Reap What You Sow

The Bravest One You've Ever Known

It had been a bit quiet lately, to say the least.

Richie wasn't doing too well. He tried, at first, to act like he was okay. He forced smiles and jokes and a couple of bites of food every now and then, but after a few days he couldn't keep forcing himself through the motions. And now, two weeks after the incident, he still had no appetite, no desire to get out of bed, nothing.

Eddie made sure to make him eat little things throughout the days to keep him going, of course. He also stayed at his side as much as possible and encouraged him to get up out of bed and get dressed, but there really wasn't much he could do.

Pest helped, too. But its purr could only be so comforting, it's not like it could actually fix any of Richie's issues.

Everyone else did their best to engage with Richie as much as possible too, but no one really expected him to cheer up anytime soon. They were all grieving, but there was no question that this whole situation hit Richie the hardest. It was hard to watch.

Gardening was supposed to be relaxing, but even now Eddie's mind was racing. That's all it ever did. He thought about Richie, and how poorly he was doing. And how little upwards progress he'd made. Obviously he was hurting but surely he should've been starting to find ways to cope, right? Was Eddie supposed to help him find ways to do that? He had to help somehow--

"Uh, Eddie?"

Eddie snapped back into reality when he heard Mike call for him. "Huh? What?"

"You killed that plant."

Eddie gasped and pulled his hands away before he'd even seen what he'd done. The small tomato bush that had been in front of him was now much smaller, and withered. Tomatoes that had been red were now green and laying abandoned in the soil, not able to be supported when the plant shrunk.

Looking at it was kind of shocking. He had reversed the growth of the plant, killing the fruit in the process and overloading the base plant with the nutrients that had been inside it as an adult to the point of death. How long had he been doing that? Had he ever even done that before?

"Shit," he cursed, running his hands through his hair. "Sorry, fuck. I can probably fix the base plant if I focus, but the tomatoes--"

Mike placed his hand on Eddie's back. "It's okay. Why don't you head back inside for today?"

Eddie sighed. "Sorry again." he said, but he did indeed head back inside. Getting out of the sun would be good. And it was probably about time he bring Richie some water.

Pest was waiting inside for him and happily began following him close behind. The rest of the Losers were scattered about the house, and as Eddie walked into the kitchen, he was greeted by Bill.

"Y-You okay?" he asked.

Eddie sighed as he collected a glass, filling it with water for Richie. He wasn't eating well today but Eddie could at least push him to stay hydrated. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just stressing a little bit."

Bill frowned. "D-Don't worry Eds, this won't last forever." he walked over and got another cup, handing it over to him. "And don't forget to take care of y-you, too."

Eddie genuinely smiled for the first time in awhile, which felt great. "Thanks Bill."

Eddie made his way back upstairs with now two glasses of water. Pest eagerly climbed the steps behind him. Everywhere Eddie went, Pest was right behind him. It was endearing and sweet, if not a little nerve wracking--he was always worried he'd step on the little monster at his feet. Maybe he'd start carrying it...