Here comes the rain (Buddie) - English

Chapter 12 - Unit leader

Now that he was standing in front of the shelter door, he felt like a steamroller had run over him.

In the room, Nagel, Lana, Gordon, Louis, Herschel, and Drew (the second time Eddie's seen him) were already there. Eddie discreetly advances, hoping his lateness goes unnoticed, but that's without counting on Gordon, who nods in his direction while tapping his wrist, where a watch should be.

"Looks like you fought with a horde of monkeys," Lana greets, leaning back in her chair.

"Or rather mice. I'm sure you're afraid of mice," jokes the boy with the phantom arm.

"My son had a nightmare, and my buddy had a little problem; I had to drive him to the hospital," he explains to Gordon, who nods without much interest.

As soon as the veterans' attention turns away from him, Eddie leans towards Lana's ear, who is browsing the homepage on her phone.

"Where have you been? When I came back down with Buck, you were gone," he whispers.

She closes her phone, turns it face down, and pivots towards him.

"I recognized someone in the street. An old friend of mine that I hadn't seen in years. I figured you didn't really need me, so I offered to grab a drink with him while you dealt with your friend."

"You could have let me know; I was worried."

She rolls her eyes, hurt.

"I'm not a helpless little animal. Just because I don't have legs doesn't mean I can't handle myself. On the contrary, I'm sure I could kick your butt anytime."

She gives a mischievous smile, and he shakes his head, amused. Nagel and Louis are deep in conversation. Even straining his ears, Eddie struggles to understand the subject of their discussion; however, he allows himself a small pleased smile as he notices the old man in the baseball cap finally engaging in conversation with someone other than a bottle. Gordie taps his foot nervously. He clutches a coffee cup in his hands and observes the walls of the room, thoughtful.

Drew stares at Eddie. He's probably thinking that he's barely integrated into the group, and vice versa. Drew is young. Maybe he hasn't even reached his thirties yet. He doesn't look like he's been injured in combat, or maybe he's hiding it under his gray sweatshirt and cargo pants. Half-sprawled in his chair, he looks like he's drowning in his clothes. His complexion is hollow, pallid, and Eddie can almost smell the cigarette fumes mixed with other things. There's not the same clarity in his eyes as in Gordon's, who revealed to Eddie that if he came, it was to get out of his house and see Lana, more than to listen to Ronnie's advice.

"Where's Ronnie?" Eddie asks, realizing that the mentor wasn't behind his table as usual, nor on his chair or anywhere else in the room.

"Late," Nagel chimes in. "Who would've thought," he adds sarcastically.

"He's never been late," Louis remarks, his cast noticeably yellowing over a week. "It's strange."

Eddie turns to the door he emerged from just a few minutes ago. He hadn't encountered anyone, hadn't even noticed Ronnie's car's absence in the parking lot. He takes out his phone, opens his messaging app, but finds no messages from him. He questions Lana; she shakes her head.

"He might be stuck in traffic. With the detour on Hamish, traffic's a mess," Gordie declares, also having checked his phone even though he knew he'd be last on Ronnie's emergency contact list.

"Ronnie lives less than fifteen minutes from here. He doesn't even go through downtown, Gordie," his friend informs him.

He shrugs, nonchalant, and refocuses on staring at the ceiling.