business || victor criss/it 2017

-eleven

i felt a small figure grip my arm. blinking my eyes open, a tear-stained bill slept tightly beside me. i let out a sigh and slowly wriggled out of his grasp. my bones cracked as i stepped silently around my room for as to not wake up my brother. i changed out of my tartan pyjamas into a pair of jeans and a flannel, shoving my feet into my mud-drenched converse. i left my hair in the braids i'd slept in and stuck a cigarette in my mouth. the sun was beginning to rise as i shut the front door to my house painfully slow, raising my lighter to my cigarette as i began to walk. i finished the short walk to victor's house, tapping his thin window repeatedly until a sleepy bleach-blonde body appeared.

"hey." he yawned as i clambered into his room.

"bill's so freaked out." i spoke at barely a whisper. victor frowned, sitting back down on his bed and pulling his blanket around his torso, holding it up for me to join him.

"he's a kid, kids are going missing, his brother is missing, no wonder he's scared." his hand trailed my forearm as he spoke. i shrugged.

"my dad.." i began, letting out an exasperated sigh. "he gets so mad when we mention any of it."

"he's just... he can't handle his emotions, ya know?" victor hugged me tighter. "he's sad, we all are."