Chapter 15 Chapter Nine Complete Liberation 1

1 May 29, 1985 In the afternoon, over New York State, Beverly started laughing again.She covered her mouth with her hands, afraid that people would think she was crazy, but couldn't stop. The person sitting next to her was a handsome young man with long hair.Since the plane took off, he had already glanced at Beverly a few times, with appreciation in his eyes.Seeing that Beverly didn't want to talk to him, he opened his handbag, took out a novel and read it. Now he closed the book and asked with concern: "Are you okay?" She nodded, trying to look as serious as possible, but couldn't help laughing.He also smiled, his eyes full of doubts.

"It's okay." She said, trying to pretend to be serious again, but it didn't help - she was still the same as before, the more she tried to look serious, the more she couldn't help laughing. "I just don't know which airline I'm flying on, I just remember there's a big duck on the fuselage, the duck—" She laughed happily again.Everyone around looked at her, and some frowned. "Republic," he said. "what?" "You're flying a Republic Airlines plane traveling at 475 miles per hour." Beverly thought for a moment, then laughed again.

"You'd better control yourself, or the stewardess will throw you off the plane." His voice was a little serious.Beverly just shook her head, still laughing until tears flowed down her cheeks.She laughed even harder when she remembered that she didn't even have a handkerchief. The boy handed her a white handkerchief.Beverly wiped away her tears, and her laughter finally got under control.But she still thought of the big duck on the fuselage of the plane from time to time, and couldn't help giggling. She returned the handkerchief to him. "thanks." "My God! What happened to your hand?" He took her hand with concern.

She looked down, saw the broken nails, and thought of Tom -- thinking of the past hurts more than a wound on her finger.Her laugh stopped short.She gently took her hand away. "At the airport, I clipped it to the car door," she said, remembering how she'd been lying, lying about the scars Tom had left on her.Is this the last time?The last lie?If so, how good it would be... too good to be true. "It must have hurt badly," he said. "I've had an aspirin." Beverly opened the magazine again, though he probably knew she'd read it twice. "where did you go?"

She closed the magazine and looked at him with a smile. "You're a nice guy. But I don't want to talk about it. Okay?" "Okay." He also smiled. "But when you get to Boston, if you want to have a drink for that big duck on the plane, I'll treat you." "Thanks. But I have to afford another flight." "My God, I made a mistake in my horoscope today." He said, and opened the novel again. "But you have a good laugh. A lad would love you." She also opened the magazine, but instead of reading the article, she looked at her injured fingers, two of which were covered with pink blood blisters.In her head, she heard Tom screaming again: "I'll kill you, aunt! Fuck you bitch!" In Tom's eyes, she was a bitch.To her jealous colleagues, she's a bitch.And she was also a bitch in front of her father before.

sister-in-law. you bitch. She closed her eyes. Her foot, cut by the shards of the perfume bottle, hurt more than her fingers.Kay put a Band-Aid on her, gave her a pair of shoes, and gave her a thousand dollars. The night before seemed like a dream. She could remember being followed by three teenagers, they yelled and whistled, but they didn't dare to come over.She remembers being relieved when she saw the neon lights of a store at the intersection.She went into the store, bared her breasts, and borrowed forty cents from a pimple-faced clerk in the store to make a pay call.It's not difficult to do, it's all thanks to the "beautiful scenery" on the chest.

When Beverly arrived in a taxi, Kay was already waiting by the side of the road.She was wearing a flannel pajamas over a coat, and a pair of pink slippers with large buttons.Luckily it wasn't an orange button—otherwise Beverly would have run away in fright.In the car, everything came back to her mind and all the horrible memories resurfaced.She felt like someone had driven a bulldozer inside her head and dug out all the dusty memories.Names, names she hadn't thought of in years, flashed in her mind: Benth Hansker, Richie Dorje, Henry Powers, Eddie. Castleblank...Bill Dunbon.Especially Bill—Stuttering Bill, as they used to call him, sometimes candid, sometimes cruel.In her eyes, Bill was so tall, so perfect (as long as he didn't talk).

The names of people... places... and things that have happened. Her body was cold and hot for a while, and she remembered the sound from the sewer... and the blood.She screamed, and her father beat her.Her father—Tom—was on the verge of tears... Kay paid the fare and then tipped the driver, who exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, ma'am!" Kay took her into the house, gave her a bath, gave her a robe when she came out, made coffee, and checked her wounds.After the wound was bandaged, Kay asked, "What happened? Do I need to call the police?" "I don't need to say more," Beverly said. "It sounds crazy. But it's mostly my fault—"

Kay tapped hard on the table. "Crack!" The voice was loud, and Beverly jumped up. "Don't you ever say that again," Kay said excitedly. "How many years have we been friends? Nine years? Ten years? If I hear you say it's your fault again, I'm going to throw up. Do you hear me?" I'm fucking sick. It wasn't your fault this time. It wasn't your fault last time, it wasn't your fault last time, it was never your fault. You know what your friends say? Don't you Didn't they all say that sooner or later he'll make you a slave, or even kill you?"

Beverly's eyes widened. "If there was anything wrong, it was you who stayed there and let things happen. But thank God, now you finally escaped. Almost half the nails on your fingers were torn off, your feet were cut, and you had bruises all over your shoulders. The belt hurts, and you say it's your fault." "He didn't hit me with a belt," Beverly's lie blurted out.She was so ashamed that her face suddenly turned red. "You lie to Tom as much as you do to Tom." Kai looked at Beverly quietly, his eyes full of sincerity.Beverly lowered her eyes.Tears flowed down the throat, tasted salty. "Who are you trying to fool?" Kay grabbed Beverly's hand. "Sunglasses. Turtleneck... Maybe you can fool people, but you can't fool your friends, Beverly. You can't fool people who love you."

Beverly burst into tears. Later, before going to bed, she told Kay something she could say: An old friend called from Derry, Maine, her hometown, reminding her of a vow she made long ago.He said that the time has come, and asked her if she would go?She said go, and the trouble with Tom began. "What is this oath?" Kay asked. Beverly shook her head slowly. "Kay, I really can't tell you." Kay thought about it, then nodded. "Okay. So what are you going to do with Tom when you get back from Maine?" Beverly felt more and more that she would not be returning from Derry.She just said, "I'll come to you first, and then we'll decide together, okay?" "Very well," Kay said. "Is that an oath too?" "As long as I can come back," Beverly said firmly, "it's fine." When Kay arrives at the coach station to take her to Milwaukee, Beverly tells Kay to watch out for Tom. "There are guards all over here in Oha," Kay said. "You don't have to worry about me. If he comes near you, all you have to do is yell and yell his dog's head off." Beverly shook her head. "I want you to avoid him altogether. That's the only way." Kai looked at her slyly and said, "Are you afraid that I will tell you?" Beverly thought of the seven of them standing in the stream, of Stanley and the shiny fragment of the Coke bottle in his hand, of the sharp pain when her palm was cut, of their holding hands and forming a circle, Swear they'll come back if it starts killing again... destroy it forever. "No," Beverly said, "he probably won't know about me. But he'll hurt you or the guards. You didn't see him last night, Kay." "I've seen a lot," Kay said, eyebrows drawn together. "That dog walks like a human" "He's gone crazy and the guards probably won't be able to stop him. Trust me." "Okay," Kay said reluctantly. Beverly said, "Stay away from him, he's dangerous. Kay, trust me. He's like—" Beverly almost said "like my father," but she said, "He's like a madman." "Okay. Take it easy, honey. Go ahead and keep your promise. Then think about what to do next." "I will," Beverly said.But that is a lie.She has too many things to think about: what happened in the summer when she was 11 years old; how to teach Ricky Dorje how to play a ball; the sound in the sewer, and those terrible things. Now, as the plane landed in Boston at dusk, she remembered those things again... Thinking of Stanley.Ulis...the unsigned poem on the postcard...those voices...all of a sudden she thought of so many things. Looking out the window, she kept thinking.Tom's evil was nothing compared to the evil that awaited her in Derry.If there's any compensation, it's that Bill will be there... at 11 she's in love with Bill Dunbon.She thought of the postcard with the lovely little poem on it.She couldn't remember the content of the little poem...but she thought it must have been written by Bill.Yes, most likely Stuttering Bill. She suddenly remembered Richie and Ben taking her to a horror movie.That was her first date.She was a little excited and a little scared.It was really her first date, even though she dated not one but two guys.Richie also buys her stuff, just like a real date.Then a bunch of kids chased them...then they played in Barron Lowlands...then Bill. Dunbang showed up with a baby, she couldn't remember who, but she remembered the electrified feeling Bill's eyes rested on her... shyness and excitement seemed to warm her whole body. She remembered what had happened that night before she went to bed.She put on her pajamas and went into the bathroom to wash up.She went to bed late that night because there was so much to think about...they were good boys, you could play with them and even trust them.That was really nice...it felt like heaven. ——Thinking of this, she took a towel, put it on the basin to catch the water, and said in a low voice. 2 It came from the sewer: "Help..." Beverly took a step back in shock, and the towel dropped to the floor.She listened with her ears sideways, then bent down again, looking curiously at the sewer.The bathroom is at the back of their four-room apartment.She could faintly hear the sound of the TV.It's a Western.After the show, her father would switch to a baseball game or boxing, and then sleep on the couch. The wallpaper on the walls was bulging in places, the tub was rusty, and the toilet seat was cracked.A 40-watt light bulb sits over the washbasin, and a faded linoleum covers the floor. Not a pleasant room, but Beverly had stopped paying attention to what it was like after living in it for so long. There are drops of water on the washbasin, and its drain is a black pipe.Beverly lay down on it, noticing for the first time that there was a faint fishy smell.She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Help--" She gasped.Really sound.She thought it was the sound of running water...or maybe it was just her hallucination...or it was a continuation of the movie... "Help, Beverly..." Hot and cold sensations took hold of her.She pulled the elastic from her head and felt the roots stiffen. She bent down again and asked in a low voice, "Hello? Is anyone there?" The voice of a child who had just learned to speak might be in the sewer.Regardless of the goosebumps on her arms, Beverly began to search for some sort of rationale.It was an apartment building, and the Marsh family lived on the shaded ground floor. There are also four apartments.Perhaps the children in the building were playing and shouting into the sewer... "Is anyone there?" She asked a little louder this time.If her father had walked by, he would have thought she was crazy. There was no answer, but the foul smell of the sewer seemed to be getting stronger.It reminded her of the rubbish heap over there in the Bamboo Grove of Barron Lowlands. But there are no real children in the building.The Tramenters did have a five-year-old boy and a three-year-and-six-month-old girl, but they had moved out shortly before the school holidays; Skepe.Bolton lives on the second floor of the sunny side, but he is 14 years old. "We're all here to greet you, Beverly..." Her hand was in her mouth, and her eyes were wide open.Just now...for a moment...she saw something move.Suddenly, she realized that her hair was about to tumble into the drain.She straightened up suddenly. She looked around.The bathroom door was closed.The faint sound from the TV was still audible.But only her.Except that voice. "Who are you?" "Matthew Clemens," the voice whispered back. "The clown got me in the pipe and I'm dead. Soon he'll get you, Beverly, and Ben. Hansko, Bill. Dunbang, Eddie..." She covered her face with her hands all at once.Her eyes opened wider and wider.She felt her body was getting cold.Now the voice sounds a little choked up, a little old...but still tinged with a creepy laugh. "You're going to float here with your friends, Beverly. Tell Bill that George said hello to him, tell him that George misses him but will see him soon, tell him that George will put a Piano strings stuck in his eyes, telling him—” The sound was interrupted by a hiccup-like sound, and then bright red blood gushed out of the drain of the washbasin! Now the gulping voice spoke quickly, and then suddenly it changed: it was the voice of a girl of about ten years old, and, most to Beverly's horror—it was someone she knew. The little girl's voice—Veronica.Gloria's voice.But Veronica is dead, she was found dead in a sewer - "I'm Matthew...I'm Betty...I'm Veronica...we're all in the sewer...with the Joker ...and monsters...mummies...werewolves...and you, Beverly, we're down there with you, we float together, we become..." A ball of blood spurted out from the drain, splashing on the washbasin, mirror and wallpaper.Beverly screamed, and the fearful and sharp voice echoed violently around.She backed away in a panic, turned around, opened the door, and ran to the living room.There her father had just stood up. "What the hell is wrong with you?" His brow furrowed into a ball.It's just the two of them at home today.Beverly's mother worked the night shift.She worked at Green Manor, the best restaurant in Derry. "Bathroom!" Beverly yelled hysterically. "The bathroom, Dad, in the bathroom—" "Anyone peeking at you? Beverly? Huh?" He reached out and grabbed her arm.The extreme concern in his eyes made her feel more frightened than comforted. "No...basin...basin...basin...basin..." She cried out loudly.Her heart was beating so hard she felt like she was going to choke. Al.Marsh shoved her aside sharply and walked into the bathroom with an extremely puzzled expression on his face.He stayed there so long that Beverly was frightened again. Then, he roared: "Beverly! Come here!" Beverly had to go in. The bathroom door was open.Her father stood there in his light gray shorts and gray shirt, glaring at her.He works as a cleaner at the Derry Family Hospital and doesn't drink, smoke or chase women. When Beverly walked in, he asked, "What's going on?" Beverly's entire throat seemed to be blocked, her heart was pounding in her chest, and she felt like she was about to throw up.The blood on the mirror was running down the mirror.A few drops of blood were also splashed on the lamp above the washbasin, and she could almost smell the blood.On the washbasin, blood was flowing down the magnetic surface, dripping continuously on the floor. "Dad..." she whispered hoarsely. He turned around, showing his usual disgusted expression, washing his hands casually in the bloody washbasin. "God. Girl. Go ahead. You're scaring the hell out of me. You tell me clearly. " He was washing his hands in the basin, and Beverly could clearly see that his trousers were stained with blood. If he had been a little farther forward, his forehead would have been stained with blood from the mirror.Beverly's throat clucked. He turned off the tap, grabbed a towel, and dried his hands.Watching the blood on the towel wipe his palms and knuckles, Beverly nearly passed out. "Are you ready? I'm waiting." He tossed the bloody towel back on the shelf. Blood... blood everywhere...but her father couldn't see it. "Daddy—" She didn't know what was going to happen after that, but her father interrupted her. "I'm worried." Al said.Marsh said, "I don't think you'll grow up, Beverly. You run around and don't do any housework. You can't cook or sew. Half your time is wasted with books and the other half Time is spent causing trouble. I'm worried." His hand went up suddenly and hit her hard on the ass.She yelled, but her eyes were still fixed on a spot of blood on the eyebrow of her father's right eye. "I'm very worried." He struck again, this time on Beverly's arm.Just hearing a "snap", her whole arm was numb. "Extremely worried." He finished, punching her hard in the stomach.Beverly felt out of breath.She took a deep breath, tears welling in her eyes.Her father looked at her mercilessly, and put his blood-stained hands in his trouser pockets. "You've got to grow up, Beverly," he said, his voice softer. "Yes or no?" She nodded.She cried, but there was no sound.If she cried out, her father would pick her up again. "Now you make it clear, come on." "Yes—" There was no moisture left in her throat. "There was a spider. Big fat black spider. It...it crawled out of the drain...and probably crawled back in now." "Oh!" He smiled, as if amused by the explanation. "Really? Damn! If you told me, I wouldn't hit you. All girls are afraid of spiders. Why don't you tell me?" He bent down and looked at the sewer.Beverly bit her lip to keep herself from making a sound... An evil voice screamed deep in her heart, of course it could only be the cry of a demon: "Grab him, drag him down. He Oh shit." She shrugged the horrible voice away in fear.She was going to hell for letting that thought in her head even for a moment. He pressed his hands into the pool of blood beside the washbasin and looked at the drain.Beverly's stomach hurts badly. "Nothing. All these buildings are very old. Beverly. When I was cleaning in a school, we used to pull drowned rats out of the toilets and almost drove the little girls crazy." he said with a smile. "Mostly it was when the Kentucky River swelled. Although the creatures escaped to the new sewers, some drowned." Then he put his arm around Beverly. "Okay. Go to bed. Don't think about it any more, will you?" Her heart surged with love for her father.Once he beat her for no reason and said, "If you weren't bad, I wouldn't have hit you." He sometimes accompanied Beverly, told her stories, and took her out for a walk.When he was that nice, Beverly felt like she was dying of joy.She loves her father and sometimes tries to understand his ways.He beat her often, saying it was his God-given duty. "Girl," Al said, "was much more disciplined than a son." He didn't have a son, and Beverly sometimes felt that was partly her fault. "Okay, Dad," she said, "I don't want to." They walked to her cabin together.Her right arm was throbbing with pain.She turned her head and saw the washbasin, mirror, walls and floor in the bathroom covered with blood.She couldn't help thinking: "How can I go in there and wash my face again? God! I don't dare to do that evil idea again. You punish me. You throw me down, hurt me, or make me like last winter." A bad cold will do. Please get that blood off. Please, God!" Her father pushed her forward as usual, kissed her on the forehead, and stood for a moment in front of her door. "Sometimes I worry about you, Beverly." There was no anger in his voice anymore.He reached out and gently brushed the hair that had fallen from Beverly's forehead back. "There's blood in the bathroom, Dad!" Beverly nearly yelled. "Can't you see it? It's everywhere! Even on top of electric lights!" But she still didn't call out.Father went out and closed the door.It was dark in the cabin.She lay in bed with her eyes open until her mother came home at 11:30 and turned off the TV.She heard her parents arrive in their bedroom, and then there was the creaking of the mattress.The mattress rattled for a while and then stopped.She heard muffled voices, and then the sound of her mother's footsteps entering the bathroom.Beverly held her breath, waiting for something to happen. But there was no mother screaming—only the sound of water running through the washbasin, and then there was the muffled splash, and the familiar tearful sound of water running down the drain.After her mother returned, the mattress creaked again.About 5 minutes later, my father's snoring sounded. Black fear entered her heart and stuck in her throat.She dared not sleep on her right side—even though that was her favorite position—for fear of something watching her from the window.So she lay face up, staring at the ceiling, her body stiff as a root.I don't know how long it took, but she finally fell asleep. 3 Beverly always waited for the bell to ring in her parents' bedroom to get up quickly.She stood in front of the mirror and looked at her own breasts—two breasts no bigger than apples in spring—but she knew that childhood was coming to an end and she was going to be a woman. She brushed her hair and put her hands behind her head, puffed out her chest, looked at herself, she giggled...but suddenly she remembered what happened last night, and the laughter stopped abruptly. She saw black handprints on her arms. There was a sound of flushing from the toilet in the bathroom. Beverly quickly got dressed and ran out.Her father walked past her in his pajamas, muttering curses. "Okay, Dad." Beverly still replied. She stood in front of the closed bathroom door for a while, adjusting her mood. "At least it's daytime." The thought brought her some comfort.She grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and walked in. 4 It was a busy morning for Beverly.She made breakfast for him, and lunch (which he was taking to the hospital).Read the paper and eat everything, Al.Marsh told Beverly: "You tell your mother to clean up the house. It's like a fucking pigsty! I spend all day cleaning up hospital garbage and I don't want to go back to a pigsty. Remember , Beverly." "Okay, Dad. I will." He kissed Beverly on the cheek, gave her a kiss, and went out.As usual, Beverly ran to the window of her own cabin and watched him go down the street.Beverly always felt relieved when she saw him turn the corner...and she hated herself for it. She washed the dishes, then took a book and read.After a while, the mother called her name. The mother and daughter changed the sheets, scrubbed the floors, and waxed the linoleum in the kitchen.Mother mopped the bathroom floor, and Beverly was grateful for that.Her mother - Elfrida.Marsh was a small woman with graying hair and a serious face.Her sharp face seemed to tell the world that she had experienced too many things... how difficult life was, but she didn't expect any changes all of a sudden. "Will you clean the living room windows, Beverly?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.Now she has changed into her overalls again. "I've got to go to Bangor and see Shanriel Tenrent, she broke her leg last night." "Okay, Mom," Beverly said. "What's wrong with Mrs. Tenrent?" Shan Ruier asked.Tenrent worked in the same restaurant as her mother. "She got into a car accident with her bum," Elfreda said. "Her husband was drinking. You have to thank God every night that your dad doesn't drink. Beverly." "I will," Beverly replied.And she did. "I think she's out of a job, and her husband can't find a job either." Elfreda's voice was terribly serious. "They'll have to go to the countryside. I think." That was the worst thing Elfreda could have imagined.Losing a child or getting cancer doesn't compare.You can be poor, you can be hardworking all your life.But when you arrive in the countryside, you have reached the lowest level of life, and you have to rely on others and work like a cow or a horse.That was the Shanriel she imagined.Tenente's future life. "Wipe the windows and take out the trash. When you're done, go out and play if you want. Your dad works the night shift tonight, so you don't have to make him dinner, but I want you back before dark. You know why." "Okay, Mom." "God! You grow up so fast," said Elfreda.She looked at the protruding spot on her daughter's undershirt, feeling a little sad. "I don't know if you will come to see me when you get married and have your own home." "I'll be the same as before," Beverly said with a smile. Mother hugged her and kissed the corner of her mouth with chapped lips. "I know." She said, "But I love you, Beverly." "I love you too, Mom." "You have to make sure there are no stains on the windows." After the mother finished speaking, she picked up her purse and walked to the door. "If there is, your father will not let you go." "I'll be careful." Just as her mother opened the door to go out, Beverly asked as casually as possible, "Didn't you see anything interesting in the bathroom, Mom?" Elfrida turned around and frowned. "interesting?" "Well...I saw a spider last night and it crawled out of the drain. Didn't Dad tell you?" "Did you piss Daddy last night, Beverly?" "No! No! I told him about a spider crawling out of the sewer and it freaked me out. He said sometimes dead rats were fished out of the school toilet drain because of the drain. Didn't he tell you about the spider? " "No." "Oh. It's okay. I just wanted to know if you saw it too." "I didn't see any spiders. I wish I could change the linoleum in the bathroom if I had the money." She looked up to the sky.The sky was blue without a cloud. "They say if you kill a spider it will rain. You didn't kill it, did you?" "No," Beverly replied, "I didn't kill it." Mother turned her head again, her mouth pursed into a line. "Are you sure papa didn't lose his temper last night?" "No!" "Beverly, did he touch you?" "What?" Beverly looked at her mother in confusion.God!He beats me every day. "I don't--" "It's all right," said Alfreda. "Don't forget to take out the trash. If there's a stain on the window, Dad won't let you go." "I won't forget." Beverly still heard his father's words: "I'm worried." Elfrida is gone.Beverly ran to her room again and watched her round the corner and out of sight—just as she had watched her father.Then she got the bucket, the washing up liquid, and some rags from under the sink, and went into the living room and started wiping the windows.The whole apartment was too silent.She jumped up every time she heard a floorboard creak or a door slam.She nearly screamed when she heard the Boltons' toilet flush. From time to time she looked towards the closed bathroom door. At last she got there, opened the door, and looked in.Mother has already cleaned it this morning.Most of the blood on the basin was gone, but some remained.There are also many mirrors and walls. Beverly looked at her pale face in the mirror, and suddenly felt that her face was bleeding.Then she thought again: "What should I do? Am I crazy? Is it my hallucination?" Suddenly there was a giggle from the sewer. Beverly screamed and slammed the door. Five minutes later, she started cleaning the windows again. Her hands were still moving so violently that she almost dropped the bottle of washing liquid on the floor. 5 That afternoon, Beverly locked the door, put the key in her trousers pocket, and walked out.She had just turned into Richard's Lane, which connects Main Street to Center Street, when she came across Ben, Eddie, and a boy named Bradley squatting on the ground playing a coin toss. "Hello, Beverly!" Eddie called. "Did you have a nightmare after the movie?" "No." Beverly knelt down to watch them play. "How did you know?" "Haystack sued me," Eddie said, giving Ben a thumbs up.Ben Si's face turned red. "What movie?" Bradley asked.Now Beverly recognized him.He had been to Banron a week earlier with Bill's neighbors.They also took speech lessons together in Bangor.In her mind, Beverly always felt that Bradley was not as important as Ben and Eddie. "Animals like people." With that, Beverly moved between Ben and Eddie. "Are you playing coin toss?" "That's right." Ben glanced at her, and then hid his eyes elsewhere. "Who's winning?" "Eddie," Ben said, "Eddie's playing really well." She looks at Eddie.He rubbed his nails on his shirt godly, then giggled. "Can I play?" "Okay," Eddie said, "how many cents?" Beverly fumbled in her pocket and took out three cents. "My God, how dare you take out such a huge sum of money from the family," Eddie joked, "it freaks me out." Benth and Bradley both laughed. "Girls can also be brave." Beverly said solemnly.After a while, everyone laughed. Beverly is talented. After 5 minutes, she won 2 corners and 4 points.She only lost one round. "Girls lie!" Bradley exclaimed.With a look of disgust on his face, he stood up to go, looking at Beverly angrily. "Girls can't—" Ben jumped to his feet. "Take it back!" Bradley looked at Banth with his mouth open. "what?" "Take back what you said! She didn't lie!" Bradley watched them all, from Benth to Eddie to Beverly.She was still kneeling on the ground.Then he looked at Ben again and said, "Are you trying to take it out on that bitch, silly boy?" "Of course." Benth had a terrible smile on his face.Startled, Bradley slowly backed away. "Okay, you've colluded to play tricks on me." Bradley took another step back.His voice trembled, tears were about to flow. "Everyone is a liar!" "You take back what you said to Beverly," Ben said again. "Never mind, Ben." Beverly held out the hand full of coins to Bradley. "Take yours away. I don't want to play with cheapskates." Tears of humiliation welled up from Bradley's eyes.He knocked the coin out of Beverly's hand and headed down Richard's alley.Has run to the street.The rest of them opened their mouths and looked at him.When he ran to a place where he felt more complete, Bradley turned around and shouted: "You are a little villain! Liar! Liar! Your mother is a whore factory. Beverly was stunned. Ben rushed out and shouted at Bradley追了过去。但是就要追上的时候，他被一个空箱子绊倒了。布雷德利跑得无影无踪。班恩回过头来，看着贝弗莉。那个字眼把他都震惊了，更别说是贝弗莉了。 贝弗莉双手捂住脸放声大哭起来。 艾迪不安地看着她，从裤兜里掏出他的哮喘喷雾剂，喷了一下，然后弯下腰去，开始捡那些散落的硬币。 班恩朝贝弗莉走了过来，想要抱她一下，给她点安慰，但是却停下了。在这个美丽的小姑娘面前，他感觉手足无措。 “高兴点。”班思说着，这句话听起来很傻，但是他确实想不出更好的了。他伸手碰了碰贝弗莉的肩头，又连忙拿开了。班恩的脸红得厉害，看起来有点像道歉的样子。“高兴点，贝弗莉。” 她放下双手，愤怒而又颤抖地叫着：“我妈妈不是妓女！她是……她是招待员！” 班恩和艾迪都静了下来。两个人都呆呆地看着贝弗莉。突然间，三个人爆发出歇斯底里的笑声。 “招待员！”艾迪叫嚷着。妓女到底干什么他只知道一点点，但是他觉得和招待员应该毫无分别的。“就是这样嘛！” “是的！是的！”贝弗莉又哭又笑。 班恩笑得几乎都站不住了。他重重地坐到了垃圾筒上。但是他太重下，一下子把上面的盖子压了进去，自己也滚了下来。艾迪用手指着他，笑得更厉害了；贝弗莉扶着他站了起来。 这时，头顶上的一扇窗户打开了，一个女人嚷着：“快离开这儿！小崽子们！有人晚上得上夜班！快走！“ 三个人想也没想，手拉手向中心大街跑去，一路上笑个不停。 6 他们把钱聚了起来，买了两上冰淇淋刨冰，走到巴斯公园，坐在草地上喝了起来。班恩拿了一个咖啡的，艾迪拿了一个草毒的。贝弗莉拿了一根吸管坐到他们中间，这边吸一口那边吸一口，就像一只在花丛中间采蜜的小蜜蜂。从昨晚开始她一直身心疲惫，直到现在她才感觉好了一些。 “我不知道布雷德利出了什么毛病，”艾迪很是抱歉，“他以前从来不这样。” “都是为了我。”贝弗莉说完，突然亲了一个班恩的脸颊。 "Thank you." 班恩的脸又变得通红。“你没有骗人。”他嘟哝着，猛地三大口把剩下的刨冰全喝光了，然后打了一个非常响亮的嗝。 “天呀！你怎么了？”艾迪问道。 “不要了。”贝弗莉捂着肚子笑着。“我的肚子都疼了。不要了。” 班恩也笑了。那天晚上睡觉之前，他会把那段贝弗莉吻他的情景在脑海里放上一遍又一遍。 “你现在真的没事了吧？”他问贝弗莉。 She nodded. “不是为了他。甚至也不是为了他骂我妈妈的话。是因为昨天晚上发生的事情。”她犹豫着，从班思看到艾迪，又从艾迪看到班思。 “我……不得不告诉某个人，或者给某个人看，或者看什么东西。我想我哭是因为我害怕得就要疯狂了。” “我说什么疯狂了？”传来了一个新的声音。 原来是斯坦利。尤利斯。他的身材瘦小，但是穿着总是非常整洁——对一个还不到11岁的孩子来说也太整洁了。他的白衬衣总是整整齐齐地塞在干净的牛仔裤里，头发梳得顺顺溜溜的，就连他穿的运动鞋的鞋尖也擦得干干净净。他在那里微笑着，一下把贝弗莉的幻觉打断了。 “她不会说下去了。”艾迪心想。“因为布雷德利骂她妈妈的时候斯坦利不在那里。” 但是贝弗莉犹豫了一会儿，还是说了。因为斯坦利和布雷德利不同——“他是我们的一员。”贝弗莉想。她不知道为什么会那么想。“说出来对他们不会有任何好处的。不止是他们。我也没有。” 但是太迟了，她已经开始讲了。斯坦利和他们坐在一起，脸色很严肃。艾迪把最后的一点刨冰送给他，他只是摇了摇头。他的眼睛从来没有离开贝弗莉的脸。没有一个人讲话。 贝弗莉告诉他们那些声音，还有她辨认出了维朗尼卡。格罗根的声音。她知道格罗根已经死了，但是她能辨认出她的声音来。她告诉他们那些血迹；但是她的父亲看不到也感觉不到；母亲今天早上也看不见。 当她讲完后，贝弗莉看了看他们的脸，恐怕自己看见——但是她没有看见任何的不信任。只有恐惧。 最后，班思说，“我们去看看。” 7 他们从后门走了进去。不只是因为贝弗莉的钥匙只能开后门，而是因为贝弗莉说如果让博顿夫人看见她跟三个小男孩走进公寓里，她父亲会打死她的。 “为什么？”艾迪问。 “你不懂，傻瓜。”斯坦利说：“安静点。” 艾迪想要反驳一句，但是看见斯坦利那张苍白、紧绷着的脸，他闭上了嘴。 进了屋子，班恩马上就问：“在哪儿？”他的声音很小。 贝弗莉的心就像是在太阳穴上跳动。她领着他们从父母的卧室旁边走过，来到了紧闭着房门的洗手间。她拉开门，踏了进去，拉住链子，打开了脸盆底的皮塞子，然后又退后，站在了班恩和艾迪中间。 干了的血迹在镜子、洗脸盆和墙上都留下栗色的痕迹。 “看见了吗？有人看见了吗？有没有？”贝弗莉的声音小得几乎连自己都听不见。 班恩小心翼翼地走了出来。他用手触摸着一滴血迹，然后另一滴，然后是镜子上一道长长的血痕。“这里，这里，这里。”他的声音很低却很有权威。 “天呀！好像是有人在这儿杀了一头猪。”斯坦利有点畏惧地说。 “都是从下水道出来的吗？”艾迪问。看见血污使他很恶心。他的呼吸越来越短促，手里紧抓着哮喘喷雾剂。 贝弗莉忍住不让自己哭出声来。她不想那样，她怕他们然会把她看成一个没用的小姑娘。她抓住门把手，稍微缓解了自己的恐惧。 “你爸和你妈竟然都看不见。”班恩非常惊讶。他又触摸了一滴干在脸盆上的血迹，然后把手收回来，在自己的衣角上擦掉了血迹。 “天呀！天呀！” “我不知道自己该如何再走进这里。贝弗莉说道。”不能洗脸…… 不能刷牙……你们知道。 " “好了，为什么我们不把这里清洁一下呢？”斯坦利突然说了一句。 贝弗莉看着他。“清洁？” “对。也许我们不能去掉墙纸上面的血迹，但是我们能把其余的清除掉。难道你没有抹布吗？” “就在厨房水槽的下面，”贝弗莉说，“但是如果用了的话，我妈妈会问那些抹布哪里去了。” “我有五角钱。”斯坦利静静地说。他的眼睛一刻也没有离开脸盆上的那些血迹。“我们尽量清洁一下洗手间，然后把抹布拿到楼下的投币洗衣机洗一洗。洗完之后，再烘干，等你父母回来时，它们就放回水槽下面了。” “我妈说用布沾上血迹洗不净，”艾迪反对说，“她说血液已经渗进去了。” 班恩发出一阵歇斯底里的笑声。“洗净洗不净都没关系。反正他们看不见。” 没有人问他到底“他们”是谁。 “好吧。”贝弗莉说。“让我们试试。” 8 此后半小时，他们像4个小精灵，不屈不挠地清洁着洗手间。随着墙上的、镜子上的，还有脸盆上的血迹逐渐消失。贝弗莉感觉自己的心情变得越来越轻松。班思和艾迪擦水槽和镜子，她自己清洁地板。而斯坦利则非常仔细地擦洗着墙纸上的血迹。他们把那些血迹几乎全部擦干净了。班思还换了一个新灯泡。去年秋天商店促销的时候，贝弗莉的妈妈买了很多灯泡，足够用两年。 最后，斯坦利向后退了几步，挑剔地看着他们的成果说：“我想这是我们所能做到最好的了。” 靠着脸盆左边的墙纸上仍然有些淡淡的血迹。墙纸那么薄，斯坦利几乎不敢再动了。但是那血迹已经丧失了以前那种邪恶的力量。 “谢谢你们。”贝弗莉不记得曾经对谁这么感激过。“谢谢你们大家。” “没什么。”班恩喃喃地说。他的脸当然又红了。 “真的没什么。”艾迪也说。 “我们把抹布处理了吧。”斯坦利脸上的表情仍然很严峻。后来贝弗莉才想，也许当时只有斯坦利意识到他们已经在某种不可想象的对抗中走出了第一步。 9 他们拿了一些洗衣粉，放在一个空罐子里。贝弗莉找了一个购物袋，把那几块抹布装了进去，然后4个人下楼到了梅恩大街和康尼大街拐角处的洗衣房。远处蓝色的运河在下午的阳光下闪闪发亮。 洗衣房里面只有一个穿着护士制服的女人正等着衣服烘干。看见他们4个走进来，她用不信任的眼光瞅了他们一眼，又低头看书了。 “冷水，”班恩低声说，“我妈妈说洗血迹要用冷水。” 在斯坦利换硬币的功夫，他们把抹布投进了洗衣桶里。等他回来，贝弗莉把洗衣粉放进去，关上了门。然后斯坦利把两个一角硬币投了进去，按动了启动键。