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#14: ᴡᴇ'ʀᴇ ᴀʟʟ ʙᴏʏꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ, ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴏᴋᴀʏ

Once Eddie had barged past Bill and treaded down the hallway toward the phone, Bill turned to me with wide eyes.

I inhaled, fuming. "What happened to us?" I repeated mockingly. "What the fuck happened to you? Where were you, Big Bill? Eddie and I could've gotten killed and you didn't even have a front row seat."

Bill scratched the side of his arm nervously, and I could see a lining of teary water on his bottom eyelid, suggesting this whole situation scared him. "I'm s-sorry, Richie, o-okay? I sh-should've called."

"You were joyriding with Silver again, weren't you?"

"No, my m-mom needed help do-down at the bu-business center of her c-country club. She t-t-told me I couldn't s-see you guys u-until I finished, but I h-had a hea-headache a-and I we-went home to r-rest in b-bed," he ran a hand through his hair and scratched his scalp thoughtfully. "I really a-am so-sorry."

"Oh, cry me a river, with your bullshit headache," I sat down on a chair beside the front door, slipping off my muddy, soggy shoes. "I hurt all over, thanks for asking. I was turned into Derry roadkill, Billy. Another victim to The Butcher of the Barrens."

"The Butcher of the Barrens" was a nickname Henry had earned. When a killer clown was terrorizing the people of Derry a summer ago, Henry Bowers owned up to every single murder that happened, despite the fact that he surprisingly didn't commit a single one. 

One of these murders also happened to be Bill's late younger brother, George Denborough. The death was a fatal blow to the family, and Bill has never been the same. Even though Bill knows Henry didn't kill his brother, his grudge against him could never be bigger.

Henry was in jail for some time due to these killings, but was released on good behavior and some court issues. He was also charged with the murder of his father, which was actually his fault. That's why I'd never walk home by myself. Not because of a clown. Because of the Butcher of the Barrens.

"I'm s-sorry, Rich," Bill repeated.

I couldn't stay mad at Bill forever, it honestly wasn't his fault. But I knew that if he had been there too, maybe we would've had a vantage point. Henry would've continued to mess with us, that's for sure, but Bill had strength when it came to facing Henry. Maybe I could've gotten out of there with a few less bruises on my stomach.

"Yeah, I know."

There was silence between us for a second before I heard Eddie's shaky voice begin to escalate. I glanced down the hallway and noticed that he had Bill's wall phone cupped against his ear, tightly, in an extremely tense manner. "No, mommy, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I promise I'm okay! No, I'm not hurt, mommy, I swear, I was just at Bill's- no, his mom was going to call but the power went out last night. I know, I'm sorry to worry you. I'll be home soon, I'll make sure Bill's dad walks me so I'm not alone. Mommy, please, of course you can trust Mr. Denborough, you've had dinner like, twice!" 

He continued to ramble, like a speaker that wouldn't shut up. "I know, I was taking good care of myself. Yeah, they fed me. I ate good food, I swear, lots of vegetables. Nothing with gluten, no. Yes, I had my pills. Yes, at the correct time. Of course only two, I'm not stupid-" he paused. "Sorry, mommy, that was rude, I didn't mean it."

I rolled my eyes over to Bill and he folded his arms, keeping his gaze on Eddie, whose shadow was covered in the darkness of the hall. Even though I could barely hear Sonia's shaky, loud, horror-filled old lady voice, it felt like it was hammering into my brain. When Mrs. Kaspbrak was upset and worried, it wasn't pretty. And 97% of the time when we saw her upset, it was because of Eddie.