This story will follow Eddie and Wayne Munson through all of their ups and downs. In this story we'll get to see the story behind how Eddie came to live with his Uncle. We'll see Wayne navigating being a new "dad" and trying to control little troubl...
You walk over and switch on the tv. Happy Days. You grab a beer from the ice box and kick your feet up on the coffee table.
This was your favorite time of the day. A cold beer, a cigarette, some down time. You inhale deeply as you lean back, settling into the couch.
Ring Ring Ring
You sigh deeply as you close your eyes. Just let it go, Wayne.
Ring Ring Ring
"Shit." you stand up and make your way back into the kitchen. You're not a very social person. You hate every time this stupid thing rings. Fucking technology is gonna be the death of us all.
But it could be him.
"Yello?" you sing into the phone.
"Uncle Wayne?" a small voice comes through the phone. Eddie.
"Hey, buddy." you sigh again. You already know why he's calling. You can hear them screaming in the background.
"Who the fuck is Tim?" your brother yells loudly.
"Fuck you, Richard!" Amy shouts back, her shrill voice making your ears ring, even through the phone.
Then you hear the sound of glass breaking. Damn it, Richard.
"Eddie? Where are you?" you ask him gently.
You hear him sniffle as another glass shatters. "In the.. in the closet." he stammers.
"You stay put. I'm on my way." you say sternly.
"Okay." he whispers as you hear the shouting getting even louder.
You quickly hang up the phone and grab your keys. "Damn it, Richard." you mumble as you head out the door.
Your brother was a classic piece of shit. A no good thief. An alcoholic. Definitely not father material but he knocked up his high school girlfriend and well.. then there was Eddie.
My boy.
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You climb into your pick up truck and head to the town over, gravel flying as you turn down their road. You swing open the screen door of your brother's house and hear the screaming coming from down the hall.
The first thing you notice is the phone cord stretched tightly along the wall leading all the way to the little door. Your heart breaks a little more as you crack it open to see eight year old Eddie huddled in the closet.
He looks up at you with tears in his eyes as his fingers nervously fidget with the cord.
"I wish I had never met you!" Amy screeches and then you hear a loud slam.
"I think you broke my nose, you crazy bitch!" Richard yells back.
You reach out and Eddie grabs your hand allowing you to pull him up from his place on the floor. He already has a little backpack ready to go.
The two of you walk out the door without a word to either of them, leaving them to their own chaos.
"You okay? Did he touch you?" you examine Eddie's face once he's climbed in the truck.
Eddie shakes his head no. You reach out and ruffle his hair before backing out of the drive. "How does pizza sound?" you try to give him a smile.
"Thanks, Uncle Wayne." Eddie sniffles lightly.
"Meat lovers still your favorite?" you try to keep your voice light.
Eddie grins and he nods at you. "I'm starvin'."
"Me too, kid. Me too." you chuckle as you pull onto the small dirt road and head towards town.
Eddie stares out of the window of the truck, his hands moving constantly. Picking at his fingernails, pulling at the loose string on his denim jacket, fingers tapping rapidly against his knee.
The boy couldn't sit still, he was always like this. His small body filled with too many emotions, too many feelings that he didn't know how to deal with. He was the sweetest kid until he got angry.
I think he got that from his dad.
Eddie had outbursts a lot. The smallest things sent him into a fit of rage. One time you forgot to cut the crust off his sandwich and he threw his plate to the floor, the glass shattering everywhere.
Then he ran. He ran a lot. As soon as he'd mess up he would take off. It was something he had learned at home. If he made a mistake Richard would lose his shit and so Eddie learned to leave before it got too bad. He would always go back. Back to the chaos. He didn't have a choice.
Until today.
You decided Eddie wasn't going home. It would probably take days before Richard and Amy even noticed he was gone. You pull up in front of the pizza place and tell Eddie to stay put as you make your way inside.
You quickly order two pies and you glance out the window to see Eddie banging his head along to the music.
My boy.
You make your way back to the truck with the two pizzas. You hear Paranoid by Black Sabbath blasting through your radio. You swing the door open and the music hits you even harder.
"WHO IS THIS?!" Eddie shouts at you over the music, a giant grin plastered on his face.
"Eddie, turn that shit down a little, will ya?" you yell back and he turns the dial just a bit.
"It's Black Sabbath. Now listen..."
"So cool! Black Sabbath... Uncle Wayne, I wanna be like Black Sabbath." He says excitedly, as his curls bounce.
You pause as you see a spark in his eye. One you haven't seen before. You turn the radio back up and Eddie pumps his fist in the air.
"Wait til you hear Iron Man." you wink at him and he smiles a toothy grin before grabbing the pizza box from you and snatching a slice.
"Now if you're gonna stay with me we'll have to go over some rules.." you start as Eddie shoves the slice in his mouth.
"Stay with you? Like forever?" he mumbles through a mouthful of food.
"If you want to... what do you think about that?" you say softly, your chest feels a little tight as you wait for him to answer.
"Won't my dad be mad?" he asks looking over at you.
"You leave your dad to me." you say as you light up a cigarette, rolling down the window to your truck.
"Can I have a beer if I stay?" Eddie cheeses and you lean over popping the back of his head lightly.
"You're trouble, Eddie Munson." you chuckle and he scoots closer to you.
"I can really stay with you?" his brown eyes widen as you look down at his tear stained face, pizza sauce now splattered around his lips.
"If you want to. It's your choice."
"I do.. want to." he smiles and before you know what's happening he's got his arm thrown around you squeezing you tight.
You pat his back and bite back your tears as he snuggles in.
