Every 27 Years // IT Fanfic

Chapter 3

A knock sounded at her bedroom door, she just glanced over at the wooden structure, a light sigh coming from her lips,
"What?!" She spoke, both annoyed and relieved that someone was there. Her mood dropped when she seen her mother walk in,
"We're having some people over, so be presentable. And get out of those filthy rags you call a shirt." She scolded, not even looking up from her agenda, leaving soon after she gave her harsh demands. Angie groaned as she sat up, daring to go back into the bathroom.
"Huh. They must've cleaned up." She thought to herself as she pulled out a makeup bag and set it down on the edge of the sink. She pulled her hair back and put it up nicely, then did the basics of her makeup. Nothing too fancy. She frowned at her reflection,
"I hate doing this." She spat at herself as she turned to go back to her room, selecting a slim black dress from her wardrobe and slipped it over her frame, adding diamond earring and a necklace. She looked at herself in the mirror,
"These are filthy rags. Ugh, I hate my parents." She muttered as she began to go back downstairs, and just as she came to the last step, the doorbell rang. Her mother and father both came to the door to greet two professional businessmen. Angie just kept her distance, about to sneak out the back door, until she heard,
"Angelina. Would you come here for a minute?" Her father asked, this was the first time all week that he remarked her existence. She silently rolled her eyes and came back to the front door. She casually shook the men's hands but kept quiet, finally being dismissed by a nod from her mother. She turned and disappeared around the corner to go upstairs, but she then rerouted and ran out the back door. Her fingers unlocked the back gate and she moved onto the sidewalk, running down it. One brick house, another bungalow, and there's Henry's residence. Angie paused, knowing he'd be out back rather than inside. Again, she moved toward the backside of the white sided house and poked her head around the corner. Sure enough, there he was, sitting under a tree. Reaching up, she freed her hair from its ties and let it down over her shoulders, slowly walking over whilst making sure his dad didn't see her.
"Henry!" She called out quietly. Immediately his head turned so he was facing her directly. He didn't say anything, but sorta pointed to his dad in the window, back to them. Without another word, she signaled for him to follow her. The two sneaked back up around the front and began to go down and around the block, or just down the street a ways and then turn back to come home before it got too dark. They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Henry spoke up,
"You're parents have someone over?"
"And you can tell that how?"
"The way you're dressed. You never dress like that unless mom and dad make you." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked along, glancing at the road ahead then back to her.
"Spot on. Business meeting. She wanted me to look nice, first time the acknowledged me all week." Her voice was soft yet had a tone of sadness to it. Henry scowled,
"What the hell is wrong with your folks anyway?!" He snapped, sure he respected them, but he also hated how they treated one of his best friends.
"They care more about their high paying jobs than me." She answered, kicking a stone that laid in her way. She sighed, hearing him clear his throat. This was a comfortable silence to them, if the other were here, it'd be a little awkward.
"What happened earlier today?" She heard him question, the thought of that hour only made her shiver and tense up.
"I-I don't know...it's hard to explain since I don't know what and why it happened." She explained, her voice shaky and filled with uncertainty. She felt a hand on her shoulder, but didn't hear him say anything else. What happened to her was hard to understand and comprehend.
"Tough guy got soft?"
"I may have had a hard life with my old man Ang, but I can be myself around you." He spoke, there was hostility to his words but also truth. Eventually, they had walked the whole block and he delivered her home, she could tell he wanted to hug her but, again, he wanted to keep his tough guy bully demeanor.
"Be safe Angie. See you later." With that, he turned and began to walk back down to his house.
"Bye Henry!" She called out, then focusing on being quiet when opening the door, hearing her parents still socializing with those two men that had came about an hour ago. She crept up the stairs and right into her room, where she opened her drawer and brought out the love note she found in the bathroom earlier that day, reading it over and over until her eyes dropped shut and she fell asleep.