𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 ↱ 𝐈𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕 (hiatus)

𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 || 𝟑

"PATRICIA IT'S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, YOU NEED TO COME OUT OF YOUR ROOM."

    A pillow slammed against the door startling the two adults on the other side, their eyes meeting before they walked away. To Patricia, the two-bedroom apartment had never felt so empty and with everything being a reminder of the now missing Kate, the apartment was just painful.

Patricia decided that she couldn't stay curled up and soak in her own self-pity, but instead she dragged her tired body to the bathroom. The site was treacherous. Heavy bags hung under her brown eyes, skin sickly pale and hair hanging in greasy strands. Her appearance made her eyes widen before she hastily turned on the shower, scrubbing her skin raw to try and get rid of the pain that lingered.

The walk to her kitchen was slow, putting off seeing the broken image of her parents for as long as possible. Kate was her sister, although not by blood, but to their parents she was their baby. Her disappearance hit them more than ever.

Both the adults heads looked up sadly, their eyes following the figure of their daughter as she cautiously sat on one of the old wooden stools. Seeing her in such a ghastly state made them sick to their stomachs, eyes now hollow with despair. The disappearance had broken the Downey family down and shattered what remained of any sort of happiness.

Patricia twiddled her fingers before clearing her throat, breathing deeply and closing her eyes to suppress the sob that was building up in her stomach.

"Hi mom, dad."

Patricia's voice was scratchy, unused until now except for the phone calls that she made to her friends. The feeling of talking brought on a whole new wave of tears.

The girl glanced at the clock sat above the front door, hands scooping up her rucksack before she pressed quick kisses to her parents cheeks. She waved slightly before silently closing the door behind her, separating the already broken family even more. The morning air was like a bucket of cold water compared to the stuffy interior of her apartment. Kate would've thought so too.

Taylor and Amelia sat on the bottom steps, eyebrows furrowed with worry as they watched the frail image of their best friend make her way down the stairs. When reaching the end, she stood awkwardly before engulfing her friends in a hug. Quiet cries came out of her chapped lips and the two friends exchanged heartbroken glances before hugging her even tighter.

Taylor sighed sadly before speaking up.

"Listen I know I freaked out on you and stuff, but I miss my best friend. I'm sorry, Patty."

Patricia looked up and laughed softly, a teary smile adorning her face before she squeezed Taylor's hand in reassurance.

Taylor took this as an apology aswell.

———

"PATRICIA, HEY. I JUST WANTED TO SAY I'M SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS."

Brown met green as Derry's own Beverly Marsh stood above Patricia, glancing down at her worriedly. Patricia fought the urge to roll her eyes, instead studying her classmates reactions from her peripherals. Most of their mouths gaped, some whispering frantically as they knew what was to come. The ice queen was back, and she wasn't leaving anytime soon.

Mocking laughter escaped her chapped lips, Beverly's eyes widening as she watched the broken girl in front of her. Patricia smirked before abruptly standing up, her chair screeching behind her and anyone who hadn't noticed the scene now watched with curiosity. A lazy smile danced across her pale features, head tilting before finally speaking up.