Full Throttle
[Avenger!/Biker! Loki x Fem. Reader]
Part of the Hostile F*cks Collection
A link to my Masterlist is HERE
Summary: (3) Wetsuit! Loki decides a change of travel arrangements requires a change of outfit, and other things. (w/c 3.1k)
Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI. Language. Smuttish. Dirty talk. Biker!Loki themes. Dangerous driving. Mild Satchel! cringe.
“She’s gubbed, fellas.” Steve dusted his hands against his wetsuit, pretty face scrunched in dismay. “Comms, engine, satellite, everything.”
“Can’t Laufeyson do something...you know” Barton wiggled his fingers and leant backwards. The sight made you snort as Loki scoffed beside you.
“I keep telling you ignorant rubes that magic doesn’t work like that.” He folded his arms, peering suspiciously down the open ramp into the empty clearing.
Steve threw his hands in the air. “Then we’re jimmied.” he grimaced. “We’re...pardon my language ma’am, up crap creek without a pad-”
He stopped, eyes falling on something tucked behind the storage hold. On two some-things, in fact.
“Jeepers, how could I forget?!” he exclaimed, making you jump. “The Harley Davidsons, I was gonna…” he trailed off again, “-get 'em re-fuelled.”
Barton shot an expectant look at Loki, who shook his head. Clint rolled his eyes. “In that case, next town is three miles over. We’ll need to walk em’ there.” Everyone groaned.
Rogers walked ahead with Barton, deep in conversation over the seat of the motorbike. The endless landscape of unfamiliar foreign soil stretched before you, uneven dirt scattered in patches of green. Steve had insisted that they didn’t change back into uniform, ‘too conspicuous’ he’d said.
The damp wetsuit clinging to your body had now been a constant companion for several hours. A layer of sweat hung beneath the fabric, the warm scent wafting from your lowered zip.
Loki’s cum still clung to the insides of your thighs; fresh memories hammering into your brain with every drying, sticky step.
You could ask him to freshen you up a bit, at least make the suit less damp...but you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. And besides, if you were honest; you kind of liked it.
You and Loki hung back from your companions, the Harley between you gliding upright placidly of it’s own accord.
“You could do this with theirs too, right?” you muttered, shooting a look at the god beside you who stared ahead at the beleaguered men with a playful smirk. “Indeed. But alas, Agent, they never asked.”
You could get used to this. Loki wasn’t so bad when he wasn’t being a petulant, arrogant pain in the arse constantly. At least, not to you. Perhaps I should fuck him more often, you thought; pushing the thought to the back of your mind as he cleared his throat.
“So Agent” he purred, “Are you looking forward to our little road trip? Barton seems to be under the impression that once we’ve refuelled, we should make it somewhere with communication capabilities in around an hour.”
Loki ran a hand absent-mindedly over his torso, straightening the neoprene. Your gaze hovered where his fingers rested on the hip harness, thumbs tucked into the tight cords pressed against his thick thighs as he swaggered forward. “Although it seems you may be pre-occupied with the past, rather than the future...Agent.”
His knowing words pulled your ogling eyes upward, meeting his gaze; sparkling with mischief. “You are so full of it.” you mumbled, resting an unnecessary hand on the handlebars. “Au contraire, Agent. Not even an hour ago it was you who was full of...it.”
You sighed deeply, teeth clenched as you pursed your lips. “As if I’ll be riding with you” you snorted.
Loki chuckled, “Would you prefer to ride on me, little one? Is that the source of your discontent?” he said, a bit too loudly for comfort.
“Shhhh” you hissed, eyeing your bulky teammates rolling forward up a coming steep hill. They had begun to bicker, Steve trying to wrestle the handlebars from Barton.
“You started it.” the god beside you mumbled coyly, lips stretching with barely-contained mirth.
“Can you even handle one of these things anyway? Might be a bit more complex than a horse.” you sneered, feeling familiar venomous adrenaline beginning to sizzle in your bloodstream.
Loki shot you a sideways glance, his brows lifting as he measured the weight of your audacious slight. He chuckled again. “Believe me, darling; I’ve yet to meet anything I can’t handle. Mare or otherwise.”
You grimaced, staring forward. “Well, regardless of your misplaced confidence- I’m driving.”
It was Loki’s turn to grimace. “I think not, Agent. Loki of Asgard will not be seen posturing like one of your screen maidens on the back of this contraption-”
“-and I’m not going to be spending the final minutes of my life clinging to your back as you kill us both with your arrogance, Loki.” you spat, walking faster to outrun his inevitable retort.
“Would you rather be clinging to my front, Agent?” he called innocently. His velvet tones were tinged with laughter as you stared resolutely ahead, trying to catch up to Clint and Steve.
“Count your blessings, darling – at least you had the best fuck of your life before your imminent demise...” he cooed after you, making you throw a silencing look over your shoulder.
That damn wetsuit still hung on him like a desperate lover; tightening against every decadent curve of muscle with each long stride. He ran a hand through his long hair, a smug look plastered on that devious face as he bit his lip through a smile.
Fuck, he’s insufferable; you thought, cursing the pool of re-warming arousal growing between your aching legs.
The ramshackle dot on the horizon had grown closer, a rickety tavern and make-shift gas station providing an oasis in an otherwise sparse landscape.
“This is the town?” you muttered to Barton. He nodded silently, gesturing to several shaky looking houses dotted further up the hill. Loki was currently occupied with another seduction, this time involving the middle-aged owner of the establishment.
“Cap should really get us some company credit cards or something, this is ridiculous…” you mumbled, making Barton chuckled beside you.
The grey-haired man’s sceptical brow furrowed in a scowl as he sucked a cigarette. He leant forward, increasingly spellbound under Loki’s honeyed words. Rogers held up two cannisters of petrol, the deep lines of the manager’s forehead softening as he nodded in agreement to the god’s proposal.
“Thank you so much, you shall be repaid...handsomely. This I swear.” Loki purred, giving a curt bow to the bemused manager as he retreated.
“You gotta tell me how you do that one day.” Clint said, eyeing the glass bottles lined up behind the smokey bar longingly. Loki grinned, pleased with himself. “Oh, Barton; would that I could. The truth is, I am simply gifted in the art of getting what I want.” He winked towards you, turning back towards Rogers with a satisfied smirk.
Over the next few minutes, you watched Steve and Clint awkwardly re-fuel the Harley Davidsons through the grimy window, swivelling back and forth on a creaking barstool. You looked over your shoulder, realising that the person who you had been very actively trying to ignore wasn’t even there.
A sigh built in your chest, the damp neoprene making your skin itch. ‘We should make it somewhere with reception in around an hour’.
With sudden clarity, you realised there was still time to make sure you didn’t end up on the same motorbike as Loki. Odds were if you went and sat on one, Barton or Rogers would join you first.
You jumped up from the barstool to make a hasty exit, turning just as the door at the back of the dingy bar swung forward; revealing a shadow-clad figure.
The dusty jukebox sprang to life, the familiar revving opening bars of Motley Crue shaking the small space as the manager dropped a glass, swearing loudly.
Your jaw dropped, the smokey haze clearing as the figure rested his elbow against the doorframe, looking up over a pair of vintage Ray-Bans.
Gone was the wetsuit.
Loki’s long legs were silhouetted in straight black jeans, his hip tilted as he tucked a thumb inside the strap of a sinfully low slung studded leather belt.
Fuuuuck, you thought; your stomach flipping. You’d lost count of the amount of times your pussy had shivered with need at the sight of this irritating man today.
What’s one more, you conceded; eyebrows scrunching together as you drank in his newest ridiculously theatrical display with a gulp.
He tilted his chin upwards, the sharp angle of his jawline devastatingly erotic in the hazy air. Long tendrils of hair skated over his shoulders, completely wild. He ran a hand through it, edging the bottom of his dirtied white t-shirt upward.
Hip muscles that had so eagerly pressed against your ass in the cave as he’d mounted you flashed into view; the grooves that lined in his taut skin making a violent shiver roll up your spine.
The t-shirt was tight. Flush against his chiselled abs dark streaks ran down the front like he’d rubbed oiled hands down it unthinkingly. A pendant hung against the v-neck at his chest, dull silver glinting in the low light between fine, dark chest hair smattered below his collarbone.
Loki’s lips curled in a smile below the dark glasses, the edges making his cheekbones sharpen.
He stepped forward, swinging a scuffed leather jacket over his shoulder. The thud of heavy boots stung the wooden floorboards, buckles clanking erotically with every purposeful step toward you.
“You look ridiculous.” you sniped, resting back on the barstool as Loki swaggered closer.
“Ridiculously handsome, perhaps.” he purred, “I’ve made a few physical alterations for the occasion, why don’t you see if you can spot them while we wait.”
You cast your eyes out to Steve and Clint finishing up with the bikes, before turning back to Loki now resting casually against the bar. He had pushed the Ray-Bans up, framing his perfect side profile. Christ, he looked so hot.
His finger hooked into the collar of the jacket resting on one broad shoulder, the leather worn with age. You reached out and stroked it. Still soft, though…- “Agent?” he murmured, raising an eyebrow.
Your eyes snapped up to meet his, before you frowned. “Jesus, Loki...what happened to your face?”
Automatically your palm cupped his cheek, rubbing your thumb over a deep scar which ran down his cheekbone. There was another running through his eyebrow. The skin was raised, even paler than his already fair complexion. It made him look...dangerous.
That’s ridiculous, you thought; realising you were stroking the skin. He’s already the most dangerous man you’ve ever met.
Loki chuckled, tilting his head to the side and capturing your thumb between his lips.
You felt his firm tongue press up the underside, catching the nail as he sucked backward. A small whimper escaped you at the sudden thought of that tongue suckling against your clit, those piercing eyes staring intensely from between your open thighs. The sight of your digit nestled in the warm heat of his mouth was almost too much to bear.
Loki’s eyes narrowed mischievously as he released your thumb with a soft pop. “Just a bit of fun, love.” he whispered mockingly with a smirk. “Call it, a...character study.”
You saw Loki’s fingers drum against the bar, feeling a cool wave like menthol roll over your body. Tattoos adorned his knuckles, the black ink of each letter slightly faded into his fair skin.
You squinted, mouthing the letters; C.H.A.O.S. It made you wonder if he’d added body art anywhere else.
Looking down, you were met with an unfamiliar t-shirt hanging loose; the top of a lacey bra just visible below the neckline. Black denim shorts hung low on your hips; a pair of heavy combat boots feeling solid against the wooden floor.
You raised your eyes to his, pursing your lips. “Easy Riders, Asgard…?” you said through gritted teeth, reciting the writing adorning your baggy tank top.
“I can change it back to the wetsuit, if you like?” he said innocently, making you roll your eyes.
“I cleaned you up a bit as well, darling. I hope that’s alright. Although the thought of you walking around with my seed smeared down your thighs beyond those little shorts was quite enticing.”
You smacked his arm, hard; the draped leather of the jacket providing a convenient cushion for the blow. It wouldn’t have hurt him either way, but it felt damn good regardless.
“Let’s not pretend you didn’t enjoy that.” he chuckled, as you turned to leave for the makeshift forecourt. “I did, actually.” you hissed, as the bell above the door tinkled.
“I wasn’t talking about your futile attempt at a punch, darling.” he purred, pushing off the bar and swirling the jacket around his head as he followed you, his arms gracefully finding their place.
The bright sunlight hit your face, making you screw up your eyes. Steve shouted over, beckoning you with one large wave of his arm. He swung a neoprene-clad leg over the red Harley, shuffling up to let Barton hop on the back. Shit.
“Well don’t you two look cute.” Clint drawled, chuckling to himself as he positioned himself behind Rogers.
You folded your arms, seeing Loki’s long shadow crawl into view on the broken tarmac in front of you. “You’re just jealous, Barton.” Loki hummed casually, sweeping his shaggy hair back where it had fallen over his shades.
“Dude, I wore that shit the first time around. I don’t think I could pull it off these days.” Clint smirked, running his eyes over Loki as his hands crossed around Steve’s stomach.
Loki drew a finger over the long handlebars of the empty green motorbike, circling around the front. “I was alluding to our riding partners, but I certainly agree with your assessment, Barton.” he quipped, before raising a leg deftly over the saddle.
He touched down in a manner that was entirely too sexual to be coincidental, hips thrusting forward as he settled against the leather seat.
“Think you can whip up some jeans and a t-shirt for us, Laufeyson?” Steve said hopefully, as the motorbike growled to life. Loki shook his head, “I’m afraid it-”
“-doesn’t work like that...got it.” Steve huffed. “We’ll rendezvous at the police station in the next town.” Loki rolled his eyes as his teammates’ bike wheels caught traction, carrying Rogers and Barton away in a swirling haze of dust.
The god slid up the long saddle, his spread thighs aching sexy encased in dark denim. Creases of fabric were raised at his hips, the bulge of his crotch outlined tightly against the jeans as he flexed his fingers around the handlebars. Rays of low afternoon light glinted on his glasses, messy curls falling around his face as a smile tugged his lips.
“Hop on, Agent.” he purred, kicking up the side-stand.
You sighed, accepting the inevitability of the situation. “Front or back?” you said mockingly, ambling over to the god straddled like a model atop the vintage bike.
Loki crossed his thick forearms over the handlebars, “Are you flirting with me again, love?” he goaded.
He smirked, watching your face harden with growing amusement.
You gripped the shoulder of his leather jacket, swinging your leg over the back of the bike. The curved seat fit perfectly to the space between your legs, pressing fiendishly against your throbbing clit.
How does he do this to me, you thought; rubbing needily against the hard leather between your legs for some temporary relief, suddenly realising Loki hadn’t manifested you any panties.
Loki straightened, one knee rising as he stomped down on the kick-starter to the side. The engine roared to life beneath his touch, the hum searing up your channel; sizzling every nerve.
He revved the engine; long tattooed fingers clasped tight around the throttle.
It felt fucking incredible.
“It’s so loud…” you yelled, feeling Loki’s back vibrate with laughter; his bladed jawline slicing into view as he threw a look over his shoulder.
“Things I ride have a tendency to be loud, Agent.” he bit his lip, eyes narrowing momentarily as you slid your hands around his waist. “You of all people should know that.”
Before you could think of a response, he revved the throttle again; louder this time, drowning out your gasp of surprise. Your fingertips dug into the leather tight on his torso, squeezing against the solid mass of muscle beneath the jacket as he pulled onto the open road.
Your thighs squeezed against the cool metal sides, pressing forward into the backs of Loki’s knees as you accepted your imminent demise. The engine growled louder as the god sped up, sporadic traffic beginning to appear in passing as you edged closer to civilisation.
“Watch out!” you screamed, bracing forward against his hard body as the motorbike swung to the left. You heard the low rumble of laughter through his back, pressing your forehead between his shoulder-blades.
“I was quite a figure on the drag-racing rally circuit in the 1960’s within this realm.” Loki said, his voice inexplicably clear in your ears as trees blurred at the side of the road. “You’re right. It is rather different to equestrian pursuits.”
Adrenaline soared, new confidence rising at the thought of that this was not, in fact, Loki’s first time. Of course it isn’t, you thought; raising your head to peer around his shoulder.
A car whipped past, making you jump as your hair whipped across your eyes. “Fuck!” you screamed, bursting into a peal of raucous laughter against the wind. Loki swerved again, tilting the Harley to the left as you clung on for dear life.
A wave rose in your stomach as a horn blared at his audacity, the roar of the petrol engine deafening you as he tore up the single carriageway. Huge potholes littered the unkept tarmac, every one dodged by the expert gliding movements of your Asgardian pilot.
His buffeting hair caught between your lips, making you rub your mouth against his jacket to free it.
“Loki, look…” you yelled, peering around his shoulder as your crossed hands tightened against his stomach. Cap and Barton came into view, trundling along at a very conscientious 30mph.
“Go faster, Loki!” you murmured against his shoulder, the leather moist under the condensation from your breath. “I can’t hear you, Agent.” Loki coyed, his voice breaking with mirth.
“Go faster…” you said, squeezing your legs on either side of the motorcycle like a stallion; nudging your breasts repeatedly against his back as Loki leant forward.
“Louder, Agent.” Loki yelled, the gravel in his deep voice catching as he commanded you.
“Faster, Loki!” you screamed, your face turning to the sky as he twisted the throttle all the way. You gasped as the earth whipped away from you, velocity pulling you backward as everything inside you tightened.
Exhilaration flooded your bloodstream, catching a glimpse of Barton’s utterly bored face turning to bemusement as you and Loki tore past at the speed of light.
A feeling of weightlessness filled you, the warning tones of Rogers whining voice passing as mere droplets on the tunnelled air; letting your arms fall to the side and be raised on the wind.
A primal roar erupted from Loki's throat, reminding you of the way he had lost himself inside you pressed against the wet limestone. He shook his head, curls flying backward out of his eyes.
Your palms were outstretched, fingers tracing the outline of every gust as your head fell back; hair buffeting wildly. Loki's victorious glee turned to something else as you felt him straighten at the loss of your touch.
“Agent...be careful.” Loki growled, one hand clasping like iron to your bare thigh.
His fingertips sank into the skin beneath the hem of your shorts as you laughed wildly, a whoop of freedom escaping your throat as you relished the turning of the tide.
“What happened to your ‘character study’?” you yelled, returning your hands around his waist, “I thought you were a badass, now.”
“I am, how you say...a bad ass.” he grumbled, pressing one large palm against your re-clasped hands. You pressed your forehead to his leather jacket as your body shook with laughter, tears pricking your eyes.
The engine hummed as miles flew by. Loki had slowed, slightly; and you found your attention wandering from the landscape at the side of the road to the one beneath your fingertips.
Your hands had fallen to rest on his hips, fingers sliding to gain purchase on the denim wrapped around those muscular legs.
“Agent…” Loki murmured warily, clear as day over white noise. The wandering hand slid over the curve of one thigh, squeezing firmly.
“Agent.” he growled, the menacing velvet rumbling through heavy breaths beneath the leather as he upped the speed once more. He swerved a deep crack in the tarmac, roaring forward into the path of an oncoming truck.
Palming against the rough denim, you felt the outline of his cock hardening furiously beneath your touch as he thrust upward involuntarily.
Fire sizzled through your core, feeling the thick meat of his manhood grow, inflating to fill the space of your flat grip. You moaned against the nape of his neck. Loki’s shoulders rolled back, a small judder shaking him as his breaths grew short.
A deep horn blared as Loki swerved sharply, feeling the rush of air sweep over you both as the truck thundered past inches away. You burst out in a screaming laugh against his back, giving his straining cock a squeeze.
There was a screech of tires as the god made another turn, braking harshly making the back of the Harley swing in a semi circle. Sharp gravel flew against your bare legs, dust filling the air; coating you both in a thin sheen of grey.
Loki swung a leg over the bike, twisting sharply and bunching your t-shirt in a fist. He hoisted you from the back of the bike, a flat surface slamming against your back before you had time to think.
“Chaos, Agent. Is that what you desire now?” he growled, tightening his grip. Your eyes flickered down to the fist clutching your tank top, the tattooed knuckles turning white as his gaze smouldered with rage.
“Doesn’t it make you feel alive?” you keened mockingly, echoing his earlier words of seduction in the cave. “I guess your ‘character study’ inspired me.” you quipped, making the furious god release you with a theatrical shove and a grunt.
“You think this funny?” he spat, towering over you with his hands on his hips. You shook your head, biting your lip. You didn’t know what had gotten into you, but judging by the warm juices seeping from your pussy underneath his venomous words; you liked it.
“I think you need some time to cool off, Agent.” he said, enunciating every word. He slammed a palm beside your head against ageing wood, the heavy scent of leather filling your flaring nostrils as breath caught in your lungs.
You stared up at him, his pupils blown wide. A cracked sign swung above your head, the force of his theatrics making it sway – alkohol I hotel, it read.
“You seem thirsty, Agent” Loki murmured, lowering his lips to your ear as you trembled with desire; fingers clenching and unclenching as you attempted to stop yourself reaching for his body.
His jeans were fighting a losing battle against his furious cock…long, thick and tempting against the line of his hip. “I shall pick up a key, and I shall meet you in the bar. Yes?”
You nodded, pulling at the pendant dangling from his neck. The dirtied t-shirt stuck to the thin sheen of sweat coating his abdominals. God, how you wanted to rip it off.
Your fingers drew down to rest on the studded belt, pulling his hips towards you with a pathetic whimper.
“Patience, darling.” he purred, “Let’s see how you and this particular side of me get along on a more intimate level, shall we?”
“W-hat do you mean?” you stuttered breathlessly, as Loki’s eyes narrowed.
“Let’s say that there are certain proclivities associated with this brand of myself that I look forward to introducing you to, Agent.” he smirked, thrusting the hard column in his jeans into your waiting palm.
Continued in: Full Throttle: Motel
Part of the Hostile F*cks Collection
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The End of All Things (Part Two: e.m. x fem reader)
TRIGGER & C/W: 18++++ MDNI, Mama is serious!
Part One
Sweet! Semi-dom! Eddie, hurt/comfort, mostly fluff, death, talk of death, grief, descriptions of a deceased person, swearing, making out, smut, unprotected p in v (be smart, not dumb) oral/fingering outside (f receiving), shower sex, gentle choking, humor, more death talk, alcohol use, heavy drug use. This content has heavy subject material about death, dying and loss, please do not read if you are not comfortable with this. ESPECIALLY if you have recently experienced a loss and you are newly grieving. If you also feel something like this is gonna be therapeutic, do what you think feels right for you. I tried to be as accurate as possible, I put in my own experiences with funeral homes, etc
Summary: This follows the reader as they try to navigate this new love with their best friend Eddie Munson, while also navigating loss and what comes after. This takes place 5 years after S4. Reader & Eddie are in their mid twenties. The year is 1991. The song in this chapter is based off A Day to Remember song, so they get all the credit for it. I've decided to make this into 5 parts. I realized as I was writing this part there's been a theme each chapter that was completely unintentional and I'm really excited on how this is gonna go now. Enjoy!
Word Count: 13.3k
A/N: This is based off of a life changing event that happened to me when I was seventeen. This is for everyone who has suffered a loss of a loved one, a pet, a friend, a parent, a sibling. I see you and I love you. Thank you SO much for reading Part One. I honestly didn't think it was gonna get a lot of feedback like it has been, so I appreciate all of you beautiful people.
The late afternoon sun was bright and hot. The kids in the neighborhood were doing backflips in their pools, laughing and splashing each other as they welcome Summer with open arms. You sat in the living room with your father, and your uncle. All of you sat around the coffee table, and Eddie paces behind you, biting his thumbnail. Robin had come by the house earlier in the day, awkwardly and sweetly offering her condolences and almost having a full-blown happy tear crying fit when she realized you and Eddie were together.
It had been two days since your mother’s death, and the funeral home needed answers on what to do with your mother’s body.
“She wanted a viewing and then to be cremated after. Separate some of the ashes between us and bury her with your parents in Boston, at least, that’s what she wrote here.” Your father glances up from your mother’s document of her wishes that you didn’t even know she wrote and looks over at your Uncle Jimmy who only nodded. Jimmy hadn’t been back in Boston since they buried your grandparents, that was when you were still living there.
Your knee bobs anxiously and sweat pools on your palms. Your rub your palms on your dark floral print spaghetti strap dress and awkwardly adjust your shoelaces on your docs. It was almost a hundred degrees outside; the air conditioner was doing next to nothing to keep the inside of your house cool.
The thought of your mother laying on a cold table, naked, stiff, getting wiped down by a stranger, getting her make up done, and dressed into horrible clothing suddenly made your skin crawl.
“I want to do it.” You say out loud, and you feel their eyes on you.
“Do what?” Your father asks you. He was unshaven, dark circles were prominent under his eyes.
“I want to choose her outfit, dress her, clean her. Do her make up—"
“Absolutely not.” Your father interrupts you.
“Why?” Your eyes narrow at him, and you feel Eddie stiffen behind you. “She was my mother.”
“Y/N, there’s professional people for a reason for that. I’m not going to subject you to seeing your mother’s body in that condition. You need to remember her alive, not like that.”
“I don’t want some fucking stranger touching her. I’m doing it. They allow family to do it.” You raise your voice, and your father pinches the bridge of his nose.
Eddie says your name, putting his hand on your shoulder. You flinch away from him, glancing up into his eyes.
“You agree with him, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. Sweetheart, you’re going to be seeing her body. Before the wake, the funeral. You shouldn’t see her like that.” He tells you sweetly and you roll your eyes, standing up from the couch.
“If you don’t tell them, I will.” You look at your father. “She was my mother. And I’ll be damned if someone makes her look like a dime store whore. Call them and tell them I’m doing it.”
Your father looks at you with sad eyes and nods once. Jimmy doesn’t say a word, tears fill his eyes, and he fixes his eyes on your mother's picture. Eddie stares at you, his hands gripping the back of couch and he shakes his head at you.
“What?” You snap. “You got something to say, say it.” You instantly felt guilty for snapping, but you were exhausted. Every night since her death you were having nightmares, and Eddie was there for you through it all. Only stopping home once to check on Wayne and work a few hours at the record store.
He stares at you, biting his bottom lip, eyes slightly narrowing, he sucks in air through his teeth. “I think you need to just stop and think for a minute.”
You scoff, turning on your heel and storming out the back porch. You find your dad’s pack of Marlboro cigarettes. You weren’t a smoker, maybe the occasional social smoker when having a little too much to drink, but at this moment, you needed a little buzz, and if nicotine was the way to go, you didn’t hold back. The smoke billows in your lungs, and you lean back against the deck railing. Eddie comes out soon after, clad in his ripped black jeans, an Iron Maiden t-shirt and dirty converse.
“This is crazy.” He tells you, his eyes wide with concern but no hint of judgement.
You push yourself off the railing and walk down the steps to the backyard, you weren’t in the mood to talk anymore.
“Stop. Just stop for a minute.” He steps in front of you, and you glare up at him.
He sees the cigarette in your hand, his eyebrows furrow, you could tell his mind was spinning. “Give me this!” He takes the butt of your hand, inhaling on it once and flicks it behind him.
“Spit it out, Eddie!” You were losing your patience.
“I want you to stop and think about this, please.” He places his hands on your upper arms, you tense under his touch and gaze. “This is a body. A dead body. Your mother’s body. You are going to be alone with her. The morticians completely disconnect when they dress up a body for a viewing; you’re her daughter. You can’t disconnect.”
You feel your anger creeping up your throat, the grief pulling at your heart, the hot tears in the corner of your eyes. “She’s mymother. Mine. You of all people should know why I’m doing this, but per usual, you’re fucking clueless!”
He lets his arms fall. “What are you talking about?”
“You have been hearing me scream myself awake for two nights. The nightmares are getting so bad, I feel like I’m walking into one even when I’m awake. I need to see her.” You say, gritting your teeth, and you fist the hem of his t-shirt. “This is the only way. Only way I know this isn’t some fucking dream I can wake up from. I’m doing this because I need to see that she’s really dead.”
He stares you, the brightness from the sun made his eyes look almost gold, you put your hand over your stomach, clenching your hand into the fabric of your dress and quickly wipe a tear away.
“Y/N, sweetheart, you’re gonna see her at the wake.” He says gently.
“Eddie, just stop trying to be Mr. Logical and be my best friend for ten fucking seconds. How many times have I’ve tried to talk you out of something stupid? Let’s see, there’s the time you jumped the school fence to rewire the speakers so everytime the principal would get on the intercom PORN would start playing through the speakers. Or the time you stole your neighbor's car so we could catch the last showing of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 at the drive in, in Indianapolis because the stupid van was broken or the time—"
“You’re comparing the stupid shit I did to bathing your mother's body?!” His voice rises almost comedically. “Jesus H. Christ! What I do is STUPID. What you’re wanting to do is fucking INSANE.”
“Then I’m insane!” You yell, letting out a laugh, your hands slap against your thighs, and you shrug, a slight pain hits your chest. “Eddie, I need you to support me with this, even if you don’t like it, or if it’s weird or gross.”
His eyes dart to yours, wide and glassy. “You think I’m freaking out because I think it’s gross? I’m freaking out because it fucking breaks me everytime I hear you cry or scream or say her name and I’m left fucking speechless because I don’t know how to help you. I can see the pain in your eyes and hear it when you speak, and it’s only been two days. You have a lifetime of this, and I don’t want this to be the thing that makes you slip away from me.”
Your stomach does a back flip, and you feel even more guilty than you did before. You step closer to him, reaching your hand up, curling your hand through his hair.
“I’m not gonna slip away.”
“You don’t know that.” He says, tiredly. His right hand grips your waist and gently pulls you towards him. “You’re scaring me.”
“When have I ever let you down?” You say, giving him a small smile and he tilts his head at you, raising his eyebrows
You laugh, squeezing your eyes shut. “Don’t say the Iron Maiden show. I got the stomach bug, that wasn’t my fault.”
He laughs, smoothing down your hair. “Yeah, you were pretty gross that night.”
“You’re the only who decided to stay.” You poke him in the chest. “Sorry you were fed false information that girls don’t shit.”
He laughs, holding you closer to him, your back slightly arches as you look up at him. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then let me be with her. Let me do this for her.” You cup his cheek, poking his dimple. “I promise you that I will be okay.”
He lets out a low growl and you smirk. “I hate how fucking convincing you always are.” His hands squeeze your waist. “It’s annoying.”
“But, ya love me!” You give him a goofy grin and he scrunches up his nose.
“Yeaaaah…kind of regretting opening my mouth now.” He laughs when you slap his chest. “I’m kidding, you loser!”
You laugh, going up on your toes to kiss dimple. You gently pat his shoulder and nod towards the house. “Come on, let’s get this over with.” You take his hand and walk quietly back into your home.
You had ended up compromising with your father about the whole ordeal. He wanted the funeral home to embalm your mother first and place her undergarments on themselves. You reluctantly agreed and had said for you to be at the funeral home the day before to get her ready for the viewing. Which was on Tuesday, in three days. That gave you plenty of time to decide what outfit to choose for her. You promised yourself you would wait for tomorrow; tonight, Eddie was performing at the Hideout with Corroded Coffin. It had been a long time since the band had performed there. The shitty part of growing up was responsibilities, and you all had a lot of them.
Eddie was the assistant manager at the record store. Saturdays were the biggest money-making day for them, but the store owner/manager Sully had promised he could take the day to practice and to perform because it would be another long while before the band got back together. Also, Sully had a soft spot for you, and when he had heard about what happened to your mother, he had sent two bouquets of beautiful flowers to your house, along with a check for $500, which you planned on giving back to him. You worked at the Barnes and Noble in the city, and since you had been there for five years, the owners were nice enough to give you two weeks off. Unpaid, but you were good with saving.
Gareth was the first one to greet you as soon as you walked into the door of the Hideout, he hugged you so tightly you thought your bones would break. You spot Eddie coming out the back door, he had changed into a torn up black v neck, exposing more of his chest tattoos. He was carrying an amp as you make your way towards the back, he spots you, smiles goofily at you and he struggles a little bit with the weight of it. You giggle, grabbing the other side of the amp and helping him place it gently on the ground.
“Looks like you’re losing your strength there, buddy.” You say with a wink. “Haven’t seen you struggle with an amp since 10th grade.”
He rolls his eyes and laughs. “You just caught me off guard, is all.” His eyes dilate, a familiar lust is in his gaze, and you blush. You were in the same outfit as earlier, just with added red lipstick.
“You knew I was coming early.” You say, tucking your hair behind your ear and he smiles, pulling you towards him by your hips.
“I know, I just stop breathing whenever you walk into a room.” His lips gently graze yours and you lean back slightly, looking up at him with a grin.
“You are so lame, you know that?” You laugh.
He scrunches his nose, and he laughs, pulling back from you. “Yeah, you know me too well. I suck at trying to be romantic. Give me a good D&D story line, and I’ll write the next best campaign, but romance…yuck.”
“Just watch 9 ½ weeks, you’ll learn a thing or two.” You wink at him.
His face falls and he laughs. “I didn’t know you saw that movie, you dirty, dirty pervert.”
You giggle, biting your lip, stepping away from the stage to grab a drink. “Have you seen Kim Basinger in that film? I’d let that woman take full advantage of my body and be strapped to the bed for the rest of my life.”
The familiar lust appears in his eyes again and he lets out a low growl. “You can’t say stuff like that to me before I go on stage.” His neck muscles clench as he swallows hard.
“Why not?” You blow him a kiss, stick out your tongue and throw up the devil horns. As you turn around, you feel the cool metal of his rings wrap around your wrist and he spins you around, crashing his lips to yours. He hungrily slips his tongue into your mouth; you moan quietly, and he holds your face in his hands.
“Five minutes, all I need is you and five minutes in the bathroom.” He says breathlessly.
You shake your head, smirking. “Sorry, Casanova. You’re gonna have to wait. Our friends are here.” You both glance at the door, seeing Steve and Robin walk through the doors; Eddie groans, resting his forehead against yours.
“I literally hate you.” He whispers to you, and you laugh. His hands grip at the fabric of your dress, squeezing your hip, causing your dress to rise up your thigh slightly.
“Whoaaaa, getting a little handsy there, eh Munson?” Steve says with a smirk and Eddie rolls his eyes. Steve hugs you tightly, whispering a sweet condolence in your ear, causing a dull ache in your tummy. “Heard you two finally admitted your feelings for each other. Heard it was all over the house too.”
Both you and Eddie’s eyes snap to Robin who is just smiling. “Robin! No one needs to know that.”
“I’m sorry it just slipped out! I was so happy that you were finally together, and I couldn’t control it. We literally had a bet how long it was gonna take and I won.”
“You guys are great friends.” Eddie says with an eye roll and a chuckle, kissing the side of your head, whispering. “You’re mine after the show.”
A blush creeps on your cheeks and you bring your lips to his ear. “Kim Basinger.”
He eyes you hungrily, biting his bottom lip. “Again, I hate you.”
He walks away from you with a wink, and you giggle. You sit down at the stools with Steve and Robin, you order yourself a beer. There was surprisingly a lot of patrons in the bar tonight you notice as you look around. It was a whole eclectic group of individuals. Metalheads, town drunks who kept to themselves, and high schoolers with fake IDs. You watch as Eddie places Sweetheart over his shoulder and adjust the microphone. He throws Sweetheart over his shoulder, and smiles when Steve whoops.
“Atmosphere hasn’t changed. It’s been a while since we’ve performed here. Thank you for being here, it is much appreciated.” His voice echoes through the microphone and you feel your stomach do a back flip. “We’re Corroded Coffin, and this is an original song.”
He flips Sweetheart to his chest, looks at you over his eyelashes and winks at you. He glances back at Gareth who nods and hits the snare and then the double bass pedal, Eddie strums down, the buzz of the electric vibrating, and the bass rumbles through the building. They play like that for a few breaks, and Eddie starts to sing. You feel the music through your veins, remember when they wrote this song in your room during a horrendous snowstorm and your mother had made them all hot chocolate.
You mouth along the words with Eddie: Violent delights, violent ends, end of heartache in this prison, not coming back, twisting the blade, blade of the dying, a dying wish, a dying wish, watching you fall, fall from grace, who’s gonna carry your casket? Who’s gonna carry your casket?
Gareth wails on the drums, the double bass thrumming through your ears as Eddie goes into an electric guitar breakdown, head banging and dancing around the stage. You felt more relaxed, every horrible moment and feelings from the last few days disappearing as the music wraps you up like a blanket.
Robin was cheering and whooping, moving her whole body to beat. Steve was trying his best to look like he wasn’t enjoying it, but his foot tapped along to the beat, and he drummed his hands along his thighs. You were vibing with the beat, your whole body moving, your hair whipping around as Eddie strummed his last cord, whipped around, met your eyes and that lust appeared again, only it was coming from you. He smirks at you and finishes the song, repeating the chorus, screaming the last line of words into the microphone and the song ends with a final drum solo.
Eddie couldn’t believe the reaction they got from some of the patrons. Most of you ended up getting free drinks, Steve had to peel Robin away from a much older woman who was ready to eat her up if she asked, and seconds later you were holding her hair back in the bathroom as she vomited and cried about the beautiful woman who looked like Phoebe Cates from Fast Times. You had to tie your own hair back, because she was making you laugh so hard your hair kept falling in the toilet, the stalls were so tiny. You felt bad for laughing, but you had a good buzz on, and Robin was one of the funniest people you knew. Eddie made Steve pull his car around back to make it easier to get Robin out safely. She could barely walk; Eddie had stood outside the door, watching the struggle as you tried to pull Robin out of the bathroom by dragging her under the arms. He could’ve helped sooner, but watching you struggle gave him so much joy his stomach hurt from laughing.
You groan, pulling her towards you, but you end up slipping on a wet spot and you both tumble to the ground. Robin’s face was awkwardly smushed against your chest and you glare up at Eddie from the floor, who was still laughing.
“Help me, asshole!” You yell at him, trying your best not to laugh.
“No, this is heaven for me.” Robin mutters, nuzzling her head in your chest. You pat her head and Eddie wipes the tears from his eyes.
“Okay, okay, come on, you big flirt.” Eddie says to Robin, squatting down and lifting her off you, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. You lift yourself up off the floor and wipe the dirt and grime off your dress. Your hair was already falling out of the hair tie, and you follow them out the back door where Steve was waiting with the car. You heard Robin gag; Eddie looks at you with panic in his eyes and Steve helps him set her down. You quickly look for something she could vomit in and find a dirty trash bin, kicking the lid off it as you hold back Robin’s hair once again.
“Oh, my little weirdo.” Steve says, gently rubbing her back as she vomited out pure liquid. Once she was done, and everything looked like it was out of her system, you and Eddie help her in the passenger seat of the car.
“I love you guys.” Robin says with a grin, patting Eddie’s face. “If you hurt her, I will murder you. Wait, did you smoke? Gross!”
“I love you too, Rob.” Eddie says, kissing the top of her head. “Get her home safe.” He says to Steve and Steve laughs.
“Wish me luck, I thought I was done being a babysitter.” He scoffs and laughs.
“Not with your best friend, buddddy!” Robin says, blowing drunk kisses at the two of you as Steve drives away. You wave and shake your head, your stomach hurting from laughing the rest of the night.
“Ten bucks she pukes in his car.” You say, nudging him.
“Twenty she pukes on his lap.” He holds out his hand to shake yours and you take it, agreeing to the bet.
“Deal.” You say with a chuckle.
You pull your hair out of the hair tie and let it fall, you scratch at your scalp to soothe the tightness from it. Eddie puts his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side.
“Wanna get out of here?” He asks, pressing his lips to your hair.
You sigh, leaning into him. “You okay to drive?”
He nods and laughs, guiding you towards the van that was hidden in the darkness of the back parking lot. “Made myself sober up when I saw how drunk Robin got. You good?”
“Yeah, just a buzz.” A loud, long yawn escapes you and you laugh. “I don’t want to go home yet.”
“Where do you wanna go, sleepyhead?” He chuckles, rustling your hair.
He unlocks the passenger side door for you, and you stare up at him, leaning against the door panel. You reach up, tucking a strand of curly hair behind his ear, run your thumb along his jaw as you cup his cheek. There was so much you wanted to tell him; how you didn’t believe you’d still be standing if he hadn’t been your best friend during this time; how you were so forever grateful for him and his big, beautiful heart. He smiles sweetly at you.
“Nowhere yet.” You say softly, pulling his face towards yours.
Your lips press against his, opening your mouth into a slow, passionate kiss. He places his palm on your lower back, pulling you against him. He tasted like beer, cigarettes, and a hint of mouthwash. He cups the side of your face, his fingers curling into your hair. A warmth settles in your tummy and between your legs, a loving ache that you’ve started to grow used to these last few days. You breathe heavily as you pull yourself away from his mouth, he stumbles into you a little, letting out a throaty chuckle, resting his forehead on your shoulder.
You kiss his neck, catching him by surprise as you graze your teeth near the tender spot under his ear, causing him to shudder and groan softly; you bring your mouth to his ear. “I thought I was yours after the show?”
A low growl rumbles in his throat and you feel his hold tighten around your waist as he lifts you up onto the passenger seat, you squeal with delight. You try to tuck your legs under the glove box, but he pulls them back towards him, smiling under the moonlight. Your dress had risen on your thighs a little, and you shudder as his hands move up your legs, and onto your inner thighs, tugging at seam of your underwear while he stood outside the door.
You realize just then what he planned on doing, your eyes widen. “No, Eddie, someone will see.”
“No, they won’t, trust me.” He grins at you, leaning up his chin to kiss your lips. His tongue opens your mouth, and you gasp when you feel him palm you over the fabric of your underwear. He still kisses you, moving your underwear to the side, his fingers lightly dancing against your clit.
Your head falls back automatically, lightly knocking against the gear shift and you quietly moan. He gazes up at you, giving you that smirk, resting his chin against the hills of your breasts.
“Louder.” He says, pulling the fabric of the top your dress down with his teeth, exposing one your breasts. You gasp again once you feel his tongue swirl around your nipple. He kisses and sucks, pulling away with a groan. “Louder.”
He shoves two fingers deep inside you and you moan, loud. He brings his mouth back to your breast and gently bites the skin around your nipple, moaning with you as he pulls away, slinking his way down your tummy, until he’s kneeling on the metal step. He pulls his fingers out of you, smiling and placing your left leg over his shoulder. He pushes your dress up, kneading and tugging at your meaty thighs, his hot breath hits your cunt.
“Get loud for me, baby.” He whispers sexily and you feel your pussy clench at his words.
A sound escapes you when you feel his tongue lick a long stripe from your hole to your clit, and he gently sucks. You pull his hair and groan, holding onto the head rest as another loud moan escapes you. He moans, burying his face into you, gripping your thighs hard, flicking his tongue out, you feel your toes curl in your boots. He lets out a groan and runs his finger down your clit and places two back inside you. You clench around his fingers, your back arches, and you get loud. You completely forget you were only a few feet away from the back exit of the Hideout, and you smile, realizing you didn’t care anymore. He looks up at you and you meet his eyes, he curls his fingers inside you and warmth crept up your belly. You let out a breath, and make yourself sit up more, wiggling your hips to get him to pull away from your clit. He looks at you with a raised eyebrow and you grab fistfuls of his shirt, pulling him up to your mouth until he’s climbing into the van, kissing you deeply. You crawl backwards in the driver side, pull him to where you were sitting and quickly unbutton his pants, pulling his hardened cock out of his zipper.
He opens his mouth to say something but you’re already on top of him, kissing him again and lowering yourself onto his cock and he groans in your mouth. He holds onto your hips as you slam your ass up and down, the two of you getting louder and louder with every movement, every roll of your hips.
“I’m yours now?” You whisper breathlessly to him, holding his face to look into his eyes, your mouth falls open in a moan.
“Yeah…unghh…yeah, fuck.” His eyes roll back in his head, a throaty groan escaping him, and you smile, moving your hips faster.
“Good.”
You stood in your bedroom that Monday, looking back and forth between two outfits you had picked out for your mother. The rain pitter-pattered on the roof, and you pull the hood of the sweatshirt you stole from Eddie over your head. The first outfit was a lavender button up maxi dress with sleeves, her favorite pair of Mary Jane shoes, a gold necklace with an emerald pendant. The second outfit was a dress she had worn on her twenty-five-year wedding anniversary, it was a soft blue, fitted at the waist and had floral print sewn on the chiffon skirt. Your father and uncle Jimmy were out looking for suits to wear. You didn’t sleep last night. You toss and turned, the house so eerily silent. You barely dreamt because you barely slept, and you were a little grateful for that.
Eddie wanted to come with you today, but you knew this was something you had to do alone. He had to work at the store today and knew he would get clumsy when he was distracted so you can only imagine that the store was in shambles, and he was probably letting out high pitched yells and screaming “Fuck!” every sentence. Which made you laugh thinking about, the never-ending chaos of that man was something he should be proud of.
Any shade of your purple was your mother’s favorite color, and you were happy with your decision when you drove silently to the funeral home and glance at her lavender dress hanging on the hook in the backseat. You decided on her sterling silver ruby pendant because you wanted the emerald one for yourself, selfishly. You tuck the pendant under your shirt and flick the radio on. James Taylor’s voice came through the speakers singing one of your favorites, and you lean back in your seat, reminiscing to yourself about the car rides like this with your mother. The rain let up a little, leaving little sprinkles of raindrops on your windshield. You had the copy of the death certificate you needed to give the funeral home in the back pocket of your jeans, you didn’t look at it yet; you weren’t sure if you were going to.
Foster & Sons Funeral Home peaks out on the corner of a little side street and you pull down the long driveway into the spacious parking lot. You suddenly felt very small, and your heart began pounding in your chest.
Eddie was right, this was insane.
You rest your head against the steering wheel, inhaling through your nose and out your mouth slowly. Your hands tremble and you look up, seeing one of the directors standing by the front door. The man looked like Lurch from the Addams Family and you swallow back a cackle of a laugh because why would anything be normal about this?
“Okay.” You tell yourself, breathing in deeply. “Okay. This is fine. This is fucking fine. She’s not even in there. It’s just a body. It’s just a body.”
You awkwardly wave to Lurch who doesn’t even move, take out your makeup bag and your mother’s dress out of the backseat. Walking up the stone steps you can already smell the overwhelming aromas of the flowers through the door, you walk past him to the lobby, looking to your right, seeing a whole line of wreaths, standing sprays and bouquet after bouquet through the double doors to the viewing room. You pause, not bringing yourself to go in there yet and look up at Lurch who waited patiently for you.
“Where do I go?” You ask him. “Oh.” You pull out the death certificate from your back pocket, and your hands shake as you hand it to him.
He takes it from you, giving you a soft smile. “Come with me.” Okay, Vincent Price, you think to yourself and smirk. You decided his new name was Vincent Lurch Price. What the fuck is wrong with my brain? Why are you making up names during this time? Why is he so tall? Is he wearing lifts? What the fuck am I doing here? I’ve lost it. I’m crazy. I’m fucking crazy.
You follow him down a long stretch of hallway and were honestly surprised how big the place was. The floor was a checkboard marble, and your converse scuffed as you hurried alongside Lurch. There’s a tiny elevator he takes you to, and you step in, your stomach drops when he hits the button, and you are both lowered to the basement.
It smelled like a haunted house.
He leads you down a small corridor, towards a few tiny offices and stops outside a blurred glass door that says Authorized Personnel Only. He stands by the door and glances down at you.
“She’s through there.”
“In there?” You point to the door. “I just go in?”
He nods.
“She is prepared for you; her modesty is protected. She has been embalmed so don’t be alarmed if the skin feels different. I will be down the hall if you need me.” He walks away from you, and you watch as his tall form disappears down the corridor. You glance back at the door and your hand hovers over the doorknob. Sighing, you push open the door.
The first thing you notice was how bright it was in there, you had to squint your eyes; it was so clean, and cold. It just looked like an empty basement to you, with drains, and metal tables. There was a separate door that was ajar, labeled Mortician. You slowly walk towards that door, your heart pounding in your chest. Opening the door with your foot you spot the table, and there she was, covered with a clean white sheet. You stand there for a few moments, staring at the sheet.
There’s a wooden table leaning against the wall to the right of her, you finally find your footing and rest the dress and the make-up bag carefully on the table. You rub the sweat off your palms on your jeans and let out a shaky breath.
You put your hands on either side of the corner of the sheet and pull it down, you squeeze your eyes shut. You open your eyes, and you look down. Your breathing picks up as you stare at her, you walk backwards, your lower back hits the table and you yelp quietly. The sheet only fell a little past her shoulders, they had fastened a type of bra around her chest. Her skin looked almost gray, and you had to swallow back the bile that stuck in your throat. There was a small incision near her left collarbone, and you caught a glimpse of the autopsy stitch peeking out from the top of the sheet. Her hair was already styled neatly in the way she always wore it; you step closer. Tears fall from your eyes as you look at her face. This was your mother, but it wasn’t. You reach your hand out, carefully running your fingers down her cheekbone and you snap your hand back. It felt like a statue, it was hard, cold. You close your eyes, breathing in through your nose and then out.
Moving closer, you reach out your hand, and smooth out her hair. Tears fall from your eyes on to the table next to where she lay. You imagined she was only sleeping, her beautiful face relaxed, a soft smile on her face. You take out your favorite picture of her and place it next to her head.
The next hour felt like a blur as you quietly put the make up on her face. You had asked Lurch to assist you in dressing her, after your attempt to do it yourself you almost vomited at your feet because you didn’t realize how stiff her entire body would be. Once she was dressed, Lurch gave you a minute with her.
She looked more like herself, but you realize she didn’t look like she was sleeping. She looked dead. You silently chuckle to yourself, knowing that would be something she would say, and you felt slightly comforted by that. You wipe your tears away with your shirt sleeve, and lean down, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. You look at her one last time, your legs feeling weighed down by cement blocks.
You didn’t want to leave her alone.
You feel a heavy hand on your shoulder, and you become startled, Lurch was giving you a sympathetic smile. “You will see her again tomorrow. She looks lovely.”
You glance up at him, your eyes filling with tears, and you nod. He leads you out of the room and you silently cry as you both make your way up to the lobby. Before you leave, he hands you the death certificate, informing you that they already had a copy, and you take it with shaky hands.
The walk to your car felt long, the sun was out, and the temperate had risen. You take off Eddie’s hoodie and tie it around your waist, your black tank top was sticking to you in all the wrong places. You plop in your car, put the keys in the ignition and crank the windows down. You throw the make-up bag in the backseat and feel the crinkle of the death certificate in your back pocket. Lifting yourself, you pull it from your pocket and study it with your hands. It was folded in threes, and you realize you’re holding reasons why your mother was dead.
You cave.
You open the paper, and your eyes immediately notice the typewriter print.
Time of death: 6:00pm
Cause of death: Natural
Findings: Pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, renal failure, congestive heart failure (ongoing)
Congestive heart failure? Since when?
A sound so deep and guttural escapes your lungs and you let out a scream. The paper falls to the floor and you slam your hand on the steering wheel, once, twice, three times.
You barely say a word to your father when you walked in. You had driven around for hours until it was almost dark. You muttered you were going for a walk when he asked what you were doing, and that Eddie had called a bunch of times looking for you. You grabbed some cash from your drawer and shove it in your back pocket. You head towards the front door and your father stops you.
“Please, honey. Tell me where you’re going.” He looks desperate and you felt like the biggest piece of shit in the world. He was grieving her too.
“I’m just going for a walk.” You sigh. “I’m going to a bar. I’m not gonna be late.”
“What happened at the funeral home?”
“Nothing happened.” You tell him, shaking your head. “Nothing happened. It was just a body.”
Stop trying to be brave, dumbass.
He stares at you. “Let Eddie go with you.”
“No.” You snap and then groan. “No, I’ll be okay. I just need to be alone.”
“Y/N…tomorrow is the funeral…please…please don’t be stupid.” His eyes look sad, and your heart breaks.
“I’m not!” You groan. “Daddy, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell. I’m not gonna be stupid, I promise.”
You open the door and step out, feeling his eyes on you as you walk down your driveway towards the end of your street. You hated lying to him, you were gonna be stupid, but you felt like you deserved to be stupid.
The walk to the bar only took twenty minutes, it was newer, recently opened within the last year. A lot more of the townies went there, some newly 21-year-olds, a far cry from what you were used to from the Hideout. It was a nice hole in the wall, two pool tables in back, a bar that was shaped like a half rectangle, and some high-top tables. You find a stool and sit on it, throwing a twenty-dollar bill on the bar and ask the bartender for a shot of bourbon and a beer. You wipe the dried tears off your face and knock back the bourbon. You realize you hadn’t eaten, but that never stopped you before.
Eddie was panicking when he hadn’t heard from you after coming back from the funeral home. He was pretty sure your father wanted to kill him after the third phone call, and he told him you were still not home. The phone rang loud in the trailer when Eddie walked up the steps from returning home from the record store, he tripped over the rug as he ran to pick up the receiver, getting his foot tangled around the guitar cord in the process. “Fucking christ!” He grumbles, placing the phone to his ear and untangling himself. Your father tells him that you took off on a walk and had said you were going to a bar, but didn’t say which one, and that he had a weird feeling. Eddie tells him he’s going to look for you and hangs up, rushing outside to his van. He knew you wouldn’t be at the Hideout; it would be too obvious. He speeds out of the trailer park, trying to remember which bars were in the area.
The cold water feels good against your face as you pat it dry from the napkin in the bathroom. You could feel the bourbon coursing through your blood stream and sigh. You wash your hands thoroughly, glancing in the mirror as the stall door opens behind you and a young beautiful blonde comes out, vigorously wiping at her nose. She had a glass mirror in her hand and places it on sink next to you, wiping at her face and washing her hands. You could see the residue of the white powder on the mirror, and your heart rate picks up a little. Was it anticipation? Fear? Adrenaline?
The blonde sees you looking at the mirror and smirks. “All you have to do is ask, pretty.”
“Oh…no, I wasn’t. I didn’t…no thank you.” You smile awkwardly and dry off your hands. The blonde shrugs, applying mascara on her lashes.
You walk towards the door, gripping the handle but you pause. Memories and thoughts scramble in your brain as you remember the last time you did a drug stronger than weed. You were nineteen and Steve was having a house party. You had drunkenly stumbled into the garage, seeing a few people you didn’t recognize, separating the cocaine between each other. You remember you didn’t even hesitate, you didn’t know why, but as soon as that dollar bill hit your nostril you fell in love. You felt like you could fly, you felt happy and excited all at once, you felt like nothing could harm you. That was the one and only time you fell in love with cocaine. You swore to yourself you would never do it again because of how much you loved it, how sometimes it felt like the missing piece within you whenever you felt down.
You turn to look at the blonde and she glances at you through the mirror, smiling. She nods to the stall behind her, and you follow her. She locks the door, the two of you sit knee to knee as she takes out the mirror, placing it on the lip of the toilet seat. You thought that was kind of gross, but after she sprinkled the powder on the mirror, she took a hardcover book from her purse and placed it in her lap, which made you feel a little bit better about your decision. She separated two lines and rolled up a dollar bill.
“Oh, here.” You tell her, handing her a ten-dollar bill.
“Save your money, you look like you need this.” She smiles at you, her face dips towards the mirror and she snorts. You watch as the powder disappears up the straw and her head falls back and she sighs, smiling.
She hands you the bill, and you take it, your hands shaking. But again, you didn’t hesitate. You cover one of your nostrils with your finger, and breathe in. The back of your throat immediately goes numb when you feel the postnasal drip down your throat, your nose stung a little. You sigh, wiping the excess from your nose and leaning your back against the stall door. Your lips tingle and your head feels a little heavy, but you smile.
Oh, how you smile.
Eddie ends up finding you in the bar, dancing to Joan Jett by the jukebox with the blonde girl. The two of you had already been to the bathroom three more times, and you were very high. He could see a difference in you, but he doesn’t say anything, he couldn’t yet. You willingly leave with him, telling the blonde girl, whose name you immediately forgot. As soon as you are outside the bar, he scowls at you.
“I’ve been calling you all fucking day.”
You glare up at him, tightening the sweatshirt around your waist, stumbling awkwardly. “I’ve been a little busy.”
“Getting high, I can see.” He was mad, and there wasn’t an ounce of you that felt bad about it.
“Oh fuck off, Eddie. I had fun. What’s wrong with having a little fun?”
He lets out a humorless chuckle. “Your mother’s funeral is tomorrow. Was it really that bad at the funeral home?”
“No!” You yell. “Fuck, I did cocaine. So what? At least I made sure it was before doing it, unlike someone who snorted a whole fucking line of heroin.” He abruptly stops walking.
“Don’t throw that back in my face! I don’t regret much but that is one of the things I fucking regret in my life and you know that!” Pain flashes in his eyes and you immediately hate yourself for bringing it up. He stops walking and stops at the door of his van. “Get in, you’re not going back home like this. You’re gonna sleep it off at my place.”
“Nah, I’m good.” You say through your teeth.
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You are the biggest pain in the ass, get in the van.”
“No.” You cross your arms over your chest.
He stares at you, shaking his head. Before you could protest, he’s picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder. You scream loud, and he opens the back of the van, dropping you down on the smelly, shag rug you always hated.
“Eddie!” You scream. “Son of a bitch!”
He shuts the back of the van and you forgot that it would lock from the outside. He gets in the driver side and peels away from the sidewalk. You awkwardly stumble towards his seat.
“This is kidnapping!” You say to him, awkwardly crawling into the passenger seat, and plopping down. You bump your head on the glove box, and he holds back a laugh.
“I’m not stopping you from jumping out the next light, sweetheart.” He looks over at you, smiling that stupid smile.
You cross your arms over your chest and lean back, grinding your teeth. You were coming down from the drugs. “Just take me home.”
“No, your dad has already been through enough, he doesn’t need to see his only daughter coming down from a drug binge before his wife’s funeral.” He takes a sharp turn into the trailer park, and you don’t answer him. Knowing he was right, but you weren’t about to admit that to him.
He parks in front of the trailer, and you feel his eyes on you, you both sit there in silence. “Why?” He finally asks you quietly.
“Because I wanted to feel something different.” You say, not meeting his eyes.
“Do you have any more on you?”
“Nope.” You tell him. “Kind of wish I did; it would make the rest of this fucking night tolerable.”
You see a flash of hurt in his eyes and he scoffs, pushing the door open with his shoulder and slamming it shut. You watch as he goes inside, the screen door shutting with a slam. You run your hands through your hair and bring your knees up to your chest. This is the second time tonight you’ve hurt his feelings, and you knew part of it was the drugs. For almost a week he has been with you, taking care of you, making you laugh, joking with you, making love to you and you return the favor by being an asshole.
You were so angry. Not just at yourself, but at everything. Angry that your mother was dead, angry that a simple surgery caused your mother’s apparently already weak heart to give out, angry that you had to figure out how to navigate this already crazy life without her. Angry that you hurt your best friend not once, but twice.
Angry. Fucking angry.
You step out of the van and step into his trailer. He was in the small kitchen with his shirt off, putting together sandwiches. It was very warm in his trailer. He didn’t look up when you walked in. You untie his hoodie and place it on the back of the chair. You watch as his back muscles clench when he reaches for two plates in the higher cabinets. You study him, the large tattoo on his back that started from his back right shoulder, all the way down to the curve of his hip. His jeans hung low at his waist; you could make out the small pieces of hair sticking out from his happy trail.
“Where’s Wayne?” You manage to ask quietly.
“Another overnight.” He mutters. “He won’t be back til late morning.” He puts a plate with the sandwich in front of you, it clanked loudly on the small table and the sound made you jump. He sits down on the couch, his boot clad feet rest against the coffee table and he turns on the television, still not making eye contact. You weren’t hungry, but it felt rude not to eat, you pick away at the crust from the bread.
“You don’t have to eat it; I was just being nice.” He mumbles. He was really upset with you, and the pain in your chest got bigger as you stare at his form.
“Eddie, I—”
“You can have my bed. It’s late, you have a big day tomorrow. I already called your dad.” He finally meets your eyes. There was nothing behind them except pure, unfiltered, hurt. Defeated, you nod, silently walking back to his room, closing the door quietly.
Eddie watches his door close with you disappearing and leans forward on his knees, placing the sandwich he didn’t know why he made on the coffee table, holding his hands to his mouth. Part of him knew it was the drugs making you act the way, and the other part knew it was you trying to manage your own emotions with the grief. It didn’t stop the hurt he felt in his chest though; certain moments from a long time ago were brought up that he wishes never resurfaced.
He wishes it never resurfaced because now he won’t stop thinking about it. He remembers thinking he was snorting was cocaine, but as soon as it went into his airways, he knew he had fucked up. He had vomited so hard afterwards, and wanted to kill whoever supplied the stuff. Then he started to feel it, really feel it. And everything else was over for him after that. He made the same promise to himself that you did, he would never touch the stuff again. But you broke that promise, and he doesn’t know what to do with that information.
You wake up the next morning with a groan, the sun was peeking through his broken blinds, and you squint. You had stripped down to your bra and underwear in the middle of the night, you had forgotten to turn on his air conditioner. You can hear the shower running and you sit up. Your head was pounding, not just from the hangover, but from the amount of cocaine you did the night before.
A pain hits your chest when you realize how awful you were to him last night. You shouldn’t have done the stupid drugs; you should’ve just walked away but you didn’t.
Swinging your legs off his bed, you awkwardly stumble out of his room and head towards the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar, and you could see the steam on the glass door of the shower, and a blur from where he stood. You push open the door, and you know he hears it because he pauses, but continues to wash his hair. You sit down to pee, not embarrassed by the sound of it. Being best friends with Eddie Munson for ten years, you would lose count the number of times he’s stood in the same bathroom with you as you did your business.
You step out of your underwear and unclasp your bra. You push the sliding door of the shower open and step in. The inside of the shower itself was spacious. You stare at his back, the dimples above his ass, and the curve of his hips. He doesn’t say a word to you when you step closer to him, you press your lips on the spot between his shoulder blades, his body slightly trembles at your touch, and you slink your arm around to his chest. His hand grips your forearm, holding it there.
“I’m so sorry.” You whisper to him. The water cascades down you now, your hair soaking. He takes your hand and places his lips to your knuckles, turning around to face you. You look up at him, he cups your face.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’ll live.” You say, twirling his wet curl in your fingers. “You are the last person I wanted to hurt, and I did that more than once last night. I’m an idiot, who thought they could handle something they couldn’t. And I took that out on you, I’m sorry.”
He smiles softly, his fingers running over your lips. “I take it I was right?”
“As always.” You say with an eye roll and a smirk.
“Are you okay?” He asks gently and chuckles. “That’s a dumb question.”
“No, it’s not.” You smirk and shrug. “I guess, right now I am. But I probably won’t be in a few hours. It was a lot, seeing her that way…finding out what caused…” You pause. “Eddie, how can you stand here and ask me if I’m okay and be so goddamn sweet to me with the way I acted last night? With what I brought up?”
He smiles at you, cupping your face with both his hands. “Because even though you’re the biggest pain in the ass I have ever met in my life, I still love you. Like a whole lot. You’re my best friend, above everything else, and you need to know that nothing you can say or do will make me leave you. I already told you; you’re stuck with me.”
“But Eddie, what I said about the heroin…”
“Look in my eyes.” He tells you and you listen. “Promise me this, okay?” You nod. “Promise me you will never touch the stuff again, and if you feel the urge to, come to me instead. And I’ll do the same.”
You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling a dull ache in your chest. What you brought up last night not only brought up memories he wished to forget but brought up the way it made him feel. As if you couldn’t hate yourself more.
“I promise.” You tell him, opening your eyes. “I’m so sorry, Eddie.”
“Stop.” He tells you gently, rubbing his nose along your jaw. “Just kiss me.”
You do as you’re told, and your lips meet his in a sweet kiss. His hands caress your back, gently moving down to massage your ass. The water from the shower was steamy, and it felt good against your skin as you kissed him. You press your breasts into his chest to deepen the kiss, and he chuckles when you slip a little and fall into him.
“Turn around.” He tells you softly, and you do so. You can hear him lather soap into his hands and groan quietly when he starts to massage your shoulders. You moan quietly, your muscles relaxing under his touch. He moves closer to you, and he lathers more of your back. His hands move to your tummy, gently rubbing circles around your belly button, moving his hands up to massage under your breasts. Your nipples harden and your head falls back into his shoulder as he gently massages your breasts, his fingers gently moving over your nipples. The sensation of his lips on your neck, the sound of the shower and the intimacy of him touching you causes a wetness to pool in between your legs.
You can feel his cock pressing onto your ass and gasp when his hand travels over your mound and fingers your clit. His lips still lick and suck at the skin of your neck and your breathing picks up. He holds one of your breasts in his hands while the other plays with you gently. You reach behind you, taking his cock in your hands and start gently stroking him. His moan rumbles against your ear and he pinches your nipple. He rubs you faster, and you drape your other arm around his neck, moaning loud. His lips find your mouth, and he kisses you deeply and opens his mouth to massage your tongue with his. He pulls away from you, pushing you against the glass door with a thud and you smile in amazement at his forceful gesture. He goes down to his knees and he immediately sucks on your clit. You gasp, your back arches against the glass and he massage your ass, groaning as his buries his face into you, lapping you up.
He pulls away with a moan and looks up at you with a smile. “Fuck, you taste so good.”
He stands up again; kisses you hungrily and whips you around so you’re pressed up against the glass. The coolness from the glass makes your nipples harden once again and you bite your lip, feeling him move his fingers up and down on your opening. You feel him press up against you and the hardness of his cock as he brushes the tip of it against your ass and grinds into your folds.
“Oh…” You moan out and you feel him as he angles your ass up a little. His slides his cock into you and the bathroom echoes with both of your moans. He fucks you against the glass, each roll of his hips causing a sensation to flow from your belly all the way down to your toes. Your head leans back and you feel his hand cup around your throat, gently applying pressure and you cry out, pushing your ass against him as he slams into you, harder.
He applies more pressure to your throat, and you welcomed this new pleasure with open arms. This was a sensation you’ve never felt before, he wasn’t hurting you, or trying to cut off your air supply, but it was new and the way he was manhandling you was making you seconds away from exploding all over his cock. His mouth finds your ear and gently grazes his teeth.
“Ooh, someone likes it when I do this.” He coos in your ear, groaning with every thrust. Your cunt aches nicely at his words; still getting used to the fact that your best friend, who was now your boyfriend, your lover, who you were madly in love with, was fucking you like this.
He thrusts into your harder and you cry out when he pulls away. He turns off the shower and you turn to look at him, catching your breath, your cheeks flushed, both of you soaking from head to toe. He kisses you deeply, pulling away to lick your neck, suck and bite at your nipples.
“Get on my bed.” He tells you breathlessly. You still stare at him as you open the shower door, he helps you step out carefully and you still watch him with a smile, walking backwards towards his room. He shuts his door, spins you around and pushes you on your stomach, lifting your ass up to meet his hips. You grip his sheet as he slams his cock back inside you, the sounds that came from him were almost animalistic and so sexy, you moaned loudly with him. He holds your hips, and you arch your back, your hair was dripping onto his covers.
Tugging gently at your hair, he lifts you up so your back is against his. His mouth meets yours and you kiss passionately, his hand is at your throat again, pressing down, your cunt clenching as you get close to release. His other hand goes in between your legs and finds your clit, rubbing circles as he continues his rhythm.
“Fuck, baby.” He groans in your ear, his movements getting a little sloppy as you continue to clench around him.
“I’m gonna cum, Eddie.” You cry out and he moans in approval, his cock hitting your insides faster and faster until you scream out his name and you cum, hard. The sudden tightness around his cock causes him to groan out, exploding inside of you and he lets out a loud, throaty moan. He breathes loudly, still groaning out as you feel another orgasm rip through you. The sounds from both of you were so pornographic you didn’t know how to form words. You collapse onto the bed, your face burying in his pillow as you gasp and catch your breath. You smile lovingly as you turn to your back and let out a soft laugh. He swallows hard, gently laying on your chest and brings your nipple into his mouth and sucks gently. Your back arches at the sensitivity and another moan escapes you. His wet hair was draped over your chest, and you curl your fingers in it.
“That was…” you laugh. “That was different.”
He lifts his face to look at you, gently grazing his fingers over your throat. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, nope.” A laugh escapes you. “Never thought in a million years I’d be choked out by my best friend, and it feel good.”
He blushes, hiding his face in your chest. You rub his back gently, and sigh. You both lay there quietly for a few moments. Realizing what today was, your stomach does a back flip, and you tighten his hold on him.
“I’m scared.” You whisper.
He gently rubs your belly. “I know.”
“You’ll stay with me? The whole time?”
He lifts his face up to meet your eyes, running his hand over your face. “I won’t leave your side. I promise.” He leans up, kissing your lips sweetly, gently and you sigh, holding him closer as you stare at the ceiling.
Eddie had driven you back home to get ready, he promised he would be back as soon as he was dressed and meet you back at your house. You had hugged your father so tightly as soon as you walked in, taking him by surprise. You stood like that hugging him for minutes and he embraced you lovingly, you apologized for last night. You left out the part of you finding out that your mother had congestive heart failure, you didn’t feel right bringing up an ailment your mother had for years, unsure if he knew or not.
The funeral itself started at 4:00pm, but they wanted the family to come an hour and half early to take some time with her. Since your mother was being cremated afterwards, the burial would be private, and the plan was for your uncle to go to Boston to place some of her ashes in the soil of your grandparents’ grave. Your father had asked if you wanted to do the eulogy, you reluctantly agreed but had no idea what you wanted to say or could say. You stood in your room in front of your full-length mirror. You stood there in black tights that went all the way up your waist, and a black lacey bra. For someone who had an entire wardrobe full of dark clothes, especially black, you couldn’t decide on a top.
You end up finding a fitted black dress with short sleeves, the neckline was a little low, but you placed your mother’s emerald necklace over your head to give it a pop of color and something to look at besides the hills of your breasts. Your doc martens were your mother’s favorite shoes on you, you would catch her wearing them from time to time, so you step into those.
You had accentuated the waves in your hair with a little hairspray, placed a little mascara on your lashes and didn’t bother with lipstick. There’s a knock at your front door and you glance at the clock, it was 2:30pm, it must’ve been Eddie. Your father had let him in, and you could hear them patting each other on the back’s after giving each other a hug. You hear his footfalls come into room and you glance at him in the mirror leaning against your door frame. Your breath hitches at the sight of him.
He was wearing a black dress shirt, the top three buttons undone, exposing some of his chest, tucked into his jeans. His silver chain necklace with his guitar pick was peeking out. He wore a black blazer which was a little fitted and you were wondering if he had borrowed it from Wayne. His black jeans were surprisingly not ripped, and he wore pointed toe boots. You couldn’t tell if you were staring at Eddie Van Halen or Eddie Munson. Either way, he looked so handsome. You smile at him in the mirror, and he smiles back, he walks towards you, wrapping his arms around your middle and you lean back into him.
“You ready?” He whispers, kissing your hair. “You look beautiful.”
“Are we supposed to look beautiful?” You chuckle softly and sigh. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
You turn to him, and he holds your chin between his thumb and forefinger, his brown eyes kind as he stares into yours. “If you need a minute, you tell me. We will take a break, get some fresh air.”
You nod, staring up at him, cupping his cheek. “What?” He asks you with a smile.
“You’re just…you’re something else, Eddie Munson.”
He smiles. “You just bring out my good side, I’m a huge asshole. You know this.”
You laugh, leaning up on your toes, kissing him softly. “Okay, let’s go.” You take his hand and the two of you walk out of his room, your stomach was in knots, your palms began to sweat, and you couldn’t swallow. This was it. This was the moment you dreaded for 5 days.
Your dad had driven with your Uncle Jimmy to the funeral home, you followed behind in your car with Eddie. When you pull into the parking lot, you notice the orange cones, and the directors standing by the doors. You both step out of the car and he takes his sunglasses off of his eyes.
“Lurch?” Eddie says out loud, looking at the tall man by the doors, you mutter a curse, covering his mouth with your hand, bringing his head to your shoulder and you cackle loudly. He looks up at you very confused and you pull your hand away.
“You have the loudest mouth, shut up. I’ll tell you later.” You whisper to him, holding in your laughter.
“Yeah but…look at him!”
“Shut up, Eddie!” You laugh and you follow your father and uncle up the stone steps. Lurch nods at the two of you and you still suppress your laughter as you walk into the lobby.
There’s a guest book to sign with prayer cards, the Irish Blessing was printed on the front with her name, birth and death date. Eddie takes them and puts them in his pocket, signing his name. You both follow your father and uncle’s tall forms into the viewing room, and you immediately stop breathing as you see the beautiful mahogany of her casket. There was a soft melody of piano music playing through the speakers.
Your father walks towards her, and before you had a second to react, his legs are buckling. Eddie rushes to him with Jimmy on one side, cradling him so he doesn’t fall. Your hand goes to your mouth as you watch the scene unfold, you stood frozen, and the sound of your father’s cries sent daggers into your heart. You feel your feet move before the rest of your body and rush towards him, you rest your palm on his back and kneel in front of him.
“I’ll go with you, Daddy. Hold on to me, okay?” He looks up at you, tears streaming down his face, and he nods. Eddie and Jimmy help him to his feet, and you link your arm in his. They stood behind, watching as you two walk slowly to her. More sobs escape your father as you stand in front of her, your eyes fill with tears and you turn your head away, resting it against father’s arm, squeezing your eyes shut. You could hear Jimmy sniffling behind you, you couldn’t look at him either.
“Oh, my girl.” He cries softly, kneeling on the prayer bench. As you finally open your eyes to look at your mother, you realize that you may have completely disassociated while doing her make up. She looked stunning, and you thought the whole time you were doing her make up, she looked dead, not asleep. But she really looked asleep. Your father meets your eyes and kisses the top of your hand.
“She looks like her.” He says, smiling softly. “Thank you.”
You nod, gently helping him up to move away from the casket. You sit your father down on one of the cushioned chairs and hand him a cup of water from the pitcher on the table. You sit next to him, holding his hand as you watch Jimmy kneels in front of your mother. His shoulders shook with sobs, and he gently smooths out her hair, he stands up from the bench, walking down the hallway to wipe his tears, pacing.
Eddie didn’t kneel, he stood there with his hands resting on his thighs. He stares at her, biting his bottom lip and you could see his eyes fill with tears. He goes to touch her hand but stops himself, a soft groan escapes him, and he shakes his head, turning away, pressing his palms to his eyes, walking away down the aisle of chairs. You feel your father nudge you to go to him and you stand up, walking towards him. His back is to you, his palms are still pressed against his eyes, and you place your hand on his lower back. He turns to you, so many tears fell from his eyes, and you pull him into you for a hug. He holds onto your waist tightly, quietly whimpering into your shoulder. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that was.” He sounded so pained; your heart broke.
“You loved her, that’s what that was.” You tell him softly and he lifts his head from your shoulder. You wipe his tears away from his cheek and he sighs. “If you want to go back, I’ll go with you.”
He shakes his head and smiles at you. “No, it’s alright. There are a few things I need to say to her.” He kisses your lips gently and you watch him walk back towards your mother.
He kneels and rests his chin on his hands as he looks at her, more tears fell from his eyes, and he didn’t seem to care. He knelt there for a few moments, and you watch as he snaps his necklace from his neck, placing it gently on her hands, the guitar pick resting against her ring finger. Your bottom lip trembles at the intimate moment, and he gently kisses the top of your mother’s head, lingering there for a moment before pulling away. You feel yourself falling more in love with him at that exact moment.
He walks towards your father, embracing him in a bear hug. Your father squeezes his shoulder, the two of them having a silent conversation and Eddie wipes his eyes, walking back towards you. He slinks his arm around your waist and pulls you to him. You sigh, glancing at the clock. More people would be showing up.
The funeral home was full of people you either hadn’t seen in so many years or had never met in your life. A lot of them had wonderful things to say to about your mother and some had even brough pictures which you hadn’t seen before. A lot of them had traveled from Boston. You almost broke down when Hopper walked in, he hugged you close to his chest and patted your head.
“Don’t forget to take a breather, kid, okay?” He says gently and you nod.
You had stepped outside for a moment, placing your hand on your knees to breathe in deep. It was so overwhelming in there and so stuffy. You felt like you were suffocating; you didn’t even tell Eddie you went outside, but he had found you anyway. Gently rubbing your back as you try to settle your nerves, he whispers that Steve and Robin were there. Robin was already crying when she hugged you, she had a glass dish in her hands.
“I forgot to give this back to your mom when she made that casserole for me. I’m sorry, I kept wanting to give it back, but I never thought…I didn’t…” She was sputtering and you gently place your hand over hers.
“Keep it.” You smile at her, and she nods, Steve leads her inside and Eddie looks you over.
“It’s almost over.” He tells you gently.
“I know.” You sigh. “I know.”
Your father peeks his head out the doorway. “Honey? It’s time for the eulogy.”
You stop breathing, you had forgotten.
Eddie sees you tense and keeps a watchful eye on you as you walk silently back into the funeral home. There was a small podium in front of her casket, and you look up at Eddie with pleading eyes, he walks with you to the front, keeping a short distance between you two as you stood there, looking at all the solemn faces of your mother’s loved ones.
“Um, thank you all for being here…” Your voice shakes. “I didn’t write anything or have anything prepared.” You inhale deeply, looking behind you at your mother’s form. You stare at her face; your bottom lip quivers and you inhale a shaky breath. You turn back towards them. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this…I’m sorry.”
Eddie squeezes your hand as you go towards him, you see him stare at your mother and he holds your face in his hands, looking in your eyes, asking you a silent question. You nod and he pulls away from you. Everyone’s eyes fix on him, and you lean your shoulder against your father.
Eddie lets out a breath and begins to speak. “Hi, some of you know me, some of you don’t. My name is Eddie, Eddie Munson. I have known this family for ten years, and I guess, I guess I have a lot to say about this special woman.” He looks over at you and smiles. “I never knew what it felt like to have a mother, I mean, if I did, I was really little, and those memories have completely faded. That all changed when I met this woman. Without questions, without judgement, she took me in as her own. It took me some time to get used to, I was used to being loved by the ones who cared about me, but when it was that motherly love, I had no idea how to deal with it. There were times I think I tried to push her away, especially when I got in trouble, but she forced her way through my walls and held on tight and I didn’t…” His voice shakes, tears pool in his eyes. “I didn’t let go. I didn’t want to. She was a force to be reckon with, right Hop?”
“She terrified me.” Hopper says from his seat, and everyone laughs.
Eddie chuckles, glancing over at you. “She protected her own like a lioness. Her beautiful daughter is living proof of the pure heart and soul of that woman. It would take hours for me to express how grateful I am for this family, for her as mother I always needed. I loved her, and it hurts that I can’t tell her that.” He looks behind him at her face, a tear falls freely from his eye. “But for now, I can tell you all what you already know. You will never find another one like her, a woman that embraces a freak like me into her arms, a woman that cooks a meal for an entire army. A woman who sends some of the toughest dudes running just by being in her line of sight. A woman who loved and loved hard. She wouldn’t want us sad, let’s be real she’s probably up there pointing and laughing at us, calling us babies.” That got another laugh out of them. “That’s what she wants us to do. Love. Love hard, tell your loved ones you love them. Follow her example and honor her everyday if you can.”
Tears are streaming down everyone’s faces, especially you. You embrace Eddie in a tight embrace, your voice muffled in his chest, and you tell him your thanks over and over.
Once everyone started to file out, you overhear your father talking to your uncle in the lobby.
“I can’t do it; I physically cannot bring myself to do it. She was my baby sister, the thought of her…”
“It’s okay, Jim. It’s okay. We can figure something out.” Your father tells him gently.
You walk closer to them. “What’s going on?”
“We have a change of plans for her ashes. It’s not fair to put it all on Jimmy. We can brainstorm and figure out a better plan.”
“Well, I can do it.”
Your father looks at you. “Really? You’d go to Boston?”
“Yeah, you know how much I loved it there. It would be nice to go back. I have enough money saved to get a hotel room for a few days.”
“Don’t worry about the money, I’ll take care of the hotel. I’d feel better if someone went with you.”
Eddie walks into the room, his eyes still a little puffy and he gently grips your waist.
“Wanna go to Boston?” You ask him.
“Right now?” He asks you, cocking his eyebrows.
“No, dumbass. In a few days. With my mom.” You stifle a laugh at his face which held pure confusion. “Her ashes?”
“Oh! Oh yeah, yeah I’ll go. Road trip?”
You nod and look up at your dad who smiles tightly, and you chuckle at his expression. “My daughter and Eddie Munson in a hotel room. Alone. Together. For a few days. Pretty sure God has it out for me.”
He claps Eddie on the shoulder, heading back into the viewing room to say his final goodbyes to his wife. Jimmy hugs you tightly, thanking you for doing something he couldn’t and had left the funeral home, he had already said goodbye to your mother.
You walk back into the room and your father gives you a minute alone. Eddie stands off to the side watching you. You kneel, gently smoothing out her hair, caressing her cheek gently.
“You know you were right about everything.” You tell her quietly, glancing over your shoulder at Eddie. “About me and Eddie. You always had that sixth sense about you.” You place your hands over hers and smile.
“I’m gonna marry him one day. I’m gonna have his babies and we’ll have a cute little house with a dog. But you already knew that.”
You wipe a tear away and lean forward, kissing her cheek softly. “I’ll see you in Boston, mama.”
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