Fates Intertwined

Chapter 2

Derry, 5/28/1988

"I know you drank it!"

"I'd rather die than drink what you put your filthy hands on!"

"What did you say?!"

"You heard me, you old bat!"

Richie Tozier slowly opened his eyes and processed what was going on. He immediately distinguished the yelling voices as his parents'. From what it sounded like, they were currently fighting about who drank the last bottle of wine, slurring their words as they did so. Richie rolled his eyes and groaned as it dawned on him. He pulled his blanket over his head and shifted in his bed.

He was fed up with his parents daily cycle: wake up, complain, drink, fight, pass out, repeat. They also lectured their son about everything he was doing wrong, but that was only when they saw him, which Richie made sure was rare.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning, Richie finally gave up and begrudgingly got out of his bed. He headed toward the window and pushed his blue curtains away, revealing a sun shining brightly in the sky; just where it was hanging an hour ago when he was trying to take his third nap of the day.

The chorus of voices slowly grew louder downstairs. Richie narrowed his eyes at the floor and grumbled some words that would've gotten him punished by his dad. Five more years, he reminded himself. Five more years, then you can leave this prison.

Then, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. As much as his anger towards his family could be overbearing, he had to contain it. Besides, there were other ways to let his frustrations out.

With an idea in his head and a smirk on his face, Richie swiftly put on his sneakers and grabbed some loose change from his desk. After one quick glance back to check if anyone was coming up, he opened his window and climbed down a nearby tree. Since his bike was unattainable in the garage, he quickly went around his house and started walking down the block.

Derry was a quiet that time of day. There were no cars passing by, no kids playing in their yard, nothing. The only sound Richie could hear was the sound of wind flowing by. Everything was calm and silent. Although the scenery would make the average person feel calm, Richie felt nothing but his heart racing.

The boy quickened his pace as his senses heightened. His eyes focused on the path underneath him and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. There had to be people up ahead. There had to be a car honking or some adults chatting about boring-grown up stuff. There had to be.

After a few minutes of what felt like torture, Richie finally heard a voice ahead of him. His head shot up to see one of his friends repeating the same phrase over and over again, stuttering each time he did. Richie smiled in relief and ran towards the distracted boy. "Big Bill! Good to see you!"

The said boy's head shot up as he heard Richie's call. He stepped back with wide eyes. "W-What the h-heck, Rich? You g-gave me a h-heart a-attack."

Richie laughed wholeheartedly. "Aww, no 'hi' for your best friend? You're so sweet!"

"Y-Yeah, yeah," Bill replied, not amused in the slightest.

"So," Richie started, dragging along the conversation, "what are you doing out all alone? The ladies are still a mile down the road!"

Bill rolled his eyes, but answered. "S-Studying th-the sewer r-routes."

"Again?" Richie rose an eyebrow and squinted his eyes. That would be the fifth time his friend went out to do that. Not like he blamed him, though. They both knew his reasons.