The Damaged -RIVERDALE-DISCONTINUED

TWENTY THREE

"Thank you for inviting me," Veronica said awkwardly, picking at her food.
"Cheryl invited you. I have no idea why you're here," Penelope Blossom said with distaste, clearly not a fan of the Lodge girl.
"Me neither, I thought there'd be other girls," Veronica remarked, clearly uncomfortable. Clifford Blossom realized that this conversation was going to be going nowhere anytime soon and spoke up.
"Nana Rose, would you like some more ham?" When Rose Blossom heeded no answer Clifford turned to make Veronica his next victim, "Veronica, would you like some more maple ham?"
Veronica hid a grimace as she looked down at her hardly eaten ham, "I'm good. It's delicious though, you can really taste the, um, maple."
"You do know Riverdale was founded on the maple syrup industry, don't you?" Clifford asked, arrogance thick in his voice.
"I didn't, actually," Veronica cast a glance at Manic, who sat across from her, clearly uncomfortable, "fascinating."
"That's where Sweetwater River got its name from. Perhaps you should ask your father about it, sometime," Mr. Blossom said snidely, a malicious tint in his words. Manic rolled her eyes at this, knowing the Blossoms were prodding and poking in hopes for an outburst. Cheryl caught her redheaded friend's actions, having to stifle a laugh.
"How is he, by the way?" Clifford asked, noticing the grimace on the Lodge's face.
"Okay," Veronica stated, looking down slightly, "there are things worse than prison." Cheryl couldn't help but agree with this, sharing a look with Manic as she mumbled underneath her breath.
"Like this dinner party."
Manic let out a laugh, trying-and failing-to cover it up with a cough. She bit her bottom lip to hide her grin, taking a sip of her water and ignoring the stern looks thrown her way by the Blossom parents.
"What did you say?" Penelope asked, clearly aware of what had just came out of her daughters mouth. Cheryl didn't reply, instead picking at her food in hopes that she would be spared from a scolding.
Clifford noticed the appalled look on both Veronica and Manic's face, and quickly tried to move the conversation back.
"It must have been hard for you," he started, a sick grin making it way onto his lips as he thought of what he would say next, "watching your father being handcuffed and dragged out of your home in front of all your neighbors. All those reporters." A dazed look masked the once calm girls face.
"The worst part is how fast it happened," Veronica paused, regaining some of her composure, "he was just, gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye." The brunette girl noticed the sadness that seeped from Madelyn's stare, realizing that the Jones girl hadn't had the chance to say goodbye to Jason, in fact none of the Blossom family had.
"That's why I think it's so great, you're all getting a chance to say goodbye to Jason tomorrow..." the Latina trailed off, sensing both the sadness and tension in the air.
"Not all of us," Cheryl corrected, hostility seeping out of every word she uttered.
Penelope glared at her, furious at her daughters words.
"That's because some people already got to say goodbye to Jason," she sneered, "while rowing him across the river to his death."
Manic ignored the two sided edge to Mrs. Blossom's words, getting up in a frenzy and rushing out of the room in tears as thoughts of Jason danced through her mind.

After the awkward dinner Cheryl and Veronica had retired to the redheads room, where they sorted through old pictures of Jason and the Blossoms'.
"I hope this isn't weird, but Jason was crazy handsome," Veronica commented when they reached his school picture from last year. Cheryl smiled softly.
"The handsomest," Cheryl said, "something tells me he would have liked you. Maybe not as much as he liked Maddie, though."
Veronica nodded slightly, not being able to help herself from thinking about the girl who had ran off in tears earlier.
"They really loved each other, didn't they?" Veronica asked, flipping the page in the photo book to find a more recent picture, one of Jason and Manic.
In the picture the couple was sleeping, Manic's head resting on Jason's chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her. The pair were cuddled up into each other and blissfully unaware that the boy's twin sister was capturing the moment.
Cheryl swallowed back her sadness, giving a watery smile.
"They did... he loved her so much. And so did she, she still does," Cheryl paused, "I don't think love like that can die, what they had for each other was just, pure. They truly were each other's once in a lifetime love."
"I can't imagine..." Veronica trailed off, not even wanting to think about being in Madelyn's position right now.
"Jason left a note, the day they left. He just went on and on about how much he loved her and how he couldn't even imagine living without her, and I can't help but think that it's the same for her. I mean I can see it, the difference, she isn't like how she used to be. She was so much, brighter. And I thought that she would be the same, but whatever happened whatever she can't remember, its hurting her so much."
Veronica stayed quiet, not knowing what to say, leaving the two in a comfortable silence that was soon broken.