Eddie couldn’t blame Hopper for being surprised at by the respect - because truly, who would have expected that he’d be the one to show it? It it just felt like the best way to go about all this, though. The right way. Even if he didn’t need the man’s help, even if he had never been personally clued in to the Upside Down and all that sprung from it - it’s not like he would have been indifferent to Hopper’s survival.
The chief wasn’t stupid - if he wanted to, he could have sent him away to with Reefer Rick. Maybe he felt bad for him, being Al Munson’s son and everything… or maybe he thought he could still turn his life around. Regardless? All Eddie had ever gotten from the Hawkins PD (much to Callahan’s chagrin) was a slap on the wrist.
So, yeah, not that he would have admitted it before now - but. Despite the disregard for authority, he didn’t completely disregard the particular authority figure before him. Mike’s little girlfriend, El (or Jane, he still wasn’t sure which she preferred) had mentioned something about the Soviets. That the mall fire had been a result of them trying to make their own gate in Hawkins (along with the antics of a Mindflayer?) - and that while they thought Hopper had perished, he was really taken prisoner. Apparently Jonathan Byer’s mom went over there to bust him out of a gulag, only to find out he had kinda busted himself out already?
Sure, why not? It wasn’t the most out there thing he had heard in all of this, not by a long shot. There had been a sort of unspoken heads up, though - that Jim himself had been through a lot. Both mentally and physically. It was yet another factor in why Eddie didn’t want to cause him any grief, but… was that condescending? Would ignoring the winces be condescending, or telling him to take it easy while he worked? They all knew how strong the guy was, how strong he had to be - to endure whatever he endured. Right?
It wasn’t any of Eddie’s business what that entailed through, and he had no intentions of touching that subject. Any speculation he had was brushed aside by Jim’s inquiry as to his own trauma. “I mean, I don’t want want to dump it all on you…”
I don’t want to have to go through it all again, rather. Still. Maybe talking would help?
“It all sort of snowballed. Chrissy Cunningham, the first person Vecna… or Creel… or whatever we’re calling the guy attacked. She, uh, had been going through a tough time. I mean, I’m guessing they told you they all were - but… she came to me for help.”
What kind of help? He didn’t need to say. Again, Hopper wasn’t stupid.
“I left her alone for only a few minutes, and when I came back she just… was catatonic. Unresponsive, eyes all gazed over. She floated up against the ceiling, her bones started snapping, and her eyes…”
Eddie gave his own wince, weighing the hammer in his hands before turning his attention to the lumber. “It happened in my trailer, so of course people thought it was me. The way I look, act… the fact I ran… didn’t help. The second attack was a friend of Nancy Wheeler’s, I didn’t see that one. She apparently was talking to my Uncle, before the Feds moved him. I still haven’t seen him since all of this. I was, uh, hiding out at Rick Lipton’s place. Chrissy’s boyfriend Jason started a little vigilante manhunt for me, they found me… his friend Patrick. Was the second attack, out on the lake. After that, Powell had no real choice but to go on the news and name me a person of interest. I mean, I don’t blame him, I know he’s just doing his job, but. Yeah. My life’s pretty much over now. Even if he believes I’m innocent, Carver took over a town meeting and sort of rallied more people to join his angry mom. They broke my buddy Gareth’s fingers, threatened to break Erica Sinclair’s sister’s arms. Now after the quake, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s even worse. If they make Carver out to be some kind of martyr, blame all this on devil worship.”
