mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 49

a/n: tw: mention of rape and sexual assault. be safe, read with caution.

***

The tension alone is far too thick to breathe in.

The cold air makes it worse, a weight settling in on Richie's throat that closes his windpipe off. The only lifeline he has is the shorter one standing off to the side, his little hands stuffed in his coat pockets, his brown honey eyes darting between the two in front of him.

"Eds," Richie starts out, looking at his lifeline apologetically. He can't do this, he just can't. His knees buckle with anxiety, a pressure building in his sinuses.

"No, no," Eddie shakes his head, taking a shivering breath in, "You guys promised you'd talk."

Henry nods, looking up at the offwhite sky. Winter is like that; cloudy, dark, gray. Monochrome. None of the sunsets like there are in Philly, but Richie is the only one who knows about that.

"Not out here," Henry exhales, retrieving his car keys from his pocket. "Too fuckin' cold."

"Then where?" Eddie scoffs.

Richie's hands twist nervously around themselves, glancing at Silver resting against the bike stand. After their day at the aquarium yesterday, after Eddie showed Richie all his favorite fish and explained their names and relationships with one another, after Richie knocked over a stand in the gift shop and nearly passed out from the amount of guilt, after Eddie took the blame for the commotion and bought a dolphin keychain to compensate for their clumsiness, after a day spent with one another filling in all the gaps of things that they missed out on, for example, Eddie finally lost that last struggling baby tooth that refused to leave his mouth. Richie congratulated him and told Eddie about how he failed his first class down in Philly and had to take summer school. After all of that, Eddie invited him to meet Henry in the parking lot for Curly's the following day so that they can all talk.

Now, here they are, walking into the diner in an unlikely trio. Richie remembers the last time the three of them were together, a clouded memory of a knife held to Eddie's throat.

They all stand in front of the booth, unsure of which side to sit on. Who will Eddie choose? Which side will he partner with?

Henry sits down, and Eddie slides in next to him. Richie flinches, looks away, and comes back to take his seat across from them. Rejection stings, but Richie's used to it.

"Um," Henry starts. He folds his hands over one another, rings adorning his hands to cover up the ugly discoloration on his knuckles. "Sorry, I guess?"

"You guess?" Richie repeats.

Henry clenches his jaw, his fist tightening a little. "Yeah. For what I did."

"Which time?" Eddie asks, a glimmer of hope that he's not entirely on Henry's side here.

Henry looks at Eddie, his gaze softening up. Eddie's been kind to him these past two years, much kinder than anybody else has in his lifetime. He looks a little scared, almost. An expression that doesn't cross the face of any Bowers man.

"Don't be mad," Henry whispers, insecure and scared.

Richie frowns. What the fuck am I watching? This isn't Henry at all.

Eddie shrugs, confusion evident on his face. "About what?"

Henry takes a deep breath in, tightening his grip on his own wrist. "I'm- I- I snitched. I tattled on Tozier, I got 'im sent away."

Richie nods, but doesn't bother correcting the last name. He's not sure what he wants for a last name, they sound different coming out of various mouths. He keeps his eyes on the table, recalling the moment that Henry walked out of the social worker's room as Richie was being led in.