Chapter Ten : I've Left but I'm Still There

For a week, Betty went through a series of tests, some of the mind, some of the body and some of her blood and genes. Most had come back with positive reactions but there was something there, in her brain, the doctors had told Alice that Betty would suffer from severe PTSD.

When Alice told Betty, Betty had made her mother promise not to tell anyone else. She didn't want them to make a huge deal of it.

Now Betty had been cleared to return home- and Betty was more than ecstatic. Folding up her clothes that Jughead had brought over, she placed them in her suitcase. It was amazing to be able allowed to leave.

"How are you feeling?" The voice jolted Betty from her thoughts and she glanced over at Jughead. A small smile flittered to her face, and her eyes glistened with affection for him. Every step of the way in the hospital, Jughead had been there. He helped her with her tests and sat beside her as she cried about stupid things.

She didn't like being weak. But she appreciated being allowed to be truthful around him.

"Not well. I'm happy to be leaving, but I don't know…" She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose stressfully. I don't want to go back to that house. Her own house the center of her fears. She wouldn't- couldn't- tell Jughead that though. Jughead was worried for her enough.

Jughead reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away. Her eyes shut tightly and she sucked in a breath. A feeling of helplessness and fear washed over her and she choked back a sob. When the hand left her shoulder, she put her head in her hands and felt tears run down her cheeks.

The next thing she knew, Jughead had his arms wrapped around her in a warm hug. The effect was soothing, but the horror just wouldn't leave her. She hadn't remembered anything this time, just felt the same way she had felt when she was backed in a corner.

"Hey… I'm right here. It's Jughead- not him." He hadn't even spoken his name, and she could hear the rage shake in Jughead's tone. Betty could feel the anger sparking off Jughead, and she suppressed the urge to flinch again.

Sighing deeply, Betty leaned into Jughead. His hand brushed her hair from her face gently and she relaxed in his presence. She was safe around him.

Safe. The thought felt weird in her thoughts but the word made her smile because it was true.

Jughead held Betty for a moment, not rubbing her back or talking, just holding her. He didn't know what she had gone through, but she was going to need him- and all her friends- to help her along the way.

When she finally moved away from him and stood up, Jughead offered her a pathetic smile and she frowned. The corner of her mouth twitched, trying to hide her anger, but before she could hide it, he had caught it. "What?"

"Don't… I don't want you to… smile and act like everything is okay. Something happened. I almost died. I can't forget that… so, please. Don't act like things are the same because they aren't. We can't…" she closed her eyes as tears cascaded down her face. "...we can't act like nothing's happened when I remember it all so vividly!"

Jughead felt guilt wash over him and he wanted to stand up, wrap her in a hug and whisper that he was there for her. But he knew she could be reminded of what happened if he touched her.

"Alright," he said simply and held out his hand to her. Betty looked at his hand for a long moment before she grabbed it in hers.

"Alright," she breathed, smiling gratefully. "Thank you." Jughead nodded.

"Any and all the time, Betty."

Veronica looked down at her phone for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. She knew it was wrong, ignoring Betty like this. But she couldn't face her friend's bruised form. Despite the texts, she had gotten.

B: I'm free, come over. (Sent at 9:43 AM)

B: Come on, it'll be fun. (Sent at 9:44 AM)

B: V? You okay? (Sent at 9:45 AM)

B: Now I'm worried about you. Please tell me you're okay. (Sent at 9:50 AM)

B: Please answer me. (Sent at 9:51 AM)

She wanted to answer Betty, but then what would she say? Sorry, I just can't see you without freaking out with guilt.

Veronica put on her faux fur coat from New York and looked at herself in the mirror. While her outfit was just perfect, the paleness in her face -the worry- was too obvious. Her phone buzzed, again and again, she checked it.

B: Answer me now! (9:53 AM)

Grabbing the phone, she swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed on the message. As she typed her reply, slowly, she kept her eye on her newly painted nails. It made her sick to even read what she was writing.

Veronica: Stop texting me. I'm not coming to visit. (Sent at 9:54 AM)

The moment she sent the message, she wished she could take it back. When the small comment underlined Veronica's message saying "Read" she felt her heart sink.

When Betty called her, Veronica surprised herself when she answered it and held the phone to her ear.

"V? What's happening? Is it bad? Let me help."

The worry in Betty's voice, her friend's guilt, sent Veronica over the ledge and she knew she needed to get Betty to stop being worried.

"Stop talking to me. I don't want to speak with you." Veronica spat, then she quickly hung the phone up and threw it at the wall. The phone fell to the floor after putting a dent in the paint. She didn't care.

Veronica's best friend, who had just gotten out of the hospital, had left Veronica's life. And it was Veronica's fault. Tears spilled down her cheeks and the familiar feeling of shame spread across her, like a vine, pulling her down lower and lower. Just hearing Betty's voice, imagine what she looked like, was enough to make Veronica panic.

Her hands were sweating and her breaths were coming out short. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, keeping her eyes on the dent in her wall. It looked more like a crack now, lines stretching outwards slightly. Veronica narrowed her teary eyes, surprised she had thrown her phone that hard.

Surprised she had pushed her best friend away so quickly.

When Veronica hung up the phone, Betty's first feeling was confusion, then anger, then guilt and shame. She was such a disgrace. First, she let the worst possible thing happen to her and worry about her boyfriend, then she went and hurt her best friend as well. Betty wasn't sure what she had done, but it must be bad.

Curling up with her legs to chest, she stared emptily at Jughead's curly lock of hair that fell onto his face as he slept. She had only had to ask once -for him to stay over- and he had agreed.

"Hm?" Jughead murmured, opening his eyes to see Betty looking at him with a lost expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice concerned. Betty wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes.

It took a minute before she answered.

"I just lost one of my best friends." Because I'm so hopeless. She added in her own private thoughts.

Archie had learned of the incident from Jughead, that Veronica had snapped at Betty and broken their friendship. Despite Archie's love for Veronica, he felt rage simmering in his veins. How could she?

He knocked on her bedroom door, anger burning in his gaze when Veronica opened the door. When he saw how she looked though, his anger vanished immediately. Veronica's face was splotchy with tears, her makeup had run and she was dressed in a plain oversized shirt with a robe around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked and stepped inside, enveloping her in a hug. Veronica put her head on his shoulder and he could feel her swallow.

"I just lost my best friend, and it's my own fault. I think I just made her personal hell worse." Veronica whispered hoarsely and Archie could tell she had been repeating this to herself over and over because she had spoken with such monotone.

Archie pulled away from her slightly and sighed deeply. "Then fix it,"

"Before it's too late."

Those who really love you don't mean to hurt you and if they do, you can't see it in their eyes but it hurts them too.

-Holly Black

A/N: Not the biggest fan of this one- I was and still am so tired when I wrote and edited it so... yeah. Thank you so much for reading! Now for a few questions:

1. How did Betty get to the hospital? Jughead called 911 and an ambulance came.

2. What happened to Chic? Unknown, he wasn't in the building when Jughead arrived with the cops.