Eddie's hanging there, above Richie, impaled through the chest by one of IT's arms, and he looks so scared. He'd been so proud only moments earlier, and now here he was, fear taking over his whole face.
He was dying, Richie knew that, he knew Eddie was going to die if they didn't get him out of here. So he begs and pleads with the others, but they don't let him go. They just continue to fight the demon as Richie sits with Eddie, holding his jacket onto the gaping hole in the man's chest.
"I know you don't want to be down here with a wound like that." Richie says after enduring the worlds most awfully timed 'your mom' joke from Eddie.
"I'm gonna die, Rich, there's no point beating around the bush." Eddie states and Richie feels his eyes fill with tears." Hey come on, don't cry."
"Sorry." Richie says, voice trembling.
"Can you promise me something?" Eddie asks. Richie nods and looks up at him." Please don't leave me down here."
"I promise." Richie responds.
He screams as Ben and Bill drag him away from Eddie's dead body. IT may have been defeated but Richie doesn't want to celebrate, not when the love of his life is still here when he'd promised to take him out. He wanted to be out of here. Richie had promised.
"EDDIE!" Richie screams, tears streaming down his face. He needed to get back to him. If they wasn't going to let him take Eddie out of the cistern, then he was going to die with him." EDDIE!"
"Fuck." Richie breathes out as he shudders awake, the room dark, blurry and out of focus. His chest is aching with what he knows is an oncoming panic attack and he throws on his glasses with shaky hands. It's 6am. They'd been asleep for almost 24 hours.
He tries to sit and control his breathing, but the panic gets the better of him, and instead he's sat hyperventilating on the bed, crying his eyes out. His nose starts to bleed, just like it had done in the deadlights and he can't move to stop it. He's frozen to the bed.
"Richie?" Eddie asks, turning a lamp on and turning to the comedian, who's sobbing beside him." Hey, what happened? It's okay."
Richie tries to say something, but the panic doesn't allow him. He can't remember any of the techniques his therapist taught him to try and control his breathing, his mind is only focussed on one thing. Eddie's dead.
"Rich? It's okay." Eddie says and he moves to sit infront of the comedian." Look at me." Richie does." It's okay. What happened?"
Richie just shakes his head and sobs. Eddie looks a little unsure of what to do so, he grabs a tissue and holds it on Richie's nose to stem the bleeding before attempting his version of breathing exercises.
"Just look at me, it's fine. Everything's fine. You're in the townhouse. In your room. And I'm here." He says as Richie's breathing begins to level out.
"A-are you real?" Richie asks and Eddie pulls a face at the question, a bit confused to why he's asking.
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" He asks in response. Instead of replying, Richie leans forward and hugs him." Careful of your nose!"
"I had a nightmare." Richie breathes out. Eddie wraps his arms around him." I...I need to leave this place. I can't stay here. I'm going mad!"
"Let's calm down, okay?" Eddie says, rubbing Richie's back." We'll get dressed, see the others and then we can all go for some breakfast to talk and see when we're all gonna leave."
"I need to leave now!" Richie states, moving out of the hug and going over to his duffel bag.
"Rich, we all need to talk, as a group." Eddie says, watching as the man frantically repacks for the third time." Richie, please calm down."
"I need to go home." Is all the comedian says. Eddie stands up and goes over to him, grabbing his hand and saying," please calm down. We can talk with the others over breakfast and you can be gone by this afternoon. We just need to talk through some things, okay? Because I don't think I can bare the thought of leaving and not remembering you again. We need to know if we're going to remember eachother this time! I don't want to forget you again, Richie, I can't!"
Richie stops packing and sits down on the edge of the bed, Eddie sitting down next to him, still holding his hand. The comedians crying again and Eddie doesn't know what his dream had been about, only that it must've been bad to cause this reaction out of the man.
"Would you like some water?" Eddie asks. Richie shakes his head." Tea? Coffee?"
"No I'm okay." Richie responds, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand." I'm sorry for waking you up like this."
"We've been sleeping for a whole day I think we needed to wake up." Eddie says with a slight chuckle, but Richie's pale and doesn't look in the mood for a joke. Which is odd." Are you feeling okay? You're as white as a ghost."
"I'm trying not to be sick." Richie admits, staring at his lap." I vomit when I get anxious."
"Oh right, yeah, I remember that. Like the time you had to present something in front of the class and ended up vomiting into the trash can instead." Eddie states, trying to distract Richie, even if this probably wasn't the best topic of conversation to distract him with." I'm a bit shocked at how you get up on stage most nights to perform."
"I puke at least twice before going on. College kind of helped me with stage fright." Richie responds and he hiccups." Nope I'm gonna be sick."
He rushes off to the bathroom, Eddie following and kneeling beside him, rubbing his back as he throws up into the toilet. Richie sighs and sits down on the floor, wiping his mouth when Eddie passes him some tissue before he throws that into the toilet and flushes it.
"Let's go find the others." Richie says as he stands up, Eddie following him and saying," shouldn't we get dressed first?"
"Nah I'm just throwing on a tshirt and some socks." Richie says, grabbing a tshirt from his duffel bag. Eddie nods and grabs some clothes out of his suitcase, going into the bathroom to change.
Richie throws the tshirt on before he lies back down on the bed, sighing loudly. He just wanted to go home. Maybe not even to his home, to his parents home. He needed to go grocery shopping as he'd cancelled the rest of his tour and he didn't have any food in, but he really couldn't be bothered, so going to his parents would be much easier. That, and he wanted a hug from his mom.
"Let's find the others then." Eddie says as he leaves the bathroom, dressed in a blue rugby shirt and black jeans. Richie gets off of the bed and picks up his phone and keys before the two walk downstairs.
The only other people up and dressed are Stanley and Bill. Mikes at his own house, whilst Ben and Beverly are sat in their pyjamas, all of them drinking coffee, which Richie was craving.
"Morning sleepy heads." Beverly greets. Eddie smiles and sits down beside her. She leans her head on his shoulder and Ben hands Richie a mug of coffee.
"We didn't know how you liked it." Ben says." So we just got you a black coffee."
"That's good coz I like my coffee that way." Richie responds with a grin.
"I'm off caffeine at the moment." Eddie says as Ben goes to hand him a mug too." Sorry, Myra's orders."
"Why did she cut you off of caffeine?" Beverly asks, confusion on her face mixed with the fear of thinking Eddie's being controlled again.
"I was addicted I suppose. I had it to get me through the day. I don't really sleep much and she thought it was because of the caffeine, so she cut me off. My sleep hasn't improved, though." Eddie responds and Beverly frowns." I can't believe Richie just has black coffee."
"Well what coffee did you have then?" Richie asks.
"A latte with about 3 sugars." Eddie responds.
"That's something I'd expect Richie to drink, whilst Richie's is something I'd expect Eddie to drink." Stanley points out and the two look at him. Richie was still freaked out, if he was being honest." Odd that that's the opposite."
"It's not really." Richie responds as Eddie asks," are we getting breakfast?"
"We need to grab ahold of Mike, and Beverly and I need to get dressed." Ben responds. Eddie nods as Beverly stands up." Where should we go?"
"There's the diner?" Stanley suggests." Not the same without Maggie being our waitress and chef, but y'know?"
"How are you parents, Rich?" Beverly asks, stopping midway up the stairs as Maggie is mentioned, turning towards the comedian.
"They're good, yeah. Both still alive and thriving." Richie responds.
"Well they did have you a lot younger than our parents had us." Stanley states." Like...at 17, in high school."
"Oh yeah I forgot Richie's a teen parent child." Ben says with a grin. Beverly also grins and says," yeah, that's why they were always the coolest and most relaxed out of any of our parents."
"Yeah, well I wanna see them so...we better hurry and have breakfast." Richie says and with that; Ben and Beverly head up the get dressed whilst Bill phones Mike, telling him to meet them at the diner.
___
Usually, bacon pancakes practically swimming in maple syrup would cheer Richie up. Maggie makes it for him when he's sick or upset, but today, he can't eat it. The dream that woke him is still on his mind and he just pokes at a pancake with his fork whilst the others eat beside him.
"You okay?" Eddie asks, glancing over at Richie, who nods in response." Are you sure? That's your favourite breakfast and you're not really eating much-
"You remember it being my favourite breakfast?" Richie asks with a small smile.
"Of course I do."
Stanley rolls his eyes a little as Richie and Eddie flirt with one another. He'd been putting up with it for so long that he was used to it by now. The two whisper to eachother, Eddie frowning when Richie runs a hand through his hair, saying how he preferred it natural. The other losers look at Richie and Eddie, and then they give eachother all knowing looks.
"So, you guys talked, then?" Beverly begins, a hint of mischief in her eyes, signalling she wanted some drama. Eddie nods and that clearly isn't the answer Beverly is searching for as she continues with," what about?"
"Is it any of your fucking business?" Richie snaps. He was tired, confused, terrified and all he wanted to do was see his parents. He didn't need her butting into his business.
"Jesus Christ, Richie, chill out. I was only curious, fucking hell." Beverly says and Richie glares at her." Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."
"He had a nightmare." Eddie admits and Richie looks at him as if to say 'don't tell them that', but it's too late, when Bill asks," yuh-you shared a ruh-room?"
"Well I wasn't gonna let Eddie go back to his, was I? The place is wrecked thanks to Bowers." Richie explains, going back to stabbing at his— now cold— pancakes.
"What happened in the dream?" Stanley asks and the others turn to look at the comedian curiously. Richie sighs out a," doesn't matter" in response.
"You had a panic attack and your nose started bleeding." Eddie states and Richie glares at him instead of Beverly this time. He wanted them all to shut up and leave him alone. He wasn't in the mood. Too many things had happened too quickly and he just wanted his mom and dad.
"A deadlights dream." Beverly says, her voice quiet and eerie, as if she's thinking back on things that had happened to her in the past. Richie glances up at her.
He knew it was a deadlights dream. It had been what he'd seen in the deadlights, he just hoped it hadn't have been that. The confirmation from Beverly doesn't sit right with him, and it makes him uncomfortable. He fidgets slightly before taking a sip of water as nausea hits him like a tidal wave.
"He's going to be sick again." Eddie sighs.
"Again?" Bill asks.
"Rich?" Stanley asks, concerned, but all of their voices sound distorted. It feels as though Richie isn't even there. They sound so far away.
"He's having a panic attack." Ben points out and Richie feels someone place a hand on his shoulder. It's Eddie. He knows it's Eddie from the way he feels comforted the second the hand is there.
His chest feels as though it's on fire and his eyes are filling with tears again. He doesn't want this to happen, not in Derry Diner of all places. Certainly not with his friends fussing around him, which is what they are doing.
"Everyone give him some space stop crowding!" Mike instructs and everyone backs up a little.
"Eh-Eddie." Richie manages to breathe out and in an instant, Eddie is by his side again, rubbing his back and whispering breathing techniques to him.
"Rich, we're all here, okay? We're alive and we're just having breakfast." He says softly. Richie's trembling but his breathing his steadying." There we're are." Eddie turns to the losers and asks," can someone grab a paper bag or something? Because he will be sick."
"I'll grab one and I'll get him some water." Beverly says, going over to a worker. Eddie strokes the back of Richie's hair in an attempt to calm him, and the other man sighs as his breathing goes back to normal.
"Sorry, Rich." Beverly apologises as she hands him the paper bag." I didn't think it would trigger this."
Richie doesn't respond, he just throws up into the paper bag, Eddie rubbing his back gently before handing him a napkin to wipe his mouth with. People are watching them, and it's starting to really annoy Eddie, so he turns and says," shows over? Leave him the fuck alone!"
Everyone turns back to their breakfast as Richie shakily takes a sip of water. The other losers stand, unsure of what to do, but Eddie stays sat by his side, still rubbing his back to calm him down. Eventually, the others sit back down too, Stanley taking the vomit bag to throw it away.
"Okay well now I've publicly embarrassed myself for the second time this week. I'm going home." Richie sighs, standing up.
"Wait but we haven't discussed on how we're going to do it. What if we forget one another?" Eddie asks and Richie sighs out a," we're gonna have to risk it, Eds. Pennywise is dead we should be able to remember it this time. Please just let me go home. I'm going insane and I want my parents."
"Let him go, Eddie. We made a group chat, anyway." Mike states as Richie makes his way out of the booth.
"Well...at least say goodbye, Rich." Eddie states, looking at bit upset at the fact that Richie was leaving so soon. Stanley rejoins the group, Ben informing him that Richie was going home.
"We need to meet up again." Stanley states, the others looking at him." I don't care how far away we live from one another, we need to see eachother again."
"I agree." Bill says." Huh-how are you guh-getting back Rich?"
"Driving. I drove here." Richie responds.
"The whole 17 hours? That's not a rental car?" Eddie asks and Richie shakes his head before responding with," no that's my actual car. I'm an awful flyer I didn't want to fly."
"Okay well...be safe." Eddie says and Richie nods. It's not the goodbye anyone really wanted to have, but the comedians really freaked out and just wants to get away from Derry.
They all take it in turns hugging Richie. Eddie holds onto him the longest, and Richie let's him. They all agree to meet up again within a month, and with that, Eddie let's go of Richie and the man practically sprints off to his car.
___
It's raining when Richie eventually reaches Chicago. He hadn't slept the whole drive, for fear of having a nightmare and panicking, so he's exhausted when he pulls into the underground parking lot of the apartment complex his parents lived in. They'd moved around with him wherever he went. They moved to LA when he went to college at UCLA, gone to New York with him when he was on SNL, and then they'd eventually ended up in Chicago with him when he'd moved there.
Tiredly, he makes his way up the stairs as the elevator is broken. His parents lived in a nice complex but the elevator was always breaking. He yawns as he takes his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door. It's midnight, his parents were probably asleep, so he enters quietly. He places down his keys, kicks off his shoes and takes off his jacket. Above the counter in the hallway is a baby photo of Richie, which he finds himself looking at sadly. He looked so innocent. The world hadn't sunk it's poison into him yet.
"What the fuck, Richie? You gave me a heart attack!" Comes his dads voice. Richie looks up and spots him in the doorway leading to the hallway he's stood in.
"Sorry, dad." Richie apologises, feeling as though he's going to cry. Too much had happened in a short time and he was overwhelmed.
"Are you okay?" Went asks, concern written all over his face and voice. Richie just shrugs as his eyes full with tears." Let's sit down, come on."
He steers his son into the living room as his wife asks," who is it, Went?" from their room.
"It's Richie." Went responds as his son sits down on the couch." I'm going to grab you a drink, okay?"
"Okay." Richie responds. His dad goes off to the kitchen as his mom walks into the living room. She's in a beige night dress and her baby pink dressing gown Richie got her for Mother's Day a few years back. Her hair is sat in curls by her shoulders.
"You okay, baby?" Maggie asks and that's enough for Richie to burst into tears." What's happened?" she rushes over to him and sits beside him, pulling him into a hug." Sssh baby it's okay. Went!"
"Yeah?" Wentworth asks as he walks in, a cup of coffee in his hand for Richie. He spots his son crying and instantly sits the other side of him." What's wrong? Are you okay?"
They were panicked, Richie could tell. He's sobbing quite fiercely and it was worrying them. Maggie kisses his forehead whilst Went rubs his shoulder, both attempting to calm him down, which wasn't as easy now that he was an adult. They used to pick him up and cuddle him to calm him when he was a toddler, and when he was a child they would sit him on their laps and just talk him through his feelings. But, as soon as he turned into a teenager, they found it harder to comfort him. They hugged him but it didn't always work as well as it used to.
"It was just a show, son. It's okay. You're allowed to get nervous on stage. You're allowed to cancel your shows if you don't feel up to them." Went says, his mind instantly thinking this had to do with Richie messing up a show and cancelling his others. The last they'd heard from him was that situation so it makes sense for them to make that connection.
"It's not that." Richie sobs. Maggie slides his glasses off of his face for him and places them onto the coffee table. Richie rubs at his eyes shakily.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Maggie asks, tone soft as she hugs him. Richie couldn't tell them the truth, they'd think he was crazy. A lot had happened but they couldn't know everything to the full extent...but there's one thing he could tell them. He was terrified to tell them but he didn't want to hide it anymore.
"You're going to think of me differently." Richie sniffs, looking at his mom, who looks back, worry all over her face.
"No we won't." She says gently." You're our son."
He looks at her, tears filling his eyes again and she holds him closer. The three just sit in silence for a little while, Maggie and Wentworth comforting their son. Eventually, Richie manages to calm down and Went hands him his coffee, which he instantly starts drinking.
"We love you, Richie, nothing is going to change that. You can tell us anything." Wentworth says and Richie takes a deep breath before he says, quickly," I'm gay."
"I told you!" Went says quickly without thinking. Richie looks at him in shock.
"Not the time, Went, Jesus Christ." Maggie sighs.
"What?" Richie asks, really confused by the reaction from his dad. Maggie glances at Went who says," well...uhm...it wasn't really a shock, Richie, we could tell."
"You could tell?!" Richie asks and Went goes quiet, looking a little embarrassed." I've been stressing over this realisation of myself for 27 years and you could tell?! I don't even understand it myself but you could tell!"
"Don't get angry, Richie, please." Maggie sighs but Richie continues on," I've hated myself for 27 years, felt like I was disappointing you for 27 years, all for you to tell me that you practically knew I'm gay. Yeah sorry that's not the reaction I hoped for considering I don't, myself, cannot understand this part of me."
"Well we support you." Went says, trying to fix the situation but Richie's too stressed out and overwhelmed to even care.
"You didn't indicate you knew! You didn't ask or say anything! I might've gotten therapy sooner, I might've accepted myself sooner!" He snaps. Maggie goes to comfort him again but he gets off of the couch." I'm going to bed."
"Richie please don't be angry, honey." Maggie pleads but Richie just storms off, leaving his parents to sit quietly in the living room.
He can't sleep, so he just lies there, listening to his parents squabble in the room next to his. He'd probably overreacted but he was tired and overwhelmed and that wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He was relieved they accepted him, but the fact that they'd been able to guess upset him. It made him think that maybe he hadn't hidden it too well. Deep down, he knew he hadn't hidden it very well, because everyone at school knew. He was bullied for it and he hadn't even come out to anyone. They were bullying him for it before he'd even figured it out for himself, and that had scared him, because he didn't want to be the bad thing everyone was already saying he was.
His phone buzzes and he turns onto his side, picking it up from where it was charging on the bedside table. It's the Losers Group chat and it's Mike checking in on everyone to make sure they hadn't forgotten. Richie hadn't and he was glad he hadn't to an extent. He did have good memories, mostly with his friends, and he was glad he could remember Eddie. But he didn't want to remember Pennywise or what he saw in the deadlights.
Mikey
How is everyone?
Eds
I'm having a disaster
Staniel
Yeah me too. Turns out the turtle wiped my wife's memory of me doing what I did and she just thought I left to go to Derry. I'm so confused
Bevvy
That sounds like fun, meanwhile I've had to stop Tom from hitting Ben with a baseball bat
Haystack
Don't worry he didn't get me. Bev made me stay in the car after
Billiam
Everything's all good over here
Richie
I came out to my parents
Eds
That's awesome
Bevvy
Proud of you rich
Staniel
How'd it go?
Richie
They accept me but I think I started an argument because they're yelling at eachother
Staniel
They barely ever argue what happened?
Richie
Dad said they knew I'm gay and that they could tell and I kicked off. I'm just tired I didn't mean to start anything but I had a go at them and now they're yelling at eachother
Bevvy
It'll be okay in the morning, Rich
Richie
Yep hope so
Billiam
We should sleep we've had a long few days
Haystack
Smart idea Bill
Richie doesn't fall asleep until the sun starts to rise. He's too scared to sleep. He doesn't want another nightmare, he doesn't want to have a panic attack and not have Eddie there to reassure him that everything is okay.
___
Richie's woken up later that morning by his mom softly repeating his name. He yawns and looks up at her tiredly. She's holding a tray with bacon pancakes and black coffee on and she has a small smile on her face. Richie doesn't know what the time is, just that he knows he hasn't slept much. In whatever amount of sleep he's had, he hasn't dreamt at all, including no nightmares.
"Morning sweetheart." Maggie says as he sits up and puts his glasses on. She passes him his food and sits down on the edge of the bed." You're very pale, are you feeling okay?"
"What's the time?" He yawns in response.
"9:30, we thought we'd let you sleep in."
Maggie responds. Richie groans and leans back against his pillows." Are you not feeling very well?"
"I didn't sleep, I've slept for 3 hours." He responds. Maggie runs a hand through his hair and says," you really don't need to stress over last night. Your dad was so apologetic after you went to bed, he felt really bad. He didn't think you'd get upset, he thought you'd find it a little funny. But we understand your point of view, sweetheart."
"Was it obvious?" Richie asks, picking up his mug of coffee. Maggie sits in thought for a moment before replying with," to us it was, I suppose. We're you're parents, and we're a lot younger than your friends parents. Completely different generations so...we were more open to the idea and a fraction more educated. Plus, you told me when you were four that you found only boys pretty. Then there was the community theatre production of Spring Awakening you were in in 2008 when you had to kiss a guy onstage...along with your colleges senior year production of Falsettos back in the 90s. It was obvious to us."
"Wow." Richie responds." Yeah I suppose I wasn't the most subtle person on the planet."
"Don't get me started on your little crush on Eddie Kaspbrak." Maggie states and Richie goes wide eyed with shock, mostly at the fact that she could now remember Derry. He guessed it was because the Derry fog had been lifted since Pennywise was dead.
"My what?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Richie, you had a crush on Eddie Kaspbrak." Maggie states with a smile." It was cute. I wish you'd stayed in contact-
"We are in contact. All seven of us." Richie rushes out and he needs to lie as his mothers face lights up." Mike found us all on Facebook and we've reconnected. We're seeing one another again soon."
"Oh my god." Maggie all but squeals, making Richie wince a little as he was starting to get a stress headache." Invite them over-
"Mom-
"I can make you all dinner like i used to when you were younger-
"Mom-
"This is amazing, baby, I really was starting to get worried about you. You only ever talk to Steve or Sandy I'm so glad you've got your friends back-
"Mom. Mom!" Richie says, grabbing her attention. She looks over at him with a bright smile." I've got a headache can we calm down?"
"Sorry sorry, I just got excited." Maggie grins." How are they all, do you know?"
"They're all..." Richie begins. He can't really tell her that they're all struggling. So he lies instead." Good, from what I can gather."
"Please tell me about them." Maggie pleads and it makes Richie happy how much his mom loves his friends.
"Okay well, Bill's an author. He's married to Audra Phillips, the actress. Mike was a librarian but now he wants to travel. He's single." Richie begins, his mom listening to every word he's saying." Beverly is getting divorced, she's also a fashion designer and her and Ben are kind of dating. He's an architect."
"And Stanley?" Maggie asks. Stan was Richie's oldest friend. Richie's dad had had a summer job with Stanley's mom the year that they found out Maggie was pregnant. A few months later, Andrea Uris was also pregnant, and they helped the teenagers through it. Stan and Richie had been best friends since they were babies.
"He's good. He's married to a woman named Patty and he's an accountant." Richie responds and Maggie smiles happily." And Eddie...well, he's thinking of getting a divorce-
"Eddie's married?" Maggie asks and Richie's nods as he says," unhappily. She sounds a bit like his mother, if I'm being honest. But...yeah he's getting a divorce and stuff. He's a risk analyst, which I'm not completely sure of what that is. But he said he's gonna get therapy and stuff after the divorce."
"Good on him, standing up for himself." Maggie says. She had always had a soft spot for Eddie. She often used to say she wished she could adopt him to get him away from Sonia." I'm proud of him."
"Yeah me too." Richie says as he begins to eat his food." Where's dad?"
"He's at work, honey. He'll be home around six." Maggie responds, standing up." I'm going to grab you some medication for your headache, okay?"
"Okay, thanks mom." Richie replies." Oh uhm I'm full I don't want anymore."
"You haven't eaten much." Maggie states, which is odd for Richie, as he usually ate all of his food unless he had a stomach bug." I'm grabbing a thermometer-
"Mom don't seriously I'm just tired that's all." Richie replies but Maggie just grabs the tray and goes off to the kitchen. Richie sighs and leans back against the pillows.
"We were all together when we hurt IT. That's why we're still alive!" Beverly says.
"Yeah?! Well I plan to keep it that way." Richie responds, barging past Bill and getting onto his bike.
He pedals away quickly, Mike, Stanley and Ben following after him. He was angry, and rightfully so, after Eddie had nearly been killed infront of his eyes. He was also angry because Bill had hit him and now his lip was bleeding. Once he reaches his front lawn, he gets off of his bike and puts it into the garage before he goes inside.
"Hi baby, you're home early. Did you have fun?" Maggie asks, voice cheerful as her son enters the kitchen, where she's preparing dinner. Her face falls when she turns to look at him, her eyes falling onto his bleeding lip." Was it Henry again?!"
"No...it was Bill." Richie responds as Maggie places a hand on either side of his face, examining the cut.
"Bill?!" She gasps, a bit confused as to why Bill would've hit her son." You want me to talk to Sharon? Because I will. I know they're struggling with Georgie passing but that doesn't give her son an excuse to hit mine-
"No mom please don't." Richie says, practically begging. Maggie sighs before she asks," what happened?"
"We got into an argument and I said Georgie was dead and he hit me." Richie responds and it's not entirely a lie." I was only telling the truth, mom."
"Well...it wasn't a nice thing, sweetheart-
"Well he's the reason Eddie broke his arm and could've died!" Richie snaps.
"Wait what?" Maggie asks." Is Eddie okay?"
"No his mom went fucking insane." Richie replies." Bill was the one who dared him to climb that tree." Richie was talented at lying so it doesn't surprise him when his mom buys the story.
"You should've brought him here I would've taken him to the hospital." Maggie says." At least it's would've been a bit calmer for him."
"Sharon just called his mom." Richie shrugs in response.
"You're definitely sure it's broken?"
"Yeah I tried to snap it back into place-
"You're not a doctor, Richie!"
Richie didn't know he'd fallen asleep until he wakes up. He yawns and looks around at his blurry room. His mom must've taken his glasses off for him when she came in to give him his medication. He slides them back on and sits up, turning and grabbing the medication on his bedside table. He takes it and then spots the note beside it.
Feel well soon, sweetheart- mom
Richie smiles. His mom really cared about him. He supposed he was lucky on the parent front. He had two loving ones, unlike the rest of his friend group. Stan's dad was extremely strict, Eddie's mom was abusive, Beverly's dad was also abusive, Bill's parents had neglected him in a sense when Georgie had passed, Mike's parents were dead, but he guesses Ben's mom was okay.
"Morning sleepy head." Comes a voice from the doorway. Richie looks over and his dad is stood there.
"How long did I sleep for?" Richie asks.
"Only a few hours. It's 7pm." Wentworth explains." Look, I'm sorry about last night."
"It's okay, dad. I was tired and I overreacted." Richie states." I'm glad you accept me."
"Of course I accept you, Rich, I'm your dad." Went says and Richie smiles." I'd be a pretty shitty parent if I kicked off over my son loving men."
Richie laughs slightly and Went grins before he says," your mom made some dinner so...I'd go grab some before it gets cold. If you're feeling better."
"I am yeah."
"Come on then, you." Wentworth says as Richie gets out of bed, the two going down the hall to grab some dinner. Maggie greets them both with a grin as they enter the kitchen and she laughs when Wentworth starts winding her up. Richie smiles. He felt safe again.