Chapter 3

Faithfully

Alice Cooper rushed back to the hospital. She came running into the room. She felt relief when she saw her daughter sitting in her bed, her boyfriend having a protective arm around her shoulder.

"What happened? Did something else happen?" she asked. Betty shook her head. "Nothing else happened. I am okay." She said with a weak smile.

Alice looked at Sheriff Keller. "What happened? Did you catch the psycho that shot my daughter?" Sheriff Keller took a deep breath and looked at her.

"The Black Hood got away. However he didn't get away unscathed. We recovered blood from the scene and we had it analyzed." Alice shook his head. "I don't understand." Sheriff Keller took a deep breath and he looked at her.

"It was a direct match to Hal." Alice gasped. Betty felt sick. She turned away from Jughead as she tried to fight the nausea. Jughead rubbed her back.

"We are looking all over Riverdale for him. We are going to find him." He said. "Like you found who killed Jason Blossom?" shot Alice. Betty looked at her mother. "Mom." She said. Alice looked at her daughter.

Betty went back to taking deep breaths, trying to not throw up in front of everyone. Alice sat down and tried to calm herself down. "There is going to be patrol at your house at all times until we find Hal. He will never touch you again."

She looked at Sheriff Keller. "What about the others? Mr. Andrews? Moose?" Sheriff Keller took a deep breath. "Betty we can't protect everyone. We have to make sure that you're safe. You, your mother, your sister, and her children are in direct danger." Betty's heart sped up.

The EKG machine started to beat rapidly. Jughead took her hand. "Betty, Betty look at me." She looked over at him. "You need to calm down. You need to take a few deep breaths."

She tried to. "You're safe. You're here. Nothing is going to happen to your sister and your mother. Now please calm down." He said gently.

Betty nodded and she closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing and she took a few deep breaths, allowing the anxiety to go away. She continued to take breaths, focusing on Jughead's hand on hers, rubbing small circles on her hand with his thumb.

She was able to calm down. She looked at her mother. "You need to go and get Polly and the twins."

Alice shook her head. "I can't. I can't leave you." Jughead shook his head. "She won't be alone. I won't leave her. You have my word." Alice nodded. She kissed her daughter's head and walked out.

Sheriff Keller looked at Betty. "We are going to get him Betty." Betty nodded, not saying a word. He nodded and walked out, shutting the door.

Betty started broke down into tears. "Hey, hey." said Jughead softly. She looked at him. "I did this Jug." He looked at her in confusion.

"I brought this madness into Riverdale. Because of that stupid speech! I'm the reason Midge is dead. That Moose got shot. That Mr. Andrews got shot."

Jughead shook his head. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. This is your father. Hal Cooper did this. He shot Fred. He shot Moose. Hell, he shot you." Betty's eyes widened.

She looked at him. "What if he does something to you or your dad? If something happened to either of you because of me I would never forgive myself."

Jughead put his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to listen to me Betty Cooper. Nothing is going to happen to me or my dad, or your family. I won't allow it. Patrol isn't the only thing that's going to protect you."

"I'll have Serpents protecting you. We are going to get Hal and he is going to spend the rest of his life in prison. Please stop worrying. We are going to get through this. Together."

Betty took a deep breath, winced, and nodded. "Now, you need to rest. You have been through hell the past few days. You need your rest." She sniffled and nodded. "Can you do something for me Juggie?" He nodded. "Anything."

"Don't push me away again. We have to stop pushing each other away. We need each other. I need you. Please stay with me." He nodded.

"I will. If you can forgive me for leaving you alone at the Whyte Worm. I only left because I wanted to protect. I wanted to keep you from the dangers that came with my darkness." He said scoffing at himself.

Betty squeezed his hand. "I want to be a part of every part of your life. The good and the bad. The light and the dark. I love you for you Juggie. Nothing is going to change that. I want to be with you because you are the love of my life. I love you, Jughead Jones. And I will forever."

Jughead gently kissed her on the lips. "I love you Betty Cooper. You are my first and only love. And I am so grateful that I have someone as amazing as you in my life."

"I need you in my life too. You're the light in my life. I love you so much." Betty smiled and kissed him. "Come and join me." She scooted over carefully so he could get into bed with her. She laid her head on his chest and he carefully wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head.

Betty closed her eyes and allowed her boyfriend's heartbeat to lull her to sleep. She was going to be okay. As long as she had Jughead by her side. That was all she needed. She fell asleep with a slight smile on her face.