The Thing by the Window

Richard was sitting by his friend, as he slept in the guest room. This time, he didn't want to leave his side. Whatever had happened earlier, he was going to make sure that Eddie was there with him. Surely there was some kind of logical explanation for the other Eddie he had seen. Richard believed that perhaps he was getting Eddie's crazy, but how could he rationalize that full on conversation he had with his friend?

Whatever that version of Eddie was. But Richard did not want to believe that whole interaction took place at all. The bowl that Eddie had eaten his cereal from was still in the cupboard, and even the milk he had recently bought hadn't even been opened. Which means that Richard was possibly talking to himself, but that conversation felt too real. Awfully real. 

Richard let out a yawn. How he wished he could have convinced Eddie to come with him to the doctor. To get some kind of help. But he refused. Eddie pleaded and pleaded with him, acting like that of a small child. He was clinging to Richard's shirt, his eyes wide, sweat dripping down his face, acting like someone had just stabbed him. 

"Richard don't! Please! We can't involve anyone else! It promised -''

Richard shoved him away, anger coursing through his body. 

"What the fuck are you talking about? Aren't you tired of this? I know you're in pain, but this is getting fucked! IT'S FUCKED EDDIE!"

Eddie collapsed on his knees, his hands interlocked in a prayer. 

"We have to stay here. I can't leave. It promised it would spare you."

Richard slapped Eddie across the face. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Eddie whipped his head back to look at him, that startled Richard. For a second, there was malice, but then it disappeared. Richard swore that he had also seen a light smirk cross his lips, but it was all in head. Eddie's trauma was now haunting him, transforming his friend into another person. Like the other version he had seen. 

Had spoken to. 

Richard shuddered as Eddie started to chant. 

"We can't leave. We can't leave. We can't leave. We can't leave."

Richard felt like ripping out his own eyes, as he hugged his friend. He should have fought harder, and dragged his friend to go see a doctor. 

But he didn't. 

He didn't do anything. 

Richard stood up from the chair, feeling the urge to take a piss. He didn't want to leave his friend alone, but the last thing he needed was stooping low into the dark depths into his insanity. In other words, he did not want to begin pissing in a bucket in his bedroom, to avoid leaving his friend's side. He went to the bathroom, feeling such relief as he let loose into the toilet. That stupid phrase was something Eddie had once told him, when he was the normal Eddie. 

Richard had gotten a good laugh out of that. 

He sighed. How he missed the old days. He flinched when he heard a tap tap tap at his window. He whipped his head toward the bathroom window, that was between the toilet and the mirror. He finished up, zipped up his pants, and took a peek outside. It was nighttime, which meant it was pure black outside. Richard did hang lanterns around his home, to give out some form of light. But there was nothing there. 

"I'm losing my fucking mind. Damn it, Eddie."

Richard went over to the bathroom sink, and heard the tap tap tap again. It was a bit louder, this time, and sounded much heavier. Richard let out an angry sound of frustration, and took another look. 

Eddie was pounding his head against the window. He stopped, started again, stopped, banged his head. He paused, and tilted his head at Richard. He smiled. 

Richard was still. Not knowing what he was seeing. He covered his eyes, and took another peek. Eddie was still there. Smiling. 

"You're not real. This is not real."

"It's me, Richard. I'm outside. I ran outside. I could hear you tinkling in there. You letting loose into that toilet? Like what you and Rachel did?"

"What?"

"I'm fucking with you, Richard. No need to get so angrrry." This last word was said in a singing tone, that did not sound close to Eddie's voice. It was strange, and it scared Richard. 

"You need to come back inside. You're not well, Eddie."

He rolled his eyes, something that his teenage daughter used to do all the time. 

"Why can't you let me stay outside? I'm not like my kid, Richard. Poor thing got her head sliced off. Her head was in my wife's lap. Or what was left of Rachel."

Eddie laughed. Richard felt his blood boil. 

"Why the fuck would you say something like that? That's your family. Your fucking family."

"They are dead, Richard. Gone. Wiped from the face of the Earth. It's only natural to talk of them in the past tense. And that is how they died, Richard. Why would I sugarcoat the details? Unless you were actually sleeping with my wife."

Richard punched the window, his fist crashing through the window. Eddie had jumped away, laughing. He ran off into the woods. Richard held his bloodied hand, as he ran after Eddie. He got to the living room, and found the front door wide open. 

Once he caught him, he would indeed drag his ass to the doctor. He was fucking barefoot for god's sake, in the woods. The last thing he needed was Eddie injuring himself. Richard headed to the shed, retrieving a flashlight. He could faintly hear Eddie singing in the distance. He turned on the flashlight, following the sound of his voice. 

"EDDIE! WHERE ARE YOU? COME BACK! IT'S NOT SAFE!"

"YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER! UNLESS YOU WERE FUCKING MY MOTHER! ARE YOU A MOTHER FUCKER, RICHARD?"

This was followed by hysterical laughter. 

Richard scolded himself for allowing his behavior to escalate to such a level. His friend was now off the deep end. 

The laughter turned into singing again, and this time, Richard could hear his voice a bit closer. He waved the flashlight around, until he came to a small clearing within the woods. He used to camp out here, close to his house. He never liked being so far away. He had heard of bears deeper in the woods, and wanted to avoid getting trampled or eaten. 

He searched wildly for Eddie. He could hear him, but could not see him. Until he raised the flashlight a bit higher in the trees. He had his arms and feet wrapped around one tree, smiling down at Richard. 

"Eddie! Get down here! Please. You're scaring me, man."

"Were you scared when you were sleeping with my wife? I bet it was a turn on. Thank God my kid was actually mine. The friendship between us would have ended quite badly."

Eddie let himself fall from the tree. Richard didn't realize that he was screaming. Eddie landed on his back. Richard thought he had heard something break. He was covering his mouth, feeling vomit building up. Eddie suddenly stood up, hopping up and down on his bare feet. 

He was smiling. 

He was pointing at Richard, while using the other hand to mimic a disgusting gesture in front of his pants. 

"What did you do to my wife, Richard? What else did you two get up to?"

Eddie moaned, and then did it again, in a lower pitched voice. Vomit spelled out of Richard's mouth. He dropped the flashlight, and he landed on his hands and knees, letting out the rest of the bile. The first moan was Richard's voice, and the second one was a perfect imitation of Rachel's. 

"Did you, Richard? Did you sleep with my wife?"

Richard groaned, feeling sick again. 

"Richard. Richard. Richard. Richard. Richardrichardrichardrichardrichard."

Eddie was now dancing around him, his arms outstretched. He was humming. The same one that Rachel used to sing in Richard's ear, when they thought Eddie wasn't looking. Richard sobbed, covering his ears. 

"I'm sorry, Eddie. I'm so sorry."

"No. You're not. Not. Not. You piece of shit."

Eddie picked up the flashlight, smashing it. A sharp pain spread through his arm. Eddie had used a piece of the flashlight to stab Richard's hand. He screamed in the dark. 

Eddie laughed.

"Not. Not. Not. Not."

It was a mix of Rachel, Eddie's daughter, his own voice, and then Eddie's. Whatever was happening, none of this made any sense. No human being could do something like that. Or fall off a tree without any hint of an injury. He heard footsteps run around him for a while, and then vanish. 

All was quiet. 

Richard sat up in the darkness, his heart beating within his chest. He pulled out the glass, cringing from the pain. "Fuck!"

He threw the piece. Richard stood up, being careful to avoid touching glass. He could barely see the light coming from his home. He called out for Eddie, but there was no answer. 

He thought of Rachel. 

Richard ventured back home, terribly afraid of what he was going to happen next. Richard heard a twig snap, but when he looked back, he couldn't see a thing. Richard began to run, dread creeping into his heart. 

He heard a giggle behind him, but he did not look back. 

---

End of Chapter 3

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn