Take Me Home Again (Eddie Munson X OC)

Chapter 17 - Eclipsed

Mentions of alcoholism/consumption*****

Phoenix found themself slipping further and further into their spiral as the weeks dragged on. The anger they once felt, fueling the fire they once fanned, was now but a distant memory. They felt nothing, they felt more than nothing, they felt empty. At first, they were very active with the party, planning how to kill Vecna, giving ideas on how to upgrade their weapons and any idea that they thought useful really. At one point, Phoenix had stopped participating in the discussion, standing alone silently off to the side as the heroes took care of the rest. Joyce had noticed them pulling back, ushering them into an empty room with Hopper one day.

When everything went down, the California crew came back to help out full time, but with the Cabin in disarray, the kids stayed elsewhere most of the time. Jonathan stayed in Steve's guest room, Will stayed at Mike's house, and El spent most of her time running around or by Max's hospital bed with Lucas. 

Joyce spoke with a hushed tone, careful that the others didn't overhear, "Hop and I have been talking and we'd like to know if you'd like to stay here with us. You don't have to and you don't have to make up your mind right now, but there is a free room that you can have if you choose to." 

Phoenix watched as Hopper nodded along to what she way saying, fully prepared to turn them down. "No, I couldn't. You guys barely have space as is." Hopper held his hand up to shush them, bringing them to a small room at the end of the hallway. It was about the size of El's room, having been built on when they repaired the rest of the cabin. "I don't know..I don't want to be a bother.."

"You wouldn't be a bother, we just think you could use the space away from everything out there. And you'd be here now, so you could still be involved in the planning while getting the space you need." Phoenix chewed on Hop's words for a moment. The adults leaving them alone in the room to consider. They looked around. It already had a bed frame and a small closet with shelves littering the walls. Phoenix took a deep breath and slowly emerged from the room, giving Joyce a nod. She smiled and the next day, Phoenix was moved in. They didn't bring much more than clothes, their mattress and sheets, and their keepsakes from Eddie's trailer. 

They settled in after about a week of staying, getting used to the new environment and routine that the odd group had. Once they started to feel more comfortable, they started showing up less. They came out of their room less and less, only really seeing the others when they had to use the bathroom or were so hungry they couldn't wait til they were gone or had fallen asleep. Joyce often heard them rummaging around in the night for a late night dinner. The group started asking questions of Joyce and Hopper about Phoenix, why they weren't showing up, if they were okay, and if they were still alive. They all took their turns visiting them in their room, rarely getting a reaction from them. They were always in the same spot in their bed, lifeless almost as if they were made of stone. Their eyes always unfocused, gazing out of the small window into the forest. 

Phoenix could feel grief's talons gripping them tighter and tighter. The less they interacted with the human world, the more a burden they could feel themself becoming. It became so bad to the point that the others never saw them, only leaving the room when they were all alone. They couldn't stand the eyes on them, and the noise  their voices made trying to talk to them. Everything was too fuzzy and took too much energy to decipher what they were saying or thinking. They couldn't fathom what they would think if they knew of what Phoenix was seeing. 

Day in and day out, all they saw was Eddie. They didn't know if his ghost had come to haunt them with unfinished business or if it was the grief causing hallucinations, but what they did know is that it was driving them insane. At first it was comforting to see him smiling at them from down the hall, they knew he wasn't there, but it was nice to see his face unblemished by death. But, as they continued, they grew more of an annoyance that inhibited their ability to move on, watching him walk towards them with the intention to kiss them and finding him gone when they reached up to touch his face. Eventually, it became downright unbearable. Seeing him, just feet from where they stood, and knowing they couldn't touch him, it was torture. They sometimes questioned if Vecna, out there wherever he was, was just playing tricks on them, trying to break them down or taunt them. Sometimes even wondering if the others saw their own visions and didn't say anything out of fear. They didn't care for it, whatever the explanation was.