Splendor//Bill Denbrough

T h i r t e e n

My (belated) Christmas gift to you is a stupid update!! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/holiday season full of family, friends, and fun. And thank you for wasting your holiday time to read this piece of crap

Atticus nervously runs a hand through his shaggy, strawberry blond hair as the train pulls to a stop in front of Derry station again.

"So we go to Mr. Ripsom's first, but for no longer than a half hour. Then it's straight to Neibolt," Jeremy runs through the plan for the twenty ninth time.

"What are we going to do about weapons?" Atticus asks, hands death-gripping his laptop.

"Mr. Ripsom might help us out. If not, we can make do with what we find on the way there," his brother answers very matter-of-factly.

Exiting the train, they use Google maps to walk to the Ripsoms', which is a fairly short journey.

Atticus knocks confidently on the door, and a boy no older than them opens it. His brown eyes widen in curiosity because Derry is a small small town and he would have seen these boys around the middle school before. And he hasn't.

"Hi...?"

Jeremy really struggles with meeting new people, especially people he knows nothing about, so he hides behind Atticus and lets him do the talking.

"Hi, is this the Ripsom household?"

It's obvious the boy in the doorway is slightly uncomfortable... after all, this is the second time he was in a conversation with random strangers in the past two days. The unfamiliar man seemed nice enough, though cryptic, so he decides to trust these kids.

"Yeah," he nods, letting his caramel curls bounce. "I'm Grayson."

"Atticus. And this is my brother Jeremy."

"So.... not to sound rude, but can I, like, help you?"

"We were wondering if we could speak to your father. He and my dad were friends in high school, and we're visiting for the summer. We were just wondering if we could make a surprise for him."

The lie comes to Atticus quickly, and he's impressed with himself. Usually he stammers when he tells little white lies to his parents, but the situation is more severe.

"Sure, let me just grab him."

Grayson disappears for a moment or two and returns with a man a few years older than Bill. An air of tiredness surrounds him, but he welcomes the boys in and offers them a seat in his living room.

Jeremy hides himself in the corner of the sofa and picks at his cuticles while Atticus gets straight to the point.

"Mr. Ripsom, we wanted to ask you about your sister's death."

The poor man freezes as if he's been hit by a truck.

"B-Betty?"

"Yes, sir. Is there anything you can tell us about how she died?"

Mr. Ripsom goes through a turmoil of emotions. Speaking of her death was usually fine for him, but not out of the blue to two strangers- especially after he lost his father last year.

"That was very bold of you to ask."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rip-"

"No, you're not," he snaps. "I'm sorry I don't have the answers you're looking for. I think it's time for you to go."

"But sir-"

It's too late to repent. Mr. Ripsom is already walking them back to the foyer and throwing open the door.