It felt like forever before Maggie and Bev finally came back downstairs, Bev wearing one of Richie's shirts and a pair of Maggie's sweatpants. She practically fell into Richie's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, Sweets. Feel a little better now?" He asked. She nodded. He glanced back at the kitchen where his parents were talking quietly. Bev was still shivering so he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over them, tucking it under him as much as he could to trap the heat. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Do you want me to text or call anyone?" She shook her head.

"Too late." She whispered. "And Ben isn't home."

"Do you know when he gets back?"

"Tomorrow." She said. He nodded. The two stayed silent, trying to listen to what was being said in the kitchen between his parents, and whoever was on the phone, but they couldn't make anything out. A few minutes later, they came back in the living room and Maggie sat on the other side of Bev, and Went on the coffee table again.

"Bev, I… I'm sorry that I let it go this far." He said quietly.

"Wha-?" She made a face. "It's not your fault."

"Dad-"

"Look, it is. I knew that he was abusive."

"I did too." Maggie said, rubbing her hand up and down Bev's arm comfortingly. "We should have done something about it years ago."

"You didn't know he would do… do this." Bev whispered.

"We should've seen it coming." Went said. "Tomorrow morning, Maggie and I are going to talk with some people, like we did with… with your uncle." Richie bit his lip and nodded. "I just got off the phone with Bowers, they got him in custody, so sometime tomorrow, we can go and get your clothes, okay?" She swallowed harshly and nodded.

"You don't have to go, though, Sweetie." Maggie told her. Bev let out a breath of relief.

"Thank you."

"We'll get everything handled."

"Uh…" The three looked at Richie. "Is she gonna be able to stay here?" He asked. "Or are social services gonna take her or something."

"We're not letting them." Went told them honestly.

"She's staying here. I don't care how hard we have to fight it, right, Went?" Maggie looked at him and he nodded immediately.

"You're like a daughter to us, Bev. You're not getting away from us easily." She smiled slightly at that.

"Are you hungry or anything, Sweetie?" Maggie asked, and she shook her head. She looked at Richie who did the same.

"Appetite's gone vamoose." He told her and she chuckled.

"Okay, well, you two should go on up to bed and try and get some sleep, okay?" They nodded and Richie stood, helping her up.

"Hey, Sweets, want a piggyback ride up the stairs?" She nodded and he helped her stand on the couch and she hopped on his back. "Goodnight, love you guys."

"Love you." Bev echoed.

"We love you too." Went ruffled their hair and Maggie kissed their cheeks and Richie made his way up the stairs.

"Getting strong." Bev whispered. Richie chuckled and shrugged a little.

"You weigh little to nothing, like Eds." She let out a breathy laugh. "Um, do you want to go to the guest room?" He asked, stopping in the hallway. He felt her shake her head.

"I wanna stay with you."

"Okie dokie." He took her in his room and set her on the bed and shut his door somewhat. She was already under the blankets against the wall when he turned around. He chuckled and, already in his pajamas, joined her on his bed, wrapping his arms around her. "The guys are gonna be mad at me, aren't they?"

"Why?"

"For not telling them sooner."

"They better not be." She mumbled. "I'll beat their asses. I'm the one that didn't want you to say anything."

"I'll record it."

"Please do." It was quiet for a few minutes, and she whispered. "Rich?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think… that they would adopt me if I asked?" Richie's eyes popped open and he looked down at her, squinting- which didn't help the blurriness.

"You want to be apart of our insane family? Like… legally?"

"I mean… I kinda am already, right? Just not legally."

"Of course. You do know that you'd be my sister, right?"

"Aren't I already?"

"Smartass. I think they would, though. That'd be… probably the best thing to ever happen to me, honestly." He told her.

"Really?" He nodded. "Same." He chuckled. She yawned and scooted closer to him, and he squeezed her tighter.

"Go to sleep, Sweets. I got you." She nodded into his shoulder.

"G'night. Love you."

"Night, love you too."


Sunday, December 3, 2017

The next morning, Went and Maggie woke Richie up to tell him they were leaving, and when they left, he fell back to sleep for a couple hours. When he woke up, Bev was coming back into the room from the bathroom.

"Morning." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning." He stood up and stretched, making a weird noise, and shoved his glasses on his face. He kissed her cheek. "I'ma go pee and we'll go get breakfast, m'kay?" She nodded. He went and did his business and they made eggs and toast- Richie made the eggs and Bev made the toast.

"Have you checked the chat?" She asked him after they ate. "My phone is kind of… probably broken to pieces somewhere."

"Uh, no…" Before he had a chance to even pull out his phone,

"Why didn't you fucking call me, Richie?" Ben exclaimed, storming into the house without even knocking, the rest of the Losers behind him. "I deserved to know!"

"What the fuck!" Richie exclaimed, flinching at the sudden, loud voice. "Look, Bev didn't want me to call you, so I didn't." Richie said, not looking at him, or anyone else.

"I don't care, you should have called or texted me. Let me know something instead of finding out over a fucking Facebook post from Bowers ."

"Ben, I'm not in the mood to argue with you." Richie stated calmly. "Stop swearing at me, or you can get the fuck out of my house. You should be thankful that I opened that door last night."

"Don't give me that shit, Richie. Do you know how scared I was when I read that article? How scared all of us had been?"

"Come on, let's all calm down." Mike said, standing between them and holding his hands up.

"You can't say a goddamn thing, Ben." Richie hissed, completely ignoring Mike. "I saw her, standing in the freezing rain, half naked. There was blood dripping from her lips, and she was shivering so bad. She told me and my parents that… that her sorry piece of shit father tried to rape her. I was terrified. Terrified for her, my best friend, my sister . And you're going to stand in my house and yell at me like it's my fault. I know everything is usually my fault, but this fucking isn't."

"She was with you all day yesterday. How am I supposed to know it isn't?"

"Ben!" Bev exclaimed, surprising everyone.

"What the fuck?" Eddie yelled, standing next to Richie.

"You've gone too far, Ben." Bill said, shaking his head. Richie stared at Ben like he killed a puppy in front of him. Ben's eyes widened when he realized what he said.

"Get the fuck out of my house, Hanscom." He growled. "Now. "

"Richie, I-" Ben started.

"Go." Richie pointed at the door. "I swear to God, I will make you get out. Don't fucking test me." Ben looked at Bev and she just looked away from him. He hung his head and walked out the door, shutting it behind him quietly.

"Richie…" Stan started but Richie held a hand up.

"I… will be in my room for a while. You are all welcome to stay as long as you want but… please don't bother me." He ran up the stairs.

"That's not safe." Eddie whispered to himself, watching him go. Stan gave him a look. "Sorry, habit." The boys all looked at Bev, who looked just as shocked as him.

"That… really just came out of my boyfriend's mouth?" She asked. They nodded. "I… Ben, of all people. How could he?" She covered her face with her hands and let out a quiet sob. Mike pulled her into his arms and she cried into his shoulder. "Why would he blame Richie for something like that ?"

"He didn't know what he was saying, Bev." Stan said, attempting to comfort her.

"It's bullshit, Stan! He shouldn't have said it, let alone thought it."

"I know, I agree. He went way too far, but I'm sure you would be mad if something happened to him and you had to find out from someone outside of your group."

"That's not the point. Yeah, I'd be mad, but I wouldn't be blaming the person who brought me into their home for something that was completely out of their hands." She wiped her eyes and pulled away from Mike, crossing her arms. "Richie did what I asked him to. Not to say anything. He respected my wishes like he always does. Can I borrow one of you guys phones? I don't have mine and I need to talk to Ben." She said matter of factly, like she hadn't been crying a minute ago. Mike handed her his phone and she thanked him, walking into the kitchen. The rest of them sat down and didn't say anything for a bit.

"This b-been some d-d-day, huh?" Bill said. Stan patted his shoulder and gave him a nod. They could faintly hear Bev in the kitchen, and some music from up stairs.

"Hold up." Eddie made a face. "Where the fuck did that piano come from?"