Inseparable | Reddie

Chapter Ten

Eddie got little to no sleep that night. He spent most of his time staring out at the moon, hoping Richie was staring too. All he could do was wish Richie would poke his head up in view of the window and give him that wide grin. But he wouldn't, not again. 

Eddie woke to the sound of light tapping against his window. He slowly opened his tired swollen eyes and looked over at his window. Beverly stared back at him with a frown on her face. She motioned for him to go to the window. He shook his head and rolled over weakly to face the wall. A second of silence passed before Eddie heard his window open. He rolled his eyes a little and curled up more into Richie's sweatshirt and the blankets covering him.

"Eddie" Beverly whispered as she walked across the floor to the messy bed. "Come on, Eddie" she crawled onto the bed and sat beside him. 

"Go away" Eddie mumbled. His voice was weak.

"No" Beverly gently moved her fingers into his hair and played with the soft messy strands. "Time to get up"

"I'm not in the mood, Bev"

"None of us are but there are four boys outside wanting to make sure you're okay. Now let's get up out of bed and take on the day"

"Just tell them I'm fine" Eddie whispered.

"They won't believe me and you know it. So either I tell them to climb up here and get into bed with you or you make it easy on the rest of us and get up" at this point, Eddie knew he was defeated. Beverly knew how to get what she wanted. That has always been one of her specialties. He slowly sat up and looked around in a daze. 

"He's really gone, huh" his voice was as cold as ice.

"Yeah... yeah, he is" Beverly frowned and rubbed Eddie's back. Eddie sighed heavily and slowly got out of bed. He walked to his closet to find a change of clothes. Beverly stood up and walked to the window to hold a thumbs up for the boys to know she got him. Their faces filled with relief. 

Eddie brought his clothes to the bathroom and got changed. He brushed his teeth and rinsed with mouthwash. He hung Richie's sweatshirt up carefully in the closet then shut the closet door. He turned back to Beverly. 

"Meet you downstairs" he mumbled. Beverly nodded and climbed back out of the window. Eddie walked downstairs and told his mom he'd be with his friends for the day. She didn't look too pleased about it but let her son go anyway. He quickly took his medication before he walked outside to meet up with the other losers.

They all looked tired and worn out. Each pair of eyes had a red gloss over them. Even though they all shared the same saddened emotion, they put on a brave smile for one another. Eddie tried to force a smile but it only lasted a moment before it fell back down to rest. 

Beverly suggested they go to the quarry but the idea was quickly shot down. Ben suggested the park but nobody really wanted to be there either.  Mike suggested they could go see a movie but again, the idea was shot down. It really wasn't the same without Richie.

That first day without the loud mouth was thought to be the hardest. But, as days passed, it seemed as if things grew more and more awkward. The losers stuck together every chance they had but it seemed boredom grew pretty fast. Most of the time, Eddie refused to hang out because he wanted to wait by the phone for Richie to call.

Days passed. The losers saw less and less of Eddie. More days passed and still no call from Richie. Eddie's obsession was quickly becoming unhealthy. He'd just sit at the table right beside his phone and wait. Sonia even tried to get him to go out, which was rare for her to do. He still refused. "I have to wait for Richie" he'd tell her.