Demons | Bill Denbrough

5. Test of Strength

Katherine walked through Derry to the edge of town.

Somehow she had managed to arrive at her one-story childhood home.

Her eyes trailed over the tan paint on the house was wearing away, almost to a dark dirt color, the left side of the house was still charcoal black where her mother's room was.

She remembered why now.

After she and Bill got married, she received news about her mom in Derry.

Mrs. Walker was burned to death in flames after she dropped her still-lit cigarette on her bed when she fell asleep.

Katherine never felt grief like she felt when she found out Stan died. Bill did comfort her. She only felt numb at the time but never grieving as most children would when they lose a parent.

Katherine walked up the cement path to the house, stepping up to the door, it open so that it creaked loudly.

Katherine stepped inside her home. The living-room looked the same as she remembered.

It reeked of cigarette smoke and there were small ashtrays on every flat surface.

She walked back to the door that had the words 'Stay the fuck out' on in Sharpie. She turned the knob and pushed on the door.

She entered her room that was mostly empty and clean but it still smelled like cigarettes.

Not her mom's cheap cigarettes but the kind of cigarette smell she could actually stand.

Once she stepped forward towards her bed, a floorboard creaked underneath her shoe.

Remembering what the floorboard came off easily, she removed it.

Instantly, she saw a black notebook near the top, the leather edges were worn down but it looked the same as she remembered.

She grabbed it, sinking onto her old bed before opening it.

She smiled as soon as her eyes were met with the first page, it was a sketch.

This drawing wasn't just a drawing. It was a 27-year-old sketch of Katherine, eyes focused ahead and her lips were curled into a smile. In the corner of the drawing was Bill's signature.

Bill's present to her.

She tucked the sketch tightly in her journal before flipping pages.

Her eyes skimmed over multiple songs that she wrote over the years until she landed on the last page.

It was a song she wrote before she left for college.

It was called Out of The Old.

18-year-old Katherine sat back in between Bill's legs, leaning her back against his chest as she had her journal rested on her knees and scribbled down lyrics.

"Are you writing another song?" Bill asked his fianceé, running his hand up her arms comfortingly.

She hummed in response. "I'm feeling creative," she answered.

"What's it about?" he asked.

"How I feel now that we're both going to college and I'm going to be surrounded by other people other than our friends."

Bill looked over her shoulder. "What's it called?" he asked.

She showed him the journal. "Out of The Old," she answered. "Probably one of my best."

He read the lyrics. "Will you sing it? I'd like to hear you sing," he spoke.

"Right now?" she asked.