Y'all this is a hella long chapter, and this story is nearly over, so thank you to everyone who's been reading :))
Richie stayed at Bill's that night, on a makeshift bed he and Eddie had created in the basement. Bill tried to get Richie to convince Eddie to take his bed, but neither of the two allowed it.
It was nearly midnight, and neither of the two were asleep. They laid in dark silence, their stressed breathing being the only sound in the room.
Richie could almost feel the stress radiating off of Eddie, but there wasn't much he could do to soothe him. They had tried to talk it out, but it didn't work for either of them. Eventually Richie told Eddie to listen to the music and calm down, holding him close.
As soon as the tape ended, Eddie pulled off his headphones and sighed loudly. "I'm exhausted but I'm not going to be able to sleep," he complained, laying his head on Richie's chest.
"You need to. We need to be ready for tomorrow," Richie said, wrapping his arms around Eddie.
They stayed silent for a bit longer, until Eddie spoke up again. "What if we lose?" he asked so quietly that Richie thought he might not have been meant to hear it.
"You've been hurt your whole life. She won't be able to get custody," Richie whispered, lacing his fingers with the hand Eddie had on his chest.
"What if they send me away?" Eddie whimpered, scared he could lose his friends.
"Then I'll wait for you, Eds. I told you that."
"What if you meet someone else?"
"No one compares to you," Richie murmured, kissing Eddie softly. "We need to sleep."
Eddie didn't want to sleep. He wanted to take in what he feared would be the last night of being with Richie. Yet, he knew he had to be ready, so he closed his eyes and let himself drift off.
•••
They all got ready the next morning in silence. Bill helped Eddie get on his suit while Richie went home to get himself ready. They were supposed to meet at the courthouse with Lacy, Brent, and the lawyer, Chase, at ten.
It was only eight, but Eddie was already shaking with nerves. There was so much he could lose, and he didn't want to. Bill could tell he was nervous and tried to help, but there wasn't much he could do.
When they met at the courthouse, Eddie was taken to a separate room when his lawyer introduced himself.
"Eddie, my name is Chase, and I'm here to help you. I've been given the details and we have the advantage, you just need to tell the truth and trust that we will do everything in our power to help you. Okay?" he asked, smiling down at Eddie.
"Mhmm," Eddie hummed, too far in his own head to give a straight answer.
"Don't worry, Eddie. Everything is going to be okay," Lacy said, offering Eddie a bottle of water.
He took it and drank deeply, hoping it would calm him down. Unfortunately, all it did was make him have to pee really bad. Everyone seemed to be looking at him in pity, but Eddie couldn't even be upset. He was too worn out and stressed.
Before he knew it, everyone had shown up and Eddie was sitting in front of the court room in between Lacy and Brent, with Chase standing in front of him. Eddie refused to look at the other table, knowing his mother was fuming. He didn't want to see her.
Eddie finally tuned in to hear Chase say, "Your honor, this young man has been mistreated his whole life. We'd like to start by calling Sonia Kaspbrack to the stand."
