Trapped

Chapter 33

"Does Dad know you're here?" she asked triple checking to make sure her phone was still turned on and in her pocket. Her location was on. FP made her always keep it on, just in case. She understood his concern, and even though she found it a bit paranoid at times, she was so glad she had listened.

Gladys thankfully hadn't asked her to empty her pockets. Maybe she assumed she wouldn't have her location on, despite what had happened. She always said that she was FP's blind spot and maybe she was, in a way. But the truth is, she was also Gladys' soft underbelly. The thought of her daughter, her pride and joy, going against her in any was inconceivable to her.

And it's not like Jellybean had ever given her a reason to think otherwise. Perhaps it was why she hadn't fought against her staying with FP. She might have thought it was a temporary thing. Because she was Jellybean and at the end of the day, Jellybean always returned to Gladys.

"Come on JB, you know me better than that. Besides, I thought it was time for us to talk" Their eyes met in the rearview mirror. Jellybean squeezed the phone into her pocket. Her fingers ached with the need to type, to text her dad, but she was afraid Gladys might see and take her phone, turn it off.

Then FP would have no way of finding her. She would just have to wait this out it seemed and pray that FP would notice her ever-growing distance from the school grounds. She averted her eyes, taking notice of the car instead. It was one of the old cars Gladys had a liking for. Not old, JB. Vintage! She used to tell her. The kind of cars she got to fix but never actually own. Until now. Until she sold her brother to the devil for drugs.

"What for, Mom? What do we have to say?" she sighed, looking back at the rearview mirror. She heard Gladys chuckle.

"Why are you so moody? I thought you'd be happy to see me"

"Oh, I don't know. Why would I be moody? Maybe because you just appeared out of nowhere, not a phone call to me or Dad. Because you basically dragged me to your car in the middle of my first day at school"

"JB-"

"Or because you let Kurtz take Jughead for a few quick bucks"

"First of all" Gladys interrupted, voice calm and even. And Jellybean hated her for it. How could she sound so peaceful, so unbothered? Every day has been a nightmare for them ever since that night. Every day has been a battle. After everything that had happened, all the shit they went through, all the shit she went through...how could she be so calm?

"I didn't let Kurtz take your brother. He already had him. I just figured I could get a deal out of it"

Jellybean blinked. Her mind screeched to a halt. She was...she couldn't be serious. She would have almost laughed if she wasn't so shocked. "You've got to be kidding me" she whispered. A nervous laugh did end up bubbling out of her. "You've got to be joking" she said a bit louder this time, for Gladys to hear. For Gladys to answer because what in the ever-loving fuck?

"I thought your dad would've found him by now. Guess he took a page of my book after all, huh? Left it all to come here, start over. So why are you so fucking mad at me for? Cause I did it first?"

Jellybean leaned forward, her seat belt slightly restricting her. She tugged on it furiously until it finally gave a bit, allowing her to approach Gladys' seat. "Dad didn't 'leave everything behind'. We had to go. He did it for m-" she cut herself short. Should she actually tell her? She'd be furious. And something told her she wouldn't let her go if she knew.

She collected herself, falling back in her seat. "And anyways, dad wasn't the one that sold one of his kids to a psychopath"

Gladys groaned. "JB, I told you. I wouldn't have done it if I thought your dad wouldn't have found him by now"