Gone Girl // IT Fanfiction

Four: Town Talk

Eddie hadn't stopped speaking since Kit and the new kid - whose name they discovered was Ben - had bumped into the group. He hadn't managed to get much information out of Ben, who still seemed too shocked from his ordeal, but Kit had been a little more helpful. She had filled him in on how she and Ben had ended up together in the first place, answering one question that had been hanging around the boys. However, she had fallen silent when Richie had asked about why she had allowed Henry and his friends to kidnap Ben in the first place. Eddie didn't seem to notice her silence at her brother's question, however, his mouth continuing to move and words continuing to spew out from it.

"I think it's great that we're helping the new kid but we also need to think about our own safety," he was saying as they got into town, arriving in an alleyway beside the pharmacy. "I mean, he's bleeding all over and you guys know there's an AIDS epidemic happening right now as we speak. I mean my mom's friend in New York City got it just by touching a dirty pole in the subway and she got AIDS blood into her system through a hangnail, a hangnail! But did you know that they can amputate legs and arms? But how do you amputate a waist? You know that there are alleys full of AIDS infected needles, right? You know that?"

"Richie, wait here," Bill said as they helped Ben take a seat against the wall. Together he, Stan, and Eddie ran out into the main street, disappearing around the corner.

"Glad I got to meet you before you died," Richie told Ben with a smile, making Kit scrunch up her face. He caught her look and threw up his hands. "What?!"

"Honestly, the things you say," she replied, both confused and bewildered by her brother. Some of the things he would say still had the ability to surprise her, despite the fact that she had been living with him since the day he had been born. Sometimes she thought that she had him figured out: he was just her kid brother who lived in a house where their parents didn't pay them much attention, so he used his words to get it from others in some not so conventional ways. Sometimes, though, he still managed to surprise her. With a slight wince she sat down beside Ben and let out a deep sigh before looking at him.

"You're... You're not going to die," she murmured. The boy smiled at that, albeit weakly. Kit had to be honest, he looked horrible. Everytime she looked at him all she could see was his bleeding stomach and the pure fear in his eyes.

"He might die. Just don't get blood on me is all I'm asking," Richie said, interrupting his sister's thoughts. Kit shot a dirty look in his direction, nose scrunched up at his comment, before she turned back to Ben.

"Listen, kid - Ben. About what happened... I'm sorry I didn't try and stop them. I just..." Kit trailed off, unable to hold her gaze with the younger boy. She felt sick inside, like someone had punched her in the stomach. She could still hear his screams as the knife cut into him, or his banging from the trunk of Henry's car. The very thought of Henry made Kit squeeze her eyes shut. They're going to kill me. They're going to hate me for deserting, and they're going to kill me for it. A part of her hoped that maybe Patrick would stop them from doing that, but then she remembered how he had acted at the bridge when Henry had grabbed her. He said he'd never let them touch me, and yet he let it happen. He didn't even try to fight Henry. But Kit couldn't bring herself to fully blame Patrick. She hadn't done nearly enough in trying to get him to stop hurting Ben, or all the other kids he would bully at school. She swallowed, feeling her throat tighten up. She almost thought that Henry's hand was wrapped around it, squeezing it tight. They're going to kill me.

"Hey," Ben said, capturing Kit's attention by placing one hand on her wrist. She turned and looked towards him, surprised to see him smiling at her. "I... I don't blame you. I don't think it's your fault. You were just as scared as I was, I bet. It's okay."