She felt the sand between her fingers, the salty air brushing past her skin, the crashing waves rushing through her eyes. The sun shining on her skin. Her black baseball cap covering her face from the sun.
She sat between Mikes legs as he sat behind her, hugging her from behind. She turned to look at him.
"Isn't it pretty?" Charlie asked him.
He opened his eyes and looked at hers.
"Beautiful" he said, still looking into her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her.
It's been a few weeks since Derry. Mike cleaned out his home from the library, packed it in his car and he and Charlie set off to be together. Just as Charlie promised him, she drove him to the beach. They spent about the whole day in the water, Mike loved it, but he loved it more that he was with Charlie.
Charlie kept everyone's contact, she was going to keep in touch with them. She's been talking with Richie a lot too, he told her he went to the kissing bridge before leaving town. Charlie knew the reason why, and a small smile came over her when he told her.
Charlie leaned onto Mike's bare chest as she put her hands over his. She smelled his body and realized she missed it for a long time. She closed her eyes and for years, she finally felt happy and safe.
"Oh" Mike said. He grabbed something from the bag next to them, a letter. "This came in the mail for you, I got one too"
Charlie grabbed it and sat confused. It didn't say where or who it was from. She opened it and read.
"Dear Losers,
I know what this must seem like, but this isn't a suicide note. You're probably wondering why I did what I did, and it was cause I was too scared to go back. And if we weren't together, if all of us alive weren't together united, I knew we'd all die. So I made the only logical move, I took myself off the board. Did it work? Well if you're reading this you know the answer. I lived my how life afraid, afraid of what would come next, afraid of what I might leave behind. Don't. Be who you wanna be. Be proud. And if you find someone worth holding onto, never ever let them go. Follow your own path, wherever that takes you. Think of this letter as a promise. A promise I'm asking you to make to me, to each other, an oath. See the thing about being a loser is, you have nothing to lose. So be true, be brave, stand, believe. And don't ever forget, we're losers, and we always will be.
Stanley
Tears ran down her cheeks as she finished the letter. She looked back out to the waves and leaned into Mike. He held her closer to him and leaned his chin on her shoulder as she said,
"We always will be"
YOU ARE READING
The Years After (IT Chapter Two fanfic)(Sequel to Summer of '89)
FanfictionIt's been 27 years since Charlie has been to Derry, 27 years since she's seen the Losers, 27 years since she has seen the clown. But she has always been haunted by that one summer. When she gets the call from Mike, Charlie has to go back to her chil...
