Status: Hope you enjoy the story :)

Our Last Summer- Reddie

Chapter 2- Dr K

(A/N: I know that Eddie isn't a doctor in the sequel but it fits my story better than his actual career so I'm changing it. Also, he isn't going to be married in this story)

Eddie's POV

The one thing that medical school didn't teach us was the amount of paperwork that we would get. It turns out that doctors get a TON, which would have been nice to know beforehand.

So, instead of spending my Saturday night at home, I sat in my office, practically drowning in the files and documents that crowded every surface of the tiny room. Casting a quick glance over the room and seeing how much I had to do, I sighed deeply; it was going to be a long night.

*

I reached for the final stack of papers; it was only a small one, thank god. Hoping that I could still catch up on some sleep, I apprehensively checked the time. 2:44 AM. Sleep? What's that? I thought cynically. I honestly don't think I have had a good night's sleep since I left Derry.

God, even the slightest thought about that place brings it all back. All of the memories from the summer of 1989 came back to me; it was simultaneously the best and worst time of my life. And the summer before that...?

No, I told myself, I said that I would forget about him. Which is ironic really. You don't forget about Richie Tozier that easily.

Damn it. Stupid feelings.

Determined to distract myself from my thoughts, I gathered up my things and headed to my car. On the drive home, I turned the radio up loud enough to block out any unwanted thoughts. It was decidedly easier to block them out than to forget about them completely. The journey seemed faster than usual and I arrived home quickly.

When I got in, I quickly changed out of my uniform and practically collapsed into bed. I didn't check my phone like I usually did before going to bed, meaning that I didn't realise that it was being blown up with calls and voicemails.

*

Since I had Sundays off, I had a lie-in in the morning. When I finally woke up, I stumbled out of bed and into the kitchen. I was definitely one of those people who needed several cups of coffee to even begin to wake up.

As I sat down to drink my coffee, I pulled out my phone and instantly noticed the thirteen calls and six voicemails from an unknown number. Confused, I called them back. Why would a stranger be so desperate to talk to me?

After a few rings, the mystery person picked up.

"Hello?" I said, cautiously.

"This is Eddie, right? Kaspbrak?"

"Yeah... who is this?"

"It's Mike, you know, from Derry."

Holy shit. I wasn't expecting that.

"Mike? What's up?"

"It's back, Eddie. Can you come back to Derry?"

Oh dear God, he's got to be kidding me, I thought. I frantically hoped that this was just some kind of joke but inside, I knew that Mike wouldn't joke about something like that.

"Eddie? Are you still there?" Mike called down the phone. I realised that I had gone silent.

"Y-yeah," I cleared my throat. "I'm fine. I'll travel back tonight, Mike."

"Ok, Eddie. See you then."

"Bye, Mike" I whispered, unable to speak any louder.

Just as I was about to end the call, Mike shouted, "Wait, Eddie, I forgot about something. Do you still have Richie's number? I've asked everyone else but no-one does."

Oh god, Mike, of course I do. The amount of times I nearly called that number was insane. But I stopped myself every time. I mean, he let me go for a reason, right?

"Yeah, I'll text it to you in a minute."

After sending the text, I sat back in my chair, scarcely able to believe this. I looked down at my now-cold coffee. At least I didn't need it to wake me up anymore.