mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 29

Richie rushes down his stairs in a hurry, his hair a mess and flying out in so many different directions. The grandfather clock in the living room tells him he has about three minutes to get to school, so he flies into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen.

He stops in his tracks when he sees what's pinned to the fridge. Another note, another note, another note. He picks it from the magnet, reading over the words with a sour flavor in his mouth that makes him forget about the time.

Richie

Didn't your father tell you to clean your room? Don't make me clean it myself.

You're eating garbage, get some nutrition in your body. Don't spend this money on smokes, or I'll have you eat every cigarette butt I found out in the garden.

Marsh's girl is a bad influence. I'll be talking to Alvin about her shortly.

Richie immediately panics, shaking his head at the prospect of Beverly's father finding out what his daughter has been up to. No, no, god, please no. He'll kill her. It'll be my fault.

Richie turns and spots the money on the counter, quickly pocketing it and moving twice as fast as before. He takes the risk of riding his bike to school, just because he is already running so late and now he needs to talk to Bev more than ever before.

He's going to kill her.

The words won't leave his mind. He has the crumpled up note in his coat pocket, yet it somehow feels like a boulder weighing him down as he rides. The rush hour morning traffic has died down, giving Richie clear access to the roads.

Upon arriving at school, Richie ignores the kids trying to hustle to class, instead checking every single spot that Bev is prone to hide out in. The thing about the feisty redhead is that she has spent her whole life learning how to hide. If she does not want to be found, she will not let you find her. Richie knows this, and it only fuels each curse he makes under his breath as he comes up empty handed once again.

Come on, Bev. Just this once. Come on.

"Hey, Rich!" Richie hears, so he turns on his heel to greet the smiling face in the barren hallway. Ben Hanscom is the next best thing, if anybody is going to know where she is, it's Ben.

"Haystack, thank god," Richie exhales. "Have you seen Bev? I gotta talk to her. She still skips first period, right?"

"I was just on my way to see her," Ben is startled, holding up the hall pass. "She sleeps in the library first period, but she has a test today, so I was going to help her study. You wanna come with?"

"I can't stay long," Richie says, but what he means is I don't want to stay long.

Ben and Richie start their trek through the halls, the taller boy nervously fumbling with his hands in his pockets. He shifts around restlessly, his nerves only making it so much harder for him to control what he has often considered to be ADHD or something along the same vein. On impulse, Richie suddenly decides that he absolutely cannot see Beverly's face right now. Not after handing her this note, not after skipping their gas station meet ups, not after failing to tell her about kissing Stan, not after anything he has put her through. He realizes he's a bad friend, a terrible one, actually, and his legs begin to itch with the desire to run.

"Here, I gotta go, actually," Richie says quickly, turning to Ben and digging the note out of his pocket. "I just remembered I have a test too. I gotta go. Can you give this to her? Tell her I love her?"

"What is it, a suicide note?" Ben jokes, taking the paper and carefully sliding it into his top pocket.

Richie's mouth forces a smile as he says "Something like that. I'll see you 'round, Haystack. Take care of her."