A Bughead story

Chapter 45

Jughead POV.

I feel older and wiser. Like I've become better. But I know I have so much more work to be done. I am unsure about the letter I've sent Betty. I don't know if she will hate it or love it. It's Friday night as all my friends are going out to party I am going to go to a meeting. It's 20 minutes away and I am scared. I wasn't told what type of meeting it is I was just told to go by Ricky. Ricky is the big man. He comes up with my treatments and everything. The man who gets paid the big bucks. I get into Betty's car and begin to follow the gps. I am living with two friends I made from my previous time down here. Not the last time but the very first time. When I was young. I came down here and started trouble. Then I went back to Riverdale and met Betty. My friends names are nick and James. Nick is a troublemaker. He always has a girl down at the house. I just stay in my room. And James he's quiet but he has problems too. I know it's probably not the best idea to be hanging out with them but they are all I have. I listen to radio and I hear it talking about Riverdale. "The slain black hood comes back to haunt Elizabeth Cooper, his own daughter. Tune back in at 9PM to listen to her tell her story." I hear a man say on the radio and I am confused. Is she hurt? Or in danger? What the hell happened? I disregard the thoughts telling me not to call her but I do regardless. I call her and it rings but she never answers. Oh my gosh this heavy weight is put on my heart. I pull over into a gas station parking lot and I continue to call her. She doesn't answer. Tears are streaming down my face now. I decide to call my dad. Of course he doesn't answer the first time but he calls me right back. "Jughead?"
"Where is Betty?! Is she alright!? Dad where the hell is she!?" I boom intro he speaker with tears apparent in my voice. "Son I'm looking right at her, calm down ok she's alright. She's doing a radio talk about her dad. They asked her to and she said she thinks it will help her get rid of some trust issues. And just unpacking everything." He explains and I breathe again. "Thank god. I thought- I have to go. I have a meeting." I say and get ready to hang up. "We're proud of you jughead." He says and I feel good. "Thank you." I hang up and pull myself together before getting back into the road. The meeting is only an hour right now its 8 as I pull in the parking lot. I walk in and there is a circle of chairs. There are all older than me. I'm the youngest one here. "Let's begin. We are free to talk about anything weighing us down." A woman speaks and I assume she's the host. I raise my hand to go first. Surprisingly she calls on me.  I clear my voice.

"Jughead I'm from Riverdale and I'm 17. When I was just a kid my dad was a dead beat drunk. He was violent. There's still a blood stain in the carpet of our old trailer. My parents weren't in love with each other and they never loved me. I ran away at 12 or 13 I think and they never looked for me. I lived at the school for a while, couch surfed, ran away here once for some time and made friends. When I went back to Riverdale I fell in love. With the most beautiful girl. For some stupid ass reason I never thought I'd see my dad again. He moved away.  But I was in town one day and I saw him. I went home to Betty and told her I didn't love her anymore. I couldn't stand my dad. I loved her with all my heart but I knew it was the only way she was going to let me go. So I came to Montreal. I came back eventually and she welcomed me with open arms. But it didn't matter because I was arrested soon after coming home. I was framed for my mothers murder. Which she is alive she still is to this day. Her and my father wanted to punish me. It destroyed me and Betty. But I got out. She got me out. We were toxic ever since I'd left. We were never the same. But we still loved each other. I ended up reconnecting with my dad. He was still the same but he was trying. My girl got pregnant and miscarried in school. I didn't even know she was pregnant. It was hard. We were off and on again and again. Then we were happy for a while. Until there men came in and tried to rape her. My mom sent them. I thought them and they almost killed me. Betty ran upstairs and shot them. 4 men were there. 3 died after she shot them. And the 4th one. Who knows what happened. I needed a lot of surgery's and medical attention. She never really left the hospital. And one day she told me she was pregnant again. I flipped. She left and then got into a car accident. She was now in the hospital and recovering from that. We went home. I finished my recovery and we acted like kids again. We stayed home a lot because who the hell wouldn't?! We spent all of our time together. We saw a doctor and we were told that we might lose our baby. Her eggs are good. So we are keeping it and trying everything we can. It broke us again. And maybe two or three weeks ago we went Christmas shopping. We come home and hear my little sister scream for help. We rush downstairs and my mom was there with my sister and a strange man. She was upset I didn't call her to tell her about the baby. I kept asking her to leave because she's destroyed my life. She wouldn't leave. She said that our baby didn't matter anyways because she would just miscarry. She said that I told her that. So Betty got upset and ran upstairs. I didn't say that. I never would. My mom and I got into a pretty heated argument and she tried to send the man upstairs to get Betty so I could feel the pain she did when I didn't tell her about the baby. I beat him up. There was no way he was going to hurt Betty. I knocked him out and my sister ran upstairs. I screamed in my moms face until she left. I was extremely frustrated with everything. She's caused so much pain in my life of course I hate her. Once the police arrived and took the man away I checked on my sister. And then I went to check on Betty. She was really upset and yelling at me and I was yelling at her. It was a mess. She was mad because she thought I said that and I'm pissed of because she believed I would say that I'm pissed she's making this about her and not asking me how I am that my mom was just here. I told her everything from me growing up. It hurt how she acted. I showed her proof that I never called or texted my mom and she still didn't believe me. I lost it. I walked into the room trying to keep my cool but I wasn't strong enough. It was so intense like knives through the air and I couldn't control myself. This next part is really fucked I don't want to say it but I won't lie. I punched the wall next to her. Not directly but close enough to were she screamed. It replays every night when I lay my head down. I tried to apologize after but she didn't want to see me. I went downstairs and I threw a lamp. Then I drank a whole bottle of whiskey while destroying the kitchen and living room. I know I'm fucked up. So anyways the next morning I cleaned it up and she tells me I have to leave. And she needs space. That I need to get help. It hurt so bad to hear her say what I already knew. I realized that I am just like my dad. So I left her and I went to get more drinks. She showed up and I am not a alcoholic but I needed to feel numb because if I didn't I would have probably killed myself. I told her that. And she told me that I didn't mean it because I am drunk. So I told her 'drunk words are sober thoughts'  I believe in that because you wouldn't just do something drunk that you wouldn't sober. So now I am getting help. For me and my family."