dead in the water ( IT CH:2 ) DISCONTINUED

iii. beverly's revelation

( WARNING:
this chapter will contain mentions of death, alcohol, smoking, swearing, and other such things. please do not read on if any of these things might trigger you. your health is more important than the story. )

THREE 

Levi wiped under her eyes with the heels of her palms, taking deep breaths in an attempt to return her breathing pattern to normal. Her eyes felt puffy and her limbs as heavy as lead; her mind was numb and her ears were ringing as she looked up at her friends, barely paying attention to their arguing. All she could catch were the words 'die' and 'leaving' before she saw Richie and Eddie walking away from Mike. This ignited a small flame of anger in her. She wanted to talk, to yell at them to shut up and listen to Mike, but she couldn't force the words to come out of her mouth. Instead, she turned away and laid her head on Beverly's shoulder, taking a drag from the redhead's cigarette.

"You okay?" Ben squatted beside them, taking notice of Beverly's blank face and Levi's far-off expression. Hannah sidled up beside him, her arms wrapped around herself as she looked down at them with a worried expression; Beverly helped Levi stand, giving her a one-over to make sure she wasn't going to vomit again, before she spoke.

"I'm going back to the townhouse, too. You coming?" She began walking back to her car, not once looking back at the group. Ben ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head before walking after Beverly.

"You should've told us, Mikey." With that, both of them got into their respective cars and took off, leaving Hannah, Levi, Mike, and Bill in the parking lot. The Denbrough man hadn't spoken since the phone call with Stanley's wife, he hadn't even moved from his spot. Levi's heart ached for him; she remembered how close he and Stan were—they were brothers, really—and it broke her heart even further to see Bill like this. 

"Lev?" Hannah's voice caught her attention, making her turn her head to look at the other woman. Hannah's brows furrowed; she'd only ever seen her best friend like this—broken and exhausted—only once before, and she hated it now as much as she had back then. "You wanna go, too?" Her heart grew even heavier when Levi shrugged hesitantly, her eyes filling with tears of guilt. Hannah unfolded her arms, reaching out and bringing the Johnston woman into a tight hug. "We can go, it's okay."

Quietly, Hannah led Levi back to her car, opening the door to the passenger's seat. "The keys are in your purse, right?" She inquired, only receiving a small nod of confirmation for an answer as she opened the smallest zipper and fished out the keys. Closing the door behind her, Hannah rounded the car and opened the door to the driver's side, stopping for a moment and looking back at Mike with an apologetic expression before she got in and began the short drive to the Townhouse.

"Let's get our shit and get the fuck out of here," Richie spoke as they all entered the Townhouse. Levi took a seat on the bottom of the stairs, nearly getting kicked in the face as Richie ran past her and up the stairs toward his room. She didn't react, save for hunching over and wrapping her arms around her knees, squeezing her hands together.

"Did you leave your stuff here?" Eddie inquired, following Richie up the stairs, being more mindful of Levi.

"No, I left all my stuff in the car," Ben answered, sharing a worried look with Hannah. The Jameson woman only shook her head slightly, opening her mouth to speak when the sound of glasses knocking against each other interrupted her. Both her and Ben turned to face the bar, only to find Beverly rifling through bottles of alcohol, choosing one and pouring herself a drink, tossing it back carelessly; slowly, they moved closer, Ben taking a seat on one of the stools and leaning forward, his face serious.