You knew Eddie Munson was a freak. The whole town would scream it from their rooftops if you let them. But the kind of freak they spoke of was different than what you experienced.

The town called him a freak to cause pain. To break him down and pull the core of his personality to pieces. Too loud. Too weird. Eddie didn't fit into their box of what a perfect young man should be, and they resented it. Sure, it hurt. You'd been the one wiping his tears plenty of times, got into fist fights with the guys who bullied him. But Eddie also possessed a measure of strength that no one you knew could. His head was always held high, his sharp wit always fired up. Your boyfriend was a role model to so many kids, whether he knew it or not.

But there was another side of the freak that only you got to see. The way he liked you making choices for him throughout the day, relinquishing control for a while. Or how Eddie was always begging you to pull his long curls when you brush it, to sit on his chest and just let him lay there and breathe. You weren't daft. You'd sifted through his disaster of a bedroom before when Wayne was away. Under all the mess, he had quite a bit of stuff for you to share.

The minute Wayne left for his night shift, Eddie grabbed the home phone and called you. He'd been like a live wire all day, and he could finally make it better.

"Hey, handsome," Eddie said, a tremble in his voice. "You busy?"