Redemption [Sweet Pea x OC]

Chapter 43

Pop's was nearly deserted, which was perfect for us. Betty and I sat on either side of Jughead in the booth, across from FP and Alice.

"We should've known better. I should've known better," Jughead muttered. "We should've driven that dam car further out of town!"

"No, no," FP said, his head in his hand. "How could you have known that Junkyard Steve drags the swamp for people's castoffs? It was dumb luck."

"It was Jones luck, you mean," Jughead replied.

Shouldn't Chic be here, considering he's the one that brained the guy?" FP asked, looking at Alice.

"Don't worry about Chic," she said defensively.

"Normally, I would disagree," Betty said. "Definitely worry about Chic, but he doesn't know anything about the car."

I sighed. "I tried warning you about him several times but you chose not to listen." I ignored the look Alice was giving me, tapping my fingers against the cup of coffee in front of me. "Wait, if Chic didn't know about the car, then why did he think it was so important you see it on the news last night?" I asked, looking straight at her.

"Well, he, uh, maybe," she stammered, not looking at me.

FP leaned forward. "Did either of you tell him about the car?" he asked, looking at the Coopers.

They both shook their heads. "No, no. We didn't," Betty protested. "He must have seen it, it was out there for a few days before we realized it, and Chic probably recognized it."

"Damn, I knew I shouldn't have pulled the guys off watching the house," I said quietly.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you had our house watched?" Alice snapped.

"What the hell, Abigail?" Jughead asked.

"I'm sure she had a good reason for it," FP said, looking at me.

I nodded. "After I told Betty about Chic and his Centerville associates, I didn't trust them not to show up on your doorstep, so Sweet Pea and I split time with a few other Serpents keeping watch on your house."

"What, were you stalking us too?" Alice asked. "You could have told us about that."

"Mom, relax," Betty said. "Thank you for trying, Abigail, but it wouldn't have made any difference if they were still out there the night the Shady Man showed up."

I ran my hand through my hair, frustrated at their short-sightedness. "Yes, it would. It would have made a huge difference. One that could have prevented us from sitting here having this conversation right now."

"You would have known someone went into that house and never came out," FP said, following along. "The body and the car could have been handled that night. The right Serpents on the job and there'd have been nothing to worry about."

"Instead, FP and I got rid of the body you left lying out in the open while Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum here got rid of the car," I said.

"Hey, when we got to the Swamp, we wiped the thing clean of fingerprints before we pushed it in," Jughead replied, glaring at me.

"Wearing gloves?" FP asked.

Jughead and Betty answered at the same time with an "I think so" and "I'm pretty sure."

"What do you mean you 'think so'?" I asked, looking around Jughead towards Betty. She definitely didn't sound sure.

"No, no. We were," she answered, looking desperately at Jughead. "We 100% were."

We all froze as the bell over the door rang. "Sheriff Keller," FP whispered for the three of us with our backs to the door. He leaned forward, talking quietly. "If anybody comes around asking questions, we don't know anything. We don't talk to anyone. We act like everything is normal." We all nodded, agreeing to do as told.