Taking my message from the veins | Jarchie ✓

Thirteen.

"Hello? Mom?" Veronica held the phone to the ears, her hands trembling. Although she was safely hidden away in this house, she, along with the others, couldn't shake away the fear that they were going to be the next one to be snatched away into the night. She needed to hear the mother's voice to comfort herself, remind herself that she was here, safe.

"Veronica?" She let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Hermionie speak to her down the line. "What's going on? Has something happened?"

"Yes, Mom... Something has happened." She took a moment to let the tears run down her cheeks before continuing. "Some of dad's agents... They took Jughead, Mom. I don't know what to do. I'm scared, we're all scared." She felt like a child again, crying to her mother about a monster that was lurking in the darkness, but in this case, the monster was her own father. "Mom... We need help."

"Okay, sweetie, calm down," Hermione soothed her daughter. Even though she couldn't physically be there herself, she knew what kind of state Veronica must be in, and that she needed a shoulder to cry on. "Look, Veronica... As you already know I've been housebound by your father, but I promise I will do my best to find Jughead. Just hang in there."

"Okay..."

"And, Veronica?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you won't leave the house until I give the word."

"Alright... I promise."

"Good, I'll call you back as soon as I can. Stay strong, mija."

Veronica was tempted to not hang up, to ask her to stay with her a little longer, but at the same time she wanted nothing more than for Hermione to find Jughead.  So she was the one to hang up first, immediately breaking down into tears as soon as she did. She was overcome with all of the stress and the fear of it all, unable to shake away the feeling that it was all her fault, especially after how Archie had lashed out at her moments earlier. She didn't even hear the sound of the door creak open, however, she did feel the warmth of Betty's arms pulling her into a hug.

"It's going to be okay, V." The blonde spoke to her softly, stroking Veronica's raven hair out of her teary eyes.

"I can't help but feel like I'm the one who caused all of this." She sobbed into Betty's shoulder. "Like all of this is my doing."

"Don't think like that, Veronica. You're not your father, you are you. You're kind, sweet, caring... Beautiful. If you're upset about what Archie said, don't be. He's just afraid, he doesn't really feel that way about you." Without even thinking twice, Betty laid a kiss on the other girl's cheek. "We all care about you, we all love you... I love you."

*

Jughead felt the pain rattle through his body. Another punch to the gut from one of Hiram's bodyguards (it was already obvious to Jughead that Hiram was not a man who carried out his own dirty work.) This had been going on for some time now, at least a few hours, and every new punch felt like fire. The boy was coughing up blood, sinking in and out of consciousness, but he was determined to stay awake, to not give in. Despite the torturous pain and the fact that his t-shirt was stained with his own blood, he continued to hold onto that trademark Jones spark that he had been born with and was proud to possess.

"I can see you're in pain, Jughead," Hiram said as he watched Jughead's body quiver violently. "Just think, all you have to do is reveal how your veins glow and it will be all over."

Jughead forced a chuckle. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a hard nut to crack. I'm not telling you anything any time soon."

"Fine, have it your way." Hiram spoke calmly, and at the click of his fingers, the bodyguard struck Jughead once again. Jughead held back the urge to scream, tears streaming down his face. "I see you need a little more time to think about it. We'll be back tomorrow." And at that, Hiram and his people left Jughead to suffer alone.