Chapter Text
Richie handed me his notebook, our plan excellently written out on the lined paper. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. All we had to do was execute it. Then Richie and I are out of here. I thought about for a second. Then it hit me. Where would I go when I get out? I have nowhere to go once I leave. My mother’s dead and Richie’s probably busy with his own life. Maybe this whole thing is just a trophy for him, and he doesn’t want anything to do with me. And even if he did want to help me, genuinely, I’m far too weak to do anything on my own. I’d feel guilty if I had Richie baby me all the time. That’ll make both of us miserable.
I let my thoughts subside as I continued staring at the sheet. None of that mattered. Not now, at least. The plan was organized, the page looked like something that Richie would not have done.
The sheet read:
‘ One: Get Eddie out of the room, hide him in a closet, I have a key.
Two: Distraction. Get Doc away for a while.
Three: Unlock exits. Why are they even locked?
Four: Break lock in Eddie’s room, get his clothes.
Five: Go to closet, dress Eddie.
Six: Put Eddie in the music case in the closet, it should already be there.
Seven: Run.’
It was neat and could work. It will work.
I turn towards Richie, suddenly a wave of doubt settling over me. What if we get caught? What will happen to me? No, what will happen to him ?
He seemed to have noticed by behavior drop, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Hey man, you good there?” he asked me, his voice flooding with worry.
I turn to him, nodding slowly. I gave him a reassuring thumbs up before reevaluating the sheet. Never mind. Let’s do it.
I give him a stricter nod, ‘ Do it.’
“You mean – you want to go forth with it? Wow, okay,” Richie raised his eyebrows before dropping them again in surprise.
I nodded once again; this time I truly did mean it. If I wanted to be a normal person, I would have to escape. And this was my only way. It was going to take effort, strength, and cooperation, but I’m willing to give my all, I have to make sure that I leave this melancholy plain.
Richie sighed, leaning down, “You ready?”
‘ Yes,’ I sign, staring up at him.
“Great.” Richie finishes. “I’m going to wrap you up in the blanket, got it?”
I tilted my head to the side, but I quickly started to nod a couple times when I realized.
Richie picks up a blanket. It’s black and pink plaid with an embordered duck on one of the corners. He lays it down on the bed, making sure it’s completely straight. To him, it looks completely out of character.
He looks at me then back at the blanket, waiting. I sat there for a moment, confused, until it hit me. I climbed onto the blanket, laying down on the fabric. Richie smiled, folding the blanket around me, like a sleeping bag.
Once I was entirely wrapped, he picked me up, resting my face – the only part of my body that wasn’t wrapped – into his shoulder to completely shield me from anyone else’s view. Before I knew it, I heard a door unlocked then creak open, then saw nothing but darkness.
“Hey, man, it’s dark in here, I wish I could bring you a light, but that may like… give us away, you know?” Richie explained in a whisper.
I wanted to sign something, but I was so tightly wrapped that I couldn’t. And Richie wouldn’t be able to see me anyway.
The moment the door shut, I felt familiar feelings. Feelings that I haven’t felt in a while. Loneliness, fear, anxiety, paranoia, etcetera. It was all scary. I was terrified. What if this was fake and Richie wasn’t coming back at all, and now I’m stuck in this closet with nothing but a blanket, and nobody but myself, and all I must rely on is the moment, the day that door opens? Am I ranting again? Sorry.
I ended up drifting off to sleep since I had nothing else to do. I was awoken to the feeling of the blanket I had being taken off. I opened my eyes to see Richie there with a flashlight and some clothing. My clothing. My god, I couldn’t be happier.
Looking back, there was nothing to be happy about.