As soon as Eddie hung up the phone, Richie grabbed his shoes and threw them on, not answering the other loser's questions. He ran outside and jumped on his bike, pedaling toward Kennedy street as quickly as possible.
"Richie!" Stan yelled, as the others tried to catch up to him on their bikes.
Richie ignored him, pedaling faster. Only Mike was able to catch up to him, he being the strongest and most athletic. Mike saw Richie wiping away his tears from behind his glasses as he tried to go even faster.
"Come on, Rich. Talk to me," Mike said, extremely worried about his friend. He knew Richie hated to show emotions, and he had already cried twice that day.
"I have to get to Eddie," Richie said in a high pitched voice, breaking as he continued to cry.
"Is he okay?" Mike asked, hoping his gentle tone would help keep Richie calm.
Unfortunately, Richie started sobbing louder. "I don't know!" he yelled, pedaling so hard that Mike struggled to keep up.
They arrived at the mansion in less that five minutes, and Richie ran up to the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. Yelling in frustration, Richie ran to the window that he had broken into the first time and slammed his foot into the screen to pop it out. He slid inside and unlocked the front door.
"Eddie!" he yelled, running up the stairs. He got to Eddie's room and tried to open it, but something was holding it closed. "Eddie! Open the door!"
On the other side of the door, Eddie was leaning against it, hoping to keep Richie out. He cried into his knees, his inhaler in hand to help if he stopped breathing again.
"Go away," he coughed out, just loud enough for Richie to hear.
"No! Open the door!"
"Go away!" Eddie screamed, pulling harshly at his hair with his hands.
It was like greeting a familiar stranger. He knew it was Richie, the same person who had shown him affection the day before, but in that moment, all Eddie could feel was fear. He didn't like Richie yelling at him, and who knows if he had the potential to snap? Eddie didn't think he'd be able to handle the pain both physically and emotionally if Richie decided to hurt him.
"Open the fucking door!" Richie screamed, angry and heartbroken. Couldn't Eddie tell that he was worried about him? He could be hurt and in pain!
"Go away! I want to be alone!"
Richie knew that was a lie. He was about to yell again when he felt a hand cover his mouth and pull him away from the door.
"Calm the fuck down, Richie! You know the shit he goes through! Do you really think yelling at him is going to help?!" Bev hissed in his ear, Ben helping her to keep Richie from running back to the door.
Richie stopped fighting immediately, realizing his mistake. He gently tapped Ben's hand, asking silently to be let go. Both Ben and Bev got the message, giving Richie the opportunity to walk back to the door.
He sat down next to it, gently tapping his knuckles on it. "Eds? I'm sorry I yelled," he said in a much softer voice. "I was worried about you and I panicked."
"It's okay," Eddie croaked out, still traumatized and feeling sick from the wave of emotions that had crashed over him in the last few minutes.
"Can I come in?" Richie tried, hoping Eddie would trust him.
Eddie was silent for a few minutes. Of course he wanted to see Richie, but he was terrified in the moment of him. He didn't want to be seen with the chain, and he knew that having it attached to him meant he wouldn't be able to get away if Richie decided to attack him.
