almost paradise- reddie

Chapter Two- The Edge of Heaven

It had been a week since Richie last saw the boy in pink shorts. Richie waited in the alleyway beside The Platinum Movie Theatre everyday, in hopes that he would be able to see the small boy cycle excitedly towards him. Richie had sat in row G in Screen Two everyday, enduring the film he hated, in hopes that he would see the small boy stumble in late and sit right next to him. Richie had bought a slush puppy everyday, cherry flavoured of course, in hopes that he could give it to the small boy as soon as he arrived. Yet he never showed which left Richie to feel more alone than he ever had. Without seeing Eddie Kaspbrak's face, he could feel the sadness returning, crawling up his back like vines and wrapping around his throat tightly.

But being in the movie theatre without Eddie wasn't so bad. Yes, he couldn't stare at the constellations of freckles littered on Eddie's cheeks or laugh hysterically when Eddie mentioned something stupid, but he did learn a little about himself. He figured that Pretty in Pink wasn't as bad as he originally thought. Maybe it was because Eddie liked it so much that he forced himself to like it, but Richie seemed to enjoy the time where he could just watch it without his own judgement clouding it. And being away from his mother was always a pro.

She was getting way worse. The usual nightly drinking had now transformed into every hour drinking and it got to the point where she couldn't even keep her eyes open while she was drinking, like it was an automatic response every time she lifted the bottle to her lips. Richie felt slightly bad for her. But every time he did, he reminded himself that she brought the pain onto herself. It was her fault for being such a bad wife and mother that dad left, not Richie's. It wasn't Richie's fault.

"Where do you think you're fucking going, Richard?"

Richie turned to see his mother, an evident scowl on her face as she sat at the dining table, a glass of wine in her hand. Her stare was intense, her eyes narrowing as she scanned Richie's body up and down in disgust, and he averted his gaze in shame.

"Out." Richie responded bluntly. He was too afraid to speak any more since he noticed the two empty bottles of wine standing obviously on the dining table, it was as if she wanted him to see those bottles to strike fear in his chest.

"Fucking sneaking about." She muttered, gulping down the wine as if it were water before glaring at him once more. "Just like your father. You're just like your fucking father." She spat.

Richie didn't want to look at her any longer. Seeing her curling lip and piercing eyes sent sparks of rage to fly in his chest and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold back his insults any longer. It was his nature to defend himself, even when he knew that he didn't really have anything to defend, he was just Richie.

"I'm nothing like him." Richie shook his head before yanking his jacket from the coat hanger, slipping his arms into the warm sleeves before reaching for the door handle. Being in her presence was making him physically sick.

"Asshole!" She roared, spit flying in every direction. "Just fucking leave! Leave just like he did." Richie turned to her for the last time, his eyes instantly meeting hers. And with a dirty look thrown her way, Richie could've sworn that he saw a brief moment of hurt in her usually cold eyes but Richie payed no attention to it. She didn't deserve his attention. Instead, he flung open the door and hastily stumbled on to the deserted street, the door slamming vigorously behind him.

A smash of glass hitting the door could be heard but Richie blocked it out. He blocked his mother out. He blocked the entire house out because it pained him so much to look at it, to even think about it. Flustered with emotions, Richie messily climbs on to his bike, aching to escape the grip that his mother had on him. He was tired of living with her, he was tired of having to act grown-up when he so desperately wanted to be a teen again. He moved his legs quicker, the bike racing down the street swiftly.