IT 2017 - Blonde Hair, Black Lungs.

XIII

Philadelphia, 1992—

I walk out of my high school and go over to my bike. It was like a routine now, stressful, boring and so, so tiring. I get on my bike and put my backpack in my basket. I go to ride off but one of the girls in school comes out and waves her friends over. This was also routine. Come out of school and 80% of the time get hassled by the Heathers of the school. Seriously, it's like they stole the personalities from the movie.

I lean forward putting my forearms on my bike basket as I watch them sway their hips out too much where it was noticeably unnatural, "Hi, girls, you're just on time, but sorry I got work. Gotta actually work jobs for my money." I give them a smile as I grab my bike's handlebars and take off.

"Slut!" One of them yells after me like it's effective. About 10 minutes later I got to my first job, late. I lock my bike up and rush inside, my coworker waiting for me leaning against the counter.

"Your lateee..." She drags out and gives me a smile as she walks to the back with me.

"I know I'm sorry, got held up at school." I apologize with a wince and a small smile, she nods appeased, Leslie was much older than me, probably around the age of 22. She was the head manager and really nice, surprisingly.

She helps tie my apron on and walks back to the cash register, "Kiddo, why are you really working two jobs? You're, what, fifteen?"

I roll my eyes and laugh, "No, I'm sixteen, and I'm earning money to visit my brother."

She nods and goes silent as I speak into my mic typing in an order I'm getting. Once that was done, I push my mic up and start talking again.

"He's back home in Derry, I'm trying to get there before his birthday." I say before turning to the window, sliding it open and giving the driver a smile. I name off his order and once I get confirmation, I continue my job.

I switch off with her afterwards, her doing orders and me packing the food bags. It goes on like that for a while, the back and forth.

"How old is he?" She asks once there's a pause in orders, I hand her a bag and drink.

"He's turning eighteen in two months." I take off my headset and shut it off as we both go on lunch break.

"Nice, why doesn't he just come visit you here?" She questions, I pause debating on telling her. I sit down at a table, her across from me.

I chew on my lip and sigh. "He's in the asylum back home in Derry, has been for the past three years."

Her jaw drops open as she stares at me, "Since he was fifteen? Jesus, what happened?"

I shift in my seat and look at her, "He killed our dad."

She noticed how emotionless I said it, her eyes narrowed. "Reasoning, there's always one." I breathe a laugh, completely comfortable with her.

"Our dad was a pretty brutal drunk, always going after Henry." I mumble, remembering the pain and fear in his eyes every time dad was drunk and awake.

"I remember probably a couple days before. Henry was fucking with our dad's gun and shooting bottles. Dad ended up coming home and scared him shitless by shooting the ground at his feet." I took a breath, the guilt eating at me, for running—running away instead of helping him.

"I ran, I left Henry and I ran to my friend's house terrified that he'd killed Henry by then and that I was next." I mumble and release a laugh, clearing my throat after.

"Well, I have a few hours on this shift before my shift starts at the store by the house." I say, effectively changing subjects, standing up, she did as well.

Suddenly she pulled me into a hug. "M'sorry kiddo, I hope you see him soon." I nod and give her a smile.

꒷꒦

I count the money on my bed, two jobs. School, after school jobs. All of it was so much stress yet so worth it. I had more than enough money to go visit Henry. I just had to wait for my break. I let out a happy laugh as I tuck the money into a safe hiding place where I knew Jace wouldn't be able to find it.

I grab present money and put it in my pocket, getting up and walking over to my closet after. I open it and grab a pair of boots, putting them on I grab my backpack before sneaking out through my window. It was a one-story house so, not much of a fall at all.

I walk over to my bike and get on, putting my bag into the basket. I ride off towards the bookstore that I've always gone to.

꒷꒦

I walk through the aisles of books and finally get to the section where I've been getting the series Henry likes, I skim through the books till I find the 5th book of the series. I smile and grab it knowing Henry would love it.

I grab myself a book too before heading off to the front to checkout, I smile at the cashier and set the books down. "Good choices, I really loved the Jonsey series."

I nod and give him the money, "Yeah my brother loves it too, getting him the 5th one for his birthday." The cashier smiles at me and waves when I leave. I put the books in my bag and get on my bike after unlocking it.

I ride home and sneak back through my window, I place my bag on my bed before leaving my room. I smile right away when I see Marilyn but stop when I spot grandma crying, I never did do well in these kinds of situations. "What happened?"

Marilyn looked over to me and gave me a soft small smile. "We'll talk later, don't worry, go back to your room."

I shake my head and cross my arms, "No tell me now, somethings wrong."

Marilyn sighed and walked over to me, placing her hands on my arms. "Your uncle Jace had a seizure... he was taken to the hospital and ended up having another severe one. It— it led to a stroke... He—"

I looked at her blankly, "He died." It's not that hard to say, really. It's not like he was a good person. He didn't even try to act like he was.

She nodded and sighed, "I'm really sorry, I am."

I shake my head, "Don't be." I knew what this meant. I knew Jace was the only thing keeping me from going into the system. Now he's gone which means I'm going to be taken and thrown into a group home, probably.

I mean really, who wants a 16-year-old girl?

I look down away from Marilyn's eyes. I knew she was sad, sad she couldn't take me in. This whole family sucks, it's all shit. All of it. I let out a grunt as I pull away from her, my eyes burning with salty tears.

I wasn't gonna be able to see Henry after this. I let out a quiet sob and walked away from the living room, going to my room and shutting the door. I fall back onto my bed and let out a sob.