something’s fucked, dude. Chrissy-”
Jeff’s eyes go wide. “Did you do something to her?”
“No!” Eddie yelps. “No. I wouldn’t.”
Jeff knows that. But why else would all of the cops in town be at his door if he didn’t?
“She’s in the hospital. They said both her arms are broken and she may be permanently blind. You know anything about that?” Jeff crosses his arms.
“Yes and no. I know about it, but I still don’t know how it all happened. I…” Eddie sobs. “I can’t go home.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine if you just explain what happened.”
“I don’t know what happened!” Eddie’s voice is way too loud for hiding. Jeff shushes him before he can freak out more. “And you know they won’t accept that answer. I’m fucked.”
“I am. But I’m gonna run and they’ll give up looking eventually,” Eddie explains. “Chrissy will tell them the truth and they’ll probably believe her just enough to stop looking for me, but not enough to not bother me. I have to go.”
He wouldn’t leave Wayne if he felt like he had another option. He would never abandon them if he didn’t have to.
So Jeff says the only thing he can think to say.
“If you’re running away, I’m driving the car.”
“What?” Eddie looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “You aren’t getting dragged into this.”
“I already am just by being your friend. You think they won’t come asking questions?” Jeff shakes his head. “If you’re in the shit, so am I.”
“You can’t steal the car to run away with me. You have school next week.”
“So do you.” Jeff laughs. “I’ve got some money saved up. I’ll grab the Atari. We’ll stay at a motel for a couple weeks. I’ll tell my parents I’m touring schools. It’s fine.”
“They won’t believe you.”
“Probably not, but I’ll already be gone.”
Eddie breathes in and out a few times before he stands. “Fine.”
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