Chapter 19: Assumptions

Although, Betty had time to calm down... she was still fired up about her mother's lies. It wasn't the fact she was pregnant... no Betty loved the idea of having a little sibling to take care of and love. It was the fact her mother kept it a secret for so long that had her fired up. The fact she lied for three whole months.

"Betty.." She hears a soft voice call for her attention.

She looked up from her hands that laid on her knees and saw Hermione Gomez in the flesh holding up a tea cup in her left hand. She sighed quietly to herself, taking a moment to think about what she was going to say.

"What happened last night?" The mother asked as she took a seat next to her on the sofa.

Betty exhaled before looking back at the mayor. She didn't want to exposed her mother's dirty sandal. Her mom in fact was having a baby from adultery. She didn't hate her for it, only felt hurt by the fact.

"Well... last night, I came over because my mom and I got into a huge argument. I said things to Polly that I didn't mean and well it escalated... so I-I decided to come here." It felt good to get off her chest.

MS. Gomez looked at her with soft understanding eyes as she rubbed one hand down the small of Betty's back. She had a feeling what the fight was about and it struck deeply. She was also hurt by the fact her so-called best-friend lied to her.

"I'm so sorry that happened, Betty. I'm sure Polly will get over it. Also, you are welcome to stay whenever you like." A smile slowly burns onto her lips and she sighs.

"Thank you, MS. Gomez." Hermione chuckled and waved her hands around.

"Oh, please just call me, Hermione, Betty. Gomez makes me feel old." Betty smiles again. "Of course, Hermione."

Xxx—xxx

FP walked into the trailer a little after two O'clock with a bag from Pop's to find his son working on his laptop. He chuckled lightly as he thought to himself. His kid is always writing about something. His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of computer keys clicking and tapping. He looks over to couch and finds his daughter playing on her phone. He was pretty sure it was Minecraft.

He never got video games. His parents couldn't really afford much, his father well... after spending all day drinking. He would come back to lay a sucker punch on him and his mother. He would curse and scream until their ears bled from the assumptions. Forsythe always thought his wife was money hungry: in truth she was only trying to feed her growing boy. FP never bothered asking for much as a young child. He knew money was extremely tight and he didn't want to get beaten more often then he already was.

"Dad, you're home!" The twelve-year-old exclaimed excitingly as she was quick to put her phone down and leap into her dad's arms.

Taken back, FP chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his little girl before kissing her on the forehead. "Yeah, Freddie let me leave early tonight and I bought back supper."

Jughead immensely started typing faster before he finished last word before clicking save and gave his dad a welcoming hug. FP rolled his eyes as his son went straight for the bag in his hands and brought it to the table.

"Well, hello to you too, Jug." He jokes as he too sat down at the table and gave a cheeky smirk. "Anyways how was your day?"

"I've been busy writing my paper for the Blue Gold. I've come to a conclusion but I just can't figure out the clever ending I need." Jughead replies as he took a few fries and stuffed them into his mouth.

"I'm sure you will come up with it soon." He offered his son. Then he turned to his youngest and asked," And what about you, Jelly?"

"I spent my Sunday before school playing Minecraft and planning pranks on Jug." With that Jughead rolled his eyes at his sister.

"Pranks, Huh?" He asked with a raised brow.

"I'm not telling. That's the point of a prank, the other person isn't supposed to know."

"Keep them safe, Jellybean. I don't want to have to take your brother to the ER." FP reinforced.

Jughead smirked." A prank war? You're on, Little SiS." FP shook his head at his two children. He caught the look from his little sister and chuckled evilly.

"Okay, Jughead." JB smiles mischievously.

FP began eating his dinner and listened to all the lists of rules that the Brother and sister duo were coming up with. He honestly hoped that none of their shenanigans would end up in the emergency room. It was a prank war and he knew how badly this could go. Jughead and Jellybean kept sending secret joking threats to one-another under the table, while FP proof-read his son's latest project.

—xxxxxxxxxxxxx—

"Bee!" Veronica screeches.

Betty leaps off the couch and races to Veronica's bedroom. She finds Veronica gasping for breath on her bed. She rushes over to see what's going on.

"Vee, are you okay? What's wrong?" Veronica shakes her head frantically.

"No, no, I'm not." She gasps, still trying to catch her breath.

"What's wrong?"

"Daddy... he..." Betty heard Veronica's raspy voice trial off to a stop.

"What did your father do?" She questions as she pulls Veronica into her arms.

"H-He..." Veronica swallows down the lump that was forming in her throat. "He's dead."

Immediately after she heard what Veronica has said. She calmly listened to Veronica's choking voice as she tells her what happened. Apparently after he tried to kill Jughead and had Archie arrested he turned his life around. He stopped making a illegal business and formed a proper-legally-funded company. As he was heading home from Montreal, his driver lost control of the car, causing Hiram to be knocked into the windshield. He died on impact and sustained fatal injuries.

"Oh, Vee..." She says as she rubbed her comfortingly on the back. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you are going through. I know he wronged you but it's okay to feel the pain from the loss."

Betty knew all too well what Veronica was feeling, not the loss, but the pain from the once called father figure. She once had that from Hal Cooper. Since then she changed her name and still felt guilty for doing so. He was still her father. No, he wasn't dead. At times she wished he was after all the torture he put her through. She didn't know how to cope with all that yet. She was still healing.

"He was a p-person... you know. H-he was my father but he did awful things. He almost killed Jughead and framed my boyfriend for someone's murder. I shouldn't feel anything for him... but I do. I really do. I-I miss him!" The broken Lodge cried over the news of her father's death.

"Hey, hey, it's okay to miss him. At times I-I miss my father. You are in grief, Veronica." She softly whispers as she continued holding her sobbing best friend. "Do you want me to call, Archie?" She doesn't answer beside a weak head nod.

Betty quickly pulled out her phone and called Archie. "Hey, Betty. What's up?" She heard his voice come over the line.

"Archie... can you come to Pembroke, Veronica needs you." The sound of rustling sheets cracks into Betty's ears.

"Of course, I'll be right there."

"Thank you, Arch." She says before she hangs up and strokes Veronica's curls soothingly.

"He's on his way, Vee..."

—xxx—

Mom was a job. So far Alice has failed at all parental jobs as a mother. She still couldn't believe what happened between her and Betty. Betty still hasn't come back from Veronica's and Alice starts to worry. She hated feeling helpless. It wasn't like she could call FP and tell him what happened. No she had to fuck that up by lying to him. Betty was completely right to react the way she did.

It was her fault. All of this was her own damn fault and now she was just facing the consequences. She only wished she could call FP. She was afraid to call him, to have him react horribly. She knows this is her fault but she can't help but feel this pain in her chest as she thought about him. It was all her fault that this happened in the first place.

If she would've just have told him that day at Pop's, she could've avoid him being furious with her and maybe done the normal things she would expect doing her pregnancy.

"Mom, you should call him." Polly had suggested or more like urged.

"I don't know, Polly. It's only been a day. He's probably still angry and I don't blame him." Polly sighs as she placed a plate in front of her mother.

She was too a little worried about FP's reaction. She knew that her mother's actions caused some bad blood to boil over. She just now had to wait for the boiling to turn into a slight simmer. She really wanted to make her mom happy but she also couldn't force her do anything that was up to her mom.

"All I'm saying maybe if you called... it may ease the tension between you two." She stated as she sat down at the table.

"I'll try." Alice finally said after she thought to herself as she stared at her food with disinterest.

"Mom. Eat." Polly said sternly, giving a stare.

Alice groaned at Polly's stern voice and waved her hands around. "Fine." She growled as she took a scoop of mashed potatoes with her spoon off her plate. "Happy?"

Polly replies with sweet smile." Yes, very." She caught her mother rolling her eyes and sighed." After dinner, how about we watch TV?" Her mother nodded as she continued to eat her food with a little less of an attitude.