𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲, ( 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 )

[27] SLEEPING BEAUTY

THREE WEEKS. IT'S BEEN THREE WEEKS. Three weeks since they defeated that clown. Three weeks since Bill has been able to whisper 'I love you' to her. Three weeks since his light went out. Three weeks since he had last been able to kiss her forehead and cheeks and nose and hold her in his arms. Three weeks since he had last spoke to his Sunshine.

It was all so unspoken. Each member of the club too afraid, too shattered to even bring mention of her name. The loss was heavy on each of them, the thought of the bright young girl clouding their minds as the built within them built up and up and up until they were all on the verge of bursting.

It was almost sickening. Every thought they had of her reminded them of how incomplete they felt now. There was a large April shaped gap within their once flourishing group and no matter what, it seemed they'd never recover from it. They all took the loss differently. Richie's voice was stolen from his throat and Beverly began going through packs of cigarettes like candy. It was Bill who took it the worse.

He had lost interest in the things which once helped him cope with Georgie, the sketchpads and journals he frequented were all now abandoned. Tossed to a corner in his room with a layer of dust collecting atop them. His parents didn't bother to reach out to him and in a way, he didn't blame them. It was his fault. Both of them. They're gone because of him and of course, it'd make sense that they didn't bother with him anymore. It was as if loss was following him.

On days where it was exceptionally bad, he'd pray to God that he could forget it all. Somehow forget all the pain and just live cluelessly because he was sick of it. Sick of seeing them in his dreams, terrified of sleeping because he knew they'd appear.

In the past few weeks, he had dark circles form beneath his eyes which were more noticeable than ever. A clear sign of him avoiding sleep. His hair was messy and lips chapped, hands trembled in a way that begged to be held. God, he missed her.

There were so many things he regretted this year. Not going with Georgie, letting her go into Neibolt. So many things which killed him and he wondered if everyone would be better off he was the one who died that October. April wouldn't be... She wouldn't be gone if he had been.

He felt selfish in a way. After everything, he realized that so much of what he said to her, to the Losers, were part of some desperate ploy to satisfy his need for answers about his brother and in the end, it resulted in more tragedy. Not just for him, but for his friends, and her family. The mere thought of his actions made him sick. Part of him would always hate himself for it.

As days turned to weeks, they all finally found it
in themselves to meet up and discuss the horrors which occurred in August. They were met up in the train-yard which they all recalled they walked through when they first met Mike. When they all finally became the complete set of Losers.

They were all sat in the overgrown grass, seven of them. They were fully incomplete and it left a hole in each of their hearts. The sun which shined down on them feeling bleak. The world was so dark without her and they all saw it.

"I can only remember parts, but I thought I was dead, that's what it felt like, I saw us together. We seem older. Maybe, our parents ages..." Attention was on Beverly, explaining what she had saw while under IT's
possession. Her voice was shaky as she looks between each of her friends faces. Somehow, she could still see the faces of their older selves in them. It was odd.

Ben hums, tilting his head with a solemn look. "Was she there?" He asks, voice weak. He was asking the question they all wondered.

There was a silence which filled the air as Beverly looked down at the bracelet on her wrist. The group doing the same. Bill felt his hand tremble as he looks down at it, recalling the sweet smile she had given him the day she offered it to him. God, he never loved anyone more.