hard times// eddie + richie // IT

the hospital

i'm the fucking reason stan threw himself off of a bridge. i fucking hate myself for thinking he'd be okay talking to beverly. his parents' words rang in my head.
"he's fragile."
i thought, i just thought, that maybe it would help him, and if i was there, maybe he'd be less scared.
but fuck no.
i wanna know what happened in there. why my idea was such a failure. i needed to talk to beverly.
but first, stan.
i sped down the streets, not caring that tears were clouding my vision. i skidded to a stop at the hospital, not caring enough to put my bike in the racks. i pushed open the doors and looked around.
no mr. and ms. uris.
no eddie.
no one was there that stan knew.
but i was here.
i walked up to the lady at the front desk.
"where did stan uris go?" i ask. the woman flips through a book.
"sorry, you can't see him right now." she smiled sweetly.
"why not?!" i yelled, much louder than i intended to.
"because he's in intensive care, fighting for his life. immediate family only." her smile had left her face and her eyes narrowed.
"when can i see him?"
"when he's out of intensive care, which he may not come out of."
i gulped. the idea of stan no longer walking the planet scared me. no more going to his house, no more hanging out with him at the arcade. i wrote down my phone number on a piece of paper.
"call me and leave a message if i can see him." then, i walked out of the waiting room. i picked up my bike, and biked the path i had gone with stan hours before. i ended up at beverly's house. i ran up the stairs as quick as possible and knocked on her door. beverly opened the door, and smiled.
she didn't know anything about stan.
then, she saw my puffy eyes.
"what's wrong with you, tozier?" she asked, as she beckoned me in.
"what happened with stan?" i asked her. she looked shocked.
"he just came and talked to me," she said. i could tell she was lying.
"just talking, that's all you did?"
"yes."
"what did you guys talk about?"
"oh, you know, normal stuff. birds, school, the usual." my hands shook with rage. i knew she was lying.
"well, i will have you know that stan left your house twitching, and then proceeded to throw himself off of a bridge." i told her. she immediately paled.
"what?" she asked, her voice quiet.
"i told you. whatever you said made stan jump off a fucking bridge."
"i-i never," i cut her off.
"what happened, for the last time before i go ballistic?" beverly gulps.
"he came to my door, and he looked really nervous. at the time, i had no idea why. i let him come inside. right off the bat, he told me he saw me and bill kiss, and he told me he thought i liked him. i told stan i wasn't sure who i liked, and it made him mad. he told me to make up my mind, because he wasn't gonna be hurt waiting for me. i got mad then, too. i told him that if he was gonna act like that then i choose bill. all the emotion drained from his face, and his hands started to shake. he asked me if i had ever liked him, and because i was mad, i told him no. then, before leaving, he told me that he was in love with me. he mumbled something about never letting you tell him what to do again."
"so all that happened, and you didn't leave anything out?" i asked her. beverly shook her head.
"he loved you, you know. he was still in love with you when he jumped off of that bridge, otherwise he wouldn't have done it." beverly let out a choked sob.
"i want to see him," she said through tears.
"we can't, he's in intensive care," i told her. she stood up abruptly, and walked to the door.
"fuck it, i'm going. i'm gonna see stan." i nodded and followed her.
thoughts raced through my mind as we pedaled back to the hospital. beverly stopped.
"you've talked to the lady at the desk?" she asked. i nodded.
"then hide. i'll give you a signal when it's time." she told me.
i hid in a bush right next to the door so i could see and hear what was going on. beverly waltzed up to the front desk. the woman smiled.
"why, if it isn't beverly! what a beautiful young lady you've grown into!" the woman said, sugar oozing in her voice. beverly smiled.
"why thank you, ms. greenbrooke." then, she frowned.
"what's wrong dear?" ms. greenbrooke asked.
"oh, it's just, i think i saw your son picking a fight with henry bowers behind the convenience store. it was scary." ms. greenbrooke gasped.
"oh not again!" she shouted. then, she pressed a red button on he desk and spoke into it.
"i'm going on break, send pat up to the front desk!" she said, before scurrying off and out the door. beverly turned around and winked at me. i scrambled out of the bushes, and together we sprinted down the halls.
"how'd you know what to say?" i huffed. it's hard to talk and run at the same time.
"ms. greenbrooke used to babysit me. her so. was a bad egg and she was terrified of him getting into fights."
"oh," i responded.
we reached an elevator, and next to it was a map. beverly scanned it with lighting speed.
"intensive care! third floor!" she gasped, before hitting the elevator button.
once we reached the third floor, we walked calmly, so it looked like we were supposed to be there. we looped around halls and corners, until beverly stopped.
"do we even know what room stan's in?" she asked.
"nope." i answered. we stood there for a moment. suddenly, we heard eddie's voice from the hallway to our left.
"give me my fucking change back!" he grumbled. we turned the corner, and found him bickering with a vending machine. beverly laughed. eddie's eyes widened when he saw me, but he immediately looked at the floor.
what an ass.
"need some help?" beverly asked eddie. he shook his head.
"i'll be alright, just wanted a snack." he answered.
"are you here for stan?" she asked.
"yeah, i'm guessing you are too?" beverly nodded her head.
"so, do you know what room he's in?" beverly asked.
"yeah, room 315. just follow me," eddie answered. he turned on his heel, and we followed closely behind him.
"how'd you get in?" beverly asked, quietly so no one else could hear her.
"i told them i was his brother. somehow, they believed me." eddie answered, a mischievous grin crossing his face.
"we just distracted the secretary and ran for it," beverly laughed. eddie stopped walking.
room 315.