JANUARY 16TH, 1986
📍 hawkins high school
17:45 PM
another round of vomit landed in the toilet bowl as matilda focused on keeping her hair out of her face. she took in a deep breath, hearing the bathroom door open.
before long, she gagged again, and repositioned herself over the toilet as more came up.
"um, hey dude?" a voice spoke. "you alright?"
tillie pulled herself up off the floor and used toilet paper to wipe her mouth, flushing it down the toilet with the rest of her vomit. she opened the door, seeing a man stood outside her cubicle with a joint in his hand.
"not a dude," he said upon seeing her. tillie recognized the male as eddie munson, a fellow senior, even though he should have graduated two years prior.
"not a dude," she confirmed with a small smile.
"your name is matilda, right?" he asked, receiving a nod in response. he lit the splint in his hand and placed it in his mouth, inhaling it. he reached out and offered it to tillie.
"oh, um, thanks but no thanks," she told him.
he nodded and took another drag on the roll. "mattie...can i call you mattie? mattie, you do know this is the male bathroom, right?"
"uh, yeah, i am aware," tillie replied. "i needed to throw up, and this was the closest toilet, so.." she explained to the boy. "it was either here in a toilet or the corridor floor."
eddie looked her up and down, before moving towards the wall and sliding down it, taking a seat on the floor. "why did you need to throw up?"
"why is it any of your business?"
eddie shrugged. "it's not. i'm just nosy."
"well, i just—" tillie started, beginning to wash her hands. "i felt ill," she continued, drying her hands on her jeans. "is that okay with you?"
"mhm," eddie nodded, exhaling the smoke from his lips.
"okay, well," the blonde cleared her throat and headed towards the door. "i'll leave you and your weed alone."
before he could respond, she opened the door to leave, stopping when she heard him speak.
"mattie, you're a terrible liar," she turned around to look at him. "has anyone ever told you that?"
"what?"
"you're not ill," he stated. "why would you have come to school if you were?"
"why does it concern you?" matilda asked, her annoyance growing at this boy who was invading her privacy.
"it doesn't," eddie answered. "but i can tell there's something else bothering you, and i'm a pretty good listener."
"oh, yeah?" she cocked her head to the side. "says who?"
"me," he smiled. he gestured to the empty space beside him, and used his hand to waft the smoke he'd left away.
she stared at the free spot beside him, deciding if she was really up to spilling everything to a boy she'd never before spoken to. sighing, she decided to walk towards him, and slouched down next to him.
"i can't believe i'm about to spill all my secrets to eddie goddamn munson," tillie said in amusement. "what has my life come to?"
"well, i'll have you know," eddie said, leaning closer to her. "i'm pretty good at keeping secrets," he whispered.
"yeah? says who?" tillie replied, using the same hushed tone he did. "you?"
"correct," he confirmed with a smile, that matilda couldn't help but reciprocate. "now, tell me, dear mattie, what troubles you?"
"you're not going to believe me," she told him.
"what, are you going to tell me you're possessed by an evil spirit or something? haunted by a ghost?"
"oh, yeah, definitely. that's it," matilda giggled. "hit the nail with the hammer or whatever the phrase is."
"hit the nail on the head?"
"oh. yeah, that's what i meant," matilda replied, looking down at her lap.
"hit the nail with the hammer," eddie repeated with a light chuckle. tillie cringed at how stupid she sounded, beginning to laugh alongside the munson boy.
"leave me alone," matilda groaned, rubbing her eyes gently. "it's been a long day."
"i'm sure it has," eddie responded. "with all the evil spirits and the nail-hitting hammers."
matilda buried her face in her hands, thankful that the lack of light in the toilets allowed her flushed cheeks to not be noticeable. "this is bullying."
"okay, i'm sorry, i'm sorry. please don't hit me with your hammer."
"stop!" tillie exclaimed.
eddie laughed, before giving in. "okay, i am actually stopping now," he said. "hilarious eddie: disabled. therapist eddie: activated."
"i think you mean bully eddie."
"oh, right sorry," eddie rolled his eyes. "bully eddie: disabled. therapist eddie: activated," he repeated with heavy emphasis. "talk to me, princess."
trying to ignore the nickname, tillie spoke. "i was being serious when i said you won't believe me. nobody does."
"try me," eddie replied in a sincere tone, putting out his joint and placing it on the floor.
matilda swallowed deeply. "i was raped last month."
eddie said nothing, just watching the girl in silence, listening intently to her words.
"it was at jason's annual christmas party. you know, the one he's had every year since like middle school?" eddie nodded. "i was wearing a black skirt, and a—"
"a dark blue top?" eddie interrupted. "and you had your hair all pinned back. i remember. you looked really pretty."
matilda looked down and grinned, her cheeks tinted pink at the compliment. "you weren't the only one who thought so. i, erm, i went upstairs to go use the bathroom, and when i came out, i remember someone pushing me into a wall, with their hand covering my mouth. he warned me not to make a sound."
"who?"
"myles layton," tillie told him, her voice cracking slightly. "he dragged me into one of the bedrooms, pinned me down...and yeah," the blonde winced at the memory. "and before you ask, i wasn't drunk. i don't drink so—"
"i wasn't going to ask that," eddie said almost immediately. "why does that make a difference?"
matilda shrugged, trying to push back the ball forming in the back of her throat. "the cops thought it did. they say i had a one night stand that i was just too drunk to remember."
"you took it to the cops?" eddie queried.
"yeah," tillie answered with a small nod. "i told chrissy the day after. hell, i broke down in her arms. she convinced me to take it to the police, file a report. obviously, by doing that, my parents found out. they didn't believe me either."
"fuck, man," eddie sighed. "what's the point in having cops if they can't do their goddamn job properly?"
matilda scoffed in amusement, but sadness was still evident in her tone. "justice system's a joke, isn't it?" she said. "i had evidence, but it wasn't enough for them."
"what evidence was it?"
"my clothes were ripped, which the cops argued that they could have been ripped off consensually. i was willing to get full medical exams done to prove it, but they said it would be a waste of time. now it's almost a month later, all evidence is basically gone."
eddie furrowed his brows, "and only your sister believed you?"
"yep," matilda answered. "obviously, as it happened in his house and he is dating chrissy, jason found out. god, you should have heard the laugh he let out when he was told. and then, he told the entire basketball team. and, seeing as myles is on the team and friends with them all, naturally not a single one of them believed he would assault someone. they blame it on me, saying i was just some horny girl who's embarrassed to admit the truth. they taunt me about it every chance they get."
"assholes," eddie muttered.
"my parents bring it up a lot too. especially my mother. i guess referring to it in daily conversations adds a bit of light amusement to her day."
"oh, yeah, cause that's absolutely hilarious," the boy scoffed, a mix of sarcasm and anger in his voice.
"the hardest part is seeing him in the hallways everyday. all the girls fawning over him. the coach congratulating him on being such an amazing player. hearing him boast about all he college options he has. and no one knows what he's really capable of," matilda spoke sadly. "if murder ever becomes legal, he's the first i'd go for."
"i'd help you," eddie commented. "we could slaughter the whole team. cute little power duo."
matilda let out a gentle laugh, reaching up to cover her mouth when she realized her cheeks were wet. quickly wiping her face, it sunk it what she'd just done. "shit."
"what?" eddie asked.
"i'm sorry, i shouldn't have just dumped all of that on you. i mean, we've never even spoken before this. our first conversation and i drop all my trauma on you. i—" she stood up and began walking towards the door.
"hey, it's okay. i asked what was wrong. you didn't—"
matilda shook her head firmly. "no, it's me. i overshared. i just.. i dropped that all on you and i'm sorry. now, you have to go about your day knowing all that. erm, i.. just.. just forget everything i just told you, okay? just.. just—"
"matilda.."
"i'm.. i'm really sorry," she stuttered. "i—"
"it's okay," eddie spoke softly, standing up and walking towards her. "it really is. don't worry about it."
nodding hesitantly, matilda swallowed and tried to regulate her breathing. "i'm going to go. chrissy's probably wondering where i went."
"yeah," eddie nodded. "i promise i won't tell anyone."
despite hardly knowing him, tillie knew she could trust him. he was being truthful when he vowed to not tell anyone else.
she sent him one final smile, turning on her heels and grabbing the door handle, beginning to pull it open and exit, before she was stopped by eddie's voice.
"oh, and mattie, if i hadn't made it abundantly clear already, i believe you."
— 📻🪐🏹 —
eddie 🫶🫶
this chapter took so long to write omg but i think it came out quite cute considering the topic it was on
i also want to say if anyone is struggling with anything at all, my messages are always open if you need to talk! i give pretty good advice (if i say so myself & i'm also a virgo and personally i think we give the best advice so..)
i added a playlist too if you wanted to check that out!
and ty to everyone who is reading this and/or adding to their reading lists! i appreciate you all <3
WORD COUNT — 1777.