Uprooting from Derry and moving to Castle Rock with her mother, Elise Kensington expected to start a normal life in a small town. But then she meets Ace Merrill, and her life takes an unexpected turn.
Chris hurried out onto the front porch with his shoes in hand, ignoring the humid summer air as it bit at his skin, and sat down to put them on. He was not late to meet with Gordie, but he was in a rush to leave the house before Charlie Hogan came to pick his older brother up. Chris was in no mood to deal with either of them today.
Hearing the front door slam, he sighed in irritation and tried to focus on the task at hand, ignoring his brother's looming figure as he waited behind him. Perhaps he would leave him alone.
If my luck were that good.
"Where the hell are you going in such a hurry?" Richard - Or rather 'Eyeball'; it was the nickname his friends called him - asked.
"Out," Chris uttered.
He did not have to tell him anything, but he knew his brother would never leave him alone if he didn't give him an answer.
"I can see that, dunderhead. Where?" Eyeball asked again.
For fuck's sake, why did he care?
"The guys and I are showin' a new girl around town," Chris mentioned, standing. He brushed his medium-length hair behind his ear and spared his brother a curious look.
Eyeball was skeptical. The scar beside his left eye rose with his brow. He watched Chris rush to his bike lying against the house and walk it to the gravel driveway. At fourteen he was not yet able to drive, but he had to admit, Chris got around rather well.
He ran a hand through his curly blond hair, already damp with sweat, and snorted.
"Good luck with that. There ain't no girl gonna hang out with you for long."
Chris ignored him and rode down the driveway. He knew that Eyeball was still sore from the time he and his friends beat him and Ace to Ray Brower's body. And that was two years ago.
He hated Castle Rock and his bully of a brother. If his grades stayed good, Chris knew one day he would escape them both.
He was looking forward to it.
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Around noon, a tired Elise finished helping her mother move boxes into the guest bedroom down the hall from her room. She hummed in annoyance and looked at the clock once more. She was going to be late meeting Gordie and Chris at the rate her mother was going.
"You got somewhere better to be?" Madeline asked.
She noticed the distant look on her daughter's face as she stared at the clock on the wall in the room.
"I met some neighborhood boys yesterday while I was out getting milk and I sort of promised them I'd let them show me around town," Elise answered.
"Already here a day and you have plans with the neighborhood boys," Madeline snorted.
