27 years| Reddie

Grow as we go

2010

34 year old Richie Tozier smiles as he carries his suitcases out of the rehabilitation centre. He's wearing black sweatpants, a baggy light gray T-shirt and a dark gray zip-up hoodie. His parents are waiting for him with wide smiles.

"Hi." He greets, placing his bags down and leaning down to hug his mom, who squeezes him tightly. Wentworth picks up Richie's suitcases and puts them into the trunk of his car.

"They called this morning saying you have a fever, how're you feeling?" Maggie asks as the two pull apart slightly. She places a hand on Richie's forehead gently and then retracts it." Oh god, you're boiling."

"Yeah it started last night." Richie grumbles, his voice scratchy due to his throat being sore. Maggie looks at him and he definitely looks sick. His pale skin is paler than usual and his eyes are droopy with sleep.

"Okay, well, let's get you home and I can make you some soup." Maggie says as they all begin to get in the car. Richie smiles widely and closes the back door.

Richie hasn't been in a car since that night. That's the reason he ended up going to rehabilitation. He'd been drunk and high and speeding and he'd totalled his car. His parents had moved to LA, so he'd managed to call his dad to help him and Wentworth had eventually managed to talk Richie into going to rehab. 'I'm scared I'm going to wake up one day and I won't have a son anymore because he's crashed his car so badly he never woke up!' Wentworth had said and he'd cried and Richie had cried too.

"We're proud of you, honey." Maggie says, glancing at her son in the rear view mirror. He smiles at her and rests his head against the window, feeling uneasy in the car.

"You have all of your medication, right?" Wentworth asks, glancing at Richie in the rear view mirror. Richie nods silently. After arriving at the rehab place, he was diagnosed with multiple things. Depression and anxiety being the main two and the cause of him drinking excessively. ADHD was another he was diagnosed with and PTSD. So he now had a range of medication to take.

When they reach Richie's house, Wentworth carries his bags in while Maggie holds Richie's hand as they walk in. She tells Richie to go lie down on the couch and so he does as he's instructed.

Wentworth goes to the airing cupboard and pulls out a blanket, placing it over his son, who's watching Pokemon like a child. He chuckles and walks off to the kitchen to find his wife. He hugs her as she makes their son some soup.

"He looks really bad." Wentworth says.

"He's sick, he isn't supposed to look all happy." Maggie states with a laugh. Wentworth chuckles lightly.

"It's just weird, he doesn't seem like himself." He says with a sigh." I don't like it."

"He's just spent six months in rehab and therapy, Went, he isn't going to feel like himself. Plus the medication will make him not feel like himself. We're all just going to have to adjust." Maggie states, with more force than she'd intended." Look, let's focus on making our son feel better, physically and mentally."

"Yeah...sorry." Wentworth sighs, kissing Maggie gently before helping her cook. He hates seeing his son upset or in pain or struggling, that's why he'd told Richie to go to rehab in the first place.

Maggie smiles as they finish making the soup. It's taken a few hours but she'd hoped Richie had napped in that time, and he had, as when she walked into the living room, he was fast asleep on the couch with Pokemon playing in the background.

"Richie." She whispers, shaking him awake. He opens his eyes and sits up, his mom sitting down beside him. She passes him his soup and he quietly eats it whilst watching the TV. Wentworth announces he's going to get groceries and they nod at him, Maggie smiling as he leaves.

"How long are you staying for?" Richie asks as he eats his soup, Maggie watching him. Richie's medication is sat upon the coffee table and he's avoiding looking at it. It's clear he hates taking it.

"How ever long it takes for you to feel better." Maggie replies, studying her sons expression. He's hunched over as he eats, he's never had the best posture, and his facial expression is blank. Something rarely seen upon the face of Richard Wentworth Tozier.

"This fever should clear up in a few days." He says, eyes fixated on the TV at the anime.

"I don't mean the fever, Rich. I mean in your mind." Maggie says softly and Richie looks at her, eyes full of sorrow, and it breaks Maggie's heart seeing her son like this." I know it'll always be there and it won't go away fully, but I mean until you start to feel like yourself again."

Richie just nods slowly and looks back at the TV, eating his soup slowly. Once he finishes, Maggie convinces him to take his medication and he does so unwillingly. Maggie smiles and then Richie lies down, resting his head on her lap and watching Pokemon.

"I'm sorry, momma." He apologises suddenly and Maggie looks down at him. He's facing upwards, so he's looking at her, and his eyes are tearful. He hasn't called Maggie Momma since he was a small toddler." I'm really sorry."

"Why're you sorry?" She asks and Richie begins to cry." Hey, what's all this about? Why're you sorry?"

"You had one child...and he turned out to be a disappointment. Broken. I'm...I'm so so sorry!" Richie sobs, turning so he's crying into Maggie's stomach.

She's at a loss for words. She doesn't really know how to respond. He's wrong. Of course he is. Maggie runs her hands through her songs long curls and sighs slightly.

"Ssh, don't be ridiculous. I had one child. A beautiful baby boy, who I knew would never fail to make me proud. You have always made me proud, Richie. You're not broken! I was in love with you from the moment the nurse placed you in my arms. I had this 8 pound baby and boy, did he have some lungs on him, you screamed the whole hospital down. But your father and I took one look at you and...we were in love." Maggie reminisces, tears in her own eyes." You've made mistakes, but you're only human, it's a natural thing to make mistakes. But you got help and that's the important thing. We both love you, so much, Richie. Your granny loved you, too, and so did pop pop. They both adored you. So just...stop feeling sorry for yourself, okay?"

But Richie's fast asleep. Maggie glances down at him, wiping her eyes and continuing to play with his hair. She smiles a little and leans down, kissing his cheek gently.