Chapter Text
She opened the front door and stepped through. She called out her fiancés name and told him she was home, no answer. She assumed that he wasn’t home yet.
(Y/N) stepped in and put her bag down, it had been a long day of work and she had to work some more at home, she really didn’t want to. She was a doctor and a good one at that. She was kind of famous within the community and had recently been interviewed for her new formula which was what her work buddies called “spray on skin” or “skin on can”. It was kind of an inside joke at the office.
She took a few books out of her bag and put them down on the table in the kitchen, she proceeded to grab a banana out of the fruit bowl and sit down. She took her computer and started studying on how to improve her formula. After about an hour she heard the door opening and was greeted with the face of her fiancé. “Hey honey I’m home” he said with a soft voice to not disturb her. “Hey Karl, could you cook today? I really need to work” she said without looking up. He smiled at her “of course”. She smiled back.
A while after he had gotten home he had started preparing the food and when he was done (Y/N) moved her books and work stuff away from the table and set out plates for them. Karl put the food on the table and they sat down to eat. “How was work today?” She asked. He sighed “a lot of paperwork but it’s necessary after all the bad guys I’ve caught” he said with a laugh, she laughed too. Just as he opened his mouth to say something (Y/N)’s phone called and both her and her fiancé glanced towards it. She started making her way towards the phone but Karl slammed his fist in the table “Sit down.” He said with a firm voice. She sat down again and he started making his way towards the phone instead.
Karl picked (Y/N)’s phone, it read “Derry”.
“This is Karl, (Y/N)’s fiancé. Who is this?”
There was no answer at first. “Can I speak to (Y/N)?” A deep voice was finally heard from the other line. “Who is it?” Asked (Y/N) quietly.
Karl didn’t answer and asked ones more who he was speaking to.
“Tell her it’s Mike”
Karl spoke up “do you know any mike?” (Y/N) shook her head at first but then she suddenly got a strong feeling that she did in fact know this Mike “what’s his last name?” She asked just as Karl was about to hang up. Karl asked Mike and after a short while Karl got and answer and responded to her “Mike Hanlon”.
(Y/N) dropped the fork she was holding in her hand and stared out into thin air, she suddenly remembered but she wasn’t sure what she was remembering. It was familiar but still so strange, she rushed up and tried to take the phone from Karl “Karl please I have to talk to him he wouldn’t call unless it was important please Karl you have to let me speak to him” she begged but he didn’t let her “Never ever call this number again Mike! I don’t want to see your number anywhere near me or my fiancé again, is that understood? I am a police officer and I’m not afraid to arrest you. Goodbye!” Karl hung up and (Y/N) screamed at him but when he looked at her she immediately shut up. She knew those eyes, they didn’t mean well. He walked past her slowly and and sat down at the table, he started eating again. She started to reach for her phone “don’t touch the phone. Come back and eat your food.” She heard him say in a calm but firm voice. She felt paralyzed at first but her body started to move towards the table eventually.
They ate in silence and Karl stood up when he was done. He took his own and her plate away from the table “hey I wasn’t done” she called out. She received no answer, she let it go.
Later that evening Karl was upstairs watching TV while (Y/N) was working. Well, working wasn’t exactly what she was doing but it sure looked like she was. What she was actually doing was trying to remember, remember everything about mike and- and who? She couldn’t come up with any names but she saw faces, familiar faces and voices that called out for her. She could vaguely remember a feeling, not a feeling of fear but of nervousness but the good kind, the kind that makes your heart flutter and your stomach full of butterflies. She just didn’t know what made her feel that way. Suddenly she felt her hand move on its own, she looked down and she was writing something “L”. ‘L?’ She thought to herself. She was lost in thought again and didn’t notice that her hand kept writing on its own, that was until it stopped and she looked down again “LOSERS GOTTA STICK TOGETHER” she fell backwards with her chair as she gasped for air. The panic bubbled up her throat and suddenly she could remember them, all of them, Richie, Eddie, Beverly, Ben, Bill, Stan And Mike. “holy shit.” She whispered to herself.
“Losers gotta stick together? What the fuck are you doing?” A low voice said, it sounded muffled to her but she snapped out of her own thoughts and looked up, it was Karl “I- um-“ she began but he cut her off. “It’s that fucking Mike isn’t it? Who the fuck is he? Some ex?” He sounded very angry. (Y/N) took a deep breath and began “no he’s an old friend. I have to talk to him, I have to find out what he wanted. We haven’t talked in 27 years” she was sweating so much she thought she might actually become a big puddle on the floor. “No.” Karl said firmly and stood up. He walked into the bedroom and called after her “You’re obviously very tired, I’m going to bed now and I suggest you do the same” but she knew he wasn’t just suggesting, he was saying ‘you’re gonna go to bed whether you like it or not’ without actually saying it.
She knew he wasn’t an ideal man or a very nice one at times but sometimes he would be absolutely wonderful and he had never hit her, ever. She knew she had to do some things behind his back so he didn’t get upset but she was okay with that even if he sometimes scared her. She didn’t really have any friends besides him since he wouldn’t let her see any but she was okay with it. She didn’t think she deserved nor could find anything better anyways.
She had gathered all of her work things and put them down in her bag again. She was just about to go into the bedroom when she heard snoring. Karl was asleep and she had an idea, she could call mike and ask what he had wanted and then she never had to speak about it again, she just needed to know what he wanted. It had been 27 years after all.
She snuck out to the kitchen where her phone was, careful to not make any loud noises. She reached her phone and picked it up, she unlocked it and looked for her latest call.
There it was. A call from Derry, the hometown, her hometown that she had forgotten. She pressed dial and after a few seconds the other side of the line picked up. “Hello, this is Mike Hanlon” his voice was deep and grown up, it felt like she could almost see his face. “Mike, hi, it’s (Y/N). My fiancé is asleep and I just needed to know what you called for.” She whispered into the phone. She could hear a vague sigh of relief from the other side “oh, (Y/N) I’m so happy you called back, I need you to come back, back to Derry.” She was silent for a short while “Mike.. I- I can’t do that. My fiancé needs me and I need to work and-“ she started to ramble all the reasons she couldn’t go but he cut her off “(Y/N) please. You know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t extremely important.” He’s voice had gone from relieved to desperate “shit Mike I don’t know. Maybe but if I do, where and when?” She started planning what she would bring and how she would get there and how she would manage to convince her fiancé to let her go. She could basically hear mike pump his fist in the air and she let out a chuckle “I said maybe”. He chuckled a bit and said “the Chinese restaurant in Derry tomorrow night, ask for me, I’ve booked a table, everyone will be there”. (Y/N) smiled at the thought of seeing everyone “okay, I’ll-“ she was cut off by a hand gripping her shoulder and spinning her around to face the owner of that hand. It was Karl “what the fuck did I say about talking to that fucking Mike? Huh?” His voice was harsh and loud, she winced. “I’m sorry I-“ but he cut her off again “what did I say?” He repeated “to not call him.. But I needed to find out what he wanted!” She blurted out as he yanked her towards the bedroom, she had put down her phone in the kitchen but she remembered that she never hung up, Mike must’ve heard what happened, she hoped he understood.
Karl threw her on the bed “you fucking stay there now. Go. To. Sleep. Okay?” He looked so threatening when he stood over her pinning her down to the bed but for some reason she felt brave, braver than ever around him, but she swallowed that braveness and instead just nodded.
(Y/N) woke up and jumped up like she had just had a nightmare when the alarm went off. She quickly shut it off as Karl didn’t like waking up from her alarm since he could sleep in and she couldn’t. She made her way into the kitchen hazily and made her breakfast in peace. She sat down with her breakfast at the table to look over some of her notes from last night, she was just about to take a bite out of her sandwich as she read “LOSERS GOTTA STICK TOGETHER”. She felt all her limbs go numb and suddenly she remembered what had happened yesterday, she remembered Mike and what he wanted. She started to panic and ate the rest of her food as quick as she could. She stood up and started to pack her bag, she needed to go to Derry and for some reason she had this weird feeling that someone would get hurt. This feeling made her pack a whole bag full of just medical supplies. When she was finished packing all that she started making her way into the bedroom where all her clothes were but there was a figure stopping her “where do you think you’re going with all that?” Karl asked her. “You’re up earlier than usual..” she said softly trying not to sound suspicious “I just need all of these things for work” she then blurted out. Karl looked at her skeptically but then nodded and started making his own breakfast. She took a big shaky breath and kept going.
She threw a few shirts and trousers into a duffle bag and then walked into the bathroom to bring some toiletries. She knew mike had only said one night but she got a feeling this might last longer than just one night.
She put on an outfit and called an Uber. She hid the duffle bag in the hall and went into the kitchen, she kissed her fiancé and smiled at him “I’m heading to work now, I’m taking an Uber” he looked at her and smiled and nodded. She received a text from her Uber telling her that he had arrived so she put on her jogging shoes and grabbed the bag, she turned around just as she was about to walk through the door and called out “Hey Karl?” He looked up from the newspaper “You know I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t extremely important” he started to look concerned but said nothing. “I have to meet my friends, I just have to and I don’t know when I’ll be back but you deserve to at least know that I’m going cause I am going.” With that she heard Karl yell something but by the time he had even opened his mouth she was already outside the door on her way to the Uber.