Eddie's words made me feel better and I relaxed, dropping my hand from my mouth back into my lap. I still didn't like hearing that any of the workers thought we didn't know what we were doing, but at least Eddie was annoyed by it, too. It felt like solidarity in a place where it really only needed to be the two of us anyway.

"That's stupid," I said. "You're almost sixteen and you've seen and done more than she has, I bet."

Even if Derry hadn't been an awful, frightening place to live, I had seen Eddie on the Island. I knew how brave he was, how capable. Being a teenager didn't mean he couldn't take care of himself. He'd taken care of me plenty of times, too.