star-crossed ✩ reddie

Prologue

Disclaimer: This story will contain some mature language, abuse, and homophobia. Enjoy at your own discretion!

Richie Tozier was having the worst vacation of his life.

To be fair, he had only traveled once prior to this trip, and that was when he was a toddler. Although he couldn't remember anything from the experience, he knew it must have been better than the Tozier family's current getaway.

The family of four had been in California for approximately one day before things went awry. Richie had been elated when he woke up on the second day. He adored the humid air that held a tropical aroma, it was a stark contrast to Derry's cold atmosphere.

The lanky boy crept across the hall of the rundown motel they had booked to stay in, not wanting to wake his parents or sister. Richie had the bizarre tendency to either stay up inhumanly late, or rise at the crack of dawn. He typically switched his sleep schedule up every other day, often leaving himself exhausted, but he didn't mind. Something about the serene nature of being the only one awake had always appealed to the boy.

As he tiptoed past his parents room, he heard a shrill voice that made him freeze in his tracks. His mother seemed to be yelling at his father in hushed tones. Like watching horrific stories on the news, Richie couldn't bring himself to move on. He had the urge to listen in on their quarrel. They had fought sporadically throughout the teenage boy's childhood, and often it became physical. He had to make sure his mom wasn't in danger.

"I can't believe you Wentworth. Is she the reason why you brought the family to California? So you could cheat on me with a cheap skank you met on a business trip? The fact that you had the audacity to bring me and the kids along is appalling."

The woman spoke with a tone filled with venom, all while Richie waited anxiously to hear his father's reply.

"Listen here whore," the man said, with a slurred voice. Richie peeked at his watch. It was only eight in the morning, yet his dad was already wasted. The worst part was that not a single fibre of the boy was surprised by his father's drunken behaviour. At home Wentworth often spent entire weeks on benders with his buddies, leaving the rest of the family to fend for themselves.

"You don't get to make me the bad guy here. I have done nothing but work this entire marriage so you don't have to. It's not my fault you're an ungrateful bitch."

"Richie?" A small voice suddenly broke the silence in the hall, causing his parents to stop mid-fight. The fourteen year old felt a wave of panic wash over him as he realized his younger sister, Avery, had woken up and was standing at the end of the hall. Before he could usher her away from their livid parents, Wentworth's figure appeared in the doorway, an agitated Maggie standing farther back in the room.

"Were you eavesdropping boy?" The thin teenager realized he had to ensure his sister was out of harms way.

"Avery, go back to bed okay? I'll be with you in a minute," he hissed under his breath, hoping she would be able to hear him. The girl looked at her brother with big eyes filled with fear, before nodding and scampering back down the hall.

"I don't want to ask you again kid. Were. You. Eavesdropping."

Richie's heart stopped. Without waiting for an answer, the man stormed over to his son, pinning him against the wall.

"It's not polite to listen in on conversations not meant for your ears," Wentworth hissed, his breath reeking of liquor. The father let go of his son, and for a brief second he thought that the man would walk away.

Then, he turned and punched Richie square in the jaw.

The skinny boy collapsed to the floor holding his throbbing face, while his father went back to his room and slammed the door, Maggie not having cared enough to check on her son. His jaw ached, and he felt blood where the skin had been broken. He had to get out of the house. With little care as to where he was headed, Richie stumbled to the door, pulling on his beat up converse before slipping out the door.