mention of self-harm scars

the call

Adelaide's life has completely changed. She was now a woman, a 40-year-old at that. She didn't remember much from before she moved away from her hometown. She remembers her sister and her family but that's about it. Even those memories were blurry.

She had a bad childhood, she assumed her mind was making her forget. But she was successful now, an artist. A successful one.

She had taken a habit of drawing at a young age, dropped it after her sister, and picked up the habit for some reason a few years later. She wasn't sure why, but she was glad she did. It was her life now.

Two kids, Vivienne and Brody. Vivienne was 13 and Brody was 11. They were also her life, the light in her life. She got married, and it was happy marriage but he passed away about 3 years previous.

So, Adelaide was doing her best, taking care of her kids and all. Her brother was around quite often, her mother not so much and her dad had died when she was 19, he got sick and after that, it was all downhill for him.

It was okay, she was never too close to her father but she would always wish he could meet her kids. After all, it was their grandpa.

But life couldn't have been better, she couldn't have wished for anything more or anything different. But for the last 27 years, Adelaide couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Something she could pinpoint.

She still had scars on her wrist, and she could only assume where they were from, but couldn't remember. She had one on her hand, that she also couldn't recall. None of it made sense to her. Why couldn't she remember? She had friends, didn't she? Maybe she didn't.

Oh, but she did. Friends. Amazing friends, at that. It was unfortunate they didn't remember each other, because when they were kids, they were inseparable.

"Vivienne, Brody," she said. "I'll pick you guys up after school, behave, and have fun." she watched her two kids walk out the front door for school.

She let out a sigh and rubbed the sweat off her forehead. Most mornings were like this, chaos.

Suddenly her phone started to ring and she jumped before sighing and taking it out of her pocket, answering it, all she read was Derry Maine. It was an unknown number.

"Hello. Adelaide Merkwelle speaking, who is this?" she asked, into the phone.

She could hear a shaky breath on the other end. "It's Mike." the voice said.

"Who?"

"Mike Hanlon, from Derry."

That's when it clicked. For the first time in a while, she could remember something from her childhood. "Oh! Mike!" She exclaimed. "Hello, sorry. A bit flustered right now. How are you?"

"I'm good," he said. "And you? I've seen some of your work online."

She nodded slowly. "I'm managing, but thank you," she said softly. "Why'd you call."

He sighed, she could sense something was wrong but pushed the doubt away. "I need you in Derry. How quickly can you get here?"

She shook his head. "Wait, what?" she questioned. "Mike you can't be serious."

"I've already called the others, Bill, Richie, Eddie, Beverly, and Stan," he explained. "They're gonna try and make it down."

"I'm confused about why you need me?" she asked. "Mike, I have a family, kids."

"We made a promise, 27 years ago that we would all come back if we needed to. I never left," he said. "It's a long story Addie, just trust me with this one and I promise you'll remember when you return."

"Remember what, Mike?"

He sighed once again. "Ever wonder how you got that scar on your hand?" He asked. She glanced down at her hand, opening it to glance at the scar that had been slowly fading over the years. "Yeah, assumed so. Everyone else forgot too, but I need you."

"I'll see what I can do," she said. "When do you need us by?"

"Saturday."

—

As she hung up, she breathed in deeply. Her hands were a bit shaky but she couldn't figure out why. She dialed her brother's number and sighed, putting the phone back up to her ear.

"Hey Ads!" he said, cheerfully, into the phone. "What's up?"

"Can you watch Vivienne and Brody for a bit?" She asked. "I just got a call from, you'll never guess who, Mike Hanlon."

Even Aiden seemed confused for a few seconds as he stayed silent, trying to recall the game. "Oh, Mike," he said. "I mean I can watch them, but why?"

She started walking to her room, pulling a small bag out for travel. "He wants to meet up in Derry, to talk to us about something," she explained. "Apparently it's super important. But I have no clue."

"Sounds sketchy," he pointed out. Adelaide started putting things in her bags. "Yeah, want me to just pick them up from school."

"Yeah, that's fine, I'll message the school to let them know," she told him.

"What do you want me to tell them?" He asked.

She stayed silent for a moment, before sighing. "Tell them I'm going to Derry to visit Christine."

Christine's name hadn't rolled off Adelaide's tongue, or really anyone's in years. There was a certain point in her life when they stopped talking about her. Pushed away what happened to her.

"Okay Ads," he said. "Keep me updated alright and please do actually visit Christine while you're down there. For both of us."

"I will, I promise," she said. "I love you, bye."

He smiled on the other end. "I love you too," he said before they hung up. She glanced around her bedroom as she finished packing.

Over 2 decades since she last went to Derry. She knew she moved quickly after graduation. All her clear memories are from after she moved away. There were barely any from Derry, and if there were it was cloudy, a memory that wasn't full. Bits and pieces.

A/N:
finally shoving out an act 2 chapter! i'm hoping to finish this story sometime in the upcoming months, but we all know i can't commit to that. i hope you enjoyed!