A\N: Just in case anyone reading this might be wondering, Emily's age is 14 almost 15 making her slightly less than 3 years younger than the core four.
It's already been a whole 2 weeks since my unexpected return to Riverdale and things in my life are very different from what they were before I decided that I wanted to leave Toledo.
For starters, I found out from an old friend of mine, Toni Topaz, during my first night back in Riverdale that my father is currently incarcerated at Shankshaw Prison where her own father is also not only also a member of the Southside Serpents like my father, Toni, Sweet Pea and his longtime guy best friend Fangs Fogarty but is currently serving time as an inmate there as well.
According to what both Sweet Pea and Toni told me, my father was involved in the cover-up of Jason Blossom's murder.
He may not have been the one who actually pulled the trigger of the gun that had killed Jason but he did have a hand in covering it up.
Toni also mentioned that the only reason that Dad had agreed to cooperate with the cover-up of Jason's murder was because the person who was actually responsible for taking his life had threatened to hurt Jughead and even me and JB if he had tried to refuse.
Since I know all too well how Dad can be when it comes to his family especially us kids, I can understand why he had confessed to Jason's murder even though he didn't pull the trigger himself.
Another thing that has changed in my life since my return is I am now living on the Northside for the first time in my life.
I am now living at the home of Hal and Alice Cooper, the Northside couple who own and run the local newspaper. They are also the parents of Betty who is dating my half-brother as well as her older sister Polly who had disappeared from town a couple of weeks before Jason had died.
Living with the Coopers has been a pretty big adjustment for me to say the least. Alice and Betty have both been very welcoming to me but Mr. Cooper is a completely different story.
He basically ignores me whenever he's around me which is not very often thankfully. I have always been a pretty good judge of character when it comes to people and there is just something about him that rubs me the wrong way big time.
I'm currently sitting by myself in the music room at Riverdale High where Alice had me enrolled just a couple of days after I was brought to live with her family by Mrs. Weiss, the social worker assigned to look after Jughead and later myself also after I came back to town.
Alice had reminded me this morning during breakfast that she was going to be signing me out of school right after the end of my lunch hour so that she could drive me up to Shankshaw Prison.
I had mentioned to her and Betty a few days ago that I hadn't been up there to see my dad yet since I came back to town 2 weeks ago so she was going to leave work earlier than usual so that she could take me up to see Dad herself.
It's not that I don't want to see Dad because I do very much so. I just don't like to think about the fact that I have to see him for the first time in almost 4 years while he's behind bars.
I decide to take my mind off everything in my life for a bit by practicing my guitar playing.
Picking up one of the guitars that was sitting in the music room and after checking it to make sure it was properly tuned, I began to play the Taylor Swift song that I had been trying to learn the past few weeks.
Once I'm done playing the song, I am startled by the sound of soft clapping and I look toward the door of the music room. Betty is standing there with a smile plastered across her face and a few tears welling up in her green eyes.
"Oh, my gosh! That was so amazing, Em. You're really good at the guitar. You also have such a beautiful voice."
I smile at Betty before setting the guitar back on its stand.
"Thanks, Betty. You are actually the only other person other than my little sister JB that has ever heard me play guitar and sing."
Betty looks down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at me.
"Actually, my mom has also heard you sing and play guitar too."
I am confused by what Betty just told me. I guess it was obvious because she quickly went on to explain that she had seen her mom standing outside the door of the room that I currently call my own at their house a couple of days ago while I was practicing the song that Betty had just listened to me perform.
"Your mom was really listening to me the other day? Why didn't she say anything about it to me?"
Betty shrugged her shoulders in response to my question, indicating that she didn't have an answer for me.
Just then, Principal Weatherbee's voice came on the PA system.
"Emily Jones, please report to the main office. I repeat, Emily Jones please report to the main office."
After saying bye to Betty, I gather my bag and coat and begin to make my way down the hallway towards the front office. I get there and find Alice there waiting for me with a smile on her face.
"Ready to go, honey?"
I nod my head yes and follow her outside to the parking lot where we climb into her station wagon.
Alice tries to make a bit of small talk with me during the drive to the prison but I'm not really in much of a talking mood which she's very understanding of.
Instead, I watch the scenery pass by outside as I fiddle with the small silver medallion that I wear on a silver chain around my neck. It's one of the only things I have ever gotten from my birth mother who has been a complete mystery to me my entire life so it's one of my most valuable possessions.
Before I know it, we have arrived at Shankshaw. After the both of us have been submitted to a pat down by a female guard, Alice and I are led to a room that I'm guessing is used for inmates to visit with their families and whoever else comes to see them where we wait for one of the guards to bring Dad in. I start playing with my necklace once again which Alice notices.
"Feeling a bit nervous, honey?"
I nod my head in response to her question and I feel her hand cover the top of mine in an almost motherly like manner in an attempt to comfort me.
It works almost immediately. I give her a small smile of thanks which she reciprocates right as the door opens and Dad is led in with a guard right behind him.
It takes Dad a moment to realize who I am. That doesn't really bother me though. After all, he hasn't seen me in nearly 4 years and I do look a bit different now than I did the last time he had seen me.
"Emily? Is that really you, sweetheart?"
I smile widely at Dad and nod my head.
"Yeah, Dad. It's me. I'm back."
