In the Grasp Of the Enemy W/Icystorm

Eddie shuffled closer to Seth so she was standing next to him and could hear his family if they were put on speaker phone. She leaned forward on her crutches trying to get into a comfortable position which was hard since she wasn't used to the crutches yet.

It was comforting to know she had someone to call, but when she was in her worse moods she could never bring herself to call anyone or ask for help. It was a struggle to admit she needed help, being a combat medic she'd been the helper and hated to admit she was weak. Being strong had been important to her growing up and she hated to admit she wasn't as strong anymore or at least she felt weaker.

"Yeah you can call them now...just put them on speaker so we both can hear them." she told Seth softly trying to shake the thoughts of what was going on in her head.
 
Staring at the phone, Seth found the button that would put his family on speaker, dialed the number, then hit the speaker button. The ringing could suddenly be heard without having the phone next to his ear, and he made sure to hold it between he and Eddie so they could both speak when they wanted to. Secretly he hoped that she would do most of the talking, but his family would no doubt make that impossible.

A familiar voice answered the phone. "Hello?"

Seth found himself staring at the ground instead of the phone, guilty that he had not been in contact with his family, especially his brother who had gotten close to him. "Hey. Eddie and I wanted to call and see how you are doing. You guys celebrating the holiday?" He looked back up, his eyes landing on the female next to him.

"Eddie is there? Can I say hi to her? How is she? I miss being with you guys and wish I could come see you. We are having a big meal later, but it seems pointless celebrating a holiday called Thanksgiving when you guys aren't here." Adrian stopped speaking since his voice started to hold a tone of sadness.
 
"Hi, Adrian." Eddie greeted after Adrian was done speaking. She felt kind of bad that Adrian was lonely neither her nor obviously Seth had made an effort to reach out to Adrian when he got to America. Even though they weren't her family Eddie did feel responsible for Seth's family, they were new to America hopefully they were doing ok. She also felt guilty for not reaching out or even sending a post card, she'd been so caught up at the hospital in recovery and trying to figure out what was wrong she hadn't even thought of contacting Adrian. How could she have been so self-fish?

Eddie adjusted herself on her crutches slightly almost falling into Seth, but keeping her balance. She hated how off balance and un-coordinated she was right now. Her physical and occupational therapists said she was doing well, but the progress was too slow for Eddie's liking and she hated it.

"Sorry we're not there, buddy. Maybe we can see each other sometime next month or later this month?" she suggested. Honestly Eddie didn't remember where Seth's family had been placed so she wasn't sure if they could see each other,

"And if that doesn't work we can call or something..." she added trying to make up for not contacting them at all in the last few months. She paused and looked at Seth wondering what to say, phone conversations were weird they never seemed to flow smoothly for her,

"So Adrian, how's America been so far?" Eddie asked trying to push aside how tired, depressed, and frustrated with life she felt to talk to Seth's little brother.
 
"I'd like that a lot. I'm in New Jersey, but I looked it up and it is only a few hours drive to get to where you are if you are still in Maryland." Adrian had only talked to his brother a couple of times, and that had been over a month ago. He couldn't imagine what the two of them had been up to, but he figured Seth and Eddie were as busy as his family was, but now everything was starting to slow down.

"America has been ok so far." He was sure it would get better, he just needed to give it more of a chance. "I'm suppose to be able start school soon. Mom has barely let me out of her sight since we got here, but she finally let me go out by myself a few days ago. I met some of the kids who go to school around here. They were ok..I guess." At least one was ok. The other wasn't the nicest individual. "I miss my friends back home." He missed a lot from his home back in Russia. But it wasn't really his home anymore, was it?

Seth had been keeping a close eye on Eddie in case she nearly fell again, but he bit his lip after Adrian spoke. He felt like this was all his fault. Although, his parents had been planning on moving to America. He just sped up the process. But if he hadn't run away as a child, there wouldn't have been a process to speed up because they would have already been in this country.

He brought a hand into his hair, and instead of sliding all the way through, his fingers stopped at the top of his head. "Adrian. Прости." He felt terrible, for how he acted in his past and how he was still acting.

"For what?"

"Everything."

Adrian grew silent, and after a minute had passed he finally spoke up again, having realized they were on speaker phone. "How are you doing, Eddie?" He had heard about her leg, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose one.
 
Eddie stared at the ground as she listened to the brothers talk. She almost left feeling like they should have their privacy, but then Adrian said something to her so she stayed put only making tiny adjustments to find a more comfortable standing position.

"I'm doing fine, Adrian, thanks for asking." Eddie responded feeling guilty about alf way lying to him. Her PT and OT said she was doing great and physically she probably was despite her frustration and set-backs, but mentally she felt like she was all screwed up.

"Hey since you're only a few hours away you could come see us over a weekend sometime or over winter break. No skipping school though, kid, even if it gets boring." she suggested. Eddie suspected school would get boring for Adrian very quickly unless he took all AP classes maybe even community college, he seemed like a smart kid.

Her twin, Tom, was also extremely intelligent and had always been bored in school though he'd made some poor descions and instead of taking harder. He probably could've gotten a scholarship straight out of highschool, but his current girlfriend had told him she was pregnant so Tom had started working to help save up for the baby. Sadly his girlfriend ended up miscarrying an dthen broke up with him. tom hadn't really cared about anything after tat for a while, but now he was getting back on track trying to get a scholarship, go to college, and the join the Army.

Eddie glanced inside, the family was serving dessert, but she wasn't hungry. She bit her lip trying to think of what to say,

"Are you trying to get your lisence? So you can drive?" she asked.
 
Hearing that Eddie was doing fine lifted Adrian's mood a bit, and it was lifted a little bit more when she spoke again, this time about him visiting. He would really like to come see them, and to spend a whole weekend would be nice. Or even some of winter break. It was something he would have to talk to his parents about and convince them to either let him go by himself or come along.

He almost told her he would not dream of skipping school, but that wasn't totally true, and everyone knew it. Although, at this point in time he would never skip, it was going to be hard enough just getting settled into a new school. That didn't even include trying to make friends, which he would hopefully be able to do quickly.

"I haven't thought about it yet since everything has been so busy. I should start trying to drive soon. I've never even touched a car." He had watched people drive, but the biggest thing was going to be distance and speed. The two countries didn't use the same system so he was going to have to completely relearn some things.

"Did you want me to put mom or dad on the phone?" He liked talking with them, but he didn't want to feel like a phone hog, especially with it being a holiday. It only made sense that Eddie would be celebrating with her family, but then did that mean Seth was with her instead of his own family? That thought was painful.

Seth looked at Eddie, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah, but only if you want and if Eddie doesn't have anything else to add." He already wanted to be off the phone. He hated the negative emotions that came over him, all the hatred for what he had done in the past.
 
"You'll get the hang of it, it isn't hard." Eddie reassured Adrian. She glanced up at Seth when his parents were mentioned to see how he felt about it. He seemed to be in a worsening mood and she sensed he didn't really want to talk to his parents even though he said it was fine.

"Um yeah sure, you can put them on." Eddie answered. She shifted again not able to get comfortable. Eddie preferred her wheelchair, she could get around much faster in it and it just felt less awkward. The crutches were a constant struggle for her because she was slow, uncoordinated, and had a hard time balancing right. She kept being told she would get better, but it still was very hard.

Eddie hunched her shoulders up as a cold breeze started to pick up. Hopefully Seth's parents didn't talk for too long, she honestly didn't know what to say to them. His mom had helped them escape which was nice, but she didn't know them at all and felt a little uncomfortable.
 
While he waited for Adrian to put his parents on the phone, Seth scooted closer to Eddie so their sides were lightly pressed up against each other. He told himself it was to help keep her steady and give her his body for support, but he was also needing a bit of comfort from a friend. He had barely talked to his father, and he knew he wasn't a son anyone could be proud of.

A sound came through over the phone, like a hand brushing across the speaker, then a voice spoke. "Seth? Eddie?"

"Hi mom." He hoped that the unhappiness he felt wasn't evident in his voice. It surprised him when he heard another voice say hello, and he realized his parents were on speaker phone. "Hi dad. How are the two of you doing?"

"I've been busy with work, and your mom has been helping us all get settled into the house. It is nice to finally be in America, and I hope we can see each other soon. I miss you, son."

Seth opened and closed his mouth, eye darted away from the phone. He wasn't sure what to say, so he changed the subject in a way. "Yeah, you have to meet Eddie also."

"I look forward to meeting the famous Eddie. Adrian can't stop talking about her." There was a pause before his dad spoke up again. "I think he might have a crush on her. I'd keep an eye on him, don't want him stealing your girl."

"We aren't dating."

"Why not? If you ever plan on chaining yourself down, you might as well be chained down to a good one."

"Michael!"

"What? I'm just giving our son a little fatherly advice. If this girl is as good looking as Adrian made her sound, I feel our boy should grab her and-"

"Seth is on speaker phone with Eddie."

With how fast his mother cut off his father and the oh crap 'oooh' his father gave after, Seth wasn't sure he wanted to know what his father had been about to say. But he took the moment to look over at Eddie. He had only ever thought of her as a friend.

"Eddie, I'm sorry dear. Please forgive my husband. He tends not to think when he is in this happy of a mood."
 
Eddie felt her face turn pink as Seth's father talked about her. She ducked her head and bit lip as she tried not to laugh at what he was saying. She just smiled though and allowed herself to relax against Seth a bit to warm up and and balance better. He let out a half chuckle half snicker when Seth's mom cut her husband off.

"It's OK, ma'am, I grew up with 11 brothers I've heard a lot." Eddie reassured not wanting Seth's mom to feel bad. She hoped she'd get to meet Seth's family soon though it did make her nervous. She didn't want his father to bring up getting hitched or even being in a relationship. Seth didn't seem like the kind of guy to get in a relationship and he didn't seem interested in her either. Eddie liked Seth a lot, but didn't feel like it was reciprocated and didn't want Seth to feel pressured about anything.

Visiting would have to be on Seth's work schedule too which could be a problem, the job probably didn't have a lot of vacation time. She could rive them up though, she had an old green pick up. it was automatic transmission so she could drive it without her left leg. She needed to talk with her dad see where he put the truck. If it was in Texas with him that would be hard to get at, but Eddie thought he may have put it here in Miroslav's garage or something.

Eddie remained quiet after reassuring Seth's mom, not wanting to take over his conversation with his parents.
 
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Seth ended up looking at Eddie a few seconds more than he planned. While he didn't think of her as anyone but a friend, she wasn't bad looking, and she had a great personality. She still wanted to be around him, even though she didn't need to be. It was nice, and maybe at one point he would have liked her, but he had pushed all those feelings aside. They were buried deep. It would only hurt to dig up that part of him.

"Oh my. I don't know how you managed to grow up with all those brothers, but I suppose I can go easier on my husband when it comes time to having a talk." Michael playfully grumbled something that could not be understood over the phone and Nadine laughed, the sound only lasting a a second. "I want to continue talking with the two of you, but I have food cooking. I promise that we will come see the two of you as soon as we can. Seth, your father and I love you."

Seth opened his mouth, uncertainty crossing his face. "I.." His voice trailed off, and before he knew what he was doing, he hung up the phone. Guilt etched across his features as he stared at the darkening screen. That had been horrible of him to do, but he hadn't wanted to say those words back. He would be ok with never even thinking of those words again. They hurt, but that wasn't enough to take away the wrong of what he had done.

Sighing, he managed to look up at Eddie after pocketing the phone. His eyes managed to stay on her face for a few seconds before he had to look away. "We should go inside." He didn't want her family to start worrying.
 
Eddie listened to Seth's parents sign off and glanced at him taking note of how he didn't return the 'I love you'. It seemed odd, but he did mention he'd run away in the past. There was probably something she didn't know though so she tried not to judge. She nodded when Seth suggested they should go inside. It was getting a lot colder out and the wind was picking up.
Eddie hobbled inside, dessert had been served and clean up had started.

Emil and a few other boys were moving the furniture around so that everyone could not only talk, but also things were pushed aside for sleeping that night. Mickey was rolling around the house and to the car in his wheelchair collecting pillows and blankets for tonight. It was a lot louder in here with all the business and Eddie felt more nervous than she was outside. She decided to help Mickey and followed him out to the car. She sat in the back and started to unload stuff and hand it too him. It was quieter out here, much easier for her to handle then all the noise inside.
 
Seth followed Eddie inside the house, noting the chaos that had begun while they had been outside. At least to him it felt like chaos. There were far too many people hanging around one area for his liking, but he didn't get a say in any of this so he would just have to suck it up and deal with it. There wasn't much else he could do besides that unless he wanted to make a bad impression, or more accurately, a worse one than he had already giving.

As he continued to look around, he realized they were getting the room ready for the night, and too late did he notice Eddie had left his side. He saw a last trace of her as she left to go outside. Now he was alone in a house full of strangers, and he could not think of a time he had ever felt more uncomfortable. Deciding to do what he told himself he would do, he sucked it up and decided to see if there was anyone he could help out. Tom was someone he would rather avoid talking with for the time being, so he approached Emil. "Is there anything I can help with?" He put on a friendly smile, or at least he hoped it looked friendly.
 
"Not here, nah. You can ask Mir." Emil responded as he grabbed pillows from Mickey and threw them on the floor and couches,
"Go get the blankets, bud." he told his younger brother who turned and wheeled back out. Mir walked over too Seth holding a broom and dust pan,

"Dude, you mind sweeping up the dinning room?" he asked handing the cleaning tools to Seth. The Kovac family were all hard workers and were never shy about having their guests or friends who came over help out. Theye xpected if you ate with them you would be part of the making and/or clean up of the meal. It was just how they worked.

"I'll get some clothes for Seth and Eddie." Tom said as he rushed up the stairs to fetch some stuff. As the clean up finished Tom came back down with two piles of clothes. He dropped one pile with a set of pink and white striped boxers, a white t-shirt, and a pair of gray ratty sweat pants onto the couch,

"You're clothes are here, Seth." he called out his voice was not friendly, but not hostile either.

Eddie came in and rolled over to Seth,

"I'm going to claim us a place on the ground. We're probably going to play games or watch movies or something, but if we want a good spot we need to get it now before all the other hooligans do." she explained softly before going back to the living room. Tom handed her a pile of clothes, which she tucked under her arm, and told her where Seth's were. She started to scout out the livingroom for a good out of the way spot that she and Seth could use to sleep.
 
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Seth took the broom and dustpan from Mir, thankful for something to do and even more thankful to get out of the living room for a short time. As he walked into the dining room, he heard Tom say he was going to grab he and Eddie some clothes. His thoughts from earlier hadn't changed -he didn't need a change of clothes- but he wasn't about to be rude, especially with all that was going on and wanting to prove he was good.

He got to work sweeping the room. It had been a long time since he had done any chores, even as a child he refused most of the time, but he did his best. It helped that it was a fairly simple task. Once he was done, he made his way back to entrance to living room in time to hear and see where Tom placed the clothes for him. He wanted to tell the guy thank you, but Eddie spoke to him before he could.

"Alright." The first thing he did was pick up the clothes Tom had gotten for him, then he went and found Mir, smiling softly and holding out the broom and dustpan. "I'm not sure where these go. I hope I did an ok job." He planned on finding Eddie once he was rid of the cleaning supplies. He wasn't feeling too excited about the games or movies, neither of which he had done since childhood. In that type of free time, he always chose to sleep, so not falling asleep on the family was going to be a difficult task.
 
Mir took the cleaning tools from Seth,

"I got it, dude. Yeah ya did a good job." he reassured putting the broom and dustpan away. Even with what Tom had told them a few of the brothers, Mir included, were a little more open to Seth's presence than the others were. It didn't mean they were particularly happy about it, but they weren't as cold and off putting.

Eddie went into living room hobbled around looking at the spaces available. She finally picked one near the back door in case either of them needed fresh air. It was a bit far from the bathroom, but Eddie didn't mind. She leaned on one crutch carefully and after dropping her pile of clothes onto the couch she grabbed a blanket off the couch and tossed it on the ground. Repeating the process she got two pillows and a nother blanket onto the ground. Eddie lowered herself down sitting against the wall. She spread each blanket out and folded it length-wise so they would each have half the blanket under neath and half on top. Then she put pillows at the top of each. She used her hands to scoot herself on the floor and grabbed both piles of clothes putting them on the 'beds' she made. Her bed was the one closest to the wall.
 
It felt nice knowing that some of the brothers were making at least somewhat of an effort to be friendlier towards him. The compliment was enough to turn his smile into something more genuine as he turned around to go and fine Eddie. If he could make friends with some of the brothers then it might be easier to get the rest to accept him. Things were now starting to look up, if only slightly.

He found her sitting on the floor next to two newly made 'beds', approving greatly of the space she chose for them. It was right next to the door in case either of them wanted to go outside. Normally he slept all night, but in a house with this many people there was no guarantee that would happen tonight, being used to sleeping alone and all, with the exception of having Eddie near. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

"You have been busy." He smiled down at her before taking a seat on the floor. He was already ready for bed, but first he had to make it through whatever the family decided to do.
 
"Yeah...I hope it's OK, if you don't like the spot we can move...or you can move if you want" Eddie responded. She was worried Seth would want to sleep somewhere else and not near her and didn't want to force it on him which is why she offered the chance for him to move. She actually worried about sleeping in a public room in general. She had had terrible nightmares recently and even though she didn't scream normally she was still terrified of disturbing people and them possibly finding out what was going on in her head.

Eddie ran her hand through her hair and looked at her family. Some of her brothers were setting up Settlers of Cataan, some had turned the TV and put some movies in, a few more games were out. Mickey was propped against the couch getting ready to play Uno with her dad, and Luka. Eddie looked around, but didn't move to join any of the games though. She didn't want to, and was honestly tired from interacting with people today. All Eddie wanted to do was lie downa nd get some rest, but she couldn't right now with all that was going on right now.
 
Seth took another glance around at the area she had created for then and then moved his smile back over to her. "It is good with me. I like the spot you have chosen." He couldn't help but give the door a quick look. A means of escape was nice, especially if things got too hectic or if sleep would not come, then he could easily go and take a walk around. The thought of fresh air was already tempting him, but he stayed where he was, not wanting to leave Eddie or make a bad impression.

Looking away from the door, he scanned the room to see what everyone else was up to. He did not recognize the movie, and the only game he sort of knew was Uno, although he had never played it himself. "If there is something you want to do I will join you. Or we can sit here and talk or just sit in silence. I'm good with anything." He would be even better with sleep. It would be so easy to lay down and close his eyes. It would be easier than interacting with people, but he tried his hardest to keep him mind open. Maybe he would enjoy doing something he had never done.
 
It'd been a couple weeks since Thanksgiving. Eddie's mood had gone down hill, the stress of the holidays added with her already struggling mental health was taking a toll on her. Everyday seemed like a battle between being angry and frustrated, sad, or just not caring anymore. Between her very slow progress and thinking about spending Christmas either in a loud house or cramped in a hospital her mood was very bad that evening. She'd gone out to the gardens to wheel around and try to let the fresh air cheer her up before Seth came to see her. He would normally come and have dinner with her after work, sometimes it was a veyr late dinner, but since she didn't sleep much anyway she was always awake.

Eddie sighed and let her chair rest near a bench, the trees were dead because it was winter and she was just in jeans, a t-shirt and sweatshirt so she was rather cold, but didn't want to go in yet. She blew on her hands and stared at the frosty ground. Eddie hated it here and didn't care about bing 'rehabilitated' anymore, she just wanted to leave. Running her hands through her short hair she turned her wheelchair back and rolle dherself in, maybe eating dinner with Seth would cheer her up.
 
While Eddie's mood had become noticeably worse, Seth's had gotten better since starting work. It took him the first week to get the hang of everything, and while he was still getting used to some things, he had a fairly good grasp on what he was suppose to be doing. He had no doubts that it helped that his boss liked him. When he was at work, he had a gentle and somewhat shy attitude and also a willingness to learn. The few times he got to be around the kids, he was friendly and carefree, letting them climb all over him if they wished and answering any questions they had in a playful manner. He was far different than the person he used to be, and some days he missed his old confidence.

He was now getting off of work, and it was thankfully one of the earlier days. There had been a few where he worked late, not getting off until the sun was gone and the moon was lighting the earth. Those days he had to skip out eating dinner with Eddie, but most of the time he made it on time. Today he was grateful to be off early since he had something to do, and that was to talk with Eddie about her mood. He wanted to find out what was all going on with her, and hopefully find a way to make things better. It didn't seem fair that he was fairly happy and she wasn't.

Reaching the hospital, he made his way to the cafeteria. It was easier for the two of them to meet outside the cafeteria, so they had taken to doing that the past week and hanging out in her room after if there was time. Stopping in the hall, while he waited for Eddie to show up, he tried to decide on when the best time to bring up the topic would be.
 
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