Violet Suicides (R E W R I T T E N)

~Beverly~: Chapter One

POLICE SIRENS BLARED outside the school, the blue and red lights flashing through the window despite the closed blinds that blocked out the front of the school. Sixteen year old Beverly Marsh stood up, her face streaked with tears, her red hair tousled. Her knees cracked, and groaned from the hours of neglect. She slowly made her way over to the window, her blue eyes glazed over with dissolving fear. The police had arrived.

She was unaware of the smile that stretched across her lips until a humourless laugh dropped from her lips. "The police." She whispered. "They're here..." She continued to laugh, still standing motionless, facing the window. Her eyes hurt, and her nose felt raw. As if something was stabbing her everytime she breathed. Her hands were trembling as she reached out to peek through the blinds, relief flooding through her body.

"They're here?"

Beverly turned around, meeting eyes with seventeen year old Peter Parker. She nodded at him, her hands still poised and holding the blinds open just a sliver. "Yes. We're saved."

Peter got to his feet as well, hope shining brightly in his brown eyes. He came up next to her, stretching his neck to see through the blinds, the blue and red bouncing off his pale skin. "They are..." He laughed a little, a small breathy sound. He wiped his eyes, which were as red and puffy as Beverly's herself.

Beverly grabbed Peter's hand gently in her own, basking in his presence. The only familiar face in the sea of students in the tiny classroom. He threw his arms around her, completely engulfing her small frame. She buried her face in his shoulder, willing herself not to cry. Willing herself to focus only on the expensive smelling body spray that rested on Peter's hoodie. Not to focus on the whimpers of kindergarteners in the room, not to think about what might've happened to Bill, where her Eddie Bear might be, if Richie's even alive or did he go out heroically as he'd always wished.

An ambulance had also pulled up into the front of the school making Beverly jump and whirl around, and suddenly, the fear that had fluttered out of Beverly's stomach, came back in one big lump. Her eyes welled with tears again. "Who got hurt." She said quietly, her brain shuffling through many, many options. Her best friend Liv, her boyfriend Bill, her best friend Eddie. "My friends..." She choked out, a tear rolling down her face.

Peter put a shaky hand on her shoulder, trying with all his might to comfort her in the silent, sticky moment of fear. The ambulance was here which meant that somebody either died, or got seriously injured. They were all just secretly hoping it wasn't their friends or their significant others. What a dark turn of events on such a normal day of school.

I will say now, for the sake of you all. If Bill had gotten out of that bathroom, the police would have known what had happened perfectly well. But, since nobody knew where or when Bill had been snatched up, there wasn't anything to go by, it was all just a case doomed to become cold.

Beverly bit her lip, her heart pounding away in her chest. She didn't want to believe any of this was happening, when the reports came on the news that a man had gone around in the town over from Derry murdering kids, she didn't think very much of it at all. She hadn't really been the type to believe anything on the news anyway. Her dad had told her that it was alright, that nothing ever happened in Derry, Maine. It was such a small town that if some sicko went out and started murdering people, they'd all know who it was already. Everybody knew everybody in this town.

Somebody knocked on the door, making Beverly cry out in surprise and grab Peter's hand in desperation.

"Is anybody in here!?" A man's voice called from the other side of the door. "It's the police!"

"Show us your ID!" Beverly yelled back, her voice hoarse and shaky. "We won't come out until we know you're not faking!"

A small card slid under the door and Beverly ran to go pick it up.

Grant Reynolds: Officer

Age: 47

Beverly's eyes scanned the card, ignoring the social security number and such. She slid the card back under the door, and Peter helped her slide the barricade away from the door. She glanced back at the other students still huddled together in the corner and offered them an uneasy smile. "It's the police." She said. "We're okay now."

The door opened and a group of policemen came in, offering blankets for the little ones, and water bottles for the older students.

...

Now everybody was crowded in front of the school. Traumatised students, worried parents, concerned policemen, shaking teachers. It was chaos. Beverly crushed the empty water bottle between her pale hands, scanning the crowd for maybe the tenth time in the last half hour. She was looking for Bill. Her six foot, auburn haired boyfriend. She should've been able to find him, or he should have been able to find her. Right? What if he was one of the injured ones? What if he had already gone home? Maybe his phone died? That would make sense why her calls kept going straight to voicemail. Right?

She knew that something was up, and she didn't even notice that her dad hadn't come to pick her up. She hadn't noticed the text that had said: Bevvie, I'm at work, ride with the Rooney's I'll pick you up from there when I get off.

"Bev!"

Beverly glanced up, her string of worried thoughts breaking off just as easily. The voice belonged to her best friend, Liv Rooney. Beverly sighed in relief, thankful to see that her friend wasn't hurt in any way. Maybe trembling with anxiety as Beverly was, but otherwise alright. "Hey, Liv."

"Your dad texted mine and said we're driving you to our house and he'll pick you up there." Liv said, pulling her thin white knit sweater over her shoulders.

Beverly nodded. "I need to find Bill first."

Liv bit her lip. "Oh... uh--" She picked at the gold nail polish on her thumbnail. "I finished talking to his parents and apparently they can't find him. He's missing. The police are trying to see if they can find him in the crowd, but as of now, there's no such luck..."

Beverly shook her head. "Don't joke like that, Liv."

"Bev, I'm not joking. Why would I do that? None of this is a joke. Bill's missing."

Beverly shook her head again, the same humourless laughter floating from her lips. "No. No. He can't be missing." She wiped her eyes. "No. No. He's just-- just..."

Liv put a hand on Beverly's shoulder. "We have to go now."

Beverly let Liv grab her arm and lead her through the crowd of people. She didn't even realize they were moving until Liv told her to watch her head as she helped her into the van. Beverly curled up in the back of the van, staring straight ahead as a plethora of her friends climbed into the van as well, including (but not limited to) Maddie Rooney, Jane Hopper, Peter Parker, and Timothy Marcus.

Beverly closed her eyes, praying to anything that was out there, God, Zues, whatever, that Bill would be okay. Little did she know, that only hours later, she would be dead.