"No, Polly, I am not dropping out," Betty rolled her eyes. "I already told you I cleared it with my professors. I am doing remote learning for the rest of the semester."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Polly asked, "Aren't you going to miss the final weeks with your friends, not to mention the outside work with your classmates? And what about the school paper? How are you going to run that?"
"We've already published the final edition for the term. We always had these last few weeks free to focus on our classes. I've had Skype sessions with my classmates to discuss projects we're working on, and my friends understand why I've left," Betty replied. She chose not to tell her sister that she didn't have many friends at Northwestern; most of it was Louis's doing, a way to keep her isolated and feeling like she had nowhere to turn.
"Maybe you need to explain to your sister why you left?" Polly replied, "Because you broke up with Louis is not a good enough answer."
"I can't tell you," Betty said.
"You can't tell me," Polly said. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want Mom to find out," Betty admitted.
"What happened?" Polly asked, "What did that born with a silver spoon in his mouth, son of a John Gotti wannabe do to you?"
"Polly," Betty sighed.
"Tell me," Polly firmly demanded.
"I can't," Betty felt tears welling in her eyes.
"Betty, did he hurt you?" Polly could hear the emotion in her sister's voice.
"Polly," Betty croaked out.
"Oh my god, Betty!" Polly gasped, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Betty assured her, "He doesn't know where I am."
"Thank God for that," Polly said. "You need to tell Mom."
"No," Betty said, "Not yet. I'll tell her after school is done and safely back in Riverdale. I've interviewed with both the TV station in Riverdale and the newspaper in Greendale. I should hear soon if I got either of those positions, so with any luck I'll be close to home."
"You need to get a restraining order both where you are now and when you get back to Riverdale," Polly told her.
"Polly, I can't," Betty stated, "If he gets that, he's going to know where I am. I can't risk it. He's too connected."
"That's total crap," Polly snapped back, "Keller is still the sheriff in Riverdale, and FP is his deputy. You know they'll protect you. Neither of them gives a damn about mobbed-up families like Louis's."
"Form a mental picture of FP, a man whose father used to smack him around for fun, finding out my ex did the same thing to me," Betty said. "How do you see that ending?"
"Yeah, he's going to be pissed, but he's your best bet at getting out from under Louis's thumb," Polly stated.
"I'm out from under Louis's thumb," Betty replied, "He just needs to realize it."
"I don't like this," Polly said.
"Look, I promise as soon as I get home, I will tell Mom and FP everything."
"Betty, promise me you're in a safe place," Polly insisted.
"I am," Betty assured her, "I'm with Archie in Pennsylvania."
"Andrews? Really," her tone changed immediately, "Is there some rebounding going on?"
"No, no rebounding," Betty said quietly, "He's not interested in being a rebound."
"Really?" Polly responded in surprise, "I figured he'd jump at the chance to be with you any way he could have you."
"You're being ridiculous right now," Betty told her, "He's never seen me that way."
"I seem to recall a certain confession from you about a kiss in his garage," Polly said.
Betty blushed a little and glanced around, even though Archie was in class, "Do you have to bring that up?"
"Yep, it's my duty as your sister," Polly giggled, "Come on, Sis. You've been mooning over Archie since you were a kid."
"I can't even think about another relationship right now," Betty admitted, "Louis was a snake in sheep's clothing. How can I ever trust my instincts ever again?"
"Yes, Louis was about as sleazy as they come, but you know Archie. You know what a kind and generous man he is. Just the fact that he's letting you stay with him now says all you need to know. He's exactly who he's always been," Polly told her.
"Yeah, I know," Betty's eyes landed on a picture of Archie and Fred sitting on Archie's desk, "Everything he's doing right now? His dad would be so proud of him."
"If Fred were still around, he'd put a beat down on Louis so hard, the snake's grandchildren would feel it before handing him to the police."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Betty smiled, "Look, Archie's due back from class in a bit, and I've got to tackle some of my stuff before he gets here. I promise I'll call again soon."
"Okay," Polly said, "Call me more, alright? I want to know you're okay. I love you."
"I love you, too," Betty smiled, "Kiss the twins for me."
"I will. Stay safe," Polly added before they disconnected.
Betty looked at her books, then was sidetracked by the picture on Archie's desk; it was of the two of them at their high school graduation. "Holy crap. He kept this," Betty muttered to herself as Archie's dorm room door opened and Archie walked in.
"Hey, Betts," Archie smiled, "How was your afternoon?"
"Pretty good," Betty set the photo down and turned to look at him, "I talked to Polly."
"Yeah, how is she?" he set his keys in the bowl by the door and threw his backpack on the bed.
"Good," Betty smiled, "Did you know she and the twins moved back to Riverdale a few years ago?"
"Wow, I haven't seen those two little monsters since high school graduation," he smiled, "They'd be what six, seven by now."
"Yep," she bobbed her heads, "They are entirely too cute for their own good."
Archie grinned, "Any pictures?"
"Of course," Betty opened up her phone, "Dagwood looks like a Blossom to Cheryl's everlasting joy."
Archie flipped through a few of the recent pictures Betty had of Juniper and Dagwood. "Wow, Juniper looks just like her aunt," Archie replied.
"Really? You think she looks like Cheryl?" Betty snickered.
"Very funny," Archie smirked, "Not with that blonde hair. She's you."
"Mom says that too," Betty nodded.
"She'd better not be chumming up with her neighbor boy," Archie returned the phone to Betty, "Those boys are nothing but trouble. Ask your mother."
"I don't know about that," Betty smiled, "My neighbor boy was a pretty good guy, gets better all the time."
Archie grinned sheepishly, "Thanks. I need to get to the gym for a workout. Did you want to join me?"
"Yeah, I don't think so," she scoffed, "Me hitting a punching bag? It wouldn't even flinch."
"I don't know about that," he chuckled, "I think you've got some built-up rage you might want to express."
"You go," she shook her head, "I need to finish a few assignments."
"Ok," he grabbed his gym bag. "I'll be back in a little over an hour. Then we can get dinner."
"I wish you had a kitchen," Betty commented.
"I will soon," he told her, "Need anything before I head out?"
"No, I'm good," she smiled, "I've got enough work to keep me busy for an hour."
Archie nodded and headed out.
Betty grabbed the picture of the two of them again, looking at the smiles on their faces as they looked at each other. She wished she'd known what they'd been thinking at that moment. She gave a long sigh and then set the picture down and tried to focus on her schoolwork.
Betty glanced at the clock. Time had gotten away from her as she studied for finals. She still had to change clothes before she and Archie met his friends for dinner, and he was due to be home soon.
She liked the group Archie hung out with. They'd gone out with them a couple of times since the first night she'd met them.
She began rifling through her belongings. Cheryl had finally come through with sending everything to Archie's, so she had lots of options. It was worth sorting through a few boxes to find a suitable outfit.
She found a shirt she liked and a pair of jeans. After taking a quick shower, she studied herself in Archie's mirror, smiling when she saw the dark circles of worry and shame under her eyes were faded. She turned so her back was to the mirror and frowned at the still significant bruising on her back. She decided to rethink her choice of top.
Finally finding a suitable shirt, she was just changing clothes when the door opened. She turned to hide her bruised back, but she'd forgotten about the bruises on her torso.
Whatever Archie had opened his mouth to say was lost as he caught sight of her healing bruises for the first time.
"I don't want your pity," Betty tried to cover herself as best she could.
Archie tugged the shirt away so she couldn't hide, "You'll get no pity from me. You'll get concern and a hell of a lot of anger towards the man who did this to you."
Betty swallowed hard as his fingers tenderly stroked one of the mostly faded bruises on her rib cage.
"Did he break any ribs?" he asked.
"No, I went to a hospital," Betty said.
"Hospitals are required to call the police when stuff like this comes in," Archie said.
"Police can't do anything if the patient won't press charges," Betty reminded him.
"And you wouldn't," Archie nodded.
"He'd skate. Money, power, connections," Betty said, "He'd get away with it and just do worse the next time."
"I'm hating this guy more and more every day," Archie caught the bruises on her back in the mirror. He made her turn around so he could inspect those. It was clear they were fresher. "Why did you finally leave?"
"Early on in the relationship, we talked about moving to New York City," Betty said. "I'd all but forgotten about it until he brought it up a few days after he gave me my latest set of bruises. He talked about marriage and kids. There was no way I was going to have any part of his plans. He flew into a rage like I'd never seen, threw me against the dresser and shook the crap out of me. I finally got the courage to fight back. I stomped on his foot and then kneed him in the groin. As he was doubled over in pain, I got the hell out of his apartment. I just started driving. That's how I ended up here."
"It took a lot of guts to walk away," Archie told her.
"It doesn't feel like it took guts. I was scared the entire way here," Betty admitted, "I kept thinking every headlight I saw was him."
"And you kept going," Archie smiled, "That's guts."
Betty smiled at him and then started crying.
"Hey, come here," Archie pulled her into his arms.
"God, I'm so pathetic," Betty sniffled against his chest, "I can't keep crying over this jerk and what he did to me."
"It's okay to be afraid and to let it out," Archie said.
"You sound like your dad," Betty smiled.
"Yeah," he smiled slightly, "I hear him in my head a lot."
"There are worse people to hear," Betty told him.
"Yeah, I know," he chuckled.
"Give me my shirt," Betty demanded, "We're going out tonight, remember? I need the distraction."
"Yeah, me, too," Archie nodded.
"Please don't blame yourself for what happened with Louis and me," Betty said, "You didn't know. Nobody knew."
"I blame myself for losing touch with you," he handed her back the shirt, "I'd have known something was wrong."
"I missed you, too, Archie," Betty smiled, "How about you bring your guitar tonight and rock out on stage?"
"I can do that," Archie grabbed his guitar and shoved it in his case while she finished getting dressed.
"What's with the guitar, Red?" one of Archie's buddies asked when they arrived for an evening of pizza, beer, and karaoke.
"I'm playing it tonight," Archie smiled. "There's a song I never got to finish singing to someone. I figured tonight would be a good time for me to do that."
"Arch," Betty reached for his arm, "Not tonight."
"Definitely tonight," Archie smiled, "Let's eat first. I need some liquid courage."
"Betty, are you going to sing tonight?" Julie pulled her down to sit next to her, eager for some female companionship beyond the boxing groupies scattered amongst the group.
"No," Betty managed to say before grabbing one of the shots of tequila on the table and slamming it back.
"Or maybe yes after another couple of those," Archie teased as he reached for the pitcher of beer and poured himself a glass while helping himself to a slice of pizza. Now that the team wasn't officially training anymore, he could indulge in some junk food, even if he still was required to hit the gym twice a day. He'd always been one of the team that took his diet the most serious. This was one of the first slices he'd indulged in since the national championships.
"At least I can hold my liquor, Andrews," she challenged him.
"I hear a story here," Julie looked intrigued.
"We threw a birthday party for my ex-boyfriend once," Betty started, "Half the school showed up with kegs."
"And things got a bit out of hand," Archie conceded.
"By the end of the night, both Archie and Jughead were puking their guts out," Betty giggled.
"Jughead, is that someone's name?" Jess, one of the groupies, snorted in disdain.
"Nickname," Betty said with a saccharine smile, "It's marginally better than his given name."
"Which is?" Julie inquired.
"Forsythe Pendleton Jones III," Archie said in a haughty tone.
"Sounds like someone with money," Jess looked mildly intrigued.
"No money. He's a writer," Betty replied, "He's quite talented, but we didn't part on the best of terms."
"Ah, high school drama," Julie sighed, "Thankfully, we outgrew that when we entered college, right?"
Both Betty and Julie laughed in reply.
"Wait, does he publish under F.P. Jones III?" Luke asked.
"He might," Betty shrugged, "I really wouldn't know. We lost touch."
"We had to read a bunch of short stories recently in my Lit class. The professor said it was some sort of collegiate exchange program, and a F.P. Jones wrote one," Luke said.
"Do you still have it?" Archie asked.
"Probably," Luke nodded. "It was a little creepy. It was about a family named Floret."
Betty frowned, "You don't say."
"Sounds like you know something about the stories," Julie concluded.
"A bit," Betty rolled her eyes as they locked with Archie's, "Is he ever going to write something original?"
Archie was looking at his phone, "If Cheryl ever reads it, he'll be starring in his own snuff piece."
"Right," Betty sighed, "In any event, yes, F.P. Jones III was our friend."
"He's talented even if he's super creepy," Luke replied.
"Yes, he is," Betty nodded.
" Arch, when are you going to play this mystery song for us?" Jess tried to get Archie's attention.
"Right now," Archie slid his phone back into his pocket and picked up his guitar, "Wish me luck, Betts?"
"Break a leg, Arch," Betty nodded.
Archie stepped on the stage to a thunderous round of applause. It was clear he was familiar to the crowd as they waited for him to start. "I hope you'll all indulge me a bit tonight as I stray away from my Journey standards. Tonight I want to play something that I wrote a long time ago for someone extraordinary who has recently come back into my life."
Betty gave him a tiny bit of a smile as he started the song, looking at her as he sang.
"I love his voice," Julie said to Betty.
"Is that all you love about him?" Betty asked.
"He's not my type," Julie shook her head, "He has a body part I have no use for."
"Oh," Betty said quietly.
"Not that I don't appreciate the merchandise," Julie said, "It's definitely quality."
"You just don't shop in the store," Betty nodded.
"Exactly," Julie said.
"You sound like my cousin, Cheryl's girlfriend," Betty smiled.
"Really?" Julie lifted a curious brow.
"It's really serious," Betty smiled at how the song came so effortlessly to him, like he'd played it often.
"It's always really serious until it's not," Julie laughed and left Betty to admire the song for a bit.
The table applauded hard when Archie finished, and Betty caught his eye, smiling at him and mouthing 'Thank you' before she raised her glass in salute to him.
"How did you hook up with these rowdy guys if you're not enjoying the merchandise?" Betty asked Julie as Archie was making the rounds with his friends to get their high fives.
"Luke's my twin brother. He sort of dragged me along to these things freshman year. I was such a wallflower, but these boneheads sort of pulled me out of my shell and allowed me to be me."
"Are you out with your parents?" Betty asked as she watched Archie get pulled aside by some stuffy older guy in a suit.
"I have been for a couple of years," Julie bobbed her head, "It hasn't gone so well, but Luke's always sort of known. We have the same taste in women, which can get interesting."
Betty giggled, "That is too weird. My cousin was a twin, too. I don't think she and her brother would've gone for the same type of person. I don't even think he knew."
"He's dead?"
"Yeah," Betty nodded, "He died when we were fifteen."
"Oh, that's horrible," Julie frowned, "If Luke was gone, I swear half the voices in my head would be gone. I wouldn't know what to do with myself."
"Yeah, she was pretty torn up about it," Betty frowned, "Still is really."
"Can I ask how?" Julie said.
"Bad choices by a lot of people is all I'm willing to say," Betty nodded.
"Got it," Julie nodded before looking over to where Archie was standing, "Who's the old guy?"
"Not a clue," Betty watched as the man handed Archie a card, patted him on the back, and then left, "You've never seen him before?"
"Never in my life," Julie shrugged, "It's typically a usual suspects type of bar that anyone who's not a regular stands out. He stands out."
Archie plopped himself down next to Betty and took a quick hit of tequila.
"Who's the old stiff?" Julie motioned in the direction the guy went.
"An A&R rep," Archie admitted.
"What?" Betty stared, "And he gave you his card? Arch, that's huge!"
"Am I totally dense here?" Julie gave them both a blank stare, "Who or what is an A&R rep?"
"It means he works for a music company and liked Archie's music enough that he wants to sign him," Betty said.
"Shut up!" Julie gasped, "Archie is going to be famous. That's awesome."
"I wanted to call Cheryl," Betty said, "Now, I have something major to report."
"No, you don't," Archie shook his head.
"What?" Betty frowned, "Why not?"
"Because I'm not sure I want to sign," Archie stated.
"What?" Betty asked.
"Can we talk about this when we get back to my room?" he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Sure," Betty leaned against him, "So, I was telling Julie here that she sounds a little like Toni."
"How so?"
"She may not shop in a certain store, but she can recognize quality merchandise anyway."
"Ah, so she outed herself," Archie smiled, "Cool. I would have told you, but she usually likes to do it herself."
"I've got lots of practice," Julie chimed in, "Arch is one of the first people aside from my brother that I told. He was super cool about it. He said one of his friends in high school was a lesbian."
"That's the cousin I was telling you about," Betty added.
"Okay," Julie nodded, "Now it's starting to come into focus. So, Toni would be the cousin's girlfriend?"
"Yeah," Betty pulled her phone out and showed Julie, "That's from Christmas. My cousin, Cheryl, is the redhead."
"Wow, they're hot," Julie replied, "Are you sure they're serious?"
"Yes, very," Betty laughed.
Archie smiled at the photo, "Where was this taken?"
"Thornhill Hunting Lodge," Betty said, "We usually do Christmas Eve there, and then I have Christmas breakfast with Mom, Polly, and the twins. This year it included FP and JB."
"Cool," Archie replied.
"Are you going back to this mysterious Riverdale with Archie after graduation?" Julie asked.
"Not sure yet," Betty admitted, "I had a couple of interviews with news organizations near Riverdale, but I haven't heard anything back yet."
Archie squinted at a photo on Betty's phone, "Is that Kevin underneath all that badly applied makeup?"
Betty looked, giggling, "Yeah, that was our pre-party with Junie and Dag. Junie got a little overzealous with the blush. He managed to get most of it off before we went to Le Bonne Nuit for the New Year's/graduation party."
"Who graduated?"
"Toni graduated early," Betty slid to a few pictures before, "She's going into social work."
"That's cool," Julie replied.
"Yeah, she's doing her internship while Cheryl finishes her studies," Betty explained, "She just got offered a position in Riverdale. Cheryl is so excited to be going home. She wasn't sure that was going to happen if Toni couldn't get a job nearby."
"I'm glad they made it," Archie smiled.
"Me, too," Betty agreed, "I hate to say it, but I'm starting to fade. If you want to stay, I'll grab a cab."
"Nah, let's go," Archie laid down some money on the table to cover their portion of the evening, "Catch everyone at the gym tomorrow."
"If your ego fits through the doors, Rock Star," one of his teammates called out.
"Yeah, funny," Archie frowned as they left, his guitar over his shoulder.
Betty breathed in deep as they hit the street, "Tonight was fun."
"Yeah, it was," he slung his arm over her shoulder on the way to his truck.
"You've still got an amazing voice, Arch," Betty smiled as he opened the truck door for her, "It's better than I remember it being in high school."
"Thank you," he smiled.
"Arch?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad I finally got to hear the end of the song," Betty smiled a little before she climbed into the truck.
"Me too," Archie bobbed his head as he closed the door.
The pair was quiet on the drive home. Once back at Archie's dorm, Betty went about getting ready for bed as Archie pulled his guitar from the case and strummed a bit at the foot of the bed.
"I've always loved to hear you play," Betty emerged from the bathroom. "I remember how much you lit up the first time you played for me. It was like you found your destiny."
Archie smiled, "You sound like my dad."
"He loved to hear you play too," Betty smiled, "You know he liked music, too, right?"
"Yeah," Archie bobbed his head, "Mom has a bunch of pictures from back in the day when he was up on stage playing with FP. She used to say that what he lacked in talent he made up for in enthusiasm."
"Can we talk about this executive and the offer he made?" Betty sat next to him.
"What do you want to talk about?" Archie set his guitar aside.
"Arch, you were offered the chance to sign a contract to play your music after one performance on stage," she reminded him, "Things like that only happen in people's dreams. Why are you so quick to dismiss his offer?"
"Because I know what I'm going to do after college," Archie said.
"Arch, your dad wouldn't want you to give up a dream to go back to Riverdale just because you think that's what he'd want you to do."
Archie turned to look at her, "Look, Betty, if this happened in high school or even right after high school, yeah, I probably would have jumped at it. It was my dream to be discovered and given a chance to record my music for others to hear."
"Is that not your dream anymore?" Betty asked.
"The truth?" Archie asked.
"Of course," she smiled.
"No, it's not. It hasn't been for a long time. I guess I lost that dream like I lost my inspiration. Don't get me wrong. I still love music, and I still love to play. That drive I felt back in high school, that's what I've lost. I just want to play when the feeling moves me. I think if I signed for money now, I'd lose the taste for it."
"Can you honestly tell me that five to ten years down the road that you aren't going to be kicking yourself for not taking this offered?" she pressed.
"Yeah, I can tell you that honestly," Archie nodded, "Betts, I'm good. I'm happy."
Betty sighed, "Are you sure? You took the card."
"Mostly because he forced it on me," Archie admitted, "He says he's been hearing about the red-headed hunk that would bring down the house at karaoke."
Betty bit her lip to keep from laughing as he continued.
"He said he'd been coming for a couple of weeks and caught me singing a few times. He wasn't convinced I was worth signing until he heard my original song," Archie explained.
"And running Andrews Construction and your gym is going to be enough to fulfill you?" Betty asked, "I'm sorry to keep pressing you on this, but I want you to think this through."
Archie shook his head, "Nothing to think about. I know what I want my future to look like, and it doesn't include touring or scummy clubs."
Betty smiled at him, "Just don't write it off completely, okay?"
"Yeah, Betty, I'll still sing, and maybe one day I'll get the inspiration to write again. Music will always be a part of me, but running my family's construction business is important to me. It was my dad's, and he passed it on to me. He took so much pride in the work he did for the people of Riverdale. I want to be part of that. That feels more like my destiny than being a rocker who women fawn all over and stuff underwear and keys into my back pocket."
"You're too of a good man sometimes, Archie Andrews," Betty patted his chest.
"I learned from the best," he smiled.
"That you did," Betty nodded with a sad look, "I sometimes forget, you know? I'll be walking down the street, and I'll see a pickup rattle by. All of a sudden, I'm wondering how your dad's doing."
"Yeah, I know," he bobbed his head, "Sometimes I'll pick up the phone to call him. I still have some of his messages on my phone. I play them every now and then just to hear his voice."
Betty discreetly wiped at her eyes as she sat on his bed, "We should go to sleep. It's late."
"Yeah," Archie bobbed his head.
"And no more of this fighting about the bed," Betty told him, "We're adults. We can share the same bed."
"Are you sure?" he took her hand.
"Yes, I sleep better with you close by," she smiled.
Archie bobbed his head, "Okay then. I'll get changed."
Betty scrambled into bed and was waiting for Archie to join her. She gave him a confident smile when he climbed in next to her before turning out the lights to sleep.
"Night, Archie," she spoke into the darkness.
"Night, Betty."
TBC...