Chapter 7- A Body Found.
It was late when Robyn got back home but she couldn't sleep, instead she pottered around the kitchen baking and cleaning. Then curled up on the couch to watch tv, nothing of interest was on but it served as background noise in the quiet house. She wasn't sure how many hours she sat like that for but eventually she had to get up, the sun hadn't risen yet but it would be soon. She was restless as she paced her living room, she wasn't sure why but something was bothering her, like a tickling in the back of her mind. She decided she would go for a run, hoping it would clear her mind for the day ahead. After changing into something comfortable to run in she took off down her street, music blasting in her ears and her footfalls heavy on the ground as she set a fast pace for herself. She wasn't paying attention to the route she was taking, it was the same route she always did when she ran. The sun was just starting to come up when she was running alongside the sweetwater river and was brought out of her quiet reverie by the crowd she could see in front of her, the first person she could see, standing slightly away from the crowd, was Jughead. He seemed to sense her approach and turned to see her as she took out the earphones she had been wearing, the feeling that something was wrong was growing again.
"What's going on?" Her voice was quiet and harsh as Jughead came towards her.
"Jason's body was found last night." Her hand came up to her lips as she tried to stop the noise that escaped them.
"Robyn?!" He had of course noticed the suppressed noise and was looking at her with concern now. The obvious answer dawned on him quickly. "You knew him?" She just nodded lightly and swallowed heavily before she could answer him.
"My dad is friends with the Blossoms, I've spent time with Jason and Cheryl over the last couple of years. We weren't close but we got along." She looked back up to see Jughead with an odd look on his face. "What is it?"
"There's more you should know." She took a deep breath and nodded for him to say the rest of the news. "He didn't drown. He was found with a gunshot wound in the head." She gasped lightly at the news but contained anymore of a reaction.
"Who?" He just shrugged at her question.
She let her eyes wander as she thought of the many people who didn't get along with the Blossom family, finding it hard to believe anyone would kill Jason for hatred of him. Her eyes caught something as she rushed forward.
"Emma?" She saw her sister turn around to her voice, stood there with Becky and two other of her friends from school. Looking around she saw Becky's mum stood not far from them talking to another parent. "What are you doing here?"
"Becky's mum got the news and we came over to see what was going on." She sighed heavily at her sister.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Jason, they just pulled out the body." She nodded to her younger sister, a look of sadness on her face.
"I know." Emma suddenly looked passed her and her eyebrows raised slightly, she turned to see Jughead had followed her and was stood just behind her now. "Oh, Jughead, Emma, my little sister. Emma, Jughead, a friend from school." Emma widened her eyes at her now as if to question the silence on the topic since the beginning of school.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Jughead was the one to break the slightly tense silence between the two sisters, making Emma look up at him.
"You too." Robyn smiled as she saw her sister turn her bright smile on Jughead and he smiled softly back at her. "So will he be the friend you bring to the party?" The smile fell quickly from her lips at her sisters words now aimed at her.
"I wasn't going to." Her voice was quiet as she hoped it wouldn't be a topic of further discussion. Her sister just tutted at her before turning back to Jughead.
"I always tell her she can invite a friend to my birthday party, she insists on having a big thing every year but shes surrounded by all of my friends for a day. Seems only fair she has one of her own there. Not that she's ever taken me up on the offer." Robyn sighed heavily and was glad to see Jughead just smile slightly at her sisters words.
"And I won't." She looked over her shoulder to see Becky's mum walking back towards them. "Now get back to Becky's and enjoy the rest of the birthday party. I'll see you again tonight." Her sister seemed put out but nodded all the same, and took off with the small group back to the birthday celebration.
"So that's your sister." She met Jughead's smile with one of her own. "She's a lot like you." She shook her head lightly but her response was cut short as her attention was taken by people moving around the small clearing, seeing the Andrews' and the Coopers' among them. "Let's get out of here?" She snapped her eyes back to his and nodded lightly.
"I should get home." He nodded back to her.
"Do you mind if I come with you, you can get ready and we can go straight up to that ridge." She smiled lightly as she remembered the plans to show him that place.
"Right, yeah of course." She turned to make her way back out of the area crowded with people and he fell into step beside her.
They walked for a short while in quiet but when they were a distance from the scene he spoke to her again.
"You drew your sister very well. She seems a lot like you in more than just looks." He looked over to her to see a bright smile as she thought of her sister.
"She's..." She struggled to find the words to use. "Wilder, freer, more adventurous than me. She wants to see the world, do everything she can."
"Do you think she will?" She found herself laughing lightly.
"She will do everything she sets her mind to, she's one of the most stubborn people I know and she doesn't give up on anything. If she wants something, she will fight for it." She heard the laugh come from Jughead beside her and looked questioningly at him.
"You have a lot of pride in your voice when you talk about her, almost more of a parent than a sister." A small laugh came from her in reply.
"I've been told that before. I spent most of my childhood bringing her up, it's not the same as being a parent but it's not just being a sibling either, in the usual sense anyway." He nodded thoughtfully at her.
They were approaching her house then and they walked up to the front door, walking in she heard someone moving around and sighed heavily, earning a questioning look from Jughead. She knew it was already too late as soon as she had opened the door. She could see a shadow in the kitchen and knew they would be coming out any second.
"Hey dad, it's me." She looked to just above her shoulder to where Jughead stood. "And a friend." Jughead looked as if he was about to laugh at the situation and the expression on her face.
"Robyn, it's good you're home. I just heard news about Jason." Her dad came into view, he was a tall man and slim, not over muscular but clear definition across his arms. Unhappy expression on his face.
"I've already heard." Her dad nodded lightly at her, expecting the response and turned his attention to Jughead beside her. "This is Jughead, a friend from school. We won't be here long."
"Your F.P Jones's boy?" Jughead nodded slightly, confused why he knew that about him. He saw his expression change to a bright smile, the same as he had seen on his youngest daughter. "I knew your dad when he was the same age as you, you look the spitting image of him." He put his hand out and Jughead took it and shook it strongly. "Don't leave on my account, I'm heading out to the Blossoms, paying my respects."
"We had plans to go out anyway, Emma is away until tonight. She knows about Jason too, make sure to send along our respects too." Her dad nodded to her.
"Of course. I'll be back later." He gave her a brief side hug before making his way to the front door. "Oh, and the brownies are delicious, I may have helped myself to a couple." She smiled as her dad disappeared behind the closing door.
"Brownies?" Her smile grew to a light laugh at Jughead's question and she nodded for him to follow her to the kitchen where brownies, flapjacks and cookies all lay on plates from her baking the previous night.
"Help yourself." Jughead looked at her with an odd expression. "I bake when I can't sleep and I couldn't last night so we have plenty of baked goods now, I'll box some up to take with us to the ridge too."
"They all look great." He smiled at her brightly.
"Hopefully taste just as good. I'm just going to jump in the shower quickly and get myself sorted to go, you ok here for a few minutes?" She laughed at the grumbling noise that came from around the brownie that was crammed into Jughead's mouth already and took it as a yes as she took off upstairs to get ready for going out.