Chapter Text
"Did you take anything?" Was the first question that he actually registered. He had heard someone talking to him for a while now, but his ears wouldn't focus long enough to pick up any actual words. His head snapped up from its slumped position, his head feeling much too strong for his neck, and in front of him was Steve fucking Harrington. Eddie let out a noise that was supposed to be a laugh, but by the time it had escaped his throat, it sounded more like a sad grunt.
"Fuck, man. Okay. Okay, you're okay, you're fine." Steve placed his hands on either side of Eddie's face, holding him in place. "What did you take, Eddie?" He asked, concern ringing out in his voice.
"Don worry bout it..." was all Eddie could muster up. He swallowed down a bit of saliva that came up with his words, silently cursing whatever god that would listen. He had never been found all those times that he'd desperately pleaded with the universe; he had never been found all those times that he'd had to throw Band-Aids over his arms and drive himself to the hospital while blood stained the inside of his favorite shirts. He had never been found. So why did it have to happen now?
Steve was talking again, and he couldn't quite make out any words this time. Just general noise. He groaned, using the very little energy he had left to reach up and shove Steve's hands off his face. It was no use, though, as he really was out of energy, and to be fair, Steve was stronger than him on a good day. He felt a hand on his eyelid, drawing it up as light invaded his sight.
"Fuck. Okay. Alright. C'mon, we have to go." Eddie felt an arm wrap around his torso as there was an attempt to hoist him up onto his feet, but to no one's benefit, Eddie went limp. He collapsed back down to the ground, his back slinking against the cold tile of the bathroom.
"FUCK." Steve exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay... new plan." He opened the door so fast that it slammed off the wall behind it, making Eddie jump back into consciousness. "ROBIN!" He yelled out, and he must've sounded incredibly desperate because before he could even gather what he was going to say next, Robin appeared in front of him. She tried to peer around Steve, who was standing guard in the doorway, but he was body-blocking any real view of what was happening.
"What? What's wrong?" She exclaimed, trying her best to get any glimpse of the hidden sight.
"I need you to go back downstairs and call 911. Tell them there's been an overdose; we don't know on what, and that his left pupil is blown, and he's mostly non-responsive." His words came out steady; he needed Robin to hear him clearly. He needed to stay level-headed.
"Jesus. FUCK. Okay." She turned on her heels, running down the stairs faster than she had climbed them a second ago. Steve felt guilt climb up his throat as he choked back a sob. He needed to stay calm; he had to. He didn't get to feel guilty for something that was partially his fault. He thought back to the conversation they had had earlier that night and tried to pinpoint any warning signs. It was his night to watch Eddie, but it had been months of this. And Eddie was doing better, at least he seemed to be. He thought it was fine. Robin needed help getting ready for her date, and so he left Eddie for an hour at most.
He was broken out of his train of thought by thumping on the floor behind him. He turned around and nearly collapsed at the sight that was unfolding. Eddie had gone stiff, his legs straight as a board, and he drool was forming at the corners of his mouth.
"No, no, no, no, no, please, God, no." He hurried to his knees, taking Eddie's head in his hands once more. He felt his jaw clench shut under his grasp as he guided him down onto his side. Steve knew very little first aid, but he tried to recall back to the class he took for lifeguarding one summer. He laid Eddie's head in his lap as he started to spasm, his legs kicking the bottom of the sink.
"You're okay, you're fine, we're gonna get you some help, yeah?" The salty taste of tears hit his lips as he spoke softly to the boy seizing in his arms. "ROBIN, I NEED AN UPDATE." He called, rocking himself slowly as he pushed Eddie's hair out of his face. He watched helplessly as the seizure progressed, saliva becoming foam pouring out of his mouth, his jaw clenching so tight that it made Steve's own jaw hurt in sympathy.
“Ambulance is on rou-WOAH, okay, um. Okay.” Robin hurried into the room, freezing in the doorway at the horrific sight taking place in front of her. She shook her head quickly, crouching down next to the two boys. She took hold of Eddies legs and firmly moved them away from where they were hitting incessantly against the porcelain. \
There was silence, then. But it was far from peaceful. Robin counted quietly in his head each second that passed until Eddies movements started to slow. After 426 seconds, the jerking became less eratic, his entire body going limp.
“Eddie. Come on man, come on. You’re fine, you have to be, please.” Steve pleaded, and he wasn’t sure why he tried because he knew Eddie couldn’t hear him. He turned his neck to the side, leaning down and placing his ear to his chest. Robin waited patiently for an answer to the unasked question.
“I-I… There’s no-” Steve stammered as he met Robins eyes as she pushed him out of the way, placing her hands on Eddie’s chest.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry dude.” She bit the inside of her cheek as she placed her hands flat, pumping them down in a rhythmic fashion.
“1, 2, 3, 4- Steve, when I get to 30, I’m going to stop. When I do this, you’re going to squeeze his nose and blow twice into his mouth for a second, then stop for a second, then one more breath. 16, 17, 18…” Steve froze, staring down at the near lifeless body laying in his lap. He nodded quickly, assuming position.
When Robin got to 30, she stopped the compressions, and Steve felt like he was moving in slow motion. He leaned down, and placed his fingers on Eddie’s nose, squeezing it shut before sealing their mouths. He could hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears, and all he could think about was how Eddie’s wasn’t fucking beating. He blew hard before pulling back and watching for any signs of a difference before going in for the second breath.
Nothing.
Robin sighed loudly. “Please, for the love of God. Please.” She started compressions again, harder this time. Steve sat and watched, cringing loudly as he heard a crack underneath her hands.
“You just-Robin, you-“ He couldn’t form a sentence, his words came out jumbled and too loud and accusatory.
“Yeah, I know. Do you want him to wake up or not?” Robin bit back, fear looming in her eyes as she continued to count.
When she reached 30, Steve leaned down again to give another breath, but was interrupted by the sound of heavy boots stomping up the stairs. He had been so focused on the sound of Eddies ribs breaking, he hadn’t even heard the sirens filling the suburban neighbourhood.
“Okay, we’ve got it from here. You guys can step out, we just have a few general questions.” Bodies filled the small bathroom as Robin stood up out of the straddle she had over Eddie’s body. Steve didn’t move.
“Come on, kid. We’ve got him.” An unfamiliar voice rang out, but Steve’s world was spinning and he couldn’t move. He couldn’t get up. He couldn’t leave Eddie. “We can’t treat him if you’re in the way, okay? You’ve done a good job, but you need to let us take over.” Someone knelt down next to the two boys, and Steve met her eyes, nodding slowly.
Another paramedic slowly lifted Eddies head off of Steves lap as the nice woman took his hands, guiding him up off the floor.
“Good, you got it, just wait outside the door, okay? We’re gonna get him all secure and then bring him to the hospital.” She smiled as Steve walked out of the bathroom, his pant leg soaked with foamy saliva and his lips still tasting like Eddie’s. He took two steps out of the room before Robin caught him. His legs gave way underneath him as he came crashing down to the floor, shaky breaths growing unsteady as he groaned loudly.
“No, no, no, no, no” He repeated to himself as Robin fell to the ground with him, pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Shhh, it’s okay, they’ve got him. It’s okay, Stevie.” She tried her best to soothe him, holding his face firmly in the crook of her shoulder. All Steve could hear was noise. The scattered word making its way through the chaos filling his big, empty house.
A paramedic appeared beside them, sitting down on the floor next to the two teens.
“I know this is hard, but we have a few questions that could really help us treat him better if you could try and answer, okay?” Robin pulled back as Steve gripped the back of her shirt, pulling her back into an embrace, scared that if he let her go, he’d lose her too. The paramedic nodded. “It’s okay, you can stay there. Just try and answer the best you can.”
Questions came slowly, methodically as the paramedic scribbled down the answers on a notepad. Robin answered most of them, and Steve felt useless.
“How old is he?”
“Seventeen”
“Any medical history that you know of?
“Nothing physical, but he has PTSD, and depression, I think.”
“Has anything like this happened before?”
“Yes, but never this bad.”
“Was he alone when you found him?”
“Yes, we only left for about an hour, he was fine when we left.”
“Did you happen to time the seizure?”
“Yes, 426 seconds until the seizing stopped completely.”
“Do you have any idea what he took?”
“No-“ Robin started her sentence but Steve cut her off.
“I had my ADHD meds in the cabinet.” His voice was soft, cracking over his words. “I haven’t checked if they’re still there, but that’s the only medication in the house. So, unless he brought his own-“ His rambling was stopped by another question.
“What’s the name of the medication?” Her voice became less soft, firmer than the other questions.
“Uh- um…” He tried to recall the name the pharmacy had given him. “Concerta, I think.” He nodded to himself, his eyes scanning the chaos unfolding around him as the paramedic stood up.
“How many were in the bottle, and what’s your dosage? Doesn’t need to be exact.” She asked quickly, her voice much more dire now. It made Steve’s heart drop. His meds were used, at his house, while he was supposed to be watching Eddie. He gulped down a sob that crept up on him.
“About half a bottle, I’d say maybe 15 pills? I take 32mg a day.” He tried to steady his voice, trying desperately to calm himself down enough to stand alongside Robin as she rose from her position.
“Good, thank you.” The paramedic gave a strained smile before rushing into the bathroom. Steve could hear the information being relayed around the chatter of the others talking over each other. Calling out commands and some muttered comments about how dumb Eddie was for doing this to himself.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from downstairs. “HARRINGTON?” It was firm, but not angry. Steve knew this voice, and a wave of relief washed over him as Jim Hopper appeared next to him.
“Hey, kid. Hey, can you stand?” He slithered his arm underneath Steve’s and hoisted him up onto his feet. Steve’s legs wobbled, but he maintained his balance.
“I-I’m sorry.” Steve choked out, his hand raising to cover his mouth.
“Listen to me. You did great. If you hadn’t found him, who knows what would have happened. You can’t blame yourself.” His voice was stern, and Steve whined softly as the word blame came up.
“I was supposed to be watching him, it was my turn, and I left, only for an hour, but I did. I shouldn’t have- I don’t know why I-“ He stuttered over his words as Hopper placed his hand on the back of Steve’s neck. He pulled him into a hug, making an effort to hide Steve’s face in his arm as the paramedics lifted Eddie out of the room on a makeshift stretcher.
“What do you mean ‘your turn’? What have you guys-“ Hopper paused. “You kids have been taking turns taking care of him?” He asked, mostly to himself and he didn’t wait for an answer.
“Jesus Christ, you should’ve asked for help. We could’ve gotten him into therapy, into a doctor-“ He paused once more, and quickly decided that Steve didn’t need a lecture right now, he could have this talk later. Right now, Eddie was being carried out as someone forced air down his lungs with a bag, and Steve was coming undone.
“Come on, I’ll drive you to the hospital.” He let go of Steve’s neck, but the boy didn’t move. Instead, he gripped the back of Hoppers shirt, trembling as he cried out into his chest.
“Okay, we’ll stay here for a minute. Would that help?” He asked, running his hands through Steve’s hair. Steve pushed back, then. Fists barreling towards Hoppers chest, making Jim take a step back trying to gain his balance. “Woah there tiger.” His voice remained steady, but firm.
“What. The. Fuck.” Steve spat out, pushing Hop backwards once more. Jim sighed, grabbing hold of Steve’s wrists as another blow came his way.
“Hey. HEY.” His voice raised as Steve resisted, grunting and trying to rid his arms of the grasp. “Listen to me, Eddie is on the way to the hospital. Robin left with him in the ambulance. Do you want to go see him, or not?” He tilted his head, trying to catch Steve’s eyes in his own. Steve grit his teeth before letting his arms fall down to his sides as Hop released them.
“Good, now get in the damn car.” He waited for Steve to walk down the stairs, staying close behind in the event that his legs give out again.