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"I'm here, I always will be" _________________________
Lacey layed in her bed staring up at the ceiling. Her mind felt fuzzy like she had so many things going on she couldn't just sit and relax
She felt emotionless, although she had a good day with her friends a few days ago she still felt bad. She couldn't erase the memory of Henry from her mind. She didn't think she ever would. It was killing her not being able to express herself to anyone, she felt so ashamed of herself even though none of it was her fault
She wasn't sure how she continued to stay in her room when she always got reminded of what took place in it. She hated how her comfort and escape place was corrupted, it made her angry
Lacey was home alone as usual so when she heard a knock at the door she was confused. Getting up with a groan she went to answer the door. She didn't want to talk or see anyone, she just wasn't up for it
There's another knock on the door as she approaches it which causes her to become annoyed with whoever it was
"I'm coming! Gosh" Lacey shouts while swinging the door open
"Hey sweet cheeks" Richie smiles while standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets across from her
"Tozier? What are you doing here?" Lacey questions while looking around outside to see if the rest of their friends came with him
"It's just me, I wanted to talk to you and uh, see how you're doing" Richie says, clearing his throat at the end
Lacey stared at him in amazement, she's never seen I'm so calm and serious, "oh uh okay. I'm fine"
"Can I come in?" Richie asks
"I don't know, I'm really busy and my parents aren't home so I don't know if it's the bes-" Lacey rambles trying her hardest to come up with an excuse to be alone
"Bullshit, I'm coming in" Richie cuts her off before gently pushing her aside and making his way into her home
"Richie I'm really not in the mood today, I just- I'm tired" Lacey frowns as she watches him slowly make his way around the house and to the stairs
"Can I go to your room? I bet it looks cool, I've never been in a girls room before" Richie asks, ignoring her previous response
"I guess" Lacey shrugs, tiredly guiding him as they make their way to her room
She sits at her windowsill and watches Richie examine her room. He had a funny look of amazement on his face which made her crack a smile. He looked adorable
He stopped and looked at her before plopping himself onto her bed, across from her
They both didn't say a word as they stared at each other in silence, seeing who would break and say something first
"You know I really care about you, right?" Richie mumbles while playing with a loose thread poking out of her purple bedsheets
Lacey remains silent as her cheeks flush from the words Richie said. She stares at him not knowing what to say
"I know I'm obnoxious but that's just how I am, I also can be caring and everything that no one probably thinks I can be" Richie says
"When I rode with you home the other night I didn't think that was like the last time I was gonna see you and you were just gonna ignore us, then when we seen you getting uh, harassed, by bowers and we saved you and you broke down in my arms. I- I knew something was wrong" He continues
Laceys eyes widen as she cringes at the memory and looks away from Richie. She couldn't possibly tell him what happened, she was embarrassed and ashamed, but she knew she had to. For the sake of her own well being and his
"Lacey, what happened to you?" Richie questions, finally looking up at the girl
"I-" Lacey tries to say something but her lip quivers and her eyes fill with tears as she vividly is reminded of what took place right there in that same room
Richies eyes widen and he quickly jumps off the bed and pulls her to him, embracing her in a tight hug and pulling her to sit with him on the bed. Lacey tenses up as they sit on the bed together but relaxes when she reminds herself it's only Richie
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you, I'm not mad I swear I just wanted to know. I-I I'm not forcing you to tell me Lacey I was just concerned and-" Richie rambles apologizing to the crying girl
"It's okay" Lacey cuts him off, pulling away from his arms to wipe her tears. "You didn't do anything, it's just hard for me, I don't know how to say it because it's hard to accept the fact that it happened" Lacey says, her voice quiet and soft
"That night, when you rode with me home" Lacey begins, taking a deep breath in. "Henry was waiting for me in my room"
Richies eyes are glued to her as she speaks, his heart dropped when she said that, he knew all too well that something horrible had taken place in the room he sat in
"He tried to make me do things, things I didn't want to do" Laceys says, her voice shaking as she speaks. "I tried so hard to get him off of me Richie, but I guess I'm just not as strong as I thought I was"
Slowly she meets her eyes with Richies as warm tears slowly trickle down her face. Richies eyes are filled with concern and sadness as he stares into Laceys. He didn't know how to process what she had just told him, all he felt was anger
"He didn't get too far though, he touched me and tried to but something scared him off and he just, stopped, and left" Lacey shrugs. "He did leave his mark and evidence though"
"What do you mean?" Richie questions, wondering what scared him off- even though he's extremely grateful for it. And wondering what she meant by the last part
Lacey lowers the turtleneck she was wearing to hide the slightly faded hickies and lifts her shirt to show him the ones on her chest and stomach. "I don't know what scared him off, I'm glad it stopped though" Lacey shrugs
Richie focuses on the marks, sadness filling him up. He looks at Lacey and then slowly and gently touches one of the marks on her stomach
"I'm gonna fucking kill him" Richie frowns, pulling her shirt back down to hide the marks once more
"I'll help you" Lacey softly says looking down at her feet
"Hey" Richie says, gently grabbing her hands and holding them with his. "I'm here for you, I always will be"
"He's not gonna ever do anything like this to you again, I won't let him. I don't know who he thinks he is doing this to you. He's a piece of shit for thinking he can get away with it. We're gonna get him back Lacey I promise you, and when we do it won't be pretty" Richie finishes, slowly rubbing his thumbs on the back of her hands in a soothing manner
Lacey half smiles and nods, she didn't know what to say so she just embraced him in a tight hug
