21

Once an apartment Now a Crime scene

"Richie? Sweetie you can't just stay here and wait." The voice belonged to Stanley, he had skipped a lecture to be here for Richie.

Bill couldn't come, he was already in class, and he had a big paper due, so he wouldn't know what had been going on until he got home, where a voicemail was waiting for him on there machine.

"What if he comes back?" Richie said through sobs.

"Richie, this is a crime scene now. We need to let the police do there job and go home."

Richie had already spoken to the police. He was a blubbering mess the whole time, but he did his best.

They said he was free to go, that he wasn't a person of interest at the time. Richie told them Eddie had just gotten a divorce, and that his ex wife might have been out to hurt him.

They laughed.

They laughed right in his face.

"Listen kid, most guys don't usually get attacked by ex wives, in fact it's usually the other way around. Which is why we are thinking it's the ex wife's blood, not Mr. Kaspbraks."

Richie wanted to scream. He wanted to punch that cop in the face. He wanted for once, for someone to believe that it doesn't just happen to women.

Richie was beat by his father most days, and most adults ignored the bruises and the bad excuses that he'd conjured up. But the moment a female classmate complained about her parents being too harsh on her, they'd check for bruises, they'd listen.

Boys will be boys, and one day they'll grow up to become there fathers. They'll toughen it out. They won't call the cops at the first sign that something is wrong.

They'll insist it's just a broken window and move on.

And when the time comes for someone to say, "hey it was the ex wife"

There will be a big strong police officer to say, "ladies aren't capable of such a thing."

Myra is no lady.

"I'm not leaving until Eddie comes back."

"Richie please. We need to leave. I know your upset, but we have to go."

"I'll go when they find him."

"And we don't know how long that'll take. It could be days, or weeks."

"No."

"Richie!" Stanley didn't mean to raise his voice. He was upset too, but not just because something had happened to Eddie, but because he could see that Richie was spiraling.

Richie jumped at the sound of Stanley's harsh tone.

Richie was shaking, with anger or fear Stan didn't know, but what he did know was that if he didn't do something about Richie right now, things were only going to get worse.

"I want him back! Where he's supposed to be! With me Stanley! He's supposed to be with me! Not bleeding in an alley somewhere!"

Richie was crying now and hyperventilating. Stanley sank down to the floor where Richie had remained.
He just grabbed him and held him. He held him in his arms and rocked the boy back and forth.

"Shh. It's okay. It's okay Richie. We'll find him. He'll be okay."

"Richie!"

Suddenly another set of arms were wrapped around both Richie and Stanley as Bill entered upon the scene.

The three of them stayed on the floor, until they were escorted out of the building by the police.

A/N: I got a fairly large tattoo and OW OMG but I barely moved or flinched the whole time and the artist said I was super tough and badass cause I took it like a freaking champ!!!!