Vic tried desperately to fix the door he kicked in before your parents got home for the night. Unfortunately for you, Vic isn't much of a handyman and so you had no choice but to call upon Belch. You sat on the staircase as you watched him look over the shrapnel and busted hinges. His top lip curled up in a surprised and inoffensive snarl. He looked up at Vic.
"You did this?" He asked him. Vic nodded and crossed his arms, partially proud, partially in shame. If there was such an emotion. Vic was picked on for being the weakest of the bunch. Even you made fun of the scrawny boy every now and then. He wasn't as thin as Patrick, but Patrick was tall and had proven himself to be strong and powerful many times before. The first time his strength really hit you, was one of your first encounters with the boys. When you and Henry were just interested in each other before you were really dating. The first time you went swimming with the boys. They had convinced you, and another girlfriend of yours to break into a community pool with them.
The boys were content to jump in with just their underwear on, but you two were shy. So even when you got in your underwear, the two of you just dangled your feet into the water. Unsatisfied, the boys started shouting at you to get into the pool. You weren't really paying attention until you heard the screaming. Pat had scooped her up, and held her like a child. She kicked and cried as he and the boys laughed at her. Then he pulled back and tossed her into the water. You watched from your seat as he watched her struggle to swim, and Belch had to come to her rescue. Pats laugh continued, and then he looked down at you.
"Your turn." He said, bouncing his dark brows.
"Fuck off!" You shouted jokingly. You stood and jumped into the water yourself. Proving yourself just a little more in their eyes. That was a little more than a year ago. The summer between Sophomore and Junior year.
You won their hearts by being courageous and a rebel. You weren't as rough around the edges as them, you had a conscious and you used it. Yet somehow when you were around Patrick, that conscious was lost. You worked on pure adrenaline, drive, instinct. That got you into this mess.
"You okay?" Belch asked you. You looked up from the remains of your front door. You met his soft brown eyes.
"Yeah." You said with a rough voice. Belch and Vic looked at one another.
"You shouldn't be." He told you before he knelt over the mess.
"One of you mind cluing me in here? Why are you in trouble? And what is happening?" Vic asked uncrossing his arms. You sighed. This was not how this was supposed to go.
"Patrick and I are...uh...fighting right now." You said. Trying to not to let the truth slip.
"Fighting? The fuck?" There was no way to put it that didn't reveal everything. Looking up from working on the door, Belch spoke.
"Y/N's preggers." He stated.
"Thanks, Reg." You said. Vic's eyes widened and he looked up at you from his place leaning against the wall.
"Oh shit." Vic blew out a deep breath of air and shook his head.
"You can't tell anyone." You warn him.
"Does Henry know?" Vic asked, raising his brow.
"No. He can't know. Not yet." You snap.
"What does this have to do with Pat?" He asks. You stayed silent, biting your bottom lip and hoping he could just fill in the blanks.
"I have a date with Henry tomorrow." You ignore Vic, directing that to Reggie.
"What? What about-"
"Its in a public place, at the diner. I'll make sure we'll never be alone together. I don't know if Pats told him yet."
"I doubt he would. If he thinks it's his. He's had a grudge on Henry for a while now. He's more likely to kill him."
"A grudge? Why?" You ask. Vic's and Belch's brows turn into obvious confusion as they look up at you.
"You didn't know? I thought it was obvious." Vic said. "Patrick had a thing for you way before Henry did. Henry just acted first. He's had it out for him ever since."
"What?" You snapped.
You sat back and took a deep breath. You just thought Pat was a flirt. He was, but you never thought he actually had a thing for you. Even when the affair started. You kind of assumed it was just, pure lust. Not a motivated act. The affair was him taking you in a way Henry never could, burning you and Henry's relationship slowly from the inside out. And what a better way of making you his forever then knocking you up and then killing you.
In the time it took to fill Vic in on the details and get a plan set up on how tomorrow, Sunday and Monday would go. Belch fixed the door. Tomorrow, you would go out with Henry to the diner for a date. Whether you told him or not, was completely up to you. After the date, Belch would come to get you and bring you home. Then come get you to school in the morning. You would deal with Patrick then.
You woke up the next morning feeling sick again, and you buckled in for a day full of nausea and utter pain. You didn't bother to pretty yourself up. You only made an effort to cover the heavy bags under your eyes and add some blush to make yourself look less pale.
You had to walk to the diner that day. It wasn't too far from your house, but the idea of being alone in town for two seconds made your heart race. You watched the woods next to the sidewalk the entire time, just to be sure Patrick was not waiting to pounce. Your eyes glued to the trees. You watched as the orange, brown, and red leaves fell to the ground as you made your way. Your only comfort being the warm sweater that protected you from the cool fall air and your almost four-month-old bump.
Your attention was pulled away from the woods when you heard a car start rushing down the road next to you. You turned to look at the small family car that drove by. You mistakenly made eye contact with the woman sitting in the passenger seat. She stared at you for a moment. She looked familiar, and yet you couldn't place her. Why couldn't you remember her? As the vehicle went by, your eyes shifted from the front seat to the back seat. Patrick stared at you from the back seat dressed in his Sunday best after being forced to sit through mass at the catholic church in town that morning. He smiled that menacing smile and stared. You shook as you watched them drive away. He gave a cheeky wink before disappearing down the road.
You ran the rest of the way to the diner. When you made it, Henry was already at a table waiting for you. He picked at his nails with a pocket knife and grunted when he saw you. You rushed to the seat across from him, panting slightly.
"You okay? You look fucked." He spat. You chuckled at the irony as you caught your breath. You didn't make eye contact with him, you looked down at your menu. "Hey." He repeated. You didn't answer. "Hey!" He reached out and grabbed your wrist to get your attention. So you looked up. "Seriously, are you okay?" He asked you.
You nodded. "Yeah...yeah, just...didn't get much sleep."
"That's not it. You've been really fucked up lately and you keep brushing me off. The fuck is wrong with you?" When you didn't answer again, he looked from side to side and leaned in and whispered. "You're not on crack, are you?"
"No! No...you know I don't like that shit." You tell him.
"Then what's going on?" He insists. You bite your lip, desperately trying to make up an excuse.
"I'm just...I'm really sick, okay?" You say, tapping your knee anxiously.
"Sick? Like the flu?" Henry raises his eyebrows, in a questioning way.
"Something like that...yeah." You say. Henry looks you up and down, then leans back in the booth.
"What are you getting?" He nods at you.
"Uhhh... I don't know... maybe a burger." You shrug.
"Okay. My treat." He says, wiping away a sweat mustache from his top lip.
"What? No, it's fine I-"
"No. I'm paying. I have the money." He says, cutting you off.
"Where'd you get the money for lunch? We always had to spot you." You asked with an eyebrow raised. He looked at you, and a smile slowly ran over his lips.
"Got me a job." He said, proud. Your mouth dropped.
"A job? Wh-What? That's great! Where?" You smiled. Suddenly, excited for him. Henry had tried to get a job for a while now. He so desperately wanted out of his father's house. Wanted himself a car like Belch, wanted an apartment. Derry was his own personal hell.
"The gas station, on 4th." He said with a smile.
"Babe! That's great!" You shouted. He was in a good mood. Maybe, maybe you could tell him and he wouldn't implode. Or maybe that would just ruin it all, and you'd get a beating. Henry never hit you. But he'd come close a few times. And it didn't matter whether he hadn't yet or not, when he yelled, it was scary. So you stayed quiet. You ate your meal and left.
You broke the going nowhere rule. He took you to get ice cream after, and you walked around the park a little while. And he even walked you home. You didn't have to call Belch. And the kiss when he said goodbye. It was gentle and sweet from the ice cream. It made your heart flutter. And for just a moment, you felt a shimmer of hope building in your heart.
Maybe the baby was his. He had a job now. Now you could just get one, and you could move out together. You could be a family?
How stupid of you to think such a thing.