𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄, riverdale [2]

FOUR

Mariah sat a the breakfast table, eating the waffles that her mother had made. It was one of the rare occasions that the eldest Coleman actually made her food.

Amara sat in front of her daughter, watching her carefully as she ate. "How are they? The waffles," She asked the blonde. "They're good," Mariah answered. Amara nodded and the two went back to eating in silence. "How are you?" Ms. Coleman asked after a few minutes. "I'm fine, mom. Why?" Mariah said.

"It's just with everything going on, I thought maybe you wouldn't be," Amara answered. "Everything going on?" Mariah asked. "You know, with what happened to Fred. And your father showing up out of nowhere," the woman said. "My what? What father? I don't have one of those," Mariah muttered.

"Come on Mar, be serious," Amara said. "I am being serious, mom. Fathers wouldn't do what that man did. Patrick Coleman is not my father. Nor is he worth my time. And he shouldn't be worth yours," Mariah stated. At this point she lost her appetite.

She pushed her chair backward and stood. Picking up her unfinished plate of waffles, she walked over to the trashcan and threw the remainder of them away. "I'm gonna go to school. Have fun at work," Mariah muttered as she walked toward the stairs. "That's a waste of food!" Amara called after the girl's retreating form.

····

The blonde sat in between Veronica and Archie at one of the outside tables. Jughead was informing the group about something but Mariah wasn't listening. She was too deep in thought. She kept thinking about the conversation she had with her mom. And also about Patrick.

She was absolutely livid that he was back. She couldn't believe that he had the nerve to show up out of the blue, wanting back in her life. It was such bullshit. Mariah knew that he had some kind of ulterior motive for being in Riverdale. There is no way in hell that he was there for her or her mom. He was there for him.

A nudge to her side brought her attention back to the group. They were all staring at her expectantly. "I'm sorry, what?" She asked. "I asked you if you were in," Betty said. "In what?" Mariah questioned. "Are you gonna help us save Pop's?" Betty answered.

"What's wrong with Pop's?" The blonde asked next. "Did you really miss the entire conversation?" Jughead asked, an amused expression on his face. "You know I did," Mariah muttered. "All right, what's up with you?" Veronica asked. "Nothing's up," Mariah denied.

"Really? Because you're in la la land. And whenever you're there, it means you're thinking about something important," Veronica said. "No, it usually means that I'm bored and tuning out the conversation," Mariah said. Veronica narrowed her eyes, "I know you and I can tell when something's up. So spill."

"I don't know what you're talking about but nothing's up. There's nothing to spill. And of there was, you would know," Mariah insisted. Her friends all looked at each other. "Look, I gotta go find Cheryl. I'll help save Pop's or whatever. See you guys later," the blonde said.

She stood from the table and walked away from the group.

····

Mariah's mind had been on Patrick all day long. She couldn't seem to forget that he was back, no matter how hard she tried. She had wished it was a dream but unfortunately for her, it wasn't. She was reminded of that fact later on that day.

She had gone to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the house. Cheryl, who insisted on going with the girl so that she wasn't alone, tagged along. The two were walking down the frozen food aisle in search of ice cream when they heard Mariah's name being called. The blonde looked up, spotting the man a few feet in front of her.