Wrong

•21•

*Bev's POV*

I walked towards Ben, who was covered in blood.

"Is this yours or Eddie's?" I asked, pointing to the giant red stain on Ben's shirt. I already knew the answer, but I needed to double check.

"It's Eddie."

I sat down on the couch, sighing, and put my head in my hands.

"I should've known. This is what my dad did to me."

Ben put a hand on my shoulder and I couldn't help but notice the metallic smell of blood filling the room.

"Don't blame yourself, Bev. There's no way you could've known, ok?"

I nodded, but I didn't believe Ben. He's wrong, I should've noticed the signs.

I heard laughter from the bathroom where Richie took Eddie and then it stopped, immediately followed by a quiet moan.

"Wow, the second Eddie is single, Richie takes his chance."

"Yeah...I'll g-go get y-you another sh-shirt, ok B-Ben?" Bill asked and left to go to his bedroom. He's stuttering a lot, probably because a life-changing truth bomb was just dropped on him.

I still can't believe it. I guess getting abused by your dad is different than by your boyfriend, but I still feel like I should've figured it out.

I knew all of the signs. The withdrawal from us after a bad night. How he's been jumpier and easily scared recently. He's practically lost all of his fight.

If I had just put the pieces together, Eddie wouldn't have had to suffer for 2½ years. He would've been safe, and he would've felt loved.

My mind went back to a little under a year ago. It was Losersgiving, aka the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Ever since we all met, we would get together that Saturday to celebrate with each other. With the people who actually loved us.

Eddie was super late. We all teased him about it, but he wasn't fighting back like he usually did. And he didn't take off his coat, insisting that it was super cold. He was probably just wearing it to hide some bruises. How could I be such a dumb fuck and not notice?!

I started crying again. Eddie deserved better than this. We moved here to get away from the abuse, not to get closer to it!

Bill and Richie walked into the room as Ben started hugging me again. He's a hugger...

"B-Bev, are y-you ok?" Bill stuttered.

"I should've known," I whispered, shaking my head. "I should've fucking known."

"Red," Richie sat down next to me and I noticed he was shaking slightly. "It's not your fault, ok?"

"...ok," I sighed reluctantly. "I just feel like I could've done more."

"I know...it's all gonna be ok Bee." Ben said and hugged me AGAIN. I swear, he's the only one who's allowed to hug me this much. I would kill anyone else.

Eddie and Stan walked out of the bathroom. It was obvious that Eddie had been crying, his cheeks were brushed with tears and his eyes were red and swollen. He's probably just upset about Dan.

"You know Benny Boy," Richie broke the silence. "You and Miss Molly Ringwald have been dating for quite a while. Ever since 8th grade if my memory is correct."

Ben and I looked at each other confused.

"So Haystack," Ok these nicknames are excessive, even for Richie. "When are you gonna pop the question?"

"RICH!" I screamed. Ben and I had talked about this stuff before. We want to get married, but just not yet.

"Oh, uh," Ben said flustered. "I uh..."

"It's not of your concern Richie," I stated. "Why do you even want to know?"

"Sorry for trying to break the silence, Red." Richie grumbled.

"Bathroom. Now."

Richie looked up at me surprised, but followed me into the bathroom anyways.

"Ok," I said once he closed the door. "What the hell Richie?"

"What?"

"First off, you come in here with Eddie and he comes back out looking like he was crying. Second of all, you ask Ben in front of everyone when he's going to propose? Since when is that a topic that people casually bring up?! Third, you keep calling us nicknames, it's excessive and it's not like you. So, what the hell is happening?"

"Bev," Richie sighed. "I kissed Eddie."

"WHAT, OH MY GOSH REDDIE IS REAL!" I squealed.

"Beverly, shut the fuck up," Richie hissed at me, clamping his hand over my mouth. I gave him an apologetic look and he continued. "But he started crying. And now it's really awkward and I feel bad, but I don't know what I did wrong, so I can't say sorry."

"Oh, Eddie...god, I feel so awful. I think I know what happened. Do you know if Dan tried to do things with Eddie without his permission?"

"Yeah he did, Eddie told me," Richie said, finally putting the pieces together. "Shit. I pressured him into it...I'm such a dickhead."

"You didn't know Richie, and it's not like you did it on purpose. Just talk to Eddie, ok?"

"Kay...thanks Bev."

"Any time, Trashmouth."

I opened the door and we walked out. Stan was in the kitchen heating up some food and Bill was setting up a movie.

"Men in Bl-Black?" Bill asked Eddie. He didn't answered, just nodded his head slightly. He was still shaking and he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

God Richie, what did you do...