Sweet Pea watched as the medics tended to Betty's wrist. They had driven to the hospital that was at the base of the mountain – honestly, a good place for it – and everyone congregated in the waiting room. Jughead was sitting next to Betty, keeping an eye on his girlfriend, and Sweet Pea was watching them both. He knew that Archie had shown up on the mountain – that much was clear. What he was doing there was even clearer; he was clearly there to harass Betty. And the dick had broken her fucking wrist. Sweet Pea wanted to set the world on fire.
Just then, the medic finished wrapping the ace bandages around his sister's wrist and placed her arm in a sling. He handed a piece of paper to Betty, and she nodded her head. Then she stood up and made her way over to Sweet Pea, Ronnie, Cheryl, and Toni. They were all huddled together. Kevin and Joaquin were talking to the ground's keeper of the ski lodge, trying to get some ammo on Archie in the hopes they could do something about it.
Betty stopped just shy of Ronnie and Sweet Pea, looking at her older brother through puffy eyes. He knew she was still in a fair amount of pain, and he hated that for her. "I'm sorry I ruined the trip."
His heart. It hurt. For his sister to think that something caused by Archie meant she ruined the trip...he hated that for her. And he hated the fact that Archie fled the scene. Sweet Pea and Ronnie had been hard-pressed to follow him, but Jughead said he wasn't leaving Betty on her own. And that had cleared some of the anger from Sweet Pea's head long enough for him to think clearly. "You didn't ruin anything, Betts." He pressed a brotherly kiss to the top of her head, looking at Ronnie the next minute. "We good to just go back to the cabin for the day?"
"Yes," Ronnie assured him, going to interlock their fingers together. Thank God for Veronica Lodge. She was one of the only things keeping Sweet Pea sane right now.
"We can go back out and ski," Betty offered, eyes earnest. "I can just sit and watch you guys."
"No," Jughead said quietly. "That's not fair to you and I'm feeling an animalistic rage. I need to go calm down in the house."
Sweet Pea understood his best friend's rage. He didn't know if he'd be able to calm down in the house or not. He didn't know if Jughead would be able to, either. But they had to try. Ronnie spoke up just then. "We can go back to the house and get into comfortable clothes. Start a fire. Have some hot cocoa."
Betty looked at them before nodding her head. "That sounds good, Ron."
Cheryl and Toni led the way out, with Cheryl calling over her shoulder as they did so. "I'm in touch with Kevin. He says he's got the ground's keeper looking at the video surveillance and trying to deduce when Archie got there."
"Are there any cameras around the house, Ron?" Sweet Pea asked, looking at his girlfriend.
She shook her head apologetically. "No, I'm afraid not. I know mom and dad wanted cameras to be put in, especially during the off-season, but I talked them out of it. I didn't want my friends filmed."
Sweet Pea understood that. He knew that Ronnie would want her friends and her to have a semblance of privacy from her parents. He didn't blame her for that. "Okay. Let's just go back to the cabin and get into something comfortable."
Jughead spoke up. "Are you going to tell your parents?" He was looking at both Betty and Sweet Pea.
"I don't know...," Betty trailed off, sighing. "I think it's something better to just tell them about when the vacation is over."
"Are you sure?" Sweet Pea asked, looking at her. He'd hate to worry his parents endlessly, but they had a right to know their only daughter had been hurt at the hands of her stalker.
"Yeah," Betty sighed. "I think it's just better to tell them about it when I get home. I don't want to make them worry needlessly."
He respected that. He nodded and the group was climbing into the car that Smithers was driving. Jughead tucked Betty into his chest, looking at the piece of paper she was originally holding. "This is the prescription for your pain meds."
"Smithers, can you go pick that up for her?" Ronnie asked.
"Certainly, Miss Lodge," the older man replied, tipping his hat in the rearview mirror at her. She smiled, and Sweet Pea felt a smidge of relief trickle down through him. At least Betty wouldn't be in pain. He watched as the car sped closer and closer to the cabin, making their destination announce itself. Once there, they piled out of the car at the same time Kevin and Joaquin came walking around the house. Kevin went and hugged Betty, talking quietly to her as Joaquin made his way towards Sweet Pea and Jughead.
"Archie fled the scene," he said in undertone, something Sweet Pea already knew. "We looked at the cameras and it looks like he got to the lodge last night. He was away from the building for an indiscernible amount of time last night, and Kev thinks he was scoping out the house. I'm inclined to agree with him."
Sweet Pea was thinking furiously fast and then Jughead was speaking. "When we get back to Riverdale, we'll take care of it. But I don't think Archie is stupid enough to come back to the lodge. Not when he knows we all want him to pay."
And Sweet Pea did want him to pay, and dearly, for that. He had hurt his sister. It was one thing to stalk her but a wholly different thing to physically hurt her. Archie had crossed a line today. And Sweet Pea would be damned if he let him do it again.