"I can explain" Noah begged, slowly reaching for Izzy just for her to slap his hands away before he could make a direct touch.
"HHnnn" Izzy croaked out letting the noise turning into a dry, brittle laugh carrying a note of hysteria. Still, given the current situation, Izzy felt that it should be allowed, "Really," she asked, staring at Pop, he looked very concerned right now.
Shifting her gaze just a few inches past Pop's left shoulder, Izzy saw Hiram Lodge.
Half of her came from him.
He looks healthy enough, slightly short, slightly concerned, Hispanic.
Tailored suit.
Three-piece at that Izzy absently noted.
Considering Veronica wore a pearl necklace and high heels to school, it tracked that her dad would wear a tailor-made suit to a town hall meeting.
"Let me explain" Pop begged, he didn't need to turn around to know exactly who was stood behind him.
"Hiram Lodge?" Izzy questioned, she wasn't sure if she was looking for validation or even some form of denial to that statement.
"Look let us-"
"Archie get in the car" Fred quickly interrupted finally putting everything together.
She knew.
Izzy knew about Hiram.
"As in Veronica's dad" Izzy continued for added clarification.
"I" Hiram didn't get more than a syllable out before he was once more under her intense scrutiny.
Hiram wanted her attention, he wanted her to know that he existed but not like this...
In all the scenario he'd envisioned of how she would find out, Hiram had always assumed he would be the one to tell her.
Or even Pop, not some unknown faceless stranger.
Who knows what they'd said to Isabelle.
"Don't!" Izzy hissed, throwing her left hand up in the universal sign of getting someone to just STOP. She just wanted it to stop, she wanted... "My keys. Where are my keys?" Izzy questioned, they weren't in her hands, and after a quick pat-down she knew that they weren't in her pocket either.
"Izzy" Fred intervened, keeping his voice a low as it could go without actually being a whisper, "Listen why don't you let Pop drive you home. I'm sure he can explain it-"
"I don't think I'll take any advice from you" Izzy snarled, not wanting to hear from Fred either, "I mean you knew right. You must have." Izzy reasoned, "You, mum, him. You all went to the same school, I've seen the pictures, so you must have known about Hiram."
"Izzy." Pop whispered, watching as she struggled to keep to one emotion; she was oscillating between shock and rage, which was understandable but the night was far from over.
"Don't say my name," Izzy warned not even bothering to look over at Pop, right now she didn't want to see his face. She just wanted to get out of there. "My keys." She demanded looking to Fred. The man had to have it.
He was the only one here with her so it must have been with him.
"Listen-"
"My keys." Izzy
"Bumblebee" Pop spoke up, adding to the collective noise.
"Isabelle." Hiram sighed, her name was like a prayer on the wind
"What's going on?" Archie asked, wondering why they were all standing in the snow begging Izzy to listen.
"Who wants to fill him in?" Izzy asked looking from Fred to Pop to Hiram, and back again, she wasn't sure who looked more guilty in that moment; probably Pop's "because I am more than happy to tell him how Hiram is-."
"Archie in the car, now," Fred ordered pulling himself out of the showdown because that's what it felt like an old-fashioned showdown.
Fred cringed seeing the pain in Pop's eyes as he handed over Izzy's car keys to the man... The story between the Tates and the Lodges wasn't a pretty one and right now they were being forced to relive it.
"Come on" Fred instructed, grabbing Archie's hands and pulling him towards their own car and making a quick getaway.
"What was that about" Archie asked buckling in, as they set off.
"You may want to keep an eye on Veronica over the next few days" Fred advised not willing to reveal more than that.
x.x.x.x
"Say it," Izzy commanded, standing by her car. The glow of Fred's tail light had long since faded into the distance leaving the three individuals standing alone under the falling snow in the middle of a parking lot outside city hall.
"Isabelle-"
"SAY IT."
"It doesn't change anything. You are still-" Noah began at the same time Hiram was insisting that they would have told her the truth once school had closed for winter break.
"I don't care what you were going to do, you didn't do it did you. I had to find out from… You know what, I don't even care. I want my keys."
"You are in no shape to be driving."
"I am not getting into a car with either one of you, so please give me my keys. I want to go home."
x.x.x.
"We have to get this right, or she will never forgive us" Pop informed watching Izzy's car speed away.
"Noah."
"She's going to want to know everything" Noah continued, "Now buckle up." Noah threw out a nano second before he too sped down the road chasing after his grandaughter.
x.x.x.x
Izzy arrived back home in record time, not only did she break several traffic laws she broke every speed limit in town and only just managed to stop from crashing into the garage.
Storming straight upstairs Izzy threw her laptop, school books and about a week's worth of clothes into a small suitcase: she a few outfits at Jughead's trailer either way, so she wasn't worried about not having anything to wear.
"Are you going to stop me?" Izzy questioned as Pop and Mr Lodge stood in front of the door blocking her way.
"No, but-"
"Then I am going to need you to move out of the way."
"Not before you hear us out."
"Why should I? You seem incapable of telling the truth and him, why the hell is he even here he's a fucking stranger."
"Isabelle"
"Don't say my name," Izzy warned this time staring at Hiram, a part of her was more offended about being called Isabelle than anything else.
"Ten minutes, give us ten minutes, and we can explain." Noah bargained, knowing Izzy was on the verge of storming past them.
"You've had sixteen years to tell me the truth but sure, let me give you another ten minutes on top of that" Izzy snarked putting the case down and walking into the living room. "You wanted to talk so go ahead," Izzy answered, pressing setting the timer on her phone to ten minutes before placing it down.
"It's true, Hiram is your father. He and your mum were involved but-" Noah said, standing at the threshold of the living room next to Hiram.
Both men had unconsciously presented a united front standing side by side in telling the story.
Standing next to each other also had the added benefit of blocking Izzy's direct path out of the living room, although she could walk through to the kitchen if she needed to make her escape.
"Skip to the part where you lied for over a decade or maybe to the part where he had two children in one year because let me tell you that's the part I'm struggling with." Izzy confessed, "I get it, men sleep around all the time, they can impregnate eighteen women in just as many days. Were you sleeping around, are you a man whore Mr Lodge?" Izzy quizzed.
She wasn't even sure if she was being petty or if she actually wanted to know the answer, everything coming out of her mouth held a hint of sarcasm even when none was intended.
"No,- I…"
"Please the floor is yours; for the next nine minutes at least," Izzy informed pacing up and down the room.
"I was with your mother, we were engaged even," Hiram informed watching Isabelle walk from the window over to the piano then back to the window.
"And the plot thickens" Izzy added keeping a running commentary, "Anything else I need to know."
"Izzy" Pop chastised.
"I really won't be taking the moral high ground right now Pop considering you are a liar and all, you may not like the fall to the ground. Eight minutes fifty, I suggest you give me the bullet points."
"All you need to know is that your mum made a decision a long time ago to keep you save, and one of the ways she did that was to not tell you about Hiram," Noah interjected.
"Great, let's bring the dead into this as well," Izzy replied cheerfully.
"I know you are going through a lot right now but do not-"
"You are the one that brought her up. I am complex enough to hate both you and her, so don't worry. Eight minutes, nine seconds" Izzy countered tapping the screen before it turned off. "I suggest you hurry this along, why didn't she want me to know about you." Izzy directed at Hiram, she saw the looked he shared with Pop and decided to ignore it. "You said you were going to sit me down and tell me this fascinating story, but Penelope beat you to the punch, so now is your chance. Why didn't mum want me to know about you? What did you do, because I've got to say cheating isn't really that big of a deal. Well not enough to have Pop lying to me for this long and have everyone in town in on it. So what did you do."
"Izzy"
"I'm asking him and bear in mind that this is the only time for you to tell me the truth. It might actually get you some brownie points."
"Hiram no" Pop ordered stopping Mr Lodge for saying what she wanted to know.
"Do either one of you think keeping any more secrets from me is the right thing to do?" Izzy questioned, "SERIOUSLY! Because I swear if I have to hear another family secret from Penelope Lodge of all people I will never forgive you!" Izzy announced, "So once again, what happened to make mum decide that I didn't deserve to know about you. Why the hell would Pop lie to me. One of you better start speaking, or I am walking out that door. And with the way I am feeling right now, I may actually leave this entire messed up town behind so you might want to tell me the truth while you still have the chance."
Once again, Hiram Lodge and Pop shared a look.
"When she was pregnant, she got attacked by some men I had previously done business with…. You survived, and so did she but…."
"But what?" Izzy asked once the silence had gone on for several minutes.
Both Pop and Mr Lodge were staring over at the mantle place where a picture of Sharon Tate proudly stood.
Izzy didn't think either man had heard her question until Pop tore his eyes away to look over at her.
Izzy had a bad feeling about what the answer would be before he even opened his mouth.
It was in the way Pop, and Mr Lodge was fighting back their tears.
Izzy didn't know anything about Mr Lodge, but she sure knew Pop, and her grandad wasn't one to cry.
"You survived, but your brother didn't," Pop choked out. "He died after the-"
"That's why I had to leave… I couldn't put either one of you in any more danger, I-"
Izzy had honestly thought that there was nothing worse than hearing about Hiram Lodge from Penelope Blossom but this, this was a thousand times worse.
It was worse than having a serial killer living in the same town as her.
It was worse than seeing Fred get shot.
This was without a doubt the single most horrifying thing Izzy had actually heard in her life.
Izzy didn't even have the strength to make it out of the room before throwing up into the potted plant in the corner.
"Iz-"
"Don't…" Izzy said, swiping her hand over her mouth in case she had any vomit on her face, "What about Veronica."
"No," Pop said sternly, "That's enough for tonight."
"I am not finding out something else tomorrow" Izzy replied back stubbornly straightening up, this hellish event was going to be contained to one horrific night. There was not going to be another big reveal tomorrow. "So, Veronica, how do you…. How is she? We are in the same year, so how?"
"I was grieving so I-"
"Slept with the nearest woman," Izzy finished the sentence, figuring out what most likely transpired, "Could you be any more of a cliche?" Izzy questioned disgusted by the implication of what happened. "Okay… I'm starting to get why no one ever told me about you. So if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
"You were never meant to find out like this" Hiram hurried to explain, "I was going to sit you and Veronica down and-"
"I don't care. Too little and way too late. Good news is I can forgive mum, I mean she lost a... She's dead, I can forgive the dead. Bad news; I do not forgive either one of you. I don't even care about you Mr Lodge to even try to forgive you, so I don't know, you can go home I guess" Izzy suggested, licking her overly dry and cracked lips. "As for you Pop, I could have probably forgiven you if you'd said something sooner. You hired Mrs Lodge, I worked next to that woman. Veronica and I go to the same school, you didn't even have to tell me about the dead… You just had to say something" Izzy informed.
It really was a case of too little too late with Pops.
"Tell GG- I don't care what you tell her actually. I was going to stay with Josie, but then I realised if Penelope knows and Fred know then so does ever parent in town. The only person without an actual parent right now is Jug, so I'm staying over there. Don't call, don't text, don't write. It's not me, it's definitely you. Now if you are done revealing all your secrets, I- What is it?" Izzy frowned, she couldn't keep the trepidation out of her voice. A part of her was scared to hear anything else but there was no way she would survive hearing it on another day, tonight was the night of nightmares.
Noah looked over confused, he had admitted to everything. "There nothing else to tell you we-"
"Not you, him." Izzy clarified, looking over at Hiram Lodge "What else is there?"
"I…."
"If you make me find out something else on another day I swear to God I will run you over" Izzy promised, "Now what else is there to know. "
"It's not a secret, I just had my bodyguard keeping an eye on you. The guy that's been coming to the diner, the one that paid you a Hund-"
"Shady man. You hired Shady man to-" Izzy absorbed this news and let it wash over her. Out of everything she heard tonight including the fact that Cheryl had burnt down Thorn Hill finding out that Shady man was employed by Mr Lodge was the easiest thing to handle, "... Thank you for telling me."
Tomorrow once she got some sleep and some distance Izzy would rank all of tonight's revelation from most horrifying, Hiram Lodge and a dead twin brother was tied for first place the rest was just back ground noise.
"You can't go out like this."
"And I can't stay here like this. I actually want to kill you" Izzy informed surprised by her emotions, everything still felt a second too slow but she was sure that she had murderous intention towards Pop. "And I'm not sure if I mean I 'stab you' kill you or just 'push you down the stairs' kill you. Oh, and I am really worried that I am thinking about it. I'm not even sure if I am even serious about it, so it will probably be best for everyone if I do go because I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning just to find out that I snapped and actually killed you. That would be really traumatic, and I have had enough trauma in the last few weeks so... I'm going to go. I said that already didn't I... oooo K then, I should go. O"
"If you wait, my chauffeur can take you wherever you want to go." Hiram interceded once Isabelle began unravelling.
Her words were becoming spacey, and she had stopped blinking.
x.x.x.x
Jughead was about to head to bed when he heard someone pounding on his door, opening the door he found Izzy stood on the other side, large pieces of freshly fallen snow still in her hair.
"I'm staying with you. Pop's a liar. Hiram Lodge is my father" Izzy stated succinctly, dropping her keys into his hands before walking in.
It's funny how the entire evening could be summarised in three little sentences.
Jughead closed the door behind Izzy feeling as confused as she looked.
He could swear she'd just said Hiram Lodge was her father.
"Going to sleep. School tomorrow." Izzy stammered out, feeling dead on her feet.
x.x.x.x
"Jughead." Pop sighed, picking up the phone. Noah knew the boy would call just to ease his worried.
"She's here," Jughead reassured.
"Okay, that's good. She-"
"Is it true?" Jug cut in.
Izzy had gone into his room and was just lying there staring at the ceiling, she still had her coat on and boots on.
"Yeah" Pop admitted down the phone, "Hiram is Izzy's father". Pop felt like he had cheated Izzy for being able to divulge the truth to Jug so freely but struggling and avoiding the truth when it came to her.
"…. I'll look after her. Night Pop."
"Goodnight Jughead." Pop signed off, walking over to Izzy's dresser, where a picture from her fifteen birthday party was on display.
Someone had taken a picture of Izzy planting a kiss on Pop's cheek… Izzy had saved that picture, said it was what she was going to use at Pop's memorial.
It sounded macabre, but Pop knew what she meant… this was the picture that shown the world how much she loved her grandad. They were both soaking wet from a day at the water park, but Izzy and Pop had the most gigantic smiles on their face…
He should have said something sooner.
x.x.x.x
"She knows" Hiram snapped out storming into the flat, it well past midnight by the time he arrived home.
"Hiram!" Hermione chastised her voice, holding a note of worry, "H-how, did she take it?"
"It wasn't us," Hiram growled walking to the wet bar and pouring himself half a glass of bourbon. "We were upstairs talking about it, and Penelope Blossom told her," Hiram informed spitting the name out like it was poison in his mouth.
"It can't be-" Hermione gasped horrified.
"MONTHS! Years of planning even as she just-" Hiram swipes all the bottle of the bar grabbing the decanter and throwing it across the room.
Hermione watched Hiram pace up and down the living room, it been a while since he lost his temper like this outside of a business deal. "Veronica is in her room" Hermione reminded him before he got too lost in his anger.
"It's time for us-"
"Get Veronica." Hiram demanded gathering clarity, "We need to be the ones to tell her. Tonight."
"No!" Hermione voice putting her foot down, enough was enough. "We are not telling her anything, especially when you are this agitated. Go to sleep we will deal with this tomorrow."
"Then what do you suggest, that we sit back and wait for Penelope to tell Veronica as well?" Hiram questioned, having Isabelle look at him like that…"No, we tell her tonight, Isabelle already knows, and it's only a matter of time before everyone knows."
"Everyone already knows" Hermione huffed, "The whole town knows, and they've kept quiet."
"Until tonight when one of them decided to tell Isabelle. I am not letting that happen with Veronica. Now go get her."
"I am not going to-" The rest of Hermione's protest died as Hiram backed her into a corner.
"Now isn't the time to be telling me no. I have one chance to make this work, so go wake up Veronica and tell her that we need to talk." Hiram declared.
"I am going to assume that this has something to do with Dad, Pop Tate and Izzy Tate." Veronica started walking in, phone in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She'd had just finished getting off the phone with Archie who was telling her about Izzy strange catatonic state after the town meeting and how somehow her dad was involved. "So what is it. Did you threaten her or maybe you had Andre do it for you."
"Veronica sit down," Hiram ordered
"Hiram, no, please." Hermione pleaded.
"Izzy already knows, by the morning every other kid in that school will know. She needs to hear this from us." Hiram defended his action.
"Wait!" Hermione was beyond desperate to keep this hidden for a little longer.
"I am Isabelle Tate's father" Hiram spoke, cutting Hermione off, there was no point in dragging this out. "She's my daughter, your sister."
Veronica took the time to watch the panic in her mum's face before concentrating back on her dad, he didn't look like he was joking and Archie was the one to tell her about the car park meeting, so it made sense.
Except it didn't, "Wh- How?"
"Have a seat" Hiram instructed walking over the broken bottles and taking his preferred position in the armchair.
"Mum?" Veronica asked wanting confirmation from someone else.
"Veronica sit down," Hiram ordered more sternly than before. He suddenly understood Isabelle's desire to have everything revealed in just one night, he would rather not talk about his dead son again.
He knew this day would come. Hiram had been preparing for this for the last sixteen year.
While he wasn't able to make Isabelle understand, especially with the time constraint, he may be able to get Veronica on his side.
Hiram hadn't walked away from Sharon, suffered the loss of a child, not get to raise Isabelle for sixteen years foreverything to fall apart now.
He made sacrifices, he'd been the villain.
He went back and became a mob boss just so they would be safe.
Hiram had done the right thing. He had done everything in his power to keep Isabelle safe.
Hiram wasn't losing his daughter; either one of them.
If he couldn't make Isabelle understand he would make Veronica and then she could help get her sister on side.
It would all work out, Hiram reassured himself.
It had to, he just needed to be patient. Isabelle was in shock, understandably so.
It had to work out and if it didn't Penelope Blossom would not live long enough to regret the day she was born.
Writer's musings:
Not actually sure whose going through a worse time in this chapter, Izzy, Hiram, Pop, Veronica or Hermione.
Izzy and Veronica literally just had the rug pulled from under their feet.
Pop and Hiram had to re-live some pretty bad and traumatic events from the past and Hermione... well she got off the lightest out of everyone but she obviously has no control when it comes to Hiram and his obsession to 'make things right'/ 'get to know his daughter'. Hiram is willing to threaten Hermione and even use Veronica if need be to get a change to know Isabelle.
Okay I know this chapter is a lot darker than usual but I can totally imagine this happening, Hiram Lodge tries to leave the criminal world because Sharon is pregnant so the mob bosses send someone to send Hiram a message which unfortunately has some devastating consequences in retaliation Hiram gets back into the game and Kills said Mob bosses and raises to the top. In the back of his mind everything would work out because he's protecting his family even if it's from afar, he would obviously get the opportunity to apologise and make things better how could he not?
Okay this Hiram is slightly more delusional than cannon but give the guy a break he is holding out hope of getting to know his daughter, he walked away to keep her and Sharon safe so you can at least give him a break.
I intentionally haven't written a Veronica POV just for this reveal, I wonder how the two sisters will handle this news. I wonder which one will try maxing out thier credit car and which one will resort to destruction of property.
Lastly all thoughts and reviews are welcome