/////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
——————————————————-
• R i c h i e - h a d - g r o w n - m o r e - u s e d - t o
t h e - w o r d s - 'see ya!' - t h a n - t h e - w o r d s - 'I love you.' •
————————————————
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////////
Richie wiped his palms on his jeans and stared at his mirror in pure stress, hoping the outfit he was wearing was good enough for Bill.
He sighed and turned away when he heard his parents going at it again, arguing about some stupid shit that would most likely end with his father leaving and his mother crying as she smoked two packs of cigarettes and got drunk.
Richie grabbed his cellphone and texted the group chat, wanting to get to the party as soon as possible so he could forget about this crappy life and be with Bill.
To; The Loser's Club ❤️
TrashMouth 🤫 : When does the party start?
Haystack 🌾 : I think it's at 8:30?
HomeSchool 👨🏾💻: Well it said 8:30, but Beverly said that obviously means 9:30. 🤷🏾♂️
Bev 💐 : Obviously! I mean we've been to three parties, each of them we showed up at the exact time they said it started, and we ended up being called losers, remember?
Ed's 🤒 : But we owned the name and become the losers club thanks to Billy!
Stan the Man 💪🏻 : Why, what's up Richie?
TrashMouth 🤫 : Oh, just that I'm ready and I want to get drunk already!
Bev 💐 : Do you guys want me to pick you up already? We can spend the hour together at the quarry.
HomeSchool 👨🏾💻 : I'm in. I've been ready, but I was just waiting for you guys.
Stan the Man 💪🏻 : Same here. You sure you don't want me to drive babe?
Ed's 🤒 : Guys! We talked about being romantic in the group chat, remember? It makes us all uncomfortable and weird! So please, stop!
Haystack 🌾 : Chill's Ed's! 😂 You'll get a girlfriend someday.
Ed's 🤒 : I'm good being germ free, thank you, Ben.
TrashMouth 🤫 : Damn, Eddie Spaghetti! You don't gotta be so mean! I call you babe if that makes you feel better babe. 😘
Bev 💐 : Um..
Haystack 🌾 : ....
Stan the Man 💪🏻 : Why hasn't Bill texted? Has anyone seen him today?
Homeschool 👨🏾💻 : I was about to ask the same thing.
Bev 💐 : I was just with him a few hours early. He said he'd meet us there.
Ed's 🤒 : Why does he always want to meet us there instead of us just all going together?
TrashMouth 🤫 : Bev, could you pick me up first?
Bev 💐 : Yeah, sure. I'll be there in five. I gotta go guys, I'll see you in a bit!
TrashMouth 🤫 : Me too. Bye!
Haystack 🌾 : Bye.
Homeschool 👨🏾💻 : Bye.
Stan the Man 💪🏻 : Bye.
Ed's 🤒 : How original of you guys! *rolls eyes* adios!
Richie rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself before placing his phone in his back pocket. He couldn't stop thinking about Eddie's question, why did bill always want to meet us instead of us all going together?
Was he hiding something?
You're thinking too much into this.
He sighed, he knew bill had to see the chat and hopefully answer that question. But for now he had to pass his parents and wait outside until Beverly showed up and took him far away from this house.
Richie opened his bedroom door and walked down the stairs, his heart racing faster as he got closer to his parents loud voices. He couldn't believe these were the same voices that would tell him bed time stories.
Richie cleared his throat and stepped into the living room, his parents attention now on him. "Son, what are you dressed up for?" His father asked, a smile on his face as he shot a glare his mother's way.
"There's a party tonight, I promised my friends I'd go with them." Richie said, his hands in his pockets as he placed on a side smile, reassuring his father in someway. Richie knew his father hated when he had to hear them arguing, something about knowing he was okay was good for his father.
His mother smiled and gleamed with hope, the dull light in her eyes was a spark of hope that things would be okay. Even for a spilt second, even if it was fake, they'd be okay.
Richie nodded and chuckled nervously, "Well I better wait outside for Bev." Wentworth, Richie's father, stopped him from leaving and smiled, his contented expression somewhat frightened Richie. Yet it also brought some comfort.
Richie father threw his arm around Richie and sighed, unsure if it was a good sigh or a bad one, Richie just awkwardly stood there was his mother smiled at them two. "We love you, Richie." Maggie, Richie's mother, stated, it sounded strange to his ears.
He hadn't heard these words since he was starting his first year of middle school, it scared him.
Wentworth chuckled and sniffled, patted Richie on the back before nudging his shoulder playfully, "Go have fun, son. I probably won't be home tonight so don't wait up." And there it was.
The sentence his father had said so much, so frequently that Richie had grown more used to the words 'see ya!' than the words 'I love you.'
There it was, the same words that meant he'd be left wondering when the next time he'd be seeing his father. The same words that meant he'd be left with his mother, who would probably be drunk and smoking, sobbing over the absence of his father.
"Oh- um.. yeah. Okay." Richie did his best to hide the fact that he was broken inside. Longing to hear the words 'I love you.'
He nodded and was about to walk away when he turned back to his father, "When will you be back?" Richie asked, his fingers tapping against his leg as he glanced between his mother and father who were exchanging looks.
Wentworth sighed and dug his hands into his pockets, "Longer. Maybe a few weeks." Richie heart was now echoing in his ear, he could literally hear it shatter as he carried a smile on his face.
"Okay, well.. I guess I'll see you next time you decide to be in our lives again-"
"Richie!" Maggie yelled, about to run towards Richie to slap him for being disrespectful, but his father lifted his hand up and shook his head.
"I understand you're upset, Richie—"
"No, Okay! You don't understand!" The anger in Richie had been boiling for so long, he didn't have it in him to break down now, here, displaying his weak and vulnerable side to his deadbeat father and alcoholic mother.
"You leave every time you feel anything is hard! Well you know what, dad?" The word felt so unfamiliar, so new and wrong.
"You don't get to pack your stuff and leave! You don't get to decide to leave your family! Your son! Just because things are hard! You don't get to just.." Richie words got caught in his throat as his mother stared at him in distress, his father with pity.
He shook his head and walked away, stomping out, unsure if he'd even see his father again, unsure if he'd even have it in him to come back home. This date with Bill, his friends, they were what he needed right now, not two people who couldn't give two shits about him.
And just with just his luck, Beverly was arriving in his driveway about to honk. She carried a blissful smile, she was just who Richie needed.
Richie ran to her car and got in, the silence filing the car as she turned to him, clearly noticing something was wrong. "Richie are you—" but she was cut off by a hug, his arms thrown around her as he started to sob into her shoulder.
Beverly sighed and brought her arms around him, squeezing him tightly as his shoulders began to shake from how hard he was sobbing. "Let's get you out of here." Richie smiled and pulled away, nodding.
She pulled out of the driveway and began to go down his street, his house growing small as she drove further away. "Thank you, Bev."
Beverly smiled, "How about we just drive for a bit before picking up the rest of the losers?" Richie nodded again, smiling as he finally saw how lucky he was to have such amazing best friends.
How lucky he was to have someone like Beverly.
"I'd like that." Richie agreed, looking out the window as he laid his head back.
Richie only wondered what Bill was doing right this second, and if he was nearly as excited and nervous as he was.