( RICHIE POV )

      Not a day went by where Richie didn't regret leaving his best friends the way he did.

      He didn't even mention to his friends that he was running away. He just got up and left.

      He was always a shitty friend, now that he thought about it.

      But he had been so depressed the last couple years. The neglect he was suffering from his parents didn't help and it felt like his best friends didn't even notice that he was drowning in self-loathing.

      He was that good at hiding his pain behind his inappropriate jokes.

      He was crude and loud because he was just screaming for someone to notice him. To stop being invisible. Someone nearly did.

      Eddie Kaspbrak. Eds. Eddie Spaghetti. Nicknames Eddie absolutely hated but Richie knew he liked them deep down.

      God, Richie loved him. He did. But he was so damn terrified of falling in love, especially with his best friend, that he kept it to himself. He bottled up his emotions and got the fuck out of Derry.

      He often found himself thinking of Eddie. Everyday. How he constantly screamed at him when he was being gross or rambled on and on about how he was going to get a disease because he had split his lip open and didn't do anything about it. Even when Eddie would smack the glasses off Richie's face with his foot while resting on the hammock, he still missed him.

      Richie never stopped loving Eddie. Even when Marissa came around.

      Marissa Lopez, a woman he loved to call "The Devil Incarnated." She wasn't the best, absolutely not. He didn't love her either. But she got pregnant and he would be damned if he didn't get to meet his child.

      He loved Edith the second he held her. It wasn't just the fact that he named her after the man he loved, but there was this tie that bonded him together the moment he looked in her green eyes.

      Richie was going to spoil that little girl rotten.

      It wasn't easy, of course not. Waking up multiple times in the middle of the night whenever Edith cried, but he wouldn't change it for the world.

      He wished Marissa felt that way too.

      She couldn't seem to connect to Edith the way Richie did. Her own daughter, the child she carried for nine months.

      As his daughter grew older, even she tried to be there for her mother. But Marissa got stressed so easily and annoyed, often sending her to play by herself in her room.

      They fought so much because of this. Edith would sometimes wake in the middle of the night to them arguing and would hide herself in the bathroom. Richie's heart broke whenever she did this, coaxing her out and holding her, reassuring her that everything was okay.

      He didn't want his baby girl growing up the way he did, with parents that didn't give a shit. Her mother might not care, but damnit, he did. And he was going to make sure she knew it.

      And despite how much Richie tried to shield her from the fact that her mother wasn't even trying to be a mom to her, the truth came out eventually.

      He had left for work at studio for a radio show he had been doing over the last year. He said goodbye to Marissa, kissed his four year old—constantly reminding him that she was turning five in three months—daughter's cheek and left.

      Richie came home to find the house nearly empty except for the hysterical sobs coming from his daughter's room.

      It took nearly an hour to get her to calm down, cradling Edith like she was a baby and singing softly to her before she was finally able to tell him what happened.

      Marissa had put her down for her nap and when Edith woke up, she was all alone.

      That bitch had packed up all of her things and left with a four year child sleeping in the next room by herself.

      Ever since then, it was just Richie and Edith. It wasn't easy but he managed to make things work with his schedule so he could get her to school, help her with homework and spend time with her. If he was having a long day at work, he'd leave during his lunch to pick her up in time from school and take her with him to work. They loved her there, she was always so quiet around others but a sweetheart once she trusted them enough to open herself up.

      But don't her cute face fool you. She could pack a nasty kick to someone's shin if they got her upset. And her icy glare was enough to make a grown man shudder.

      She was overall an amazing kid, especially since she was six years old now. Except when people asked her about her mother. Then one of two things would happen: Edith would go dead quiet so he would have to explain how it was just the two of them; or her foot was going to be meeting their knee.

      She really was a kicker, a habit Richie wasn't sure if he wanted her to break since it was so fucking hilarious to see a grown up get kicked and be hurt by a toddler.

      But he did want her to defend herself from bullies. Richie never did and he didn't want her to do the same.

      But they were so attached to one another. They never really were apart. So when Richie got a phone call from his manager and got distracted for just one minute, turned back to see that his daughter wasn't beside him, panic seized him by his throat.

      He immediately started looking for her, calling out to his daughter as he felt his stomach twist with anxiety. Did she run away? Did someone grab her and take her? Hundreds of thoughts ran through his head until he finally heard Edith's voice and held her in his arms.

      He felt much more relaxed knowing that she was okay despite her being in tears from how afraid she was. He thought that would've been it.

      Until Richie looked up and finally saw who was there.

      Eddie.

      Eddie Spaghetti.

      The boy he loved and left behind.

      Except he wasn't a boy anymore. He was grown and truly hadn't changed. God, Richie loved that.

      He wanted nothing more than to run up to him and hug him and apologize for leaving him so abruptly.

      But he couldn't. They made small conversation until Eddie left.

      The asthmatic haunted his mind as he and his daughter walked home, unusually quiet.

      Richie was still holding Edith, her head resting against his shoulder and her eyes were closed. He thought she was sleeping for a moment until she finally spoke up. "You know Eddie?"

      He paused for a moment before nodding, walking up to their apartment building. "Mmhmm. Yeah, I first met him when I was your age." He poked the tip of her nose, making her open her eyes and giggle as she scrunched up her nose adorably. "He was one of my best friend."

      "Why haven't I met him before?" She asked him curiously, lifting her curly brunette head from his shoulder to look properly at her father.

      "Because I left town and...we didn't stay in touch." He admitted. Richie didn't want to get into the full details about why he left, to talk about his depression and anxiety, the fact that he was and still is deeply insecure.

      His daughter seemed to catch on and didn't press the issue further. She was intelligent for her age and was able to read her father with ease.

      Richie unlocked the door and let them in, Edith squirming silently in his arms so he put her back down on her feet. "Can I have apple juice, please?" She asked him politely and he smiled and nodded, ruffling her curly hair before opening the fridge and taking out a juice box filled with apple juice.

      She happily took it from him, sipping it through the small plastic straw and leaned her weight against his legs rather than sitting down in a chair. "Eddie's name is like mine." His kid observed out loud.

      Once again, Richie didn't want to have that conversation. He wanted to tell Edith that he named her after the one person he loved when she was older. She was still too young and he was certain she wouldn't be able to keep this information to herself if they happened to bump into Eddie again.

      "Yeah. It's funny, real funny, kitten." He lightly poked her sides, making her squeal and squirm away from him, giggling as she continued sipping her apple juice.

      He took the juice box away from her once she finished it, picking up the much smaller girl easily. "Alrighty, E.T. It's nap time for you."

      "Nuh uh! 'M not tired!" Edith whined, her complaint being cut off by a yawn.

      Richie raised an eyebrow, smiling at her in amusement. "Mmhmm. Yup, I'm calling bullshit on that one kiddo." She continued whining as he walked to her small bedroom, his brunette daughter completely leaning against him and her bright green eyes almost fluttering closed.

      He pulled back the purple and blue blankets from her bed once he helped her take off her shoes, putting her down as she yawned again. "I'll see you when you wake up, kiddo. Love you."

      Edith yawned once more, reaching out to hold her father's hand as she closed her eyes. "G'night daddy...love you too. Can't wait to see Mister Eddie again."

      This caught Richie's attention, raising an eyebrow and would've questioned her about her statement if she wasn't already out like a light.

      'Not tired' my ass, he thought.

      He chuckled lightly under his breath, making sure she was fully asleep before sliding his hand away from hers and standing up, walking as quietly as he could before closing the door behind him.

      The ravenette would admit, he was glad that his daughter took interest in Eddie. But the city was so big and he didn't know if his old friend lived there or was just visiting. The chances of them meeting again were slim to none.

      But he still found himself praying to whatever was out there that he and Edith could see Eddie again. That's all Richie wanted.