𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒 | 𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕞

07.

"I- my dad, he--" she stutters, not sure how to explain the situation. A groan, however, stops her from spitting anything else out. She spins on her heel, turning to see her dad starting to move from the tub. "Dad? What the hell- are you okay?!" 

Eddie just groans some more, this time quieter as he stumbles to get up. Riley grabs his arm, helping him up slowly, her phone on the bathroom counter. 

"I'm fine-- just fine," Eddie grumbles, starting to fumble towards the door.

Riley lets go of him, wary of his state but knowing he can't go anywhere too quickly without her and turns back to the phone. It's been quiet on Peter's end, as he's just been curiously listening, waiting for Riley to return.

Riley takes a breath in, a thought popping up in her head. "Uh, Peter? Uh, yeah, it's fine, were- I got it covered, uh, I have to go." 

And she hangs up, just before Peter tries to answer. He blinks, sitting on his bed, suddenly pulling the screen away from his ear to stare at it. Weird, he thinks, I mean, I'm sure she's got it under control.

Riley is proud for a moment, as Peter doesn't call back immediately. That meant her reassuring tone made Peter believe her, however it didn't convince her. 

It wasn't meant for her, but she'd half hoped she'd have helped herself.

Her father was now walking around their living room, staring around at the mess he'd made. "Jesus," Eddie muttered, starting to close the open cabinets and freezer door.

Riley followed him slowly, as he stopped by the island, focused on his phone. 

"Dad?" she squeaked out, creeping to see what he was looking at. 

Eddie didn't budge, didn't answer her, nor try to hide what he was looking at. He was flipping through photos of someplace.

To Riley, of course, it was just someplace with some weird-looking people, but to Eddie, it was fresh in his mind.

In the LIFE lab, photos of those experimented on were staring back at him. He stopped at one of a woman with dark hair, her thin frame crumbled in on itself.

Maria.

Eddie knew her, though he couldn't really remember who she was. His brain was fuzzy like there was some sort of buzzing in the back of his head, something keeping him from really feeling or hearing anything.

Riley then watched as Eddie zoomed in, and not a second later Riley realized that was the lady she saw near Ms. Chen's shop. 

Her eyes widen, and her brain clicks the pieces she has together. Her heart speeds up, she feels it, as a nervous heat starts to spread from her back and into the rest of her body.

She tries to steady her breath, confused as to why her father has those pictures and, more importantly, where he took those pictures. 

She slowly steps back, trying to be as quiet as possible. She believes her father's lost it, somehow.

He wouldn't have those pictures on his phone, although he's seen the worst of what can be shown on the news because of his show, but never has it been about someone they both know. This lets alone the fact that it's not just someone he knows.