Veronica's heart pounded with a speed that terrified her. It had been only a few moments since she had told Betty to call her but the piercing sound of her ringer had yet to break into her hearing. She seriously contemplated biting her perfectly manicured nails while she waited but decided against it as she had given that habit up at the age of nine and wasn't going to start again.
With a foot tapping, a racing heart, and incredibly sweaty palms, Veronica heard the sudden sound of her phone ring. She raced as fast as she could for the small device, anxious for what Betty could possibly have to say.
"Hello?" Veronica said into the phone as a meaningless conversation starter.
"V? Can you hear me?" Betty spoke in her phone while sitting on her bed in front of a piece of paper. It was the only thing on her mind as she spoke. It was the very reason for this phone call.
"Yes, yes, I can hear you just fine, B, now what's the proof?" Veronica was anxious and growing impatient despite only being on the phone for a few moments.
"Okay," Betty began, clearing her throat before beginning the rest of her story. Betty shook, feeling her hand quiver beneath the weight of her phone. She wasn't sure whether she actually wanted to go through with telling Veronica or pull a pull a swift "gotcha!". "Remember how I've been telling you about notes I've been receiving from the Black Hood?" She decided it was a better idea just to confess to V. She's been stressing over Cheryl and Toni potentially being murderers and has ever right to know every bit of information that Betty knows.
"Of course." Veronica nodded. Her tone was clearly insistent on more information from the blonde across the phone and wasn't prepared to wait for it.
"Well," Betty trailed off, half with fear and half with a slight distraction at the paper in front of her. It was worn, clearly old. There were a few stains on the page, perhaps food, perhaps dirt, Betty couldn't tell. However, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered to Betty were the words written on the questionably stained piece of paper. "I got another one today."
"Okay..." Veronica extended her syllable, waiting for more information.
"I'm gonna read it to you, okay?" Betty asked, fear overtaking her mind as she read through the letter once again, in her head. She swallowed hard, waiting for V's response.
"Sure." Veronica responded, sitting down on her sofa in front of the fire that she had lit for herself while she was typing her fingers off at Cheryl and Toni, accusing them of murdering her dear friend. And now that she thinks about it, she probably has to apologize to both of the girls, both of which blocked her, for falsely accusing them.
"Okay." Betty cleared her throat. "'I love watching the newspapers get all riled up about my latest killing." Veronica's heart sank at Betty's words. "They're all convinced that the Blossom bitch, her thug of a girlfriend, and her girlfriend's greasy looking boy-friends are responsible. Betty, I'd like you to set the record straight. I want this town to know that I, The Black Hood, am responsible for the murder of Reginald Mantle. I want you to give this letter to your mother, make her publish it, and give the town what they want: answers." Tears began forming in Veronica's eyes, distorting her vision as she put her fingers over her mouth, muffling slight whimpers. Betty would've cried if it were not for the copious amounts of tears she shed before making this phone call. Her eyes had been completely dried as her mind became numb to what she was about to read next. "'I don't wish to get into the gory details of things but, let's just say, I was roaming around, heard a bit of screaming coming from the Blossom property, and decided to have a look. The two boys that you people know as "Sweet Pea" and "Fangs" had just jumped upon their motorcycles and a boy sat inside of the barn. I don't know exactly where the two girls had gone but I didn't see either of them, nor their vehicle of choice. Aside from that, I approached the boy in the barn and noticed a bit of fluid present on his skin. Based on the bottle of lighter fluid sitting next to him, I assumed that poured atop of him was, indeed, the lighter fluid. So, without much hesitation, I decided that he would be my next victim.'" The emphasis of the word "he" struck more fear in Veronica's heart. Tears began streaming down her face and her heart shattered into pieces so small, a microscope wouldn't be able to decipher them. "'I'll spare you folks the rest, you most defiantly wouldn't want to hear about the smile upon my hooded face as I watched the boy burn." Betty choked on these words as Veronica allowed a sob past her lips. The air between the girls' phones went dead.
They both shook as the last words, both internally wishing that they had never read them aloud. Veronica cried tears of fear and sadness while Betty sat on the other end of the phone, her shaking hands holding the piece of paper, wondering what to do next.
For the rest of the night after hanging up the phone, both girls sat in the solitude of their own homes only thinking. Thinking about what their next move would be. Thinking about the apologies they would now have to shamefully bestow upon the friends, which they accused of such a grisly attack. Thinking about how they could let something like this happen to someone that they care so deeply about.
They only thought. And with that, came tears. And with tears came sobs. And with sobs,
came
regret.
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A/N: Hey guys so I wanted to do something different with this chapter. I hope you liked it and let me know if you want more phone calls like this :D
I really enjoy writing them and would love to do more <3
Thanks for reading (≧◡≦)
