A Bad Day

Written by Zelda

 

Part Two – Solace

 

                The first thing that occurred to Ed, after about five minutes of ringing the doorbell, was that nobody was answering. He chuckled lightly and banged hard on the door. “Come on guys, open up!” he smirked, looking around. Had they forgotten to wait up for him? Curious, Ed tried the doorknob, to find that the door had already been unlocked. They must have been waiting if they did that! Grinning from ear to ear, Ed proceeded to swing the door open wide and charge inside. “I am here guys!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, looking up the stairs to Edd’s room. There was no response from the stairwell, but he did hear something off to his left. Ed glanced over and saw something lying on the floor about ten feet before him, highlighted by three streaks of sunlight that poured in from little windows in the top of the door. Ed gasped as he realized that the ‘something’ was actually Edd! “Ho ho!” he laughed. “No naptime for Double D!” he skipped towards his friend when he heard his shoe squeak in something. Automatically he froze, knowing what trouble wearing shoes would get him in this house. “Whoops!” He bent double to untie his sneakers when he noticed something red on the floor, that something that had caused his shoes to squeak in the first place. Curious, Ed swiped a finger through the liquid, and was even more confused to recognize it as blood. He looked up, following the streak along the floor, right up to—“Double D…?” he started, frowning. Forgetting about his shoes, Ed stood again and paced up to Edd, squatting beside him.

                Edd cracked his eyes open slightly, his sight swimming, the pain still stabbing at him like a thousand tiny needles in his gut. He managed to gasp for air, maybe get something understandable to wrest itself from his throat. But he could recognize Ed: big, powerful, hopelessly ignorant Ed, as he now stared back at him wide-eyed.

                “Double D?” he repeated again, struggling for words himself.

                Edd coughed again, his throat dry. “P---please Ed---“ he stammered, his voice ruined. “Help---me up---“

                Without any further question, Ed shifted closer to his friend, and gently pulled him up by his shoulders. He could feel Edd cringe as he was moved, curling further, arms wrapping tighter around his stomach. Slowly, patiently, and with a delicacy that he rarely used, Ed pulled him up so that he could sit against him, as Ed kneeled on the floor.

                Edd bowed his head, eyes now squinted shut to keep his focus. Now, at least, it was easier to breathe, but the pain was still everywhere, tugging at his very consciousness, making him want to vomit. He took a hand away from gripping his stomach to help brace himself against the floor.

                “Double D…” Ed spoke so quietly, that Edd wasn’t even sure he had heard him at first. “What happened?”

                Through everything that was crowding his brain, Edd struggled to reply. He couldn’t get enough air, he couldn’t stop the pain, he felt as if he were on the verge of collapse. More than anything, he couldn’t escape the massive confusion and lingering panic that Eddy’s swift act of violence had left in him. How could he possibly explain to Ed? He had no answers even for himself. He didn’t know. He felt so terribly vulnerable, as if he were alone in the middle of a dodgeball field full of opponents. But Ed’s hands were gently on his shoulders. He twitched and coughed, something disgusting and coppery tasting in his mouth.

                “Double D…” Ed spoke again, realizing something. “You’re bleeding…”

                So that was the taste. Edd’s hand shook as he wiped the side of his mouth, opening his eyes a little wider to see the streak of blood left behind. He really wanted to throw up.

                Slowly, Ed started to stand, trying to pull Edd with him. He frowned as Edd resisted, trying to stay curled, coughing out something which he didn’t quite understand. So Ed bent down again and scooped Edd up, carrying him the short distance over to the couch and laying him down, so that his head was resting against an arm. Ed perched on the couch as well, watching carefully. “Double D.” he tried again. “What happened? Where’s Eddy?”

                The mention of his name sent a wave of fear through Edd again, causing him to shiver. “I--- I don’t know…” he managed. “Home… maybe…”

                “But what happened to you Double D?” Ed asked. “Who did this?”

                Edd closed his eyes as he spoke, and realized that he was fighting back tears. “Eddy… did…”

                “No way.” Ed frowned at him, confused. But Edd nodded back to him sadly, and Ed fell into the shock of surprise himself. “Why…?”

                “I don’t know---“ Edd coughed. “He… was angry… I guess…”

                “At you?” Ed frowned.

                “I… don’t know…” Edd confessed, a few tears leaking out. He quickly wiped them away with his arm, sniffling.

                Ed folded his arms, growing visibly angry himself. “Eddy’s a bad boy, Double D. I’m gonna go over there and teach him a lesson—“

                “No Ed, please, don’t…” Edd leaned up slightly, looking back at him. “It’s… only gonna get worse, if you do…” With a note of relief, he watched as Ed resettled on the couch, still looking at him intently. “Ed… would you… get me some ice, from the refrigerator?”

                “Sure thing Double D…” Ed stood up and shuffled away, out of sight.

                Left to his own devices, with no distractions from  his pain, Edd started to cry silently again. By now, the emotional repercussions loomed far greater than the physical ones. The pain in his stomach was starting to fade, but he was left with so many terrible questions in his mind. Eddy, his best friend, had attacked him. What sort of rational reasoning could account for something like that? Had Eddy really been mad at him? Had he really done something wrong? Should he apologize? Tears of frustration stung at his eyes, blurring his vision. Only faintly did he hear Ed shuffling around in his kitchen.

                “I got the ice Double D!” Ed called to him as he came scuffling back across the floor, sitting heavily on the couch again.

                Edd rolled over slightly onto his back, took the plastic bag full of ice, and settled it gently on his stomach. The cold sent a growing wave of physical relief over him, and he relaxed a little, closing his eyes again. “Thank you Ed…” he sighed.

                Ed blinked and nodded back at him, and snuggled back a little into the couch. There was a lot going on in his fogged-over brain at the moment. “Did he really hurt you, Double D?”

                “I… don’t think he realized… what he was doing, Ed.” Edd shook his head a little. That had to be it. A flash of insanity, a temporary loss of reason. Eddy couldn’t have really meant what he had said and done, could he? The most terrible question that plagued the boy was what happened next. What was he going to do, huddle on the couch and cry all day? What would Mother and Father say, whenever he got to see them next? And what was Eddy going to do? What if he wasn’t crazy after all, if he had really meant it? Shivering again, Edd wiped a little more blood from his mouth and squinted his eyes shut, wishing that this day had never happened.

 

End of Part Two

 

(Yeah I know, ‘twas short, but I can’t have the poor boys suffering too much, can I? Don’t worry, there’s another side to this story, but you’ll have to wait for the next part!)