Here For You

The Tree (16)

1992
Your POV
•-•-•-•-•

Long story short, barely any Christmas decorations were found after scouring the house for them. There weren't even anything for other holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Halloween, or Valentine's Day.

Honestly though, who really decorates for Valentine's Day? I don't think I've ever met anyone who did that prior to the apocalypse.

Anyway, Bill had to leave with Eddie and Richie to gather branches.

Beverly went to help Stanley and Ben, which leaves me alone with my thoughts.

My stomach begins to turn as I keep drawing back to previous holidays, particularly the ones on Christmas day. My mind won't push the memories aside, instead trapping me in them.

I'm startled when Beverly plops down on the couch beside me, to my left.

She smiles and nudges me, "Jumpy, huh?"

I chuckle at her, thankful for a distraction, "A little. What's up?"

"I just wanted to check on you," she tells me. "It shouldn't take too long before the guys get back. They weren't supposed to go too far."

I nod at her words, a small smile present on my face. Beverly squints her eyes at me a bit, as if she's trying to read me.

"Something's on your mind," she states, fully facing me now as she crosses her legs beneath her, hands in her lap. "Tell me."

My eyebrow raises at this. "How did ya know?"

"You have a far off look in your eyes. As if you're getting distant from everything around you. You also just have this look," she explains with a shrug. "Now tell me, what's bugging you?"

I let out a long, heavy sigh as I look away. I stare at the mantle above the fireplace before speaking. My voice is quiet, and I feel as if I'm a child again. I nearly cringe at how I sound.

"Well, ya know how I told ya'll that for the past few Christmas' I've been alone, right?" I start, and she nods, silently urging me to continue. "And how I've had many problems?"

Once more, she nods.

"I never went into full detail, always bein' vague with my responses. I reckon now's the time I confess everythin'."

I pause to take a breath, then proceed with my nervous and hesitant explanation.

"Every Christmas season, somethin' goes wrong. The first time, my friends were hung before me. Just hangin' there from the trees...then came the next, where I had struggled with my hallucinations 'nd shit.

"You see, these were all tied ta It. I never would'a thought I'd've made it ta this one, if it weren't for ya'll savin' my sanity. I just- I don't want anythin' ta happen again."

Beverly sits there for a moment, astonished. I was still vague, but she seems to have understood everything clearly.

She pulls me into a hug, and I slowly wrap my arms around her.

"Listen, I'm sorry for what's happened to you in the past, YN. But nothing will happen this time, I'll be sure of it. And if it does, then we'll face it then. Just like you said we would. Okay?" Beverly mutters to me assuringly, and I calm down.

I grin a little as I hum in agreement, and we pull apart right as the guys get back.

Richie looks at us, "What's going on in here? Some sappy shit?"

Bev laughs a little and nods, "Yeah, just some sappy shit."

She looks at me again and sets a hand on my shoulder, telling me softly before going to the kitchen, "If you need anything, just let me know."

I pull the blanket closer to me as the guys set the branches on the carpet to the right of the fireplace, in the corner of the room where we'll be building the tree.

Bill comes to my side and gently grabs my hand as he kneels beside me, smiling at me slightly. "A-Are you a-alright?"

I smile back and nod my head, "Yeah, I'm fine. Bev 'nd I were just havin' a conversation while ya'll were gone. I appreciate yer concern, though."

He looks relieved as he nods once to me, then his grin grows. "W-Well then, are you u-up for h-h-helping b-build the t-t-tree with m-me?"

Feeling the blush rising on my cheeks, I let him him pull me up and lead me to the pile of branches. I keep the blanket securely around my shoulders, giving me a little cocoon.

Meanwhile, Richie and Eddie went to do lord-knows-what together.

As I situate myself beside Bill, he pulls out some string that we can use so the tree won't fall apart.

I grab three branches, without leaves, and hold them up so that they'll act as a support in a triangular tepee formation. Bill ties them together and cuts the rope with his knife.

When I let go, the structure stands and we use it as a base, attaching branches onto it, both for support and decoration.

Along the way, Bill and I are chatting constantly, messing around. We sometimes playfully shove one another, as well.

I cough a few times, even sneeze once or twice due to something getting in my nose, but I pay no attention to that.

The tree we make ends up being only about three feet tall, and isn't the most amazing one ever, but it's perfect to us. Besides, we don't necessarily have the right craftsmanship to properly construct a tree, anyway.

Bill scoots closer to me as we sit directly in front of it from a few feet away, admiring our work as he pulls me into him gently. I wrap my blanket around him, sharing the warmth.

He rests his head against mine, the only sounds being our breathing and the crackling of the fire. Even the voices of our friends are seemingly in the background.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence, Stanley runs in clutching a golden star and hurries to plant it at the top of our completed tree. The rest of our friends waltz in, laughing.

Bill joins them and I snort, teasing, "Nerd."

This only causes everyone to laugh harder, including Stanley himself.

Slowly but surely, everyone joins us on the floor as we stare at our tree in wonder, our laughter evening out.

Conversations strike again, only this time our voices are soft, as if we don't want to disturb the silence. It reminds me of when you're in church, or are at a library or something.

It's almost as if this is a sacred moment, and if our voices are too loud, then that would ruin it.

I simply let out a blissful sigh as Bill nuzzles into my shoulder, listening to the joyful buzzing of my friends, the crackling of the fire, and the feeling of Bill's breath against my skin.

•-•-•-•-•

-CastrarWolf