Betty woke up two hours before she was supposed to meet Toni. She quickly placed a kiss on James's cheek, watching as his brow furrowed in his sleep. She sighed quietly, before getting out of bed altogether and softly padding her way to their bathroom. A cursory glance at herself in the mirror and something caught her eye, causing her to pause and look more closely at her reflection. There was the imprint of James's fingers again, wrapped around the junction between her shoulder and neck. In the bathroom light, it looked redder and more defined. Sighing, she turned her attention from the mirror and started the shower.
As she showered, Betty's mind strayed to the night before. James was pleased with the dinner she had made until he wasn't. He had gotten upset over something as simple as the salt and pepper shakers not being lined up evenly on the table. Betty had tried to fix the mistake she had made, (because, it was clearly her fault to begin with), but in one quick movement, he had swept his hand across the table, sending the shakers flying and then crashing to the ground, where they shattered. Laughing at her dumbfounded look, James just told her to clean it up.
Betty's shower eventually ended and she got out, toweling off before slipping on her robe. She made her way back into their room to spot James still sleeping. Walking to their kitchen, Betty turned on the coffee pot, hoping the smell of coffee wafting through their apartment would help rise him from his slumber. He needed to get work as much as she did. Once the coffee pot beeped, Betty poured two mugs and made her way back to their bedroom where, she was pleased to find out, the coffee wafting through the apartment had the desired effect. James was waking up.
"Morning," Betty said softly, making sure her tone was nice and gentle lest he had a headache from his alcohol consumption the night before.
"Mm, morning, baby," James said. He reached out, fingers searching until they found their destination. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, squeezing gently. "Is that coffee I smell?"
Betty smiled. "Yeah, I made you a cup. And, myself, too."
James sighed. "I don't deserve you."
Betty didn't comment on that particular statement. Instead, she opted to tell him to drink his coffee while it was still warm and placed another, feather-light kiss on his cheek. At the last minute, James turned his head and she found herself pressing her lips against his in an almost bruising kiss. James wasn't exactly known for his gentle nature, drunk or not. Biting on her lip, Betty felt herself fighting a wince. She wasn't in the mood for anything serious right now. Sighing, she pulled back once he let go of her lip.
"James, I've got to get ready for work," she mumbled. James tightened his grip on her wrist.
"Or, you can stay here with me, in bed," he murmured, eyes alight with energy. Betty glanced down at her wrist and then up at him.
"You're hurting me," she murmured, and that only spurred him on to squeeze harder.
"Come on baby, call in," he whispered, tongue licking the tip of his top lip. Betty searched his face, knowing that when he was in a mood like this, it took a lot of convincing on her part to get him to see her way, he was so persistent. She chose her words carefully.
"James, you know I'd love nothing more than to stay home and be in bed with you all day," she began, and he grinned lazily. "But, I've got to go interview the first woman for the new job Mr. Jones set me up with. Don't you want me to go out and succeed?"
"Not if it means you're away from me," James replied. Betty knew he didn't mean it to be a detrimental statement, but she felt the need to snap at him about needing independence. Instead, she swallowed her anger down, painting a smile on her face.
"I'll be back home before you know it," she murmured. James studied her for a long moment, before nodding. He released her wrist and Betty resisted the temptation to rub it soothingly.
"Alright, baby. Have a good day," he said, and she smiled.
"Thank you," she said. What she was thanking him for, truly, she didn't know. Was it the fact that he was letting her out of the house? The fact that the conversation didn't escalate, causing his temper to emerge? She was uncertain but found herself relieved all the same. She hurried to get ready, glancing at their bedside clock. She had an hour before she had to meet Toni now.
XXX
By the grace of God, Betty made it to the coffee shop she was supposed to meet Toni at with ten minutes to spare. She hurried inside and found a table to sit at while she waited. Not knowing what the other woman looked like, Betty decided to see if she could guess based on what she knew about her boss. He liked to write; he consumed food like he was a human vacuum. Not exactly enough to warrant a description of what his friend looked like. Sighing, she realized she'd just have to take an educated guess. And, hope the other woman would recognize her.
Betty ordered two black coffees and extra cream and sugar as she waited. She watched people entering the shop, coming inside from the cold. Someone of them were laughing merrily; others were on a rush to get their coffee and leave. It never failed to amaze Betty the types of different people she encountered during her day. Just then, a throat clearing brought her out of her musings and she blinked, looking up. She spotted a petite woman with pink hair smiling at her.
"Are you Betty?" She asked, and Betty nodded.
"Yes. Are you Toni?" Betty asked.
"That's what they call me," Toni replied, and Betty chuckled.
"Please, take a seat, Toni," she said, indicating the free chair across from her. Toni took off her jacket, placing it on the back of the chair before taking a seat. She glanced at the coffee in front of her.
"Is this for me?" Toni asked politely, and Betty nodded.
"Yes," she said kindly. "I didn't know how you drank it, so I got sugar and creamer in case you preferred that to black."
Toni smiled appreciatively. "Thank you. Jughead told me you were nice."
Betty blinked. Jughead had talked to Toni about her? Well, that was nice. Pushing aside the thoughts, she looked back at Toni.
"Jughead said you're the best person to lay down the foundation for the interviews I'm supposed to be getting for the battered women article I'm working on," she said, and Toni nodded.
"Yes, I suppose Jug would say that, given my history," Toni said quietly. Betty's heart ached for the woman across from her.
"I just want to let you know that regardless of what you share with me today, I think you're incredibly brave to even agree to the interview in the first place," she said compassionately. Toni studied her for a long moment.
"Looks like Jug can tell a nice person as easily as the next person," she chuckled, and Betty smiled softly.
"Thanks," she replied.
Toni took a sip of her coffee after adding some sugar to it, before looking at Betty.
"How do you want to do this?" Toni asked.
"Well," Betty said carefully. "I typed up some questions and whichever ones you feel comfortable answering will be perfect."
"Betty," Toni said. "I'm an open book. I'll answer them all."
Taking her own sip of coffee to collect her thoughts, Betty nodded.
"Alright. First one: have you ever been in an abusive relationship?" Betty asked softly.
Surprisingly, Toni shook her head. "No. I've been in three."
"Three?" Betty repeated, horrified. Toni laughed slightly; it sounded humorless.
"I was born into what you'd call a family of abuse. It didn't stop when I started meeting men," she said quietly.
A family of abuse. Betty could relate to that all too well. Instead of commenting on that, she pushed forward.
"How were you able to recognize the signs of abuse?" Betty asked quietly.
"When your third boyfriend forces your hand onto the hot stove because you're not cooking the meal he wanted, you sort of make the connection that maybe you don't have the healthiest of relationships," Toni murmured.
"Oh my god," Betty whispered, heart clenching. "Does Jughead know?"
"He was the one who got me out of that relationship and secured me a spot in a women's shelter. I stayed there for two months while they helped me get back on my feet," she replied.
"What did you do once you were out of the shelter?" Betty asked.
Toni laughed. "Swore myself off from men."
Betty quirked an eyebrow. "Does that mean…?"
"I only date women now, yes," Toni replied, and Betty felt her eyes go round. Toni laughed.
"Don't worry Betty, you're cute, but I'm not going to hit on you," she promised and Betty felt herself get red.
"Oh, god no! That's not what I was thinking at all. I should be so lucky if you hit on me," she uttered, and Toni nearly choked on the drink of coffee she just took. Betty sighed. "That's not what I meant."
"It's fine, Betty. Jughead says I have a way of leaving everyone flustered, regardless if they're attracted to me or not," she laughed. Betty couldn't help it – she laughed, too.
Mind on Cheryl, she grinned. "I can think of one person who would match your ability to fluster people."
Toni quirked an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? She single?"
"Unfortunately not," Betty shook her head apologetically.
"Damn," Toni muttered. Betty let out a peal of laughter.
"I like you, Toni," she said, and Toni grinned.
XXX
As the interview carried onward, Betty found herself making small comparisons of herself to Toni. Toni had listed major red flags about recognizing an abusive relationship, such as:
-Getting belligerently drunk and taking it out on your partner.
-Fearing if you're going to upset your partner for no other reason other than being used to it.
-Your partner getting physically forceful with you, then apologizing, saying they didn't mean to and they loved you.
As Betty tallied up her mental compilation, she realized, a bit belatedly, she might be in an abusive relationship. Shying away from the thought, she looked back at Toni who was eyeing the pretty barista.
"Well, Toni, thanks for all your time this morning," Betty said, turning off her recording device. She had opted to record the conversation instead of documenting it on her laptop so she could assure herself she got every bit of the conversation, word for word verbatim. Toni waved off her appreciation.
"Anytime, Betty," she replied. She studied her for a moment.
"Oh, and Betty?" Toni asked.
"Hmm?"
"You might want to do something about the finger marks around your neck," Toni said, and Betty felt her eyes go wide as she shot a hand up to touch the marks. She hadn't realized her neckline of her shirt had slid down so much. Damn.
"Uh, this is nothing. I-I was playing around with my friend and, it, uh…" she trailed off, desperately trying to come up with a believable excuse. Toni looked at her with something akin to sympathy.
"It's fine, Betty. Trust me. I understand it better than you think. Just know, there's help for you whenever you're ready to seek it," Toni said, squeezing her hand gently. Betty etched a smile on her face.
"Thanks, but honestly, it's nothing. Just a friendly time between two friends," she reiterated, draining the last bit of her coffee. She stood up.
"I'm going to get a refill then I have to head into the office," Betty said, and Toni nodded.
"Tell Jug I said hi," she said, and Betty assumed "Jug" was short for "Jughead". She smiled.
"I will. Take care of yourself, Toni," Betty said.
"And you," Toni replied knowingly, and Betty averted her eyes as the two women parted ways.
Betty glanced at her watch, realizing she was a bit ahead of schedule. She got her refill and quickly made her way to the office down the street. Jughead was right: the coffee shop was close by. By the time Betty reached the office and had badged herself in, people were already moving about, getting ready for a day's worth of work.
Betty made her way to her floor, smiling at Cheryl and Veronica as soon as she spotted them.
"There you are, Betty," Veronica said. "I'm surprised you weren't the first one here this morning. That's not your usual way."
Betty bit her lip, torn between wanting to be honest and not wanting to hurt her two friends' feelings. She decided the former.
"I was at an interview of sorts with a woman Jughead set me up with," she murmured, hands wringing nervously. Cheryl grinned.
"Like, your next job assignment?" Cheryl asked eagerly, and Betty nodded.
"B, that's great!" Veronica enthused, hugging the blonde woman gently. Betty found herself breathing a bit easier upon realizing her two closest friends weren't mad at her for scoring the job when they had more credentials to their name.
"What's it about?" Cheryl asked. Betty took a sip of her coffee.
"I, uh, am interviewing women who come from abusive relationships. Some of them are going to have been in a shelter, like the woman I interviewed today," Betty said, and Cheryl nodded.
"This is going to make such a splash on the front pages of NYT," she mused.
"Archie might know some women from his mom's previous cases," Veronica added, and Betty nodded. Archie Andrews was Veronica's other half. Where she went, he followed. It was amazing to see how one person could love unequivocally and unconditionally.
"That would be a good idea to check into, V," Betty said. "I'm sure Ms. Andrews would know someone that would make a good candidate to interview."
Just then, a throat clearing interrupted the conversation and all three women looked up to spot Jughead standing next to them.
"Hey, Jones," Veronica greeted.
"Ronnie, Cheryl," Jughead nodded his head back at them, before turning to look at Betty.
"Did you meet with Toni this morning?" Jughead asked curiously.
"Yes, and it went well," Betty replied. She pulled out her recorder. "I even recorded the interview, if you want to hear it."
"Yes, please. Why don't you come into my office?" Jughead asked, and Betty nodded. She followed him into his office, shutting the door softly behind her. After indicating that she should do so, Betty took a seat in the chair across from his.
"How'd you feel about Toni?" Jughead asked curiously.
"That's she undoubtedly a strong survivor," Betty said.
"You don't think she's a victim?" Jughead wondered, and Betty shook her head.
"Victim implies that she didn't get herself out of that situation. She did. With your help," Betty murmured, and Jughead grinned.
"I don't view her as a victim, either. Toni is my sister of sorts, and when I found out her third boyfriend was scum, I finally put my foot down and intervened like I should have done years ago," he admitted.
"You helped get her out of the situation. That's what counts now, Jug," she murmured, trying out the nickname. He chuckled.
"Yeah, you definitely met up with Toni alright," he replied. "Let's hear the recording."
Betty pressed the play button, playing back the interview. She watched Jughead's face for any signs or clues that he was displeased; all she could tell was that he was in deep contemplation. When the recording stopped, she shut it off and looked at him apprehensively.
"You're as thorough as they come, Betty," Jughead complimented her, and she grinned shyly.
"Thanks," she murmured.
"I don't foresee any problems with future interviews. Do you have any men or women lined up already?" Jughead asked.
Betty shook her head. "I'm looking into it. Veronica is going to ask Archie, her boyfriend, if his mother can set me up with some clients. She's a lawyer and most likely will have a list of people, if they're willing, that I can talk to. I know this is sensitive subject material so will need to tread carefully and lightly."
"I'd like to be kept up-to-date on the process," Jughead said, and Betty nodded.
"Of course," she acquiesced. She knew that Jughead was trusting her to do a good job with her second assignment and she was determined to not let him down.
"Well, if I think of anything else, I'll call you," Jughead said, and Betty tilted her head.
"Call me?" Betty asked in confusion.
"Well, yeah. I figured we should work together on the assignment if you're up for it? I'm going to grant you complete freedom but if you have any questions or things of that nature, I want you to be able to reach me," he explained. Betty licked her lips nervously. James didn't explicitly tell her she couldn't have other men's numbers in her phone, he just strongly detested it. She nodded a moment later.
"Alright," she said, unlocking her phone and handing it over.
After typing in his number, Betty took her phone back and shot him a text.
"There. Now you have mine," she said, and he grinned.
"I'll let you get back to your desk," Jughead said, and she stood up, straightening out her sweater. She was too busy to make sure there were no creases to notice the look of confusion on his face. Perhaps had she been paying better attention, she would've spotted the fact that he, too, had noticed the finger indentations around her neck.
Author's note: Enjoy! Feedback is welcome per usual. Xxx