Losers

Part 9-Saying Goodbye

It had been a week or so after they'd faced pennywise and Eddie stood looking up at his mother with pleading eyes.
"But I don't want to go," Eddie croaked.

"Don't argue with me, Eddie Bear. You've heard about everything that's been going on here in Derry haven't you? All those poor children that..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, "and I don't like how you've been acting. You've broken your arm, you've disobeyed me too many times I just... I can't live like this, Eddie. We have to go."

"But what about school-"

She took his cheeks between her palms, "that's not as important as you are, my baby. I have to protect my boy. Go and get your things packed, we're staying with your aunt for a while.

"We're going today?" He felt his chest tighten.

"There's no point in putting it off, is there?"

"I need to say goodbye to my friends."

"You don't need to do anything except pack, now hurry up and get your things together."

Eddie's jaw set, "no, I need to say goodbye. I need to see them."

"Eddie-"

"No!" He snapped. This was the first time he'd ever raised his voice to her and she shut her mouth in shock.
"You've made it difficult for me to see my friends since we got here, do you know how hard it is for me to fit in?" She was silent, "of course you don't, because you're not at school with me. And now I've finally made some friends, you're going to take me away from them. I'm saying goodbye and I won't let you stop me."
She went to protest and Eddie shook his head, "you can't stop me."
He turned and slipped on his shoes before running out of the house, ignoring his bellowing mother.

He didn't stop running until he was down at the spot by the river where Richie had told him to wait if he was ever in trouble, and he sat down on a smooth boulder that he usually sat on. He looked over at the rippling water and thought about all the times he'd played down here with the others and what an amazing time he'd had with them. He felt the blood rush to his face as he thought about how angry he was with his mother. How could she just take him away like this?
After a few moments he burst into tears and burried his hot face in his hands.
This couldn't be happening.
He tried to stop the tears but they just kept flowing, and he supposed they were the result of the trauma from the weeks before too. His chest heaved and the sobs wracked his whole body as his head began to ache. In his haste to leave the house he must have forgotten his inhaler but he was too angry to use it anyway. That's what his mother would have wanted.
"Eddie?" He heard behind him and for an awful moment he thought that his mother had followed him. But he recognised the voice and it was not her. He didn't want to look round at Richie in case he looked as bad as he felt.
"Eds, what's wrong?" Richie asked and stepped up to him. Eddie couldn't speak and the presence of his soon to be ex friend only made him cry harder.
"Here," Richie held out an inhaler and Eddie instantly batted it out of his hand. Richie fell silent and waited for him to calm down. He mistakenly thought that Eddie was angry with him and didn't dare try and comfort him.
Once Eddie's sobs were under control and only a few sharp inhales were left, he turned his head towards Richie a little-not making eye contact.

"How did you know I was here?" He asked in a frail voice.

"Luck I guess. I was walking to the shop and saw your inhaler on the floor nearby. I thought that maybe..." he paused, "that you might be in trouble. So I came down here."

"I'm in trouble alright..." he pawed away the tears from his cheeks before allowing his eyes to meet Richie's, "I'm leaving Derry."

Richie felt as though he'd been hit by a bus-the world seemed to go bright and quiet, and his surroundings didn't make sense. He blinked at Eddie until the shock wore off and then cleared his dry throat, "...what...?"

"My mum told me that we're moving house. She doesn't want me to be in this town anymore," he felt tears well in his eyes again and looked up at the sky as he tried to blink them away, "she says she wants me to be safe."
The tears fell down his cheeks despite his efforts not to cry again, and Richie hugged his thin shoulders.
He didn't know what to say. For once in his stupid life he was completely lost for words. He hugged Eddie as tight as he dared and stared at the ground behind him. What was he going to say?!
"I don't want to go," Eddie began to sob again and the way his small body shuddered against his own made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I don't want you to go either," Richie managed in a thin voice and that seemed to make Eddie cry harder.
"Tell her you won't go, tell her... tell her you'll stay here with me and my parents."
It was a pathetic attempt at a solution and Eddie didn't reply. Richie felt tears blur his vision and squeezed his eyes shut, sending them rolling down his pale cheeks and leaving salty tracks to his chin, but he didn't wipe them away. He didn't want to move from this position of comforting his friend.
"Eddie... I don't want to lose you." Richie whispered and Eddie's grip tightened on the taller boy as he buried his bawling face into his neck.

"I don't want... to lose you... either," he said through sobs and they sat there for a long time until Eddie finally stopped crying.

Richie was surprised that he hadn't cried too but maybe he was still in shock and would cry later once the numbness had worn off... or maybe he was trying to be strong for Eddie...
Whatever the reason, he was staying on top of his emotions and when Eddie let him go, he found that he could talk just about normally.
"It'll be okay," he reassured him, "we can stay in touch... we can write to each other and call all the time."
Eddie nodded solemnly but knew that his mum would have something to say about that...
"And when we get older we can meet up all the time. Right?"

"Yeah."

Richie pulled Eddie close and rested his forehead against his.
"It'll be okay. I promise."
Richie had walked him home after that and Eddie asked if he could tell the others he said goodbye. Richie agreed and stopped outside Eddie's house.
"Well I guess I'll... I'll see ya," he pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, "call me when you get settled, okay?"

"I will..." they hugged each other tightly before Richie took his hand and kissed him hard on the lips.
Eddie looked dazed-it was the first time he'd done that since before the stuff with pennywise-and Richie smirked.

"What? You thought I was going to let you go without a kiss?"
He leaned in again but this time Eddie wrapped his arms behind Richie's neck and pushed his body as close to the other boy's as he could get. He wanted to stay that close to his friend forever but he knew that would not be the case now.
Eddie urged himself not to cry again and Richie could suddenly feel burning behind his eyes too.
"I don't want you to go," he murmered between kisses and tears sprung to Eddie's eyes at the sentence.

Eddie moved away a little and dropped his arms to wrap around Richie's waist instead, "I'll never forget you," he said with more seriousness and sincerity that Richie had ever heard.

Richie held Eddie's face in his hands, their noses almost touching, and smiled sadly, "and I won't ever forget you, Eds," he placed one last gentle kiss on Eddie's quivering lips and they stayed like that for as long as they dared.

"EDDIE!" The boys heard the shrill voice of Mrs. Kaspbrack behind them and they jumped away from each other.
"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I-" Eddie began but she didn't let him speak.

"You can't be doing that with another boy, Eddie! That's not how I raised you! That's not what good Christians do! I can't believe you would do something like this! I knew these children were bad news, Eddie, didn't I tell you?! And now you're stood here making a mockery of me! After all I've done for you!" She marched towards the pair and grabbed Eddie's hand in one great paw, "get inside now! Before you embarrass me even more!"
Eddie reached back for Richie and, in a last feeble attempt at contact, Richie touched Eddie's palm, letting their fingers glide over each other in a wordless goodbye that made Eddie begin to wail and a painful lump rise in Richie's throat.

And that was that.