Never going Back ⋆ Stranger Things

6. The House on the Lake

Oz wasn't sure why Eddie was telling him any of this. Was that the fate that awaited Oz? Floating and bleeding out of his eyes before a demon sucked the life out of him? He could hardly stomach thinking about it. Could hardly stomach thinking about Chrissy like that, either.

"Do you know what it sounds like when you break a bone?" Eddie asked, staring at something in the distance that Oz would never be able to see. Oz gave a brief nod of his head to answer Eddie, but he was relatively sure that the boy didn't even see it.

"Her arm was twisted in this weird way, almost like it was being pulled back by something. But there was nothing there. Just me, watching. I could have saved her..." Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. "I didn't. I just... stood there. And I ran. That's the worst part. I didn't call anyone or try to help her or even checked for a fucking pulse. I just ran. Like a coward."

Finally, after letting a few moments of silence pass between them, Oz dared to speak.

"You're not."

Eddie jolted slightly, not expecting any sound from Oz, and finally looked back at the other boy with a confused frown on his face. "Huh?"

"A coward," Oz clarified, "you're not a coward. I'd know."

Eddie laughed, though it sounded more similar to a scoff, and leaned back against the shed's support beam behind him. He began messing with the rings on his hand again, twisting them around and sliding them up and down.

"You don't. You don't know me."

"I know enough real cowards to recognize one."

Eddie scoffed again, looking down into his lap and shaking his head a few times. His long brown curls moved with the motion, almost like a halo around his head. "Who? Your basketball buddies that hesitated on a goal or whatever? Sorry man, but that doesn't really compare."

Oz took a deep breath. He didn't want to tell Eddie, but he also couldn't help himself.

"No. Me." Eddie frowned at Oz's words. "I'm talking about myself."

"What makes you a coward, Reynolds?"

They'd told him about the curse. Steve, Robin, and the two kids had sat Oz down and told him all about some dark wizard named Vecna that had cursed him to end up just like Chrissy did. One of the kids—Dustin, Oz figured—had done most of the talking, while Robin sometimes interjected to try and make it all sound a bit more hopeful. It hadn't worked.

So, Oz was going to die.

It sucked that it was a lot sooner than he'd anticipated, and it sucked that it wasn't entirely on his own accord, but he also couldn't quite summon the feelings to be sad about it. He always knew he wasn't exactly going to live a long and happy life. This might as well happen to him.

For a moment, he considered he might as well tell Eddie the truth. But he couldn't get the words out.

"Does it matter?"

Eddie looked away for a second, really considering it.

"Guess not."

The boys sat in silence for a while. Oz wanted to ask Eddie to untie him, but he wasn't sure what the answer would be. He couldn't even blame Eddie for not doing it. With the way that he'd almost chewed his way through his binds just to attack Steve not even half an hour ago, he could hardly get mad at Eddie if he never untied Oz at all.

"I don't think you did it."

Eddie's head shot up at that, eyes wide and glassy.

"Chrissy, I mean. I don't think you killed her," Oz clarified, "I don't really think you're capable of murder at all, really. Despite the... everything." He nodded his head towards Eddie, attempting to gesture towards the way he looked. Considering he wore a denim vest with all sorts of strange pins, a shirt with a literal demon on it, and the fact that every inch of his outfit seemed to include metal and chains, Oz figured Eddie didn't exactly dress to give off a likable impression.