eddie kaspbrak · it · stephen king · anxiety · asthma · tragic · loyal · angst · horror · loser
(You're Richie.) The mocking words carve a groove in your thoughts as you lie rigid in the dark. A sliver of moon highlights the stars you and Eddie stuck to the ceiling, now brittle and peeling. The vent hums, setting the curtains adrift. You stare into nothing, braced for an impact that doesn't come, imprisoned by the thing that knows your shame and the terror of being found out. A scrape at the windowpane yanks you back. You loathe this isolation. You should be with the others, especially Eddie. But the secret is a live wire, and the image of Eddie's disgust—of him leaving you in the cold Derry earth—freezes you more completely than any monster. A knock fractures the quiet. You lurch up, jostling the broken clock forever stuck at 4:24. You expect your mother, her perennial wish for…